Information about Montreal, Quebec
| Ville de Montréal City of Montreal | |||
) Skyline of Ville de Montréal | |||
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| Nickname: 5-1-4, MTL, Heavy MTL, Mount Real, Real City | |||
| Motto: Concordia Salus ("well-being through harmony") | |||
) City of Montreal and enclave municipalities]] ) City of Montreal and enclave municipalities | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Canada | ||
| Province | Quebec | ||
| Region | Montréal | ||
| Founded | 1642 | ||
| Established | 1832 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Gérald Tremblay | ||
| Area [1][2][3] | |||
| - City | 365.13 km (140.98 sq mi) | ||
| - Urban | 1,677 km (647 sq mi) | ||
| - Metro | 4,259 km (1,644 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2006)<ref name="area_and_pop_city_proper" /><ref name="area_and_pop_urban_area" /><ref name="area_and_pop_metro_area" /> | |||
| - City | 1,620,693 (Ranked 2nd) | ||
| - Density | 4,439/km (11,496/sq mi) | ||
| - Urban | 3,316,615 | ||
| - Metro | 3,635,571 | ||
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | ||
| Postal code span | H | ||
| Area code(s) | (514) and (438) | ||
| Website: Ville de Montréal | |||
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Montreal, or Montréal in French,[4] (pronounced ?·i in Canadian English,?·i in Quebec French, and ?·i in European French) is the second-largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. Originally called Ville-Marie (literally 'City-Mary', translated 'Mary's City' or 'City of Mary'), the city takes its present name from the Mont Réal (as it was pronounced in Middle French [5], or Mont Royal "royal mountain" in present French), the three-head hill at the heart of the city, which was also initially given to the island on which the city stands.
Formerly the largest metropolis of Canada, it is one of the largest French-speaking cities in the world along with Paris and Kinshasa. As of the 2006 Canadian Census, 1,620,693 people resided in the city of Montreal proper.<ref name="area_and_pop_city_proper" /> The population of the Montreal Census Metropolitan Area (also known as Greater Montreal Area) was 3,635,571 at the same 2006 census. In 2007, Montreal was ranked as the 10th cleanest city in the world.[6]
History
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Map of Hochelaga
Seventy years later, French explorer Samuel de Champlain reported that the St. Lawrence Iroquoians and their settlements had disappeared altogether from the St. Lawrence valley, likely due to inter-tribe wars, European diseases, and out-migration.[8] Champlain established in 1611 a fur trading post on the Island of Montreal, on a site initially named La Place Royale, at the confluence of Saint-Pierre river and St-Lawrence river, where present-day Pointe-à-Callière stands.[10].
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Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve, founder of Ville-Marie
By 1651, Ville-Marie had been reduced to less that 50 inhabitants by relentless attacks by Iroquois. Maisonneuve returned to France that year with the intention of recruiting 100 men to bolster the failing colony. He had already decided that should he fail to recruit these settlers, he would abandon Ville-Marie and move everyone back downriver to Quebec City. (Even 10 years after its founding, the people of Quebec City still thought of Montréal as "une folle enterprise" - a crazy undertaking.)[11] These recruits arrived on 16th November 1653 and essentially guaranteed the evolution of Ville Marie and of all New France.[12]. Marguerite Bourgeoys would found the Congrégation de Notre-Dame, Montreal's first school, in 1653. In 1663, the Sulpician seminary became the new Seigneur of the island.
Complementing its missionary origins, Ville-Marie became a centre for the fur trade and a base for further French exploration in North America. The bloody French and Iroquois Wars would threaten the survival of Ville-Marie until a peace treaty (see the Great Peace of Montreal[13]) was signed at Montreal in 1701. With the Great Peace, Montreal and the surrounding seigneuries nearby (Terrebonne, Lachenaie, Boucherville, Lachine, Longueuil, ...) could develop without the fear of Iroquois raids.[14] Ville-Marie remained a French colony until 1760, when Pierre François de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal surrendered it to the British army under Jeffrey Amherst during the French and Indian War.
The Treaty of Paris in 1763 ended the Seven Years' War and ceded eastern New France to the Kingdom of Great Britain. American Revolutionists under General Richard Montgomery briefly captured the city during the 1775 invasion of Canada.[15] United Empire Loyalists and Anglo-Scot immigrants would establish the golden era of fur trading centred in the city with the advent of the locally owned North West Company, rivaling the established Hudson's Bay Company. The English-speaking community built one of Canada's first universities, McGill, and the wealthy merchant classes began building large mansions at the foot of Mount Royal in an area known as the Golden Square Mile.
