Related Montreal Favorites Tips

2 more images

Favorite thing: The historic tugboat Daniel McAllister is "parked" down by the Lachine Canal in the old port of Montreal, currently undergoing a restoration that will bring it back to its early 20th century shine.

The Daniel McAllister is the oldest and largest Canadian tugboat to be saved - and when restored will be one of the largest ocean-going tugs in preservation in the world. For many decades "she" was a busy workman in the port here, particularly for the Canadian Pacific Ocean Line, helping the "Empress of Canada" and the "Empress of England" on their way.

This tug was "christened" in 1907 with the name of Helena. It underwent name and gender change in 1967 when purchased by the McAllister Towing Co.

(I wrote the above after my visit to Montreal in summer 2008. I returned here in November 2012. The tugboat was completely "high and dry"! Global warming? Or maybe they were just doing some kind of construction that required the retention pond to be drained.)

Favorite thing: Historic monument which honors the 1642 founding of "Ville Marie" near this spot. "Ville Marie" was the community that ultimately became Montreal. The memorial was first "installed" in 1893, at the time of celebrations of Montreal's 250th birthday. It stands 41 feet tall, and reportedly required 40 horses to drag it from the quarry into town!

3 more images

Favorite thing: The Georges-Etienne Cartier Monument is at the eastern entrance to the Mont Royal park, right on the edge of the neighborhood known as "the plateau." It features the work of sculptor George William Hill (1862-1934), who was also very active in Ottawa. A well-known regional drum circle (the Tamtams) gathers here every Sunday. They make a beautiful noise that can be heart throughout the park.

1 more image

Favorite thing: Igance Bourget (1799-1885) served as Bishop of Montreal during a very crucial time of transitiion, from the era of the Durham Report into Confederation. He was responsible for a great bulding boom of eccesiastical properties in his diocese, perhaps most notably seem right in the center of the city of Montreal where the Bishop supervised the construction of the monumental Basilica dedicated to Mary, the Queen of Heaven. He was a staunch advocate of the "ultramontane" position in the Roman Catholic Church, which mean that he advocated for a clear assertion of claims of the superiority of religious as opposed to secular authority. His monument appropriately stands in the city of the city, next to the Basilica - and now stands in front of the tallest skyscraper in the city, the tower at 1000 Rue de la Gauchetiere. The sculpture is the work of the brilliant artist Louis Phillipe Hebert (1850-1917).

Favorite thing: Montreal's contribution to the "step pyramid" style of tall buildings, the Sun Life Building dominates Dorchester Square. This 24 story tower was completed over a twenty-year span in three distinct phases. When it was finished in 1931, it boasted of the largest total floor space in any building in the entire British Empire! This photo was taken from the 36th floor of the Marriott Chateau Champlain.

Favorite thing: So if you have to catch buses in montreal then you have to have coins. Their stupid machines can't take notes (unlike our buses in Australia)

Also once you get a ticket you can use it for the subway & the other buses

Fondest memory: what i miss the most of montreal is the rocker Elaine doing her cover show in dorval area

3 more images

Favorite thing: Montreal Centre Infotouriste
1255 Peel Street
Tel: +1-514-8732015.
Business hours:
All days: 9AM - 5PM (or later depending on the season).
Free public toilets in the basement.

Useful links for Montreal:
Montreal General Facts
Montreal Weather
Montreal Traffic Cameras

1 more image

Favorite thing: One thing I love here is the alternative scene. It's always exploding in new directions, nothing is set into any style. Conventions are broken all the time and new expressions of art keep us on our toes. One can feel young forever here :)

One good place to be stirred and amazed is the Théâtre de la Chapelle, right in Centre-Town. Tonight I saw the Première of Duda Paiva's Angel, what a performance!

Angel is a puppetry show for adults. Duda Paiva is a dancer and actor from Brazil who performed there, in India and Japan before arriving in the Netherlands in 1996. Angel won awards in Lleida, Spain; Tallinn, Estonia; La Paz, Bolivia; Ljubljana, Slovenia; Torun, Poland; Ostrava, Czech Republic; and in Holland too.

The way Duda moves is incredible! and the way he lives through his Angel of stone is even better. The Angel is so cute, so expressive! so tragic too...

I went there tonight without knowing what to expect at all. By coincidence, I had my Portuguese language book with me and was studying it, waiting for the show to start. Suddenly, Duda walked up to me in the audience and all I could say was "oh.. sorry.. I'm starting to learn Portuguese... Como te chamas?" (I'm only at Lesson 2...) He laughed and taught me a few words of Portuguese, then returned to the stage and started the show.
When it was over and I was quite enthralled, I went on the stage to take a photo of the "stone" angel, and Duda came by so we talked a bit. A great guy. Here are two photos, for fun :)

Fondest memory: Montreal is my city, where I always feel that I'm becoming... that's my fondest thought of Montreal, it's not a memory, it's an evolving feeling. Yeah, I love Montreal!

Here's a word from Duda Paiva:

"An unexpected take on Pygmalion:
Bored at a friend's dinner party, I start looking at magazines
which were strategically placed for those with low social skills,
That's when I encountered one picture about a graveyard in Havana and there he was, sitting with his little legs crossed on a grave stone pleading with his eyes a question which never left
my mind : wha da hell am i doing here?
On that very night I learned how to talk to statues.
On that very night I decided to create the show ANGEL."

La Chapelle -- 3700, rue Saint-Dominique, Montréal
Tel: 514-843-7738
www.lachapelle.org