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This article is about Quebec's largest city. For other uses, see Montreal (disambiguation).

City of Montreal, Quebec Ville de Montréal, Québec
File:MontrealSkyline3.jpg
FlagOfficial seal of City of Montreal, QuebecSeal
Motto: Concordia Salus
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Founded	1642
Established	1832
Government
• City Mayor	Gérald Tremblay
Population
• City	1,583,590**
• Urban	3,215,665 (source)
• Metro	3,635,700 (source)
	Metro population est. 2005
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Postal code span	H
Website	www.ville.montreal.qc.ca
Area code = 514/438/450 **Area and city population figures reflect the new 2006 demerged city territory

Montreal, or Montréal in French, (pronounced /ˌmʌntɹiˈɑːl/ in Canadian English, /mɔ̃ʀeal/ in International French, and /mɒ̃ɾeal/ in Quebec French) is the second largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. It's one of the biggest French-speaking cities in the world. At the 2001 Canadian Census, 1,584,590 people lived on the current territory of the city of Montreal proper (new 2006 demerged territory). The population of the Montreal Census Metropolitan Area (also known as Greater Montreal Area) is estimated at 3,640,000 in 2005 . Montreal is ranked as the 15th-largest metropolitan area in Northern America ( & ) and 77th in the world. In 2006, both Traveler's Digest and AskMen.com ranked Montreal as the number one city in the world to live in for its culture, architecture, history and ambience.

Montreal is situated in the southwest of the province of Quebec, approximately 270 kilometres (168 miles) southwest of Quebec City, the provincial capital, and 190 kilometres (118 mi) east of Ottawa, the federal capital, 539 kilometres (335 mi) northeast of Toronto, 610 kilometres (380 mi) north of New York City.<br\>

The city is located on the Island of Montreal at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. The port of Montreal lies at one end of the St. Lawrence Seaway, which is the river gateway that stretches from the Great Lakes into the Atlantic Ocean. Montreal is bordered by the St. Lawrence river on its south side, and by the Rivière des Prairies on the north. The city is named after the most prominent geographical feature on the island, Mount Royal.

History

French rule

Huron, Algonquin, and Iroquois have inhabited the Montreal area for some eight thousand years. The first European to reach the area was Jacques Cartier, when he entered the village of Hochelega on the Island of Montreal on October 2, 1535.

Seventy years later, Samuel de Champlain arrived on the island but the village of Hochelaga no longer existed. In 1611 he established La Place Royale, a fur trading post on the Island of Montreal, but the local Iroquois successfully defended their land. The first permanent European settlement on the Island of Montreal was created in 1639 by a French tax collector named Jérôme Le Royer. Missionaries Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve, Jeanne Mance and a few French colonists founded the Ville Marie Catholic mission on May 17, 1642.

Ville Marie became a centre for the fur trade and a base for further exploration into New France. The Iroquois continued their attacks on the settlement until a peace treaty was signed in 1701. The town remained French until 1760, when Pierre François de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal surrendered it to the British army under Jeffrey Amherst. Fire destroyed one quarter of the town on May 18, 1765.

British rule

The Treaty of Paris in 1763 ended the Seven Years' War and ceded New France to the Kingdom of Great Britain. American Revolutionists briefly held the city in 1775 but soon left. By this time, now named Montreal, the city started to grow from British immigration. The golden era of fur trading began in the city with the advent of the locally owned North West Company, the main rival to the primarily British Hudson's Bay Company.

Montreal was incorporated as a city in 1832. The city's growth was spurred by the opening of the Lachine Canal, which permitted ships to bypass the unnavigable Lachine Rapids south (upstream) of the island. Montreal was the capital of the United Province of Canada from 1844 to 1849, which attracted more English-speakers (or Anglophones) to the city, making the two linguistic groups roughly equal in size. The resulting increased Anglophone community built one of Canada's first universities, McGill, and the wealthy merchant classes began building large mansions at the foot of Mont Royal.

