Montreal

Mount Royal.

Montreal, a French speaking Canadian city, lies in the province of Quebec. It is a very modern travel friendly city with beautiful architecture. My friend and I were on a road trip from Ottawa to Montreal via Quebec City.
After a three-hour drive from Quebec City we reached Montreal around 11 am and headed to Mount Royal Park. Mount Royal Park is a small mountain in the city of Montreal giving us a good panoramic view of the city. The Mount Royal Park area is a treat for locals and tourists. Anyone can easily spend 3-4 hours at this place and still miss out on something. A must do as the backdrop of downtown Montreal is the best photo filter. While heading down the hill there are several stops from where you can see the famous biodome.

Views from Mount Royal.

Montreal Skyline.

After that we headed to our Airbnb, conveniently located near the city center and a subway station. After a quick lunch at a nearby café, we decided to explore the city on foot. With a little help from locals and google maps, we reached Vieux Montreal (old Montreal).

Paris déjà vu! Since my friend and I have both traveled extensively in Europe, old Montreal’s beauty took us there for a moment. Anyway, coming back to Montreal, Canada.

Vieux Montreal is a must visit on every tourists list. Home to the famous Notre dame basilica, the old port and many cafes and restaurants. If you’re someone like me who loves spending time in city squares then this place is for you. A quick bike ride along the St Lawrence river and we walked back to our Airbnb.

The Montreal Jazz festival happens around July first week and we were lucky to be there. An evening well spent at the Jazz festival followed by dinner at a Venezuelan restaurant. We meet a friend, a Montreal resident, who took us to the St Joseph’s Oratory and the university area. 

A well spent day in Montreal.

Inside the Notre-Damn Basilica

Notre-Damn Basilica

Sailors' Memorial  Clock Tower.

St Lawrence River

Bike ride along St Lawrence River

Simple soup and sandwich lunch

Venezuelan Dinner

Dinner     

Day 2, while my friend headed for work at her Montreal office, I decided to head to the Biodome and later indulge in some shopping at St Catherine street.

After a hearty breakfast at Tim Hortons, I took the metro to the Biodome. Talking about the metro in Montreal, it is one of the most user-friendly metros I’ve taken, especially if you've traveled by metro in New York. Biodome is a bio park that allows visitors to walk through four eco systems, a different experience from the hustle and bustle of the city. After spending around 3 hours at the Biodome, I headed to St Catherine street.

St Catherine street is my kind of place, home to numerous departmental stores, cafes, restaurants and boutiques, someone like me can spend the entire day here. But as I had time constrains, I visited a few stores, had lunch and headed to meet my friend at her office.

Classic BLT at Tim Hortons

Biodome

Penguins at the Biodome

After a few wrong turns, I managed to find her place, as I had some time I went to a nearby park and spend some quiet me time there.

And so, we leave this beautiful city and head to Ottawa.

I recommend anyone travelling to Canada to take some time off and visit the French part of Canada. 

It’s a complete new experience in the otherwise very new age Canada.