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Industrialized city 1889
Montreal was the capital of the Province of Canada from 1844 to 1849, but lost its status when a Tory mob burnt down the Parliament building to protest passage of the Rebellion Losses Bill.
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Montreal 1959 as viewed from the mountain.
During World War II, Mayor Camillien Houde protested against conscription and urged Montrealers to disobey the federal government's registry of all men and women. Ottawa was furious over Houde's insubordination and held him in a prison camp until 1944, when the government was forced to institute conscription (see Conscription Crisis of 1944).
After Montreal's population surpassed one million in the early 1950s, Mayor Jean Drapeau laid down plans for the future development of the city. These plans included a new public-transit system and an underground city, the expansion of Montreal's harbour, and the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Tall, new buildings replaced old ones in this time period, including Montreal's two tallest skyscrapers up to then: the 43-storey Place Ville-Marie and the 47-story Tour de la Bourse. Two new museums were also built, and in 1966, the Montreal Metro system opened, along with several new expressways.
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April 1967 aerial view of Île Sainte-Hélène on the left and Île Notre-Dame on the right, with most of the Expo 67 site in view, except Habitat 67 and the rest of the pavilions on la Cité du Havre. Source: the National Archives of Canada.
The mid-1970s ushered in a period of wide-ranging social and political changes, stemming in large part from the concerns of the French-Canadian majority about the conservation of their culture and language, given the traditional predominance of the English-Canadian minority in the business arena. The October Crisis and the election of the separatist political party, the Parti Québécois, resulted in major political, ethnic and linguistic shifts. The extent of the transition was greater than the norm for major urban centres, with social and economic impacts, as a significant number of (mostly anglophone) Montrealers, as well as businesses, migrated to other provinces, away from an uncertain political climate. Bill 101 was passed in 1977 and gave primacy to French as Quebec's (and Montreal's) only official language for government, the main language of business and culture, and enforced the exclusive use of French for public signage and business communication.
During the 1980s and early 1990s, Montreal experienced a slower rate of economic growth than many other major Canadian cities. By the late 1990s, however, Montreal's economic climate had improved, as new firms and institutions began to fill the traditional business and financial niches. As the city celebrated its 350th anniversary in 1992, construction began on two new skyscrapers : 1000 de La Gauchetière and 1250 René-Lévesque. Montreal's improving economic conditions allowed further enhancements of the city infrastructure, with the expansion of the metro system, construction of new skyscrapers and the development of new highways including the start of a ring road around the island. The city also attracted several international organisations to move their secretariats into Montreal's Quartier International: IATA, ICSID, Icograda, International Bureau for Children's Rights (IBCR), International Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC) and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). With developments such as Centre de Commerce Mondial (World Trade Centre), Quartier International, Square Cartier, and propsed revitalization of the harborfront, the city is regaining its international position as a world class metropolis.
Montreal was merged with the 27 surrounding municipalities on the Island of Montreal on 1 January 2002. The merger created a unified city of Montreal which covered the entire island of Montreal. This move proved unpopular, and several former municipalities, totalling 13% of the population of the island, voted to leave the newly unified city in separate referendums in June 2004. The demerger took place on 1 January 2006, leaving 15 municipalities on the island, including Montreal.
In 2006, the city was recognized by the international design community as a UNESCO City of Design, one of the three world design capitals.
Geography
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A street in Montreal after a major snowstorm.
Montreal is located in the southwest of the province of Quebec, approximately 275 kilometres (168 miles) southwest of Quebec City, the provincial capital, and 190 kilometres (118 mi) east of Ottawa, the federal capital. It also lies 550 kilometres (335 mi) northeast of Toronto, and 625 kilometres (380 mi) north of New York City.
The city rests on the Island of Montreal at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. The port of Montreal lies at one end of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, which is the river gateway that stretches from the Great Lakes into the Atlantic Ocean. Montreal is bordered by the St. Lawrence river on its south side, and by the Rivière des Prairies on the north. The city is named after the most prominent geographical feature on the island, a three-head hill called Mount Royal.