After Confederation — 1867

In 1852 Montreal had 58,000 inhabitants; by 1860 it was the largest city in British North America and the undisputed economic and cultural centre of Canada. The Canadian Pacific Railway made its headquarters there in 1880 until 1995 when it moved to Calgary, and the Canadian National Railway in 1919. Saint Jacques Street in what is now Old Montreal, originally called Saint James Street, became the centre of the Canadian financial industry in the late 19th century. The name "Saint James Street" once signified Canadian high finance as much as "Bay Street" is used in Toronto or Wall Street is used in the United States today. With the annexation of neighbouring towns between 1883 and 1918, Montreal became a mostly Francophone city again. The tradition of alternating between a Francophone and an Anglophone mayor began and lasted until 1914.

After World War I, the Prohibition movement in the United States turned Montreal into a haven for Americans looking for alcohol. Unemployment remained high in the city, and was exacerbated by the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. Canada began to recover from the Great Depression in the mid-1930s, when skyscrapers such as the Sun Life Building began to appear.

During World War II, Mayor Camillien Houde protested against conscription and urged Montrealers to ignore the federal government's registry of all men and women. Ottawa was furious over Houde's insubordination and put him in a prison camp until 1944, when the government was forced to institute conscription (see Conscription Crisis of 1944).

Hundreds of Catholic churches were built as the population grew. This fact explains a few of Montreal's former nicknames: "the city of Saints" and "La ville aux cent clochers" (the city of a hundred belltowers). The numerous streets starting with "St" and "Ste" are a reminder of Montreal's catholic past.

Post-war

After Montreal's population surpassed one million in the early 1950s, Mayor Jean Drapeau laid down plans for the future development of the city. These plans included a new metro system and an underground city, the expansion of Montreal's harbour, and the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. New buildings were built on top of old ones in this time period, including Montreal's two tallest skyscrapers up to then: the 43-storey Place Ville-Marie and the 47-storey Tour de la Bourse. Two new museums were also built, and finally in 1966, the metro opened, along with several new expressways.

The city's international status was cemented by Expo '67 and the Summer Olympics in 1976.

In the mid-1970s, following the October Crisis and also due to economic and political shifts after the election of the separatist Parti Québécois, Montreal's linguistic and ethnic composition underwent a period of transition greater than the norm for urban centres, as many (mostly Anglophone) Montrealers migrated to other provinces, particularly Ontario and Alberta. Bill 101 was passed in 1977 and gave primacy to French as Quebec's main language of business and culture, and enforces the use of French for public signage and business communication; non-compliance can result in fines. It was intended to protect the French language in Quebec from erosion given Francophone Quebecers' position as a linguistic minority in overwhelmingly English-speaking North America; its provisions also required compulsory enrollment of children of new immigrants in French for those frequenting publicly financed schools .

Two referenda later (see 1980 Quebec referendum and 1995 Quebec referendum), the issues of sovereignty and separation are less volatile, but far from settled, and remain a force that characterizes the city.

Throughout the recessions of the 1980s and well into the 1990s, Montreal experienced a relatively slow rate of job growth compared to other major Canadian cities. By the mid 90s, though, Montreal's economy stabilized, and new companies and institutions have risen to fill the usual business and financial niches. As the city celebrated its 350th anniversary in 1992, two constructions of new skyscrapers: 1000 de La Gauchetière and 1250 René-Lévesque (formerly known as the IBM Tower) were elevated. Montreal's favourable economic conditions allowed further improvements in infrastructure, with the expansion of the metro system, construction of new skyscrapers and the development of a ring road around the island. Neighbourhood gentrification has been since occurring at a rapid rate.

