It's a beautiful historical library located in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, next to the archway of…read moreHochelaga. The outside look of the building is old style and solemn, but inside is really lovely! The ceiling and the stained glass are super attractive and artistic, I love them! The library itself is not really big but it's simple and chic. They are planning to expand the site and build a more modernized pavilion that connects to the old building, it will be made of panoramic glass windows and it will be really bright and nice! I look forward to see that!

We took an early morning stroll around the Old Port area of Montreal. We grabbed a coffee and…read moreheaded to the water. Joggers, dog walkers and other early morning folks were out enjoying the quiet, cool of the day. There are boat docks, green spaces, benches, the giant Ferris wheel, a big water feature, the ferry, a 'beach' where you can rent a chair and umbrella and enjoy the river views, a zip line and the old clock tower and it's attached memorials. This area gets very busy during the day and the quiet of the morning felt like we had the place to ourselves. We watched the boats start off for their day and the geese feeding along the green way. The clock tower was closed this early in the morning, as was the beach, but we enjoyed the stroll none the less. There is a bit of parking in this area and a public restroom is in sight of the old clock tower along the roadway to a parking area. If you are an early morning fan, this is a great spot for some early morning exercise. If you want some fun, this is definitely the place you want to be during the day.

The Clock Tower is the replica of The Big Ben and it was built in 1922 to commemorate sailors lost…read moreat sea during WWI. It is situated on the Victoria Pier overlooking beautiful St.Lawrence River and it is distinguished feature of the Montreal's Port. The tower is 45 meters tall. We visited in a winter months when it was closed but apparently you can climb the stairs to the top.

"I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay Watchin' the tide roll…read moreaway" (Otis Redding) "Grand Quai" translates into English as "Great Dock". The Port of Montreal's Grand Quai is a multi-purpose facility in the Old Port of Montreal. It serves as a passenger marine terminal for the cruise ships to load and unload their Montreal tourists and also serves as a venue for private events. The top of the building features a huge space with glass walls to offer a 360-degree panoramic view of the city and river. I was there last week to attend a formal charity gala for over 560 people, and the Quai was a magnificent host for our event. The room was set up with over 50 round tables of ten with black linens, and a gorgeous bar. I'm not sure who set up what -it was either the Grand Quai staff or Las Olas Caterers. But either way, the result was spectacular, and I have to congratulate the Grand Quai management and staff on putting together such a beautiful room and fantastic experience for the hundreds of guests.

This is where the big cruise ships come in but it was nice and quiet the day we visited. We…read morewalked out to the end where there are nice views of the river and many chairs if you'd like to rest a bit. The main attraction here seems to be a tall glass structure that you can buy tickets to climb to get views of the city and river. We weren't interested in that and so moved on after enjoying the uncrowded view.

OK, OK, I will admit - I am one of those beer-loving fools who found this lovely little town…read morebecause of my love for the beer that comes from the world-renowned Unibroue brewery about 5 minutes away. So, we drove out here from Montréal, hoping we could get a tour of some kind, and then discovered that they don't give tours at Unibroue, because of a past problem with possible contamination - we were disappointed, but in the end, the sojourn turned out to be MUCH more fun than we could have expected, and this wonderful historical fort had much to do with that opinion. So, upon parking, you have a short little walk along the lovely lake to the fort itself. The views are lovely, and I will say that the whole experience is fairly amazing - to think that there were settlers holed up in this fort so long ago, all by themselves to fend for their lives, is truly amazing. Once you enter, you make a donation, which is well worth it, and then can enjoy a nice musket demonstration in the courtyard. Then, it's off on a scavenger hunt with your kids as you make your way through the quite impressive museum and learn even more about the rich history of this area and how this fort came to be. Once you are done with the tour, if you have found all of the important things, you can receive your reward from the folks at the front desk! Excellent organization and real attention to detail make this fort museum a must see! After you visit, you can walk around the grounds (lots of lovely paths to enjoy here!) and perhaps even enjoy a nice lunch at the restaurant just next to this amazing fort - Fourquet Fourchette. Super delicious!

