July 1, 2006
Hello from Montreal: Exploring Montreal
by Bike – The Official City Tour
Well, after a more than filling dinner at La
Iguana and a brief excursion to Montreal's Jazz Festival last
night it was time to burn some calories and an official biking tour
through the city would help me keep the certain weight gain from
the delicious Montreal food at least somewhat under control. My
biking tour was scheduled to start around 8:30 am, but on this gorgeous
day, Canada Day no less, our national holiday, I got going early.
Early morning sun reflecting on the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours
Bright and bushy tailed I walked out of the hotel by 7 am and strolled
over into Old Montreal. Jacques Cartier Square at 7 am was pretty
much deserted with just a few people opening up cafés and
street vendors starting to open their stalls. Further south the
sun was reflecting off the silver dome of the Marché Bonsecours
I noticed that runners dressed up in red t-shirts with the slogans
“Run for Canada” and “Great Things For Canada”
were congregating in the port area at Quai Jacques Cartier.
Upon further investigation I found out that all these athletes
were raising funds for Canada’s Olympic teams for the 2010
Vancouver Olympics as part of a charity event organized by HBC.
I asked some of the participants and found out that the race was
officially going to start at 8 am. Since I had about a half an hour,
I decided to explore the area around Quai Jacques Cartier and I
walked eastwards out to Quai de l’Horloge (literally translated
“Clock Pier”). I strolled out on this stretch of land
until I reached a clock tower, the “Tour de l’Horloge”,
which is an offwhite structure that was built in 1992 to commemorate
merchant marine sailors who had lost their lives during the First
World War. The Jacques Cartier Bridge can be clearly seen in the
background.
The "Tour de l'Horloge" with the Jacques Cartier Bridge
in the background
After my initial investigation it was getting closer to race time.
Now there was a whole animation team that was exhorting the runners
to do calistenics to warm up for the big race. Several fitness experts
on a podium were doing countdowns to the music (“a-one, a-two,
a-three” – all of that in French, of course) while the
members of the crowd were enthusiastically raising their arms and
legs, pumping fists and doing all sorts of other warm-up exercises
to get prepared for the start. Then, just a few minutes before 8
am, all the runners lined up in an area fenced in by a white picket
fence and just a few moments after the official countdown began.
Punctually at 8 am the gate was opened and the runners started running
for Canada, to raise funds for Canada's Olympic teams.
The runners are getting ready to start
Well, watching all this exercise made me look forward to my own
activity-rich schedule, starting off with a bicycle tour in the
morning. I walked about 10 minutes eastwards to Ça
Roule, a bicycle rental and repair shop at 27 rue de la Commune
that is a prime access point for travelers who want to discover
Montreal by bicycle. You can rent bikes by the hour or by the day,
and Ça Roule (also known as "Montreal on Wheels")
even offers guided tours. And that’s what I was going to take
today: a guided tour accompanied by a licensed tour guide from Guidatour.
Harbourfront buildings in Old Montreal
First I went in the store to get outfitted, I got my bike (a very
comfortable touring bike, I might add), a helmet, a detailed bicycle
map of Montreal and a free bottle of water. Our tour group was congregating
outside, we had a couple from Vermont, a young man from New York
City, and a local gentleman who lives on the South Shore across
the St. Lawrence River from Montreal who were going to take the
tour with our licensed guide, Bruno.
Bruno is going to take us on a guided tour
First Bruno took is into the port area to Quai King-Edward where
we cycled out all the way to the tip from where we had a great view
of the skyline of Old Montreal. From there we went eastwards to
Place Jacques Cartier and pushed our bikes up the gently sloping
square. Once at the top, right in front of Montreal City Hall, we
got back on our bikes and went east to rue Berri where we were impressed
by the Gare Viger, a former railway station built in the typical
Chateau style that was so popular during Canada’s early railway
era. Bruno indicated that this building will probably be renovated
in the next two years and turned into an upscale hotel.
The Gare Viger, built in the once popular Chateau-style
Rue Berri is a major north-south thoroughfare in Montreal and what’s
great about it is that it has designated bicycling lanes that are
completely separated from the road traffic. We cycled past UQAM
(Université de Quebec à Montréal), Bruno’s
alma mater, and puffed up a couple of gently sloping yet longish
hills. We had officially reached the Plateau Mont-Royal area. At
the top, just north of Sherbrooke Street, we cycled into the Parc
Lafontaine, the main green space in the Plateau area. The park was
laid out in 1908, features two man-made lakes, tennis courts and
bowling greens. Bruno mentioned to us that in the winter the waterways
turn into a beautifully illuminated skating area. We stopped for
a few minutes in the serene surroundings of the park. At the north
end there was a map of Montreal’s extensive cycling network,
right across from the “Maison des Cyclistes” which caters
to bicycling enthusiasts.