Montreal was merged with the 27 surrounding municipalities on the Island of Montreal on 1 January 2002. The merger created a unified city of Montreal which covered the entire Island of Montreal. This move proved to be unpopular, and several former municipalities totalling 13% of the population of the Island of Montreal voted to leave the newly unified city in separate referendums which took place on 20 June 2004. The demerger took place on 1 January 2006, leaving 16 municipalities on the Island of Montreal: the city of Montreal proper plus 15 much smaller municipalities.

For the recent city merger and demerger, see Montreal merger and demerger.

City government

The head of the city government in Montreal is the mayor, who is first among equals in the City Council. The current mayor is Gérald Tremblay, who is a member of the Union des citoyens et des citoyennes de l'Île de Montréal (English: Montreal Island Citizens Union). The city council is a democratically elected institution and is the primary decision-making authority in the city. It currently consists of 73 members from all boroughs of the city. The Council has jurisdiction over many matters, including public security, agreements with other governments, subsidy programs, the environment, urban planning, and a three-year capital expenditure program. The City Council is also required to supervise, standardize or approve certain decisions made by the borough councils.

Reporting directly to the City Council, the executive committee exercises the decision-making powers appropriate to it and is responsible for preparing various documents including budgets and by-laws, submitted by the City Council for approval. The decision-making powers of the executive committee cover, in particular, the awarding of contracts or grants, the management of human and financial resources, supplies and buildings. It may also be assigned further powers by the City Council.

Standing committees are the council's instruments for public consultations. They are responsible for the public study of pending matters and for making the appropriate recommendations to the council. They also review the annual budget forecasts for departments under their jurisdiction. A public notice of meeting is published in both French and English daily newspapers at least seven days before each meeting. All meetings include a public question period. The current standing committees, of which there are seven, have terms lasting two years. In addition, the City Council may decide to create special committees at any time. Each standing committee is made up of seven to nine members, including a chairman and a vice-chairman. The members are all elected municipal officers, with the exception of a representative of the government of Quebec on the public security committee.

The city of Montreal is only one component of the larger Communauté Métropolitaine de Montréal (English: Montreal Metropolitain Community or MMC), which is in charge of planning, coordinating, and financing economic development, public transportation, garbage collection, etc., across the metropolitan area of Montreal. The president of the CMM is the mayor of Montreal. The CMM covers 3,839 square kilometres (1,482 sq mi), with 3,635,700 inhabitants in 2005.

Montreal now constitutes its own region of Quebec.

• See also Districts of Montreal

v t e City of Montreal
Features	Coat of arms Demographics Flag Name Notable Montrealers Sister cities
History	Expo 67 Hochelaga Mayors Montreal District Montreal Metropolitan Commission Montreal Urban Community National Historic Sites of Canada October Crisis Oldest buildings and structures 2002–06 reorganization of Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics Timeline
Geography	Downtown Greater Montreal Hochelaga Archipelago Landmarks Mount Royal Neighbourhoods Old Port Parks Rivière des Prairies Saint Lawrence River West Island Montréal 2025
Economy	Board of Trade Montreal Exchange René Lévesque Boulevard Saint Jacques Street Skyscrapers
Politics	Boroughs City Council Elections Mayor Municipal government Opposition leaders Political parties
Public services	Urgences-santé Service de sécurité incendie de Montréal Hospitals Service de police de la Ville de Montréal
Education	English-language English Montreal SB Lester B. Pearson SB Concordia University McGill University French-language CSS de Montréal CSS Marguerite-Bourgeoys CSS de la Pointe-de-l'Île École de technologie supérieure Université de Montréal Université du Québec à Montréal Libraries Montreal Public Libraries Network Jewish Public Library
Culture	Architecture Cuisine Festivals and parades Films Media Museums Music groups Shopping malls Sport Tourism
Transport	Aéroports de Montréal Bridges Central Station Gare d'autocars de Montréal Metro Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport Port of Montreal Réseau de transport métropolitain Roads Société de transport de Montréal
Category WikiProject

Climate

Montreal lies at the confluence of several climatic regions and thus the climate in Montreal varies greatly.

