Well, our wishes mostly came true today. It was still overcast, but only random sprinkles persisted and therefore we had an enjoyable stroll through Old Montreal. From a touristic point of view, the old section of Montreal doesn't hold a candle to old Quebec City. If you want that old world charm, then drive the extra distance to Quebec City. Having said that, they are doing a fair bit of restorative work here in the old town and perhaps the charm factor will go up in a few years.
From our Hotel LaBelle, shown above, it is a meer 10 minute walk to the old town and about 10 minutes to the Latin Quarter and only minutes off Rue Ste. Catherine, so we're pretty happy with our hotel choice. We entered the old town from its eastern end and decided to walk the old town's length to Notre Dame de Sacre Coeur at the westen end of the old town. This is the Basilica where Celine Dion was married and her husband's funeral was held.
Immediately across the street from the Basilica is the first branch of the Bank of Montreal, built in 1817.
Working our way back in a circuitous manner, we passed both City Hall and the Chateau Ramezay, built by a French Governor.
The old town is not far from both the '67 Expo site and the Olympic park, most of which is long gone.
The original market at Bon Secours is now a tourist marketplace with lots of Quebecois goodies.
The building to the right in the last picture is the Bon Secours Chapel from the water. The front of the chapel was also right across the street from our choice for lunch.
The Calvet House was built in 1725 is attached to our retaurant (the red building) called Les Filles du Roy.
These buildings were almost torn down in the 60's to build a highway. Let's then applaud the campaign to save the history of this area. This was the beginning of the renaissance of this locale. The rooms in both Auberge and restaurant are extremely ornate and interesting and lunch itself was excellent. They also have a menagerie of exotic birds.
The only thing we've missed so far is a Montreal smoked meat sandwich, so on the way back to the hotel we dropped into a SAQ and IGA for dinner delights. We also had an extremely helpful employee of SAQ find and reserve a special product, which we'll pick up tomorrow on our way north. Final assessment: Montreal was worth the visit, but we would have enjoyed it more if the weather had been better, given IT IS JULY!
From our Hotel LaBelle, shown above, it is a meer 10 minute walk to the old town and about 10 minutes to the Latin Quarter and only minutes off Rue Ste. Catherine, so we're pretty happy with our hotel choice. We entered the old town from its eastern end and decided to walk the old town's length to Notre Dame de Sacre Coeur at the westen end of the old town. This is the Basilica where Celine Dion was married and her husband's funeral was held.
Immediately across the street from the Basilica is the first branch of the Bank of Montreal, built in 1817.
Working our way back in a circuitous manner, we passed both City Hall and the Chateau Ramezay, built by a French Governor.
The old town is not far from both the '67 Expo site and the Olympic park, most of which is long gone.
The original market at Bon Secours is now a tourist marketplace with lots of Quebecois goodies.
The building to the right in the last picture is the Bon Secours Chapel from the water. The front of the chapel was also right across the street from our choice for lunch.
The Calvet House was built in 1725 is attached to our retaurant (the red building) called Les Filles du Roy.
These buildings were almost torn down in the 60's to build a highway. Let's then applaud the campaign to save the history of this area. This was the beginning of the renaissance of this locale. The rooms in both Auberge and restaurant are extremely ornate and interesting and lunch itself was excellent. They also have a menagerie of exotic birds.
The only thing we've missed so far is a Montreal smoked meat sandwich, so on the way back to the hotel we dropped into a SAQ and IGA for dinner delights. We also had an extremely helpful employee of SAQ find and reserve a special product, which we'll pick up tomorrow on our way north. Final assessment: Montreal was worth the visit, but we would have enjoyed it more if the weather had been better, given IT IS JULY!
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