Montreal lies at the confluence of several climatic regions. Usually, the climate is classified as humid continental [17] or hemiboreal (Köppen climate classification Dfb).
Precipitation is abundant with an average snowfall of 2.25 metres (84 in) per year in the winter. It snows on average more in Montreal than in Moscow, Russia, and each year the city government spends more than C$100 million on snow removal. . Regular rainfall throughout the year averages 900 mm (35.3 in). Summer is the wettest season statistically, but it is also the sunniest.
The coldest month of the year is January which has a daily average temperature of −10.4 °C (13 °F) — averaging a daily low of −14.9 °C (5.2 °F), colder than either Moscow (-10 °C) or Saint Petersburg (-6 °C). Due to wind chill, the perceived temperature can be much lower than the actual temperature and wind chill factor is often included in Montreal weather forecasts. The warmest month is July which has an average daily high of 26.3 °C (79.3 °F); lower nighttime temperatures make an average of 20.9 °C (69.6 °F) thus air exchangers often achieve the same result as air conditioners. The lowest temperature ever recorded was −37.8 °C (−36.0 °F) on 15 January 1957 and the highest temperature ever was 37.6 °C (99.7 °F) on 1 August 1975.<ref name="climate" /> High humidity is common in the summer which makes the perceived temperature higher than the actual temperature. In spring and autumn, rainfall averages between 55 and 94 millimetres (2.2 and 3.7 in) a month. Some snow in spring and autumn is normal. Similarly, late heat waves as well as "Indian summers" are a regular feature of the climate.[18]
| Weather averages for Montreal, Quebec | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high C | |||||||||||||
| Average low C | |||||||||||||
| Precipitation mm | |||||||||||||
| Average high F | |||||||||||||
| Average low F | |||||||||||||
| Precipitation inch | |||||||||||||
| Source: Environment Canada[19] 18 Dec 2006 | |||||||||||||
Demographics
| '''Island of Montreal Population by year | |
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1931 - 1,003,868 1941 - 1,116,800 1951 - 1,329,232 1961 - 1,747,696 1971 - 1,959,140 1976 - 1,869,585 1981 - 1,760,122 1986 - 1,819,670 1991 - 1,815,202 1996 - 1,775,846[20] 2001 - 1,812,723[21] 2006 - 1,854,442<ref name="montreal_island_pop2" /> | |
| 1996 [23] | 2001 [24] | |
|---|---|---|
| French | 71.2% | 72.1% |
| English | 19.4% | 18.5% |
| Other language | 13.4% | 13.1% |
| Note that percentages add up to more than 100% because some people speak two or more languages at home. | ||
| Ethnic origin | Population |
|---|---|
| Canadian | 1,885,085 |
| French | 900,485 |
| Italian | 224,460 |
| Irish | 161,235 |
| English | 134,115 |
| Scottish | 94,705 |
| Jewish | 80,390 |
| Haitian | 69,945 |
| Greek | 55,865 |
| German | 53,850 |
| Portuguese | 41,050 |
| Romanian | 32,540 |
| Armenian | 25,439 |
| Polish | 23,890 |
Administration
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Island of Montreal in winter, as seen from space
Reporting directly to the City Council, the executive committee exercises decision-making powers similar to that of cabinet in a parliamentary system and is responsible for preparing various documents including budgets and by-laws, submitted by the City Council for approval. The decision-making powers of the executive committee cover, in particular, the awarding of contracts or grants, the management of human and financial resources, supplies and buildings. It may also be assigned further powers by the City Council.
Standing committees are the council's prime instruments for public consultation. They are responsible for the public study of pending matters and for making the appropriate recommendations to the council and its five constituent parts. They also review the annual budget forecasts for departments under their jurisdiction. A public notice of meeting is published in both French and English daily newspapers at least seven days before each meeting. All meetings include a public question period. The standing committees, of which there are seven, have terms lasting two years. In addition, the City Council may decide to create special committees at any time. Each standing committee is made up of seven to nine members, including a chairman and a vice-chairman. The members are all elected municipal officers, with the exception of a representative of the government of Quebec on the public security committee.
The city of Montreal is only one component of the larger Communauté Métropolitaine de Montréal (English: Montreal Metropolitan Community or MMC), which is in charge of planning, coordinating, and financing economic development, public transportation, garbage collection and waste management, etc., across the metropolitan area of Montreal. The president of the CMM is the mayor of Montreal. The CMM covers 3,839 square kilometres (1,482 sq mi), with 3,635,700 inhabitants in 2005.