Precipitation is abundant with an average snowfall of 2.14 metres (84 in) per year in the winter. It snows on average more in Montreal, than Moscow, Russia. Regular rainfall throughout the year averages 897 millimetres (35.3 in). Each year the city government spends more than C$50 million on snow removal. Summer is the wettest season statistically, but it is also the sunniest.

The coldest month of the year is January, which has a daily average temperature of −10.4 °C (13 °F) — averaging a daily low of −14.9 °C (5.2 °F). Due to wind chill, the perceived temperature can be much lower than the actual temperature and wind chill factor is often included in Montreal weather forecasts. The warmest month is July which has a daily average temperature of 20.9 °C (69.6 °F) — averaging a daily high of 26.3 °C (79.3 °F). The lowest temperature ever recorded was −37.8 °C (−36.0 °F) on 15 January 1957 and the highest temperature ever was 37.6 °C (99.7 °F) on 1 August 1975. Moderate to high humidity is common in the summer. In spring and autumn, rainfall averages between 55 and 94 millimetres (2.2 and 3.7 in) a month. Some snow in spring and autumn is normal. Similarly, late heat waves as well as "Indian summers" are a regular feature of the climate.

Despite its widely varying climate, the Montreal region supports a diverse array of plants and wildlife. The maple is one of the most common trees and the sugar maple in particular is an enduring symbol of Montreal and Quebec, thanks to the production of maple syrup.

Demographics

According to Statcan, in 2001, the city of Montreal had 1,583,590 inhabitants. However, 3,635,700 live in the metropolitan area as of 2005 up from 3,426,350, reflecting an annual growth of 1.1 percent. Montreal has been growing more slowly than many other Canadian cities. In the 2001 census, children under 14 years of age (618,855) constituted 18.06 percent, while inhabitants over 65 years of age (442,720) numbered 12.92 percent of the total population. Some 13.55 perent of the population are member of a visible minority (non-white) group. Blacks contribute to the largest minority group, numbering some 140,000 (4.12% of Montreal inhabitants), which is the second largest community of Blacks in Canada, after Toronto. Other groups, such as Arabs (now estimated at 100,000 people), Latin American, South Asian, and Chinese are also large in number. (Chart on ethnicity on the left includes multiple responses.

Religion

The city of Montreal is overwhelmingly Christian, which is unusual for many North American cities of its size. Some 84.56 percent of the total population is Christian, largely Roman Catholic (74.51%), which is largely due to French, Italian and Irish origins. Protestants which include Anglican, United Church, Lutheran and other number 7.02%, while the remaining 3.03% consists mostly of Orthodox Christians, fuelled by a large Greek population. Due to the large number of non-European cultures, there is a diversity of non-Christian religions. Islam is the largest non-Christian group with some 100,000 members, the second largest concentration of Muslims in Canada, constituting 2.96%. The Jewish community in Montreal has a population of 90,000 . In some neighbourhoods of Montreal such as Cote St. Luc, Hampstead, and Dollard des Ormeaux, Jewish people consitute the majority , or a substantial part of the population. Other religions such as Buddhism, and Hinduism are present, but much smaller.

Languages

Because the city of Montreal is very diverse, there is a plethora of languages spoken. In 2001, 67.29% spoke French as a first language, followed by English speakers numbering 12.07%. The remaining percentage (20.64%) is made up mostly of other Indo-European languages such as Italian speakers (100,000), Portuguese, Greek, and German. Other languages include Arabic, Spanish, Polish, Russian, Hindi and Chinese (Note that many of these speakers speak French as a second language). On the island of Montreal itself, these numbers change and Francophones constitute only 53% of the population, with the balance of 18% Anglophones and 29% allophones. However, the majority of residents have at least a working knowledge of both French and English, and a majority of allophones speak either French or English as a second language. This trend has increased after the French language legislation of the 1970s. Montrealers are bilingual to a degree that is remarkable to outsiders, and they tend to switch back and forth between English and French in a manner that is confusing to a monoglot. A typical group of Montrealers will instantly and unconsciously switch to the exclusive use of English or French when the group becomes aware of a monoglot member.

