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Parc des Rapides
This elongated green space on the St Lawrence is the spot to view the spectacular white water of the Lachine Rapids (as well as the jet boats that bump over them). The park attracts a host of outdoorsy types - hikers, anglers and bicyclists who pedal the riverside trail, and it's a renowned bird sanctuary, with what's said to be Québec's largest heron colony. You can rent sailboats and windsurfing boards nearby at the l'École de Voile de Lachine.
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Parc du Mont Royal
Montréalers are proud of their 'mountain,' Mount Royal Park, the work of New York Central Park designer Frederick Law Olmsted. It's a sprawling, leafy playground that's perfect for cycling, jogging, horseback riding, picnicking and, in winter, cross-country skiing and tobogganing.
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Parc du Portugal
This quaint little park dedicated to Portuguese immigrants was spruced up in 2003, the 50th anniversary of the official founding of the Portuguese community in Montréal. At the rear of the park, next to the little summer pavilion, a plaque reads in translation: 'We arrived in this area seeking a new life and ample horizons.' The gates and fountain are covered with colorful baked tiles.
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Parc LaFontaine
This great leafy municipal park is the city's third-largest. In the warmer months weary urbanites flock to leafy LaFontaine to enjoy the walking and bicycle paths, the attractive ponds and the general air of relaxation that pervades the park. The view down the steep banks from ave du Parc LaFontaine is stunning, especially if the fountains are in play. You can rent paddleboats in the summer and ice skate in winter.
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Parc Nature du Cap St-Jacques
Arguably the most diverse of Montréal's nature parks, Cap St-Jacques has a huge beach, 27km of trails for hiking and skiing, a farm and even a summer camp. The maple and mixed deciduous forest in the interior is a great patch for a ramble, and in spring a horse-drawn carriage brings visitors to a sugar shack to watch the maple sap boil.
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Place des Arts
Montréal's performing arts center is the kingpin of artistic and cultural events. Several renowned musical companies call the Place des Arts home, including the Montréal Symphony Orchestra and the McGill Chamber Orchestra; it's also the nexus of the International Jazz Festival and Les Francofolies.
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Place Du Canada
This park immediately southeast of Square Dorchester is best known for its monument of John A Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, who addressed the maiden session of parliament in Montréal. It's guarded by four bronze British lions and seven bronze figures holding shields of the seven Canadian provinces of the time.
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Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle
Inaugurated in 2003, the heart of the square is a fountain and sculpture by Jean-Paul Riopelle (1923-2002) called La Joute (The Joust). Formerly at the Olympic stadium, the statue was moved here to anchor the new square. Summer nights are a big draw here as mists and a ring of fire erupts around the fountain, just as Riopelle had always wanted.
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Place Roy
Travelers in particular will identify with artist Michel Goulet's vision for this square. A giant stone map of the world sits in the centre, with water trickling alongside the continents, a symbol for getting out and exploring the world and what goes on in it. This is a wonderful place for pause in a quiet, sleepy corner of the Plateau.
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Place Sun-Yat-Sen
Dedicated to Sun Yat Sen, the ideological father of modern China, this small square was opened in 1988. The space was later refashioned by eight Shanghai craftsmen who used traditional methods and materials. The mural on the north and east walls is made of grey slate. On any given day here you'll find old timers sitting on stone stools together laughing and gossiping in Cantonese while a handful of Falun Gong demonstrators pass out literature nearby.
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Place Ville-Marie
Known for its rotating rooftop beacon that illuminates downtown at night, the Place Ville-Marie tower marked the beginning of Montréal's underground city over four decades ago. Its cruciform shape was chosen to commemorate Maisonneuve's planting of a great cross on Mont Royal in 1642. The 42-story skyscraper is home to high-powered offices as well as a chic rooftop bar, Club 737.
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Plage Des Îles
On warm summer days this artificial sandy beach can accommodate up to 5000 sunning and splashing souls. It's safe, clean and ideal for kids; picnic facilities and snack bars serving beer are also on-site. Volleyball competitions at the 2006 World Outgames were held here and there are still several professional-standard volleyball courts left over for anyone to use.