Montreal now constitutes its own region of Quebec.
- See also: Districts of Montreal
Culture
- See also:
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View of Montreal from McGill University
Montreal is the cultural centre of Quebec, and of French-speaking North America as a whole. The city is Canada's centre for French language television productions, radio, theatre, film, multimedia and print publishing. The Quartier Latin is a neighbourhood crowded with cafés animated by this literary and musical activity. The local English-speaking artistic community nevertheless contributes dynamically to the culture of Montreal, and intense collaborations exist between all Montreal communities. The result is a dynamic musical scene, ignited by the presence of numerous musical festivals, that melts different musical styles and traditions. English theatre struggled but survived with the Centaur Theatre. Ethnic theatre, by the 70s, began to be a force with the Black Theatre Workshop, the Yiddish Theatre established at the Saidye Bronfman Centre and the Teesri Duniya Theatre. In the late 90s, Montreal started becoming a veritable hotspot for low-budget independent English theatre with companies such as MainLine Theatre, Gravy Bath Theatre, Sa Booge, Persephone, Pumpkin Productions, and Tableau D'Hôte Theatre warming up the once lackluster scene.
Festivals
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Scotiabank (formerly Paramount) movie theatre on Sainte-Catherine Street
The city is increasingly becoming known for its mainstream rave festivals such as the Black and Blue Festival attracting thousands of ravers to the city every Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, as well as the Bal en Blanc held every Easter Sunday, also attracting over 15,000 attendees every year. (Both events are organized by Bad Boys Club Montréal, which raises money for HIV/AIDS-related causes and gay and lesbian community groups.)
Night life
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A view of Saint Catherine Street
Crescent
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A general view of downtown Crescent Street with Mont Royal in the background.
"The Main"
Boulevard Saint-Laurent (Saint Laurent Boulevard, known locally as "The Main" or "Saint Lawrence Boulevard") is one of the best places to find nightlife, with many bars and nightclubs and a wide range of restaurants. Saint-Laurent street night spots are often less mainstream than those on Crescent street, with a great variety: from Top 40 and urban music to electronica and techno, from underground and alternative rock to live bands. South of Prince Arthur Street, toward Sherbrooke Street, one is likely to encounter a "posher" clientele. From Prince Arthur Street north (to Avenue Mont-Royal and beyond), one should expect to rub shoulders with an "edgier" crowd. The nearest subway stops are Saint-Laurent and Sherbrooke.Sainte-Catherine Street West
Another highly notable nightlife area is Sainte-Catherine Street West between Mackay St. and Peel St. where many nightclubs, bars, restaurants, movie theatres, shopping, and strip clubs are located.Shopping
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Still standing since 1866, Ogilvy's is a high fashion department store.
There are many other areas in the city for shopping.
- See also: List of malls in Montreal
Montreal cuisine
Architecture
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A historical building which today holds the Montreal Banana Republic store.
Economy
Montreal is an important centre of commerce, industry, culture, finance, and world affairs.)
Tour de la Bourse (Stock Exchange Tower)
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Looking up University Street
Montreal is a major port city along the Saint Lawrence Seaway, a deep-draft inland waterway links it to the industrial centres of the Great Lakes. It is still the largest inland port in the world. As one of the most important ports in Canada, it remains a trans-shipment point for grain, sugar, petroleum products, machinery, and consumer goods. For this reason, it is the railway hub of Canada and has always been an extremely important rail city; it is the eastern terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway and home to the headquarters of the Canadian National Railway.
The headquarters of the Canadian Space Agency are located in Longueuil, southeast of Montreal. Montreal also hosts the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, a United Nations body); the World Anti-Doping Agency (an Olympic body); the International Air Transport Association (IATA); the International Council of Graphic Design Associations (Icograda); the International Design Alliance (IDA); Gay and Lesbian International Chamber of Commerce, as well as some 60 other international organizations in various fields. It is also the leading Canadian city for its research output, fuelled in part by Montreal's four universities and numerous scientific research centres. Montreal is also a centre of film and television production. The headquarters and five studios of the Academy Award-winning documentary producer National Film Board of Canada can be found here, as well as the head offices of Telefilm Canada, the national feature-length film and television funding agency. Given its eclectic architecture and broad availability of film services and crew members, Montreal is a popular filming location for feature-length films, and sometimes stands in for European locations. The city is also home to many recognized cultural, film and music festivals (Just For Laughs, Montreal Jazz Festival, e.g), which contribute significantly to its economy. It is also home to one of the world's largest cultural enterprises, the Cirque du Soleil.
