The Modern Montreal

Although Old Montreal is often the first stop for first-time visitors, the charming historic center is more of a fantasy created for tourists and historic preservationists. It is undoubtedly a desirable place to live, but most Montrealers find the need to visit Old Montreal regularly. As the city continued to experience a tourism surge, the old town became increasingly unlivable since amenities such as hardware stores and pharmacies were replaced with souvenir shops and tourist restaurants selling overpriced poutines. It may be the city's spiritual center, but it is far from beating the heart of this modern metropolis.

Like most North American cities, Montreal is characterized by urban sprawl and is a city of distinct neighborhoods. Although a modern central business district exists, the city center doesn’t quite have the draw as in places like Tokyo or Paris. Being a city of immigrants, Montreal is like a tapestry of varying neighborhoods, each with its unique identity and history. With just three days in Montreal, we can only check out half a dozen popular neighborhoods that Montreal has to offer. While I cannot say they are the best places in the city, they provide a good glimpse into the modern life of Montreal.

Mile End

Outside of Old Montreal, the most talked-about neighborhood among travelers would be Mile End. It is bordered by Saint Laurent Boulevard, the city’s historical dividing line between French-speaking and English-speaking Montrealers. As a boundary, the boulevard attracted many immigrants to establish enclave neighborhoods like Chinatown and Little Italy. Driving down the boulevard is a walkthrough of Canada’s history of immigration. Mile End was once predominately Irish and Polish but has since been gentrified as Montreal’s trendiest area known for restaurant rows and live entertainment. The best comparison for Mile End might be New York City’s Williamsburg.

From a sightseeing point of view, Miles End has relatively few architectural landmarks worth seeking out. One notable exception is Saint Michael's and Saint Anthony's Church. It is an unorthodox mishmash of neo-Byzantine and selective architectural elements from the Gothic and Islamic traditions. Constructed for Irish Catholics, it bears a few Irish symbols like the shamrock, but the overall appearance resembles more like a mosque. The massive structure towers over the residential neighborhood ominously. It was quite a contrast with the laid-back vibe of Mile End.

Mile End is an excellent spot for meeting friends over bagels and coffee.

The neighborhood primarily consists of three—or four-story townhouses and apartments. With broad tree-lined sidewalks, Mile End reminds me of Chicago. It is easy to see why it is such a desirable place to live, particularly for urban millennials. Plenty of street furniture around many blocks makes the area ideal for socializing with friends on the weekends. Plenty of shopping boutiques and wine bars also keep everyone entertained. I was genuinely impressed with the selection of artisanal coffee.

The real reason behind our visit to Mile End is the city’s most famous culinary creation: Montreal-style bagels. New York may have the best-known bagels in the world, but Montreal and Jerusalem each boast their unique bagel traditions. Montreal’s bagel has a distinct flavor and chewer texture compared to New York's. It is always hand-shaped and has a larger hole than typical New York-style bagels. Honey is added to the dough, and the water they are boiled in to give it a distinctively sweet taste. Best of all, it is always baked in wood-fired ovens and made fresh daily. While there has been discussion about banning a wood-burning oven, most of these shops will be grandfathered in.

As in New York, Montreal-style bagels were first introduced by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. For whatever reason, Mile End is home to the city’s most revered bagel shops. Our first stop is Fairmont Bagel, arguably the most famous. Established in 1919, the family-run shop is Montreal’s oldest bagel bakery. We arrived just in time to avoid the typical long line. To this day, the business owner and the family continue to live above the shop. The shop’s tiny footprint means it operates 24 hours a day to meet all the demands from local businesses, residents, and tourists like us.

St-Viateur Bagel is the other venerated shop for Montreal Bagel.

At $1.25 a piece, these bagels are quite a deal. In comparison, there is a famous bagel shop just a few doors down from my work in Manhattan, where a basic cream cheese bagel costs $4.75. What I love about Montreal-style bagels is how “snackable” they are. Their sweeter flavor makes them an enjoyable snack without any spread or garnish. They retain the crust and elasticity of their New York-style cousins but are more versatile, like Turkey’s simit. We were amazed at how many Montrealers bought them by a couple of dozen in one visit.