Serenity in the Parc Lafontaine
Bruno is an avid biker himself and said he has sold his car a while
ago and uses his bicycle as his main mode of transportation. As
passionate bikers we traded tidbits about the bicycling networks
and our respective cities’ efforts to expand them and he made
me aware that apparently Bay Street in downtown Toronto now has
an official bicycling lane, something I wasn’t aware of. He
also said that from Park La Fontaine you can cycle 252 km eastwards
into the Eastern Townships region to the city of Sherbrooke. We
both agreed that Quebec’s Eastern Townships are another area
that is just predestined for bicyclists.
Houses in the St-Denis neighbourhood
Then we rode into the neighbourhood north of Parc La Fontaine and
Bruno took us into some of the side streets that feature the typical
Montreal external staircases. Our guide enlightened us that these
staircases were built outside the buildings since families used
to be very large, sometimes with 17 or 18 children. So people needed
all the living space they could get and didn’t want to waste
space on interior staircases. Furthermore, European travelers often
ask why the houses have flat roofs. Bruno explained that the snow
on the flat roofs would act as insulation in the winter and keep
heating costs down. Secondly, pitched roofs would be dangerous since
snow could slide and fall down right onto the sidewalk.
In the "ruelle verte", the green alley
From the side streets we went into a back alley, a “ruelle
verte” or “green alley”. The name comes from the
fact that people have started to dedicate their time and attention
to greening these little roadways. The city of Montreal has provided
plants and vines to make them more attractive while the local residents
upkeep the plant life and the flowers. Montreal has 12 of these
“ruelles vertes” now and has started to turn previously
ugly back alleys into little sanctuaries of urban greenery.
At the end of this alley Bruno showed us some examples of officially
permitted graffiti, a recent city initiative that commissions local
graffiti artists to show off their work legally, rather than defacing
buildings with unwanted graffiti. Bruno mentioned he also does graffiti
walking tours through the city, and I made a note of that for my
next visit.
Local graffiti art
World Cup soccer passion was in full swing when we reached the
intersection of Rachel and St. Laurent Streets. This residential
area has been settled by a lot of Portuguese immigrants and one
of the local bars was featuring a live broadcast of the England-Portugal
World Cup Soccer match on a big screen. The bar and its patio were
absolutely packed and people were chanting, screaming and making
noise, and there was no doubt which side they were on. At the north-east
corner of this intersection is the Parc des Ameriques which features
an arch with design elements from different Latin cultures. A colourful
Portugese church is right nearby and Bruno pointed out a variety
of houses in the neighbourhood that show off brightly painted colour
schemes, indicating a preference on the part of the Portuguese residents
to liven things up a bit.
The Parc des Ameriques
We also found out that rue St-Laurent, also called “The Main”,
was indeed the main street that immigrants took to settle in the
city after arriving in the port area. For this reason rue St-Laurent
is very ethnically mixed and Bruno explained that many new immigrants
opened up shop here since they would be able to attract the Anglo
crowd west of the “The Main” as well as francophone
customers who tended to live east of rue St-Laurent. It is also
the street that officially divides the city into east and west,
so when you look at a Montreal address, pay attention to whether
it has “east” or “west” after the street
name. That will decide which way you will have to turn from rue
St-Laurent.
Through the Plateau neighbourhood we cycled westwards until we
reached Jeanne Mance Park at the foot of Mont Royal, another sizeable
green space and a favourite spot for picnics, sunbathing, playing
soccer, tennis or frisbee. We rested a little and then continued
on towards Prince Arthur Street, a pedestrian street that today
features a large selection of family style restaurants with outdoor
patios. Antique lamp posts and cobble-stoned streets further add
to the ambience in this area.
Enjoying a rest in Jeanne Mance Park
From Prince Arthur we cycled west and south into the “McGill
Ghetto” area, a residential neighbourhood that hustles and
bustles with students and features many frat houses and inexpensive
eateries. Bruno took us into the McGill University campus, Montreal’s
oldest university, founded in 1921 by Scottish fur-trader James
McGill. McGill University is the centre of the “Golden Mile”,
once the headquarters of the mostly Scottish bourgeoisie. It is
said that in the late 19th and early 20th century about 70% of Canada’s
wealth was concentrated in the hands of the residents of the Golden
Square Mile and some of this power and opulence can still be seen
in the few remaining luxurious Victorian mansions.