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The video game industry is also booming in Montreal since 1997, coinciding with the opening of Ubisoft's studio in the area. As of today (2007), the city has attracted world leading game developers and publishers studios such as Ubisoft, EA, Eidos Interactive, Artificial Mind and Movement, Strategy First and many more, mainly because video games jobs have been heavily subsidized by the provincial government. Every year, this industry is generating billions of dollars and thousands of jobs in the Montreal area.
Alcan, Bombardier, CN, CGI Group, Air Canada, CAE, Saputo, Cirque du Soleil, Quebecor, Power Corporation, Bell Canada, SNC-Lavalin, Hydro-Quebec, Abitibi-Consolidated, National Bank of Canada and many other corporations are headquartered in the Greater Montreal Area.
In 2006 Montreal was named UNESCO City of Design. One of the three design capitals of the world (with Berlin and Buenos Aires). This distinguish title recognizes Montreal's design community. Since 2005 the city is also a home for the International Design Alliance and the International Council of Graphic Design Associations (Icograda).[30]
- ''See also: List of foreign consulates in Montreal
Sports
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The Montreal Canadiens win a game at the Bell Centre.
- See also: List of Montreal parks
| Club | League | Sport | Venue | Established | Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Canadiens | NHL | Hockey | Bell Centre | 1909 | 24 |
| Montreal Alouettes | CFL | Football | Percival Molson Memorial Stadium Olympic Stadium | 1946-87 1996-today | 7 |
| Montreal Impact | USL | Soccer | Stade Saputo | 1993 | 2 |
| Montreal Expos | MLB | Baseball | Olympic Stadium | 1969-2005 (Now Washington Nationals) | 0 |
| Montreal Royal | ABA | Basketball | Centre Pierre Charbonneau | 2005 | 0 |
| Quebec Cariboo | RCSL | Rugby | Dollard-des-Ormeaux | 1998 | 0 |
| Montreal Mission | NRL | Ringette | Various | 2004 | 0 |
Hockey
The biggest sport following in Montreal clearly belongs to hockey – and the city is famous for its hockey-hungry fans. The Montreal Canadiens are one of the Original Six NHL teams, and boast the greatest number of Stanley Cup championships at 24. The only other team in the North American sports leagues to have this many titles are baseball's New York Yankees, and their 26 titles.Baseball
Montreal has a storied baseball history. The city was the home of the Montreal Royals before Major League Baseball came to town in the form of the Montreal Expos in 1969. They played their games at Jarry Park until moving into Olympic Stadium in 1977. After 37 years in Montreal, the team relocated to Washington, DC in 2005 and re-branded themselves as the Washington Nationals.[31] Montreal has also been slated to have a Can-Am League team beginning in 2008 to fill the void created by the departure of the Expos.Football
The Montreal Alouettes of the CFL draw packed crowds at the small but picturesque Molson Stadium. University football receives increasing support, with the McGill Redmen, Concordia Stingers, and Université de Montréal's Carabins playing in Montreal.Soccer
The city's USL First Division soccer team is called the Montreal Impact.Auto Racing
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Fans fill up the area every year for the Canadian Grand Prix
Tennis
Stade Uniprix (Uniprix Stadium) was built in 1993 and is used for the annual Rogers Cup Tennis Masters tournament. The ATP men's tennis tour and the Sony Ericsson WTA women's tennis tour switch between Montreal and Toronto every year. (In 2007, the women's was played in Toronto, and the men's was played in Montreal)Montreal Olympics
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Olympic Stadium, in the city's eastern section.
Montreal hosted the first ever World Outgames in the summer of 2006, attracting over 16,000 participants engaged in 35 sporting activities. They were the biggest sporting event in the city since the Summer Olympics of 1976.
The Montreal games of the FIFA 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup were held at Olympic Stadium.[32]
Montreal has a well developed network of bicycle paths.[33] Bike rentals are available at the Old Port of Montreal, as well as quadricycles, inline skates, children trailers, and segways. Five beaches around the island, in addition to a network of parks that include one on the Mont Royal, offer a set of recreational activities enjoyed by the local population.