Mile End has no shortage of boutique coffee shops.

Not far from Fairmont are two other venerable bagel shops: St-Viateur Bagel. Started by a Holocaust survivor from Krakow, St. Viateur has a dedicated fan base and is also very inexpensive. Many attribute Montreal's Bagel’s affordability to its widespread popularity within Canada. I can’t help but wonder why Montreal-style bagels are still a rare find outside of Montreal. I was surprised not to see Montreal-style bagels in their local Tim Hortons. That just seems wrong, right?

Jean-Talon Market

Although Old Montreal exudes plenty of French charm, the best way to experience the French way of life is to visit Jean-Talon Market, the city’s primary farmer market. Opened in 1933, the market is one of the largest in North America. Since the rise of food tourism, it was unsurprising that the market became a tourist destination of its rights. Having been to New York’s Chelsea Market and Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market, I was skeptical about whether this place is an authentic expression of local life or a tourist trap.

From the street, there is nothing spectacular about this place, and it could hardly be comparable to great public markets in Budapest, London, or Rotterdam. Jean-Talon Market is a modest-size steel shack with little architectural ornamentation and public arts. Before we even entered the complex, we could feel a palpable energy. Exiting the Metro station, we could see hordes of locals streaming toward the market with tote bags under their arms. While I could spot quite a few tourists, it was clear that Montrealers genuinely came here for their groceries. Plenty of boutique eateries may be on-premise, but most of the square footage is devoted to fruit and vegetable sellers.

Most New York metro area farmers' markets are known for overpriced artisan produce catering to the rich. It is far from the place most people can afford to shop regularly. For example, prices at our local weekly farmers’ market in Jersey City are typically twice those of local supermarkets. Shopping at a farmer's market is more a status symbol than it is about good food. That said, Jean-Talon Market is an exception. The prices are reasonable here, and all the products are neatly arranged as you would see in France.

Nothing is out of the ordinary regarding the type of produce on offer. However, their passionate conversations with the vendors showed the locals’ insistence on good produce. While we could not understand French, it was clear that Montrealers cared more about terroir and food heritage than most Americans. There is a palpable energy in the air. It is more than a temple of agriculture; it is a celebration of culinary culture. Along the perimeters are artisan purveyors like French boulangeries and cheesemongers. We secretly wished we had stayed in a service apartment to take advantage of all the fantastic offerings.

Since the market attracts many tourists, a few farm stands also sell stereotypical Canadian products like cans of maple syrup. While they may be cheaper than in Old Montreal’s tourist shops, they are still pricier than in any neighborhood grocery store. I can’t help wondering just how much maple syrup a typical Montealier consumes annually. I have never met a single Canadian professing their love for it. I don’t remember seeing that many maple-flavored dishes on restaurant menus.

Montreal Olympic Park

If you are remotely interested in sports or architecture, visiting Montreal would only be complete with paying a pilgrimage to the Olympic Park in the northwestern section of the city. Montreal hosted the infamous 1976 Summer Olympics. Beating out Los Angeles and Moscow, Montreal became a surprising underdog and a neutral compromise in the geopolitical struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union. Coming off the smashing success of Expo 67, Montreal is considered an emerging global city, simultaneously English and French. If the expo is the coming out party, the hosting the Olympics would be a coronation.

The 1976 Montreal Olympics was one for the history book when it came to financial disaster.

So, it was with great irony that hosting the Olympics almost bankrupted the city. Except for the 1984 Los Angeles Games and the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, most host cities lost money or barely broke even. In dollar terms, the 2014 Sochi Games are the most unprofitable game, but Montreal's financial disasters are legendary. The cost turned out to be thirteen times its original budget. Repaying the trillion-dollar debt took the city forty decades, split between the city and the provincial governments. The game was hit with a series of corruption and massive cost overruns, in sharp contrast with the stunning success of the ‘67 Expo.

