Introduction to Montreal

Located on an island, 31miles by 10 miles, sandwiched between the rivière des Prairies and the St Lawrence River, the city of Montreal gets its name from the 764-ft-high Mont-Royal, which provides the only rise in the landscape and which is known by residents simply as "the mountain." The 24 suburbs on the island were absorbed into the city of Montréal in 2002, forming one mega-city with boundaries now extending all the way to the shoreline. A belt of off-island suburbs sits on the south shore of the St. Lawrence, and just to the north across the narrow Rivière des Prairies, on an island of its own, is Laval, a suburb that has become the second-largest city in the province. Montreal is unique in North America, blending New World brashness with the romantic charm of its European-flavoured historic districts and a Gallic sense of joie de vivre evident in the city's many pavement cafés and dynamic nightlife. Although its downtown skyscrapers are a testament to the economic growth of Canada's second largest city, visitors are more likely to be drawn by the promise of a horse-drawn carriage ride along the cobbled streets of Old Montreal near the St Lawrence River or around Mount Royal, the city's landmark. The charming buildings of Old Montreal, which was the heart of the city until the end of the 19th century, are today filled with boutiques, bars, hotels and restaurants. The nearby islands in the St Lawrence - Ile Ste-Hélène and Ile Notre-Dame - were the site of the Expo 67 World Fair, and now comprise the city's largest park, Parc Jean-Drapeau. The 'real' Montreal, though, exists in neighbourhoods that celebrate their ethnic origins - like Little Italy and Chinatown and especially the multicultural Plateau Mont-Royal. Boulevard St-Laurent ('The Main'), which runs through the Plateau and divides Montreal into east and west, is the city's most lively street, where the shops, bars and ethnic restaurants draw crowds until well into the night. The best time to visit Montreal is in the summer, when even the nights can be sultry and the whole city seems to be partying, as the festival season moves into high gear. The cooler autumns bring out the colours in the leaves and are a great time to visit the forested Laurentians or the rolling hills of the Eastern Townships. Even the cold and snowy winters are bearable - inside the Underground City's network of shops and entertainment spots, if not on the ski slopes. Global Hotels are an Canadian based company with an in-dept knowledge of the tourism product. The company operates over 150 travel websites in all major world locations. In Canada the company operates:Edmonton Hotels, Toronto Hotels and Vancouver Hotels Copyright @ Global Travel Solutions [ Montreal hotels in Montreal] - [Site Map] - [ Secure Server ] - [ Privacy Policy ] - [ Disclaimer ]