Transportation
- See also:
Air
Montreal has two international airports, one for passenger flights only, and the other for cargo. Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (formerly Dorval Airport, the name still used by locals) in the City of Dorval and in the Montreal borough of Saint-Laurent serves all commercial passenger traffic and is the headquarters for Air Canada and Air Transat. To the north of the city is Montreal-Mirabel International Airport in Mirabel, which was envisioned as Montreal's primary airport but which now serves only cargo flights. In 2006, Montreal-Trudeau was the third busiest airport in Canada. It handled 11,434,070 passengers[34] and almost 275 000 aircraft movements [35] in 2007, which ranks it 2nd only to Toronto-Pearson. Trudeau airport serves over 100 destinations worldwide making it one of the most connected airports in North America. Airlines servicing Trudeau offer flights to Africa, Asia, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, the United States, Mexico and other destinations within Canada. It is the only Canadian airport that offers non-stop service to Africa and it also contains the second largest duty free shop in North America.Other airports in the Montreal area serve military and regional use....
Rail
VIA Rail, which is headquartered in Montreal, provides several rail services to other cities in Canada, particularly to Quebec City and Toronto with several trains daily. Amtrak, the U.S. national passenger rail system also provides service to Montreal, operating its Adirondack daily between Montreal and New York City. Most trains operate out of Gare Centrale.Public local transport is served by a network of buses, subways, and commuter trains that extend across and off the island. The subway and bus system is operated by the Société de transport de Montréal. The commuter rail system is managed and operated by the Agence métropolitaine de transport, and extends across several municipalities.
Canadian Pacific Railway, which is now headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, was founded here in 1881. Its corporate headquarters occupied Windsor Station at 910 Peel St. until 1995. With the Port of Montreal kept open year round by icebreakers, lines to Eastern Canada became surplus, and now Montreal (St-Luc) is the railway's eastern and intermodal freight terminus. CPR connects at Montreal with the Port of Montreal, the Delaware & Hudson Railway to New York, the Quebec-Gatineau Railway to Quebec City and Buckingham, the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic to Halifax, and the CNR. The CPR's flagship train, The Canadian, once ran daily from Windsor Station to Vancouver, all passenger services have since been transferred to VIA Rail Canada, although CPR operates certain AMT trains under contract to the Quebec government.
Canadian National Railways, was formed during the 1920's by the Government of Canada following a series of country-wide rail bankrupties, is headquartered in Montreal. Formed from the lines of the Grand Trunk, Midland and Canadian Northern Railways, CNR has risen to become CPR's chief rival in freight carriage in Canada. Like the CPR, CNR has divested itself of passenger services in favour of VIA Rail Canada. CNR operates the electric Mont Royal AMT line under contract to the Government of Quebec.
Bus and Metro
The STM bus network consists of 169 daytime and 20 night-time service routes, and provides adapted transport and limited wheelchair-accessible buses.)
Metropolitain entrance to Square-Victoria station by Hector Guimard.
Road
Like many major cities, Montreal has a problem with vehicular traffic congestion, especially from off-island suburbs such as Laval on Île Jésus, and Longueuil on the southeastern shore. The width of the Saint Lawrence River has made the construction of fixed links to the southeastern shore expensive and difficult. Accordingly, there are only four road bridges (plus one road tunnel, two railway bridges, and a metro line), whereas the far narrower Rivière des Prairies is spanned by eight road bridges (six to Laval and two to the north shore).The island of Montreal is a hub for the Québec Autoroute system, and is served by Québec Autoroutes A-10 (aka the Bonaventure Expressway on the island of Montreal), A-15 (aka the Decarie Expressway south of the A-40 and the Laurentian Autoroute to the north of it), A-13 (aka Autoroute Chomedey), A-20, A-25, A-40 (part of the Trans-Canada Highway system, and known as "The Metropolitan" or simply "The Met" in its elevated mid-town section), A-520, and A-720 (aka the Ville-Marie Autoroute). Many of these Autoroutes are frequently congested at rush hour. However, in recent years, the government has acknowledged this problem and is working on long-term solutions to alleviate the congestion, such as re-routing traffic and expanding lanes. (Osirus Azer, "Montreal's Traffic Problems", 2006)
Since Montreal is on an island, the directions used in the city plan do not precisely correspond with compass directions, as they are oriented to the geography of the island. North and south are defined on an axis roughly perpendicular to the St. Lawrence River and the Rivière des Prairies: North is towards the Rivière des Prairies, and south is towards the St. Lawrence. East and west directions are defined as roughly parallel to the St. Lawrence River (which flows southwest to northeast) and the Rivière des Prairies. East is downstream, and west is upstream.