This Olympic stadium is certainly one-of-a-kind.

The construction of significant venues was so behind schedule that the city resorted to mobilizing 3,000 laborers to work around the clock to complete “enough” to allow the game to open in time. In a rush, Montreal crime families were allegedly engaged to allow. Allegations of corruption and illegal payment on the side soon emerged and led to the conviction of many public officials. So, rather than increasing civic pride, the public viewed the game as an embarrassing stain on the city.

The most prominent part of the building program is the brand-new Olympic Stadium. Hosting the opening and closing ceremony, the stadium has an ambitious design with a fabric retractable roof. The fabric roof is designed to be lifted from a massive inclined tower and is supposed to be the engineering triumph of Quebec. Known as the Montreal Tower, the inclined tower is 541 feet tall and remains the world's tallest inclined tower. Leaning at an angle of 45°, the tower was an engineering triumph but a construction nightmare. It was only a quarter completed when the games opened.

With the help of a special “Olympic cigarette tax” in Quebec, the tower and the stadium roof were not completed until 1987, a decade after the game. The tower is outfitted with an inclined elevator that brings visitors to the observatory. Ironically, the observatory also hosts an exhibition of the Montreal Olympics. Like most host cities, these new venues are underutilized and are now classic white elephants. The stadium was converted into a baseball park and home to the Montreal Expos baseball team. However, due to the dimensional differences, baseball conversation from a track and field stadium was not ideal. The stadium was never popular with the fans. It eventually led to the team’s departure in 2004.

An informational display of the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

While the stadium is chronically underutilized, the government put much effort into turning the area into a multi-use complex. Montreal Tower was converted into an office tower of Quebec’s largest credit union. The nearby Olympic Velodrome was converted into Montreal Biodome, one of the world’s largest museums of enclosed ecosystems. Due to its high admission fee, we did not get to visit, but the architecture was spectacular, and it seemed extremely popular with Montrealers. This may be one of the most successful adaptive reuse in Olympic history! The architect, Roger Taillibert, may get a lot of criticism for his stadium design, but I am a fan of his structural expression, which is slightly reminiscent of the works of Santiago Calatrava.

The Montreal Biodome is housed within the former Olympic Velodrome.

As much as the Olympics was a stain on the city, the Olympic sites today seem like great amenities for the town and beautifully maintained. It was a far cry from the abandoned facilities reported in Athens and Rio de Janeiro. In the summer, there are regular live events and fun fairs for people of all ages. Unfortunately, both the stadium interior and the inclined tower were closed on the day of our visit. Otherwise, it would have been quite an experience for an architecture nerd like me. Montreal Tower would have been the most interesting of Montreal's observatories.

This is quite a monumental view of the Montreal Tower.

Immediately northwest of the stadium is the Montreal Botanical Garden. Covering over 180 acres, this garden is one of the most celebrated in the world. The garden is subdivided into numerous sections, recreating the gardens from different corners of the world. Among them, the most notable are its Japanese and Chinese gardens. They represent the long-standing cultural exchange between Quebec and East Asia. Having just visited Japan a few months earlier, I was keen to check out how authentic the Japanese garden is.

The bonsai collection at the Japanese Garden.

Considering we were in Canada, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the Japanese landscape. An impressive collection of Japanese bonsai trees and a “tea pavilion” showcased various artifacts ranging from calligraphy to ceramic. However, I completely lost it when I saw a replica of the Kotoji Stone Lantern of Kenrokuen Garden in Kanazawa. I would not have recognized the significance of this lantern a year ago. Moments like this spoke to me about the value of travel and how it broadens my perspective on the environment around me. I am constantly reminded just how lucky we were to be able to travel the world.

Although the foreign gardens receive the most visitors, our favorite section was a series of smaller gardens featuring various native Canadian landscapes. The subtlety of the vegetation made this section of the gardens particularly “authentic” and soothing. Before long, we reached a small garden dedicated to Canada’s First Nations landscape. Despite Brian’s appearance, he was technically a registered tribal member of Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Although the tribe is now based in Kansas and Oklahoma, the Potawatomi originated in the Great Lake region near the Saint Lawrence River. Although he never actively claimed his Native American heritage, he still feels a kinship nevertheless.

