 |
| Enjoying the view from the Mount Royal Chalet |
With a population of just over 3.5 million people, Montreal is Canada's second largest city (Toronto is the largest). Compared to US cities that would put it behind Los Angeles and ahead of Chicago. It's a very large and interesting place with plenty of great things to see and do to keep you busy for a long time. Yesterday (Saturday) morning we headed out fairly early to explore some of the downtown and surrounding areas. Our first destination for the day was Mount Royal.
Mount Royal is a small volcanic mountain that is 760 feet high located just west of downtown. It has been developed into a nice park with hiking and biking trails, a small lake that becomes a skating rink in the winter and plenty of picnic tables and benches. By mountain standards it is not very high but it does tower over the city and Montreal actually got it's name from the mountain.
It was only about a 45 minute walk from the hotel, through downtown, to the entrance of Mount Royal Park. We had been told that once in the park there were about 200 stairs to climb to reach the trails. What we weren't told was that there was a steep street to climb and about 200 additional stairs before reaching the park! The park itself is really a great place to visit. In addition to the trails and lakes there is the Mount Royal Chalet which has a great overlook of the entire downtown.
 |
| St. Catherine St (downtown) |
 |
| Mount Royal Chalet Overlook |
 |
| Downtown from Mount Royal |
 |
| Lake Castor, it's located in Mount Royal Park. It becomes a skating rink in the winter |
After spending a few hours in the park we made our way towards the north entrance/exit in search of Montreal's best bagel. Little did we know that this was a city with numerous bagel shops, none more famous than St.Viateur Bagels. Google maps sent us on the "most direct" walking route which happened to take us through one unusual but very peaceful and beautiful neighborhood, the Mount Royal Cemetery! Outside the gates of the cemetery we also walked through some really nice neighborhoods that were a little more lively.
 |
| Not exactly the "pearly gates" but it is the gate to Mount Royal Cemetery. In case you're wondering, the sign on the right wall is to let you know that you can no longer ride your bike through the cemetery. |
The bagel shop was small, but very busy. We were expecting to be able to order a sandwich but at this particular location they only sold bagels to go (they do have another location that sells sandwiches but it was about 30 minutes away). We went around the corner to a café that used St. Viateur Bagels for their sandwiches. After lunch we stopped back by and bought four more bagels for later. Two of them we had for breakfast this morning, the other two disappeared within a few minutes of leaving the shop. They were really good, and if you're in Montreal and craving a bagel check them out. They're open 24/7!
St. Viateur Bagel
 |
| St. Viateur Bagels...…….they've been around as long as me! |
 |
| It may look like a lot of bagels but they were selling them fast! |
We zig zagged back towards the hotel through numerous colorful and lively neighborhoods. Taking in as much of the city as our feet would allow. We arrived back in time to enjoy sitting in front of the Notre Dame Basilica for a few minutes before very slowly making our way to the hotel. Our phones told us that we had walked over sixteen miles and our feet verified the mileage.
The night was still young, but not us. At least not me, I was ready for bed!
 |
| Here are a few pictures from the Plateau neighborhood, a nice mix of residential and small businesses |
