24 HOURS IN MONTREAL

I’ve always said that one of the best parts of growing up in small town, USA, is the ability to bounce over the Canadian border and up into Montreal, Quebec. A modern metropolitan that not only feels smaller, but is less populous than Toronto, Ontario. If Toronto is Canada’s New York City, then Montreal is Boston. Only instead of a predominantly Irish population, you have the Quebecois; a majority of Canada’s very ethnocentric French population. The city encompasses all of its namesake island and is named after Mount Royal, a hearty peak at the centre of the city. Predominantly French-speaking, the city is host to many high-brow events, such as the Canadian Grand Prix of Formula One, Just For Laughs Festival, Montreal International Jazz Festival and the Olympic Stadium created for the 1976 summer games still carves into the skyline at the east end of the city. It’s home to one of my favourite botanical gardens around the world, has an immense biosphere, a well-established casino, a centrally-located Chinatown, and much history that effuses out of Old Montreal’s cobblestone streets and along the harbour’s edge. I had just under 24 hours to get my fill, and I’d only be able to experience a fraction of what keeps bringing me back to this great city. I’ll give you a hint: I went straight for the poutine.