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Armoury of the Mount Royal Fusiliers
The former munitions depot of this Canadian Black Watch regiment is a miniature château complete with steel turrets and battlements. Today it's an administrative center and a museum of old military gear, but you'll be hard-pressed to find it open.
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Ave du Mont-Royal
Old-fashioned five-and-dime stores rub shoulders with a growing number of trendy restaurants and fashion boutiques on ave du Mont-Royal. The nightlife here has surged to the point that it rivals boul St-Laurent, with bars and nightclubs ranging from the sedate to uproarious. Intimate shops, second-hand stores and ultra-modern boutiques offer the latest in urban chic.
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Bank of Montréal
Modeled after the Pantheon in Rome, the grand colonnaded edifice of Canada's oldest chartered bank, built in 1847, dominates the north side of Place D'Armes and is still a working bank. The imposing interior has 32 marble columns and a coffered 20m ceiling in Italian Renaissance style over a long row of tellers behind glass partitions. The helmeted marble lady is Patria, representing a minor Roman god of patriotism to honor the war dead.
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Basilique Notre-Dame
One of Montréal's most enduring symbols, the basilica occupies a site rich with three centuries of history. Besides religious services, the weddings and funerals of the city's well-known and well-heeled regularly take place here. Its most recent claim to fame was the baptism of Céline Dion's son in July 2001. Contrary to some tourist tales the basilica is not modeled on Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris.
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Belvédére Camillien-Houde
This is the most popular lookout on Mont Royal thanks to its accessibility and large parking lot. It's a magnet for amorous couples once night falls, making it near impossible on summer nights to find a parking space.
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Bibliothèque et Archives Nationale du Québec
Opened in 2005, this stunning building houses both the library and national archives of Québec and has been a success beyond planners wildest dreams. Originally conceived as a place to receive between 5000 to 6000 people per day, the reality has been 10,000 to 12,000 Montrealers flocking through its doors each day. The library itself is 33,000 sq meters, connected to the métro and underground city.
Read more about Bibliothèque et Archives Nationale du Québec
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Biodôme
At this captivating kid-friendly exhibit you can amble through a rainforest, the Arctic Circle, rolling woodlands or along the raw Atlantic oceanfront - all without ever leaving the building. Be sure to dress in layers for the temperature swings.
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Biosphère
Located in the striking spherical dome of the former American pavilion in the '67 World's Fair, the center has the most spectacular collection of hands-on displays in the entire city. The 'sphere's' raison d'être is to explain the Great Lakes-St Lawrence River ecosystem, which makes up 20% of the planet's water reserves.
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Black Watch Highlanders Regimental Museum & Archives
The presence of the legendary Highlanders is usually reserved for holidays and official ceremonies, but military buffs can delve deeper at this small museum of military memorabilia which includes medals, insignia, munitions and small arms prior to 1969. The fanciful building - a faux Gothic castle, complete with turrets - also houses a national military archive and takes numerous requests for personnel documents.
Read more about Black Watch Highlanders Regimental Museum & Archives
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Carré St-Louis
This lovely green space with a three-tiered fountain is flanked by beautiful rows of Second Empire homes. In the 19th century a neighborhood emerged here for well-to-do French families. Artists and poets gathered in the area back then, and creative types like filmmakers and fashion designers now occupy houses in the streets nearby. Students loll on the grass, taking in precious rays and street music; while others linger puffing on strange smokes.
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Casino de Montréal
Québec's first (and biggest) casino looks like a cross between a spaceship and an airport terminal. Based in the former French pavilion from the World's Fair, the Montréal Casino opened in 1993 and was so popular (and earned so much money) that expansion occurred almost instantly. You can gather your winnings at 3000 slot machines and 120 gaming tables, but drinking isn't allowed on the floor .
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Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde
The Cathedral of Mary Queen of the World is a smaller but still magnificent version of St Peter's Basilica in Rome. The architects scaled it down to one-quarter size, mindful of the structural risks of Montréal's severe winters. This landmark was built in 1870-94 as a symbol of Catholic power in the heart of Protestant Montréal.
