from the boat was the Place Jacques-Cartier, a square made by the city in the first half of the 19th century. Street performers do their thing for crowds on the square in restaurants that line it.
We have continued to be impressed by way Canadians prepare outdoor spaces with plants and flowers. They have beautifully designed gardens and like to spell out words or symbols using plants. This is not unique to Quebec since we see this all over Canada. Apartments have window boxes with flowers. Houses have well cared for landscaping.
For a good overview of the city we signed up for a Gray Line tour. This 1 1/2 hour tour took us to historical sights, different neighborhoods and, tourist spots. We saw several Catholic Cathedrals, a predominate religion of French Quebecois. One of the largest churches is the Nortre Dame Basilica first constructed in 1829. It is of Neo-Gothic architecture. The inside was open, for a small fee, to view the finely crafted interior.
Another stop on the tour bus was in Olympic Village. Montreal hosted the 1976 Olympics. The pictures show the sports arena (track & field I think) with a roof supported by wires from the tall structure. An elevator carries sightseers up the side (left side in the picture) to the top.
This was one of the housing units for the athletics. As you can tell many of the Olympic builds were modern architecture.
Montreal has many interesting buildings. These are a few.
On Thursday afternoon we attended a performance of Cirque du Soleil. This one had an insect theme. We had never before seem them perform but knew a little about what a performance is like. We were in awe of what they can do. It was really a tremendous show to see with enough variety of acts that the show moved quickly. I got tickets through the internet soon after we arrived in Montreal and realized that the group's venue was right near our boat. We got some of the last seats available for a 4:00 performance and couldn't sit together, but it was worth it.
Montreal has developed an extensive underground shopping area. Many connect with the Metro (subway). This picture is a mall area partially underground.
On Thursday afternoon we attended a performance of Cirque du Soleil. This one had an insect theme. We had never before seem them perform but knew a little about what a performance is like. We were in awe of what they can do. It was really a tremendous show to see with enough variety of acts that the show moved quickly. I got tickets through the internet soon after we arrived in Montreal and realized that the group's venue was right near our boat. We got some of the last seats available for a 4:00 performance and couldn't sit together, but it was worth it.
Montreal has developed an extensive underground shopping area. Many connect with the Metro (subway). This picture is a mall area partially underground.
A Quebec holiday, Saint-Jean-Baptist Day occurred during the five days we were in Montreal. This is a big National Holiday and celebration and dates back to France in the 18th century. It seems to be a Quebec "pride" day. There were parades, and huge crowds at the waterfront enjoying the day off. Right next to us in the marina was a performance act on a sailboat. The couple did pranks and gymnastics all over their yellow sailboat. They travel around the world performing.
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