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Reid Wilson House
This is one of Montréal's finest old mansions, built in 1902 with an old coach house out back and an attached conservatory, rare features amongst the remaining Golden Square Mile homes. Architecture buffs will have a good time here picking out the Gothic, Italian and Romanesque Revival elements.
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Sailors' Memorial Clock Tower
At the east edge of the historic port stands the striking white Tour de l'Horloge. The clock commemorates the sailors and shipmen who died in the world wars. Normally the observation tower and history exhibit are open to the public, but renovations were underway to correct a slight lean in the tower.
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Seagram House
For almost seven decades this faux château served as headquarters for the world's largest distilling company - a child of the Prohibition era. Founder Samuel Bronfman ordered a design like a phony Tudor-Gothic castle and the result looks pretty funny today (note the scary imp over the entrance). When Seagram was sold to France's Vivendi in 2000 the building was donated to McGill University.
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Square Dorchester
This leafy expanse in the heart of downtown offers many visitors their first impression of Montréal - the main tourist office, Centre Infotouriste , is located on the northwest side where many tour buses line up. Known until 1988 as Dominion Square, a reminder of Canada's founding in 1867, it was the site of a Catholic cemetery until 1870 and bodies still lie beneath the grass.
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Square Victoria
In the 19th century this was a Victorian garden in a swanky district of Second Empire homes and offices. Today Square Victoria is a triangle of manicured greenery and water jets in the midst of modern skyscrapers. The only vestige of the period is a statue of Queen Victoria (1872). The Art Nouveau entrance railing to the métro station was a gift from the city of Paris for Expo '67.
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St James United Church
You'll have a hard time imagining it but the stunning facade of this Methodist colossus was blocked from public view for 70 years. A hideous three-storey commercial building completely blocked the church from 1926-2005 when the only way to reach it was through a dark lane underneath a gaudy neon sign. Thankfully, the commercial monstrosity was flattened and several years of restoration work have got the church camera-ready.
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St Lawrence Seaway
This system of locks, canals and dams that opened in 1959 along the St Lawrence River enables oceangoing vessels to sail 3200km inland via the Great Lakes. Across Pont Victoria from the city is an observation tower over the first locks of the system, the St Lambert Locks, where ships are raised/lowered 5m.
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St Michael's & St Anthony's Church
This Byzantine-style church positively dominates its corner of St-Urbain and St-Viateur. Its dome and soaring turret make it one of the more unique examples of church architecture in Montréal. Completed by 1915, it has since mainly served the Irish and Polish Catholic communities.
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St Patrick's Basilica
Built for Montréal's booming Irish population in 1847, the interior of St Patrick's Basilica contains huge columns from single pine trunks, an ornate baptismal font and nectar-colored stained-glass windows. The pope raised its status to basilica in 1989, in recognition of its importance to English-speaking Catholics in Montréal. It's a sterling example of French-Gothic style and, as you might expect, is classified a national monument.
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Terrasse St-Denis
This little street off rue St-Denis was where Montréal's poets and writers met in the early 20th century. It is also nicknamed the 'hill of the Zouaves' for the houses built on the site of Sieur de Montigny, a Papal Zouave or guard.
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Université de Montréal
This is the second-largest French-language university in the world (56,000 students), after the Sorbonne in Paris. Located on the north side of Mont Royal, it's most recognizable building is a lovely Art Deco tower and pale yellow-brick structure. The university was founded in 1920.
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Université du Québec à Montréal
The modern, rather generic buildings of Montréal's French-language university are integrated into the cityscape and are linked to the underground city and the Berri-UQAM métro. The most striking aspect here is the old Gothic steeple of the Église St-Jacques, which has been integrated into the university's facade.
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Vieux Séminaire de St-Sulpice
The Catholic order of Sulpicians was given title to the entire island of Montréal in 1663. The order built the seminary in 1684 and the 3rd-floor apartments of the old seminary have been occupied ever since. The clock on the facade was a gift from French king Louis XIV in 1701; it is believed to be the oldest working clock in North America. Ancient oaks shade the rear garden laid out in 1715. The seminary and grounds are closed to the public.
