Our friends Chris and Reed came to visit for a few days and one of the highlights was exploring Vieux Montreal (Old Montreal). The city was founded in 1642 and the old original part of the city is preserved in a few blocks along the St. Lawrence River. While walking through the streets one can imagine what life might have been like in those early years (although I doubt that they had souvenir shops back then). We did some strolling and some shopping and we ate lunch in a small cafe.
After lunch we drove to the top of Mount Royal, the highest point in the city and the inspiration for the city’s name. Mount Royal offers a beautiful view of downtown and it has a network of forested walking trails that are heavily used by the locals. There is an old chateau building at the top with a large ballroom-type interior.
The next day we went back to Vieux Montreal, this time by boat. During the summer months a ferry operates from Longueuil to Vieux Montreal. The owner of our rental house told us that the ferry affords a spectacular view of the Montreal skyline and he was right. We were fortunate to catch the ferry on its last weekend of operation before the winter stoppage.
