"Montreal in November" Montreal by tvor

Montreal is one of Canada's oldest and largest cities. It was founded by French Christian missionaries in the mid 1600s (though was a fur trading post for several decades before that) and was originally called Ville Marie. There's a high hill in the middle of the city and it was called Mont Real (or Royal in present day French) and the current name of the city comes from that. The city began as a colony on one of the islands in the St. Lawrence river and has expanded off the island now but the bones and guts of the city fills the island. French is still the majority language of the city, spoken by about 60% of the population but it is a multi cultural city and has many languages on the streets. There are also four major universities, 2 French and 2 English based. It was the most important city in Canada until the 1970s when Toronto emerged as the financial hub of the country.

In *my* opinion, Montreal is still a far more interesting city to visit than Toronto. The transportation system, the museums and the shopping are all just as good as Toronto and they have equally good sports and culture as well. Montreal has a long and varied history and has a very well preserved historical centre on the waterfront.

18th century building, now a hotel

One of the things I really like about Montreal is the architecture. There are many fine examples of architecture from the very old to the very new. A lot of the older buildings have marvellous detail so don't forget to look up! As it was founded as a Catholic missionary post, there have been many lovely churches built and there are a handful of cathedrals and basilicas scattered around the city, both Catholic and Protestant. Notre Dame and Marie Reine du Monde are probably the most spectacular along with St. Joseph's Oratory, high on the Mont. The centuries-old waterfront buildings have been preserved and sometimes if you come around a corner on a quiet morning, you won't see signs of the 21st century and you could be walking into the 18th or 19th century.

the Montreal Canadiens play at the Bell Centre

I've only spent a short and all too brief time in Montreal so I wanted to get to know a bit more of the city. We booked a week in November 2009. Although it's not tourist season and some tourist services are cut back, the lack of crowds at the popular attractions makes up for it. Early November is chilly but not unbearably so. And believe me, in the middle of winter, Montreal *can* be unbearably cold and snowy! We did well for the weather. It was beautiful the first couple of days and then got a bit colder but it didn't matter.

We shopped, we went to a couple of museums, we took in a professional hockey game, toured the city and hung out with friends and family. I wish we'd had more time to explore some of the other areas and "villages" in the city such as the Plateau but we made a good start!

Montreal isn't overly expensive and people in the city centre all speak English even if you talk to them in rudimentary French like mine!

• Pros:multicultural, exciting, easy to get around
• Cons:Cold in summer, really hot in winter
• In a nutshell:A little part of Europe in Canada