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Centre Canadien d'Architecture
The Canadian Centre of Architecture has a dual role: as a museum of the country's architectural heritage, and as a research center to promote future development. This innovative building incorporates a modern museum with Shaughnessy House, the 1874 residence of a wealthy businessman and one of Montréal's few 19th-century homes open to the public.
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Centre d'Histoire de Montréal
Housed in a handsome old fire hall on Place d'Youville, the Montréal History Centre has 300-plus artifacts that illustrate the city's eventful past with the aid of models and videos. It also does wonderful temporary exhibits like the recent 'Swinging Nights in Montréal', the history of the city's jazz scene.
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Centre Option Plein Air
Competitive rowers and kayakers, amongst other amateur athletes, train here at this former Olympic rowing basin. It's not open to the public except during special events like when the famous Dragonboat rowing races are held in late July. A youth hostel is also on site.
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Chalet du Mont-Royal
Constructed in 1932, this grand old white villa complete with bay windows contains canvases inside that depict scenes of Canadian history. Big bands strut their stuff on the huge balcony in summer, reminiscent of the 1930s. Most people, however, flock here for the spectacular views of downtown from the Kondiaronk lookout nearby. It's about a 20-minute walk from the park entrance on ave de Pins.
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Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours
Known as the Sailors' Church, this enchanting chapel derives its name from the sailors who left behind votive lamps in the shape of ships in thanksgiving for safe passage. The restored interior has inspirational paintings of the Virgin Mary, stained-glass windows depicting stations of her life and a variety of icons including a recumbent statue of Marguerite Bourgeoys.
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Chapelle Notre-Dame-De-Lourdes
Now tucked in among the university buildings, this Romanesque gem was built by the Sulpicians in 1876 to cement their influence in eastern Montréal. The chapel was designed by artist Napoléon Bourassa, who lived on rue St-Denis; his imaginative frescoes dotted about the interior are regarded as his crowning glory.
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Château Dufresne
Brothers Oscar and Marius Dufresne made their fortunes in shoes and cement manufacturing in the early 20th century. They commissioned this beautiful beaux-arts mansion, along the lines of the Versailles Palace in France, in 1916 and moved in with their families - Oscar on one side and Marius on the other.
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Château Ramezay
A home of French governors in the early 18th century, this mansion is one of the finest examples from the ancien régime . It was built for the 11th governor, Claude de Ramezay, and includes 15 interconnecting rooms with a ballroom of mirrors and mahogany galore. Ramezay went broke trying to maintain it.
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Christ Church Cathedral
Modeled on a Salisbury, England, church, Montréal's first Anglican bishop had this cathedral built and it was completed in 1859. This church was the talk of the town in the late 1980's when it allowed a shopping center, the Promenades de la Cathédrale, to be built underneath it. Spectacular photos from 1987 show the house of worship resting on concrete stilts while construction went on underneath.
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Church of St James the Apostle
Built in 1864 on a sports field for the British military, this Anglican church used to be called St Crickets in the Fields for the matches that unfolded here. The stained glass in the east transept, the Regimental Window, was donated in memory of the WWI fallen.
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Cimetière Mont-Royal
Much smaller than Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, this cemetery was founded in 1852 for the last journey of non-Catholic Montrealers - Presbyterians, Anglicans, Unitarians, Baptists and nondenominationals. The most famous tomb is of Anna Leonowens, the inspiration for the heroine in the musical The King and I . The cemetery is laid out like a landscape garden and perfect for the Goth-historically interested.
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Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges
More than one million people have found their final resting place here since this Catholic cemetery opened in 1854, replacing the old one at Dominion Square downtown. It has a fascinating bunch of mausoleums that emit solemn music. The cemetery office has brochures for self-guided tours around the tombs but there's also a map posted at the entrance.
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Cosmodôme
Experience the thrill of space flight in this interactive museum of space and new technologies a half-hour's drive north of Montréal. Exhibits focus on the solar system, satellite communications, teledetection and space travel, and there are mock-ups of rockets, the space shuttle Endeavor and planets. The center also runs space camps for one to five days for kids aged nine and up in a sort of mini-NASA training.