My hometown has a historical fort on Lake Ontario and I like visiting other ones to see what events…read morehappened there, etc. Fort Chambly is hands down one of the best forts I have visited in terms of educational and historical purposes. They have worked really hard to preserve and maintain the edifice and provide lots of unique and interactive displays for visitors. There are films to watch with subtitles in English to explain the battles that took place there and how the soldiers lived. There are recipes you can take home in French and English to recreate some of the dishes from that era. There are drawers full of artifacts from all aspects of life and explanations in each scene with life size human figures in the clothing of that time. There were several school kid groups the day we visited from the ES next door that were a bit noisy and rambunctious (running from room to room and yelling-as a teacher, I was appalled), which detracted a bit from the experience, but I would definitely come back. The actors there were also good about answering questions and giving tours. There's a great and affordable restaurant right next to the fort that sells the famous Chambly beers (by Unibroue!) and cooks with them called Fourquet Fourchette (see my review of them, too). Within 30 minutes of Montreal, Chambly is a great place to visit outside of the city.

"Mother, do you think they'll drop the bomb? Mother, do you…read morethink they'll like this song? Mother, do you think they'll try to break my balls? Ooh, mother, should I build the wall?" (Pink Floyd) It stood from 1961 through 1989. It was 87 miles long and stood between 11.5 and 14 feet high. It fully encircled West Berlin and separated it from East Berlin and East Germany It had 116 watchtowers that were manned 24 hours a day by armed guards to prevent East Germans from fleeing into West Germany. Over the years, somewhere between 100 -200 people were gunned down by guards trying to escape to the West. David Bowie in 1987 and Bruce Springsteen in 1988 held "pro-freedom" concerts at the wall. On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan famously challenged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev with the iconic words: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Two and a half years later, the wall became a thing of the past as public pressure against East Germany and mass protests from a growing populist movement led to the end of the wall. Crowds of East Germans on one side, and crowds of West Germans on the other side stormed the wall, climbing on it, pushing it over, and smashing it with hammers and pickaxes. Soon, the two governments began to officially dismantle and demolish the wall. Many Germans kept pieces of the wall as souvenirs, and larger sections traveled around the globe as pieces of public art and monuments. In 1992, this segment of the wall was donated by the city of Berlin to the city of Montreal on Montreal's 350th anniversary. The wall is covered in spray paint and graffiti and measures nearly 4 feet wide and 12 feet tall. It incongruously sits in an indoor office park mall on the lower level of the Centre de Commerce Mondial de Montreal. What an unexpected piece of history to run into.

You can see a real piece of history within the Centre de Commerce Mondial de Montreal…read more A segment of the Berlin Wall was given to the city of Montréal in 1992 for its 350th birthday. This segment of the wall comes from a location near the Brandenburg Gate. It was a bit surprising to find this in Montreal when I was there but it is rather cool.

The Short Version: Neighbourhood in Montreal around…read moreConcordia University. Good variety of inexpensive eateries. The Long Version: Shaughnessy Village is one of my favourite neighbourhoods in Montreal. Its northern boundary is Sherbrooke St. W. and spans as far south as Rene Levesque Blvd. To the east is Guy St. and to the west is Atwater Ave. Lots of Concordia University students live in this area and as a result, there are lots of cheap eats to be had. Once upon a time when I was living in Montreal, $0.99 pizza slices were ubiquitous, but there was this one pizza shop either on St. Marc or St. Mathieu that had $0.49 pizza slices and I'd go there often. The place is long gone, but you can still find food for pocket change in the area. Supermarche Bonjour (de Maisonneuve Blvd W) has fresh pork or vegetarian bao buns for $1.50 each (the beef baos are $2). These prices are a bit of an outlier though, but I'd say you can eat well for about $10-$15 a meal easily in this area. There's a good variety of cuisines in this neighborhood, which has only gotten even more diverse over the last few years. PA Supermarket is in this neighbourhood. It's an independent grocery store that usually has great deals. I used to shop there a lot when I was a poor and starving student and all these years later, they are still around. And they've expanded too and have opened new locations since I left Montreal. Great little neighbourhood, especially for diverse inexpensive casual eateries. Review #235 (2025)

Shaughnessy Village also known as Concordia. You will find Concordia University located smacked in…read morethe center of Shaughnessy Village. B and I came here to explore the neighborhood and also to grab food. At Shaughnessy Village you will find a lot of Japanese, Korean and Chinese restaurant. The neighborhood is very busy during the day. The streets are clean and I would say it is a safe neighborhood. It is a densely populated neighborhood. Oh guess what B's favorite restaurant Gyu Kaku is located in Shaughnessy Village.