Economy

General description

Montreal is an important regional centre of commerce, industry, culture, finance, and world affairs.

Prior to the completion of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, Montreal was the most inland port for seagoing vessels and therefore served as the principal Altantic port for a vast region of North America's grain and raw materials.

Montreal remains a major port city along the Seaway, a deep-draft inland waterway links it to the industrial centres of the Great Lakes. It is still the largest inland port in the world. As one of the most important ports in Canada, it remains a trans-shipment point for grain, sugar, petroleum products, machinery, and consumer goods. For this reason, it is still part of the railway backbone of Canada and has always been an extremely important rail city; it is the eastern terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway and home to the headquarters of the Canadian National Railway.

Montreal industries include pharmaceuticals, high technology, finance, textile and clothing manufacturing (the schmata industry), higher education, electronic goods, software engineering, building and city engineering, transportation devices, printed goods, aerospace and tobacco.

The headquarters of the Canadian Space Agency are located in Longueuil, southeast of Montreal. Montreal also hosts the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, a United Nations body); the World Anti-Doping Agency (an Olympic body); and the International Air Transport Association (IATA); as well as some 60 other international organizations in various fields.

Montreal is also a centre of film and television production, primarily but not exclusively for French Canadian productions. The operational headquarters and five studios of the Academy Award-winning documentary producer the National Film Board of Canada can be found here, as well as the head offices of Telefilm Canada, the national feature-length film and television funding agency. Given its eclectic architecture and broad availability of film services and crew members, Montreal is a popular filming location for feature-length films, and sometimes stands in for European locations. The city is also home to several distinct film festivals which contribute significantly to its economy.

The Quebec sovereignty movement and the Montreal economy

The relationship of the rise of sovereignty politics and Montreal's economic decline is not simply one of cause and effect. In fact, Toronto became a rival to Montreal for the title of Canada's financial metropolis as early as the 1920s. In that time, Toronto-based Eaton's and The Bay were the most dominant retailers in Canada and even in Quebec. In 1934, the Toronto Stock Exchange surpassed Montreal's as Canada's largest stock exchange. The insurance companies that dominated the Canadian market were also from the new rival, further increasing the concentration of capital in Toronto. Most Canadian leading companies in the tertiary sector of industry (which boomed after WWII), including law firms, publicy firms, news media corporations, and marketing and financial consultants, established their headquarters in Toronto. The choice of the automobile industry during the 50s to concentrate their Canadian production in southern Ontario boosted Toronto's economic activity as well. In 1961, the ratio of US companies that had chosen Toronto over Montreal for their own Canadian HQ was over 6:1 . The completion of the St Lawrence Seaway in that same span decreased the economic importance of Montreal in one of the few tertiary sectors (transport industry) in which it was leading, shifting the heart of this activity to the Great Lakes region. Well before the passage of Bill 101, a trend consisting of companies moving their HQ from Montreal to Toronto had been observed .

This is not to deny the economic impact of the exodus of many English-speaking Montrealers and the relocation of several head offices of major national and financial institutions, preoccupied by the mood of political instability and the rise of Quebec nationalism in the 60s and 70s. But it seems safe to conclude that Toronto had become the chief financial hub and the largest city of Canada before the events occurred .

Other reasons than Quebec's sovereignty movement must be considered to explain the exodus of Montrealers. The 1973 oil crisis badly hurt Montreal petrochemical refinery production. The resulting development of this industry in Alberta attracted a great number of workers not only from Montreal, but from the whole of Eastern Canada.

