A Day In Montreal

The metropolis of Montreal is where my and so many others’ hearts belong. So much life exists in every inch of the city, and I can’t help but feel giddy and anxious every time I wake up in my hotel room. The city is so big with so many museums, shops, cafes, and anything possible to do, see or experience that I constantly to fit as much possible into each day.

As I step out of the elevator of my hotel, I walk straight onto the main street. In the distance I can here music, and I know that its one of the many music festivals that they hold in the downtown district. I long to go and check out the bands that are playing, but decide to stick to my schedule. As I stroll along the street I pass so many cafes that it’s hard to choose which one to stop in, but I finally settle on Café République. I treat myself to a great omelet, and decide to continue on my day.

My parents told me that one of the musts of Montreal is to take a horse-drawn carriage ride through the narrow cobblestone streets in Old Montreal. As I stand in the middle of the plaza trying to decided which guide standing patiently with their horse to choose from. A young woman waves to me and offers me a tour, which I then take, grateful that my decision was made easy. I learned so much from the tour about the history of all the churches, the history of the city, and a lot about the culture and current issues that the province is going through. The ride took a couple of hours, and afterwards decided to stop by the Museum of Fine Arts.

The Musee des Beaux-Arts was what the sign read on the outside, and I felt excited that I was learning and starting to pick up a little French. I noticed that the building was made up of an older 1912 building, and a more modern 1991 building, and once inside I learned that the two were annexed together by an underground pathway. The more time I spent in Montreal, the more underground pathways I began to find. The museum was filled with great contemporary, international, and Canadian exhibits, and feeling the crunching of time I ran through as much of it as I possibly could. After running through much of the museum I decided to get lunch, and stopped by a restaurant that had been recommended to me earlier by my guide.

Not to far from the museum was the Alto Restaurant, a cute little Italian pizzeria. The food was great and well priced, and definitely hit the spot. After lunch I knew exactly where I wanted to go. I was told of the Underground City, which is made up of a extensive web of subways, restaraunts and stores.

The winters are harsh in Montreal, and one of the best ways to deal with the cold is to create an underground city, which I got a complete kick out of. I spent hours exploring all the stores, stopping by a café for a quick drink, and continuing on to see all that there was to offer.

My grand finale to my trip was to see a performance of Cirque du Soleil, which I had been dying to see ever since I missed a traveling show that came close to where I had been living. After my wild adventure in the underground I reemerged and ran to the hotel to change. I made the show just in time, and was delighted by the performance. The show was filled with acrobatic sequences in which dancers did tricks in the air and mesmerized the audience with their poetic performances.

After Cirque du Soleil I decided to get a late bite to eat at Ristorante Cavalli, which to much of my delight had a great atmosphere with live music, but to much of my disappointment left a fairly large dent in my wallet. After a few drinks I finally retired back at my hotel room, feeling quite content on my eventful and fun-packed day.


By Carey Billings