Palais Des Congrés

Lonely Planet review

Located on the new Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle in the heart of town, the facade of this convention centre resembles a pallet of popsicles with perky blue, orange, yellow and green panes; entering the hall is akin to strolling through a kaleidoscope. Day brings out the colors, night the transparency. More modern art lies within, including the Lipstick Forest that consists of 52 tree trunks daubed in electric pink.

The cutting-edge Palais adjoins the old convention center but also integrates several historic buildings: a 1908 fire station, the Art Deco Tramways building from 1928 and a Victorian-era office complex.

Immediately east of the Palais, the spanking new Esplanade is a slab of concrete that's been turned into a landscape garden. Stone pathways link 31 heaps of earth, each topped off with Montréal's official tree, the crab apple.