McGill University
From the university we were just a stone throw away from Montreal’s
downtown, the conglomeration of skyscrapers built over the last
40 or so years that represents the centre of Montreal’s business
world. We stopped at Place Ville Marie, a commercial highrise tower
complex built in 1959 that gave rise to Montreal’s network
of underground paths. Looking north on Avenue McGill College I had
a view of of McGill University against the backdrop of the mountain,
topped by the metal cross on Mount Royal.
A glimpse at the Mary Queen of the World Cathedral
A few streets east Bruno took us into a small side street where
we got a peak at the dome of the Mary Queen Queen of the World Cathedral
which is rather dwarfed by the skyscrapers right around it. Bruno
said that this is a favourite location for movie makers. From there
it was not far to Victoria Square, originally a Victorian Garden
in the midst of Second Empire and Renaissance Revival Stories most
of which have since gone. The square was redesigned recently to
reflect its original layout and the area around it has been renamed
Montreal’s International Quarter. One of the key attractions
of Victoria Square is an authentic Parisian Art Nouveau subway gate,
the “Entourage Grimard”, named after architect Hector
Grimard who designed the entrances to the Paris Metro. The Régie
autonome des transport parisiens (RATP) offered this installation
to Motnreal as a gift in 1966.
Victoria Square with an authentic Parisian Art Nouveau subway entrance
Victoria Square is an example of a very successful recent urban
renewal project that now has wider sidewalks that accommodate up
to 40% more pedestrians. Outdoor parking spaces were eliminated
and more than 1300 new underground parking spaces were created in
the surrounding areas. Trees, street furniture and decorative lighting
further enhance the appeal of this square. Montreal’s World
Trade Centre, a complex integrating the Nordheimer Building dating
back to 1888, is located on the east side of Victoria Square. At
the south end is rue St-Jacques (or St. James Street), until about
the 1960s Montreal’s main business street, and the boundary
of Old Montreal.
With the downtown portion of our tour complete we cycled back into
Old Montreal and enjoyed looking at the old warehouses and the cobble-stoned
streets. Our tour came to an end at Pointe-à-Callière,
Montreal’s Museum of History and Archeology, where Bruno and
the other cycling group members said goodbye. The great thing was
that as part of the guided tour I would be able to keep the bicycle
until 8 pm, a chance to continue my explorations on my own. I had
asked Bruno for some advice on where to go and he recommended that
I check out the Lachine
Canal bicycle path that snakes along Montreal’s historic
waterway, inaugurated in 1825. My explorations by bike would continue...
Finishing at Pointe-à-Callière
Useful books about travel to Montreal:
Related articles:
Hello from Montreal 2006 - My 4-day
explorations of Montreal
Hello from Montreal: An interesting
train ride and first impressions
Hello from Montreal: Getting
the lay of the land in a driving tour
Hello from Montreal: Dinner and a
little jazz at Modavie
Hello from Montreal: Reliving
history with the Old Montreal Ghost Tour
Hello from Montreal: Architectural
discoveries in the Old Montreal Walking Tour
Hello from Montreal: Exploring
the Chateau Ramezay during a torrential downpour
Hello from Montreal:
Mexican delights at La Iguana & a peak at the Jazz Festival
Hello from Montreal: A guided bicycle
tour to explore Montreal's neighbourhoods
Hello from Montreal:
Biking on the Lachine Canal - Industrial history turned into a recreational
opportunity
Hello from Montreal: A chat with
André Giroux about Bicycling in Montreal
Hello from Montreal: Savouring Italian
cuisine at Galiano's and Canada Day Celebrations
Hello from Montreal:
Exploring the Olympic Stadium, the Botanical Garden & Insectarium
and outdoor action at the Jean Talon Market
Hello from Montreal: A Peruvian immigrant
success story at Restaurant Mañana
Hello from Montreal: Friendly
neighbourhood encounters on Square St. Louis
Hello from Montreal: Exploring
the Casino de Montreal
Hello from Montreal: Gourmet
dining at Nuances and amazing fireworks at La Ronde
Hello from Montreal: A final walk
to discover amazing architectural beauties
Helpful links for travel to Montreal:
Tourisme
Montreal - Montreal's official tourism information office
Quebec Tourism
- Official tourism website for Quebec
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