Saint Lawrence Boulevard, also known as "The Main," divides Montreal into east and west sectors. Streets that cut across Saint Laurent Boulevard undergo a name change, in that Est (East) or Ouest (West) are appended to their names. Streets that do not cross the Main do not generally contain a cardinal direction at the end of their names. Address numbering begins in either direction at one (1) at Saint Laurent Boulevard, increasing in both directions away from the boulevard. On north-south streets, house numbers begin at the Saint Lawrence River and the Lachine Canal and increase to the north. Odd numbers are on the east or north sides of the street, with even numbers on the west or south sides. Numbered streets generally run north and south, and the street numbers increase to the east.
Montreal's roads are notorious for their poor state. Avoiding potholes has become a way of life for Montreal drivers.
- Further information: List of bridges in Montreal
Education
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Université de Montréal, Roger-Gaudry pavilion
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McGill University, Arts Building
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McGill Student Housing on University street.
There are currently 248,000 students enrolled in post-secondary education in Montreal, one of the highest numbers in the world. There are roughly 240,000 pre-CEGEP/University level students in Montreal which means ~500,000 Montrealers currently attend school.
English-language elementary and secondary public schools in the Greater Metropolitan Montréal Area are operated by the English Montreal School Board[36] and the Lester B. Pearson School Board.[37] French-language elementary and secondary public schools in Montreal are operated by the Commission scolaire de Montréal (CSDM),[38] Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys (CSMB)[39] and the Commission scolaire Pointe-de-l'Île (CSPI).[40]
The education system in the province of Quebec is slightly different from other systems in North America. Between the High School and University levels, there is an additional college level called "CEGEP". It is at the same time a preparatory school (preparing students for admission at the University) and a technical school (offering courses which lead to technical diplomas and specializations). In Montréal, 17 CEGEPs offer courses in French and 5 in English.
- See also:
Francophone universities
| English-language universities |
|
Places in Montreal
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Evening skyline
Downtown Montreal
Downtown Montreal lies at the foot of Mount Royal, much of which is a major urban park, and extends toward the St Lawrence River. The Downtown area contains dozens of notable skyscrapers — which, bylaws restrict to the height of Mount Royal — including the aforementioned 1000 de La Gauchetière and 1250 René-Lévesque. The Tour de la Bourse (Stock Exchange Tower) is also another significant building in Montreal, and is home to the Montreal Exchange, which trades in derivatives such as futures contracts and options. The Montreal Exchange was the first stock exchange in Canada. In 1999 all stock trades were transferred to Toronto in exchange for exclusivity in derivatives trading.Place Ville-Marie, an I. M. Pei-designed cruciform office tower built in 1962, sits atop an underground shopping mall that forms the nexus of Montreal's underground city, the world's largest, with indoor access to over 1,600 shops, restaurants, offices, businesses, museums and universities, as well as metro stations, train stations, bus terminals, and tunnels extending all over downtown. The central axis for downtown is Saint Catherine Street, Canada's busiest commercial artery. Other major streets include Sherbrooke, René-Lévesque, Peel, de la Montagne, de Maisonneuve and Crescent. The Montreal Skyline panorama includes two islands, Île Ste. Hélène and Ile Notre-Dame. The Notre Dame island hosts the Canadian Grand Prix and Formula One car races, as well as the Champ Car tournament. La Ronde is the biggest amusement park in Montreal and is located on Île Ste. Hélène. The Montreal Fireworks Festival is held there every summer.
The Ville-Marie borough is arguably the heart and soul of the metropolis. Its vitality is extraordinary and it is constantly bubbling over with arts, culture, recreational and business activities. Ville Marie sector is composed of downtown financial hub, vieux port, square cartier residential district, quartier international, le village and quartier Latin.
The basic Skyline view may be seen from one of two lookouts on Mount Royal. The lookout at the Belevedere takes in downtown, the river, and the Montérégien Hills, and on clear days the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York or the Green Mountains of Vermont are visible. The view of eastern lookout on Remembrance Rd. sweeps out toward the Olympic Stadium, and beyond. Many tourists visit these lookouts.