The billboard for the annual Garden of Light (Jardins de lumière).

I was by no means an enthusiast for botanical gardens, but I must say this is probably my favorite botanical garden. One of the best times to visit is the annual Garden of Light (Jardins de lumière) event in the autumn. After dark, part of the garden was beautifully illuminated by ornate oriental lanterns and modern light projection. They are a cultural tribute to the lantern festivals of East Asia. We only wish we did not have other prior commitments on the other side of the city in the evening.

Mount Royale & Downtown Montreal

Outside of Old Montreal, the most popular stop for first-time visitors would be the viewpoint at the summit of Mount Royale. The first European to climb this hill was Jacques Cartier in 1535. He named it after John Royal, the patron of his expedition. Some believe the name Montreal was derived from Mont Réal. Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve, the founder of Montreal, erected a cross here in 1643 to express thanks to the Virgin Mary after her intercession to stop a devastating flood. The cross has always been an iconic landmark in Montreal, even after the original cross was replaced in 1924 with a 103-foot tall steel cross. Legend has it that no building could be taller than the cross in Montreal.

Belvédère Kondiaronk lookout always attract a crowd.

Because the hill is immediately next to Montreal’s central business district, the skyscrapers appear almost at the eye’s level from the top of Mount Royal. It was a quick but steep climb from the campus of McGill University. The expansive observation platform, Belvédère Kondiaronk lookout, bears the name of the great Huron chief who was instrumental in forming the Great Peace of 1701, which saved the city from being wiped out during the Fur Wars. There is no doubt that Petun chief Kondiaronk would be amazed by the modernity of today’s Montreal. We have a great river view and various sites from the ‘67 Expo from this spot.

At the back end of the lookout is an impressive “chalet,” built in the unique Beaux-Arts style. It was built during the Great Depression as part of Canada’s version of the "New Deal.” Today, it functions as a visitor center, with just a little cafeteria in the back. Sadly, the grand ballroom at the front is left vacant and only occasionally used for private functions. This vacant room reminds me of the grand railway hotels in Quebec City and Banff National Park. This would have made a grand restaurant. Instead, the whole building stunk of sewage during our visit.

An impressive view of downtown Montreal.

We arrived at Mount Royal in the late afternoon. Although we were fortunate enough to catch the sunset, we did miss out on exploring the rest of the park. Mount Royal Park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer behind New York City’s Central Park and the most celebrated landscape architect ever. It is the city’s most popular recreational space and a place for many Montreal traditions. One such tradition is Tam-Tam, a self-organized weekly gathering of drum circles. It is the epicenter of the city’s hippie and counter-culture.

Of course, a visit to Montreal should include a stroll through the city’s central business district. Most of the city’s five-star international hotels and corporate headquarters are here. Like most North American cities, the downtown is laid out in a grid pattern and populated with rather conspicuous skyscrapers. Aside from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of Contemporary Arts, there are few things to do here except for most sightseers. However, downtown has the largest concentration of high-end boutiques and fine-dining establishments. This may not be our kind of neighborhood, but there are undoubtedly reasons to be here.

Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral is a scaled-down replica of Saint Peter's in the Vatican.

Personally, I think the most interesting downtown landmark is the city’s Roman Catholic cathedral: Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral. Upon its consecration, it replaced Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal in Old Montreal as the seat of the archdiocese. To rival the Gothic style favored by the Anglicans, the Catholic bishop chose to replicate Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, albeit on a reduced scale. As an architect and a student of Rome, I find this scaled-down model of Saint Peter’s endlessly fascinating. Not only did they replicate Michelangelo's dome, but they also copied Bernini’s outdoor statues and Baldacchino.

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Mile End

Jean-Talon Market

Montreal Olympic Park

Mount Royale & Downtown Montreal

Dear Killarney…

Story of Quebec Through Old Montreal