Montreal - A city with European Vibe - Day 2

Day 2 at Montreal started yet more interestingly. We were in Montreal and how could we not visit the legendary St Viateur’s Bagel shop!!! We took the early morning train to have breakfast at Viateur which is open 24 hrs. The hand rolled, wood fried bagels are incomparable to any of the bagels I have had till date. The world famous bagels are enjoyed by millions of people across the globe and it was definitely not to be missed. After relishing the bagels, we then went to visit the world famous Gibeau Orange Julep which is located on Décarie Expressway. The building is orange shaped and it is illuminated form outside in the evenings. The orange juice here was undoubtedly the best.

We then headed back to the Old Port & took the 60 min AML cruise to discover Montreal from the river. It was a guided tour of 60 minutes where one could either sit indoors or on the open decks of the cruise on first come first serve basis. It starts from the Old port and takes you around 20kms in water parallel to the stretch of the city. The tour guide shares plenty interesting facts all along the cruise that are fascinating.

At first we saw the Jacques Cartier Bridge which is named after a French explorer Jacques Cartier who was the first to discover and map St Lawrence River. Moving further we saw the amusement part La Ronde.  It was built as an entertainment complex for World fair in 1967. It offers more than 40 rides, dazzling shows and entertainment throughout the park. An interesting fact is it is now owned by Six flags. On the other side you can see the Montreal sky scrapers (not so tall) and the skyline. The guide told us a very interesting fact about Montreal. Montreal has a rule that the buildings cannot more than certain floors tall. This is because they want everyone to see Montreal from everywhere. ‘The buildings cannot be taller than Montreal’. Mount Royal is the highest point in Montreal and one can see that all the buildings, even the tallest here are shorter than Mount Royal.

Once we were done with the cruise we walked around the Old Port premises. It was pleasant to walk around. I must agree, Old Montreal and Old Port very well reflect the city’s century old history. You can see both locals and tourists enjoy the fashion, art galleries, historical buildings, old houses, year round activities and the night life by the side of St Lawrence River.

We also visited Champ de Mars, a former Military parade ground which is now a public park in Old Montreal. The area around Champ de Mars is called Place Jacques-Cartier. Vehicular traffic being restricted here, the place looks so surreal in the evening. Lovely golden glow all around from the many beautiful cafes & classic French restaurants makes walking around on the cobblestone streets so dreamy. Street performers playing music or singing their heart out or doing some interesting tricks are a plenty here in Old Montreal. I can assure you that this place has something for everyone’s tastes and does an absolute great job in slowing the time down and transporting you to a different world altogether.

We had some delicious crepes for our dinner at a French Restaurant and returned back to our den. On the way back we met a lot of people at Beri Uqam station who were returning from the Osheaga festival. They looked so vibrant, colorful and enhanced the cultural vibe of the city.