Underground City
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Halles de la gare, going from Gare centrale to Place Ville-Marie
Mount Royal
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A panorama taken from the Chalet du Mont Royal at the top of Mount Royal.
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Another panoramic photograph from the top of Mount Royal, in the daytime.
The park contains two belvederes, the more prominent of which is the Kondiaronk Belvedere, a semicircular plaza with a chalet, overlooking downtown Montreal. Other features of the park are Beaver Lake, a small man-made lake; a short ski slope; a sculpture garden; Smith House, an interpretive centre; and a well-known monument to Sir George-Étienne Cartier. The park hosts athletic, tourist, and cultural activities.
The mountain is also home to two major cemeteries, Notre-Dame-des-Neiges (founded in 1854) and Mount Royal (1852). Mount Royal Cemetery is a 165 acre (668,000 m²) terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in the borough of Outremont. Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges is much larger, predominantly French-Canadian and officially Catholic[42]. More than 900,000 people are buried there.
Mount Royal Cemetery contains more than 162,000 graves and is the final resting place for a number of notable Canadians. It includes a veterans section with several soldiers who were awarded the British Empire's highest military honour, the Victoria Cross. In 1901 the Mount Royal Cemetery Company established the first crematorium in Canada.
The name of the city of Montreal derives from mont Réal, an orthographic variant introduced either in French, or by an Italian map maker ("Mount Royal" is monte Reale in Italian). The name had been unofficially applied to the city, formerly Ville-Marie, by the 18th century.
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Cross on top of Mount Royal, at night
Old Montreal
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A street in Old Montreal.
Montreal is known for contrast between old and new architecture. Architecture and cobbled streets in Old Montreal have been maintained or restored to keep the look of the city in its earliest days as a settlement, and horse-drawn calèches help maintain that image. Old Montreal is accessible from the downtown core via the underground city and is served by several STM bus routes and metro stations, ferries to the South Shore and a network of bicycle paths.
Old Montreal was once a worldwide port, but shipping has been moved further east to a new, bigger location site, leaving the Old Port as a historical area. It is now the biggest container port in North America. The riverside area of Old Port (French: Vieux-Port), adjacent to Old Montreal, is now a recreational and historical area maintained by Parks Canada.
Religious sanctuaries
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Saint Joseph's Oratory is the largest church in Canada.
Other well-known churches include the pilgrimage church of Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Secours, which is sometimes called the Sailors' Church, and the Anglican Christ Church Cathedral, which was completely excavated and suspended above an excavated pit during the construction of part of the Underground City. All of the above are major tourist destinations, particularly Notre-Dame and the Oratory.
An impressive number of other churches, synagogues and mosques can be found, and church steeples are a familiar view all over the city and island.
Neighbouring municipalities
) | Montreal East, Laval, Repentigny | | ||
| Vaudreuil-Dorion, L'Île-Perrot | ){kind=small} ){kind=small} Montreal ){kind=small} ){kind=small} | Longueuil, Saint-Lambert | ||
| Kahnawake, Brossard, Ste-Catherine, St-Constant |
Gallery
Vieux Port | Place d'Armes and Notre Dame Basilica in old Montreal. The Heart of the city. | ) Ogilvy's on Saint Catherine Street | ) A view of stores on Saint Catherine Street |
Port of Montreal captured from the Jacques Cartier Bridge over St.Lawrence River. | ) Part of the skyline from Saint Catherine Street, looking south toward René-Lévesque Boulevard | ) Banana Republic on Saint Catherine Street | .jpg')) Concordia University's Integrated Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Complex on Saint Catherine Street |
) Saint Denis Street in winter in the Quartier-Latin | ) | ) Centre CDP Capital, seen from Place Jean-Paul Riopelle | |
) A portion of Victoria Square, with Centre CDP Capital's W Hotel on the left | ) | ) | ) Downtown looking up Rue de la Montagne |
) Decommissioned grain and flour silos | Biosphere Montreal | ) Inside the Notre-Dame de Montréal Basilica | ) |
) City seen from Mount Royal 1784 | ) View of skyline from a downtown restaurant | ) Looking towards the mountain from a downtown building | ) The current Holt Renfrew store in Montreal, designed by Ross and Macdonald |
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