Places in Montreal

Downtown Montreal

Downtown Montreal lies at the foot of Mount Royal, which is designated as a major urban park, and extends toward the St Lawrence River. The Downtown area contains dozens of notable skyscrapers — which, by law, cannot be higher than Mount Royal — including the aforementioned 1000 de La Gauchetière and 1250 René-Lévesque. The Tour de la Bourse (Stock Exchange Tower) is also a significant building in Montreal, and is home to the Montreal Exchange, that trades in derivatives such as futures contracts and options. The Montreal Exchange was the first stock exchange in Canada. In 1999 all stock trades were transferred to Toronto in exchange for an exclusivity in derivatives trading.

Place Ville-Marie, an I. M. Pei-designed cruciform office tower built in 1962, sits atop an underground shopping mall that forms the nexus of Montreal's underground city, one of the world's largest, with indoor access to over 1,600 shops, restaurants, offices, businesses, museums and universities, as well as metro stations, train stations, bus terminals, and tunnels extending all over downtown. The central axis for downtown is Saint Catherine Street, Canada's busiest commercial avenue. Other major streets include Sherbrooke, Saint-Denis, Peel, de la Montagne, de Maisonneuve and Crescent. The Montreal Skyline panorama includes two islands, Île Ste. Hélène and Ile Notre-Dame. The Notre Dame island hosts the Canadian Grand Prix and Formula One car races, as well as the Champ Car tournament. La Ronde is the biggest amusement park in Montreal and is located on Île Ste. Hélène. The Montreal Fireworks Festival is held there every summer.

The basic Skyline view may be seen from one of two lookouts on Mount Royal. The lookout at the Belevedere takes in downtown, the river, and the Montérégien Hills, and on clear days the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York or the Green Mountains of Vermont are visible. The view of eastern lookout on Remembrance Rd. sweeps out toward the Olympic Stadium, and beyond. Many tourists visit these lookouts.

Montreal is known for contrast between old and new architecture. The Maison des Coopérants (a 146 m / 479 ft tall building) and 1000 De La Gauchetière are located immediately behind the city's Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedrals. Much of Old Montreal has been maintained or restored to its original state. Old Montreal was a worldwide port, but shipping has been moved further east to the Port de Montreal site, leaving the Old Port/Vieux-Port as an historical area.

Old Montreal

Just southeast of downtown is Old Montreal (Vieux-Montréal), an historic area with such attractions as the Old Port, Place Jacques-Cartier, City Hall, the Marché Bonsecours, Place d'Armes, Pointe-à-Callière Museum, and the Notre-Dame de Montréal Basilica. Architecture and cobbled streets in Old Montreal have been maintained or restored to keep the look of the city in its earliest days as a settlement, and horse-drawn calèches help maintain that image. Old Montreal is accessible from the downtown core via the underground city and is served by several STM bus routes and metro stations, ferries to the South Shore and a network of bicycle paths.

Old Port

Shipping has been moved further east to the Port de Montreal site, leaving the riverside area of Old Port/Vieux-Port adjacent to Old Montreal as a recreational and historical area now maintained by Parks Canada. The most recent trip to the North Pole departed from this port.

Olympic Park

The Olympic installations site lies 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from downtown in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district, and is comprised of several buildings designed by French architect Roger Taillibert. The Olympic Stadium is ovoid shaped with a distinctive 'ribbed' look, and has the world's tallest inclined tower at 175 metres (575 ft) high; it leans at 45 degrees. The complex includes the Montreal Biodome (originally a fully-functional Velodrome), the Montreal Insectarium, municipal golf course Le Village, and the Montreal Botanical Garden, one of the largest botanical gardens in the world, second only to Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in England. Two pyramidal towers, known as the Olympic Village, were built to house athletes but now serve as apartments and offices.

The Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics were successful, but construction problems and corruption created a massive financial burden for citizens. At the opening, the tower and the retractable roof were incomplete. The tower was completed years later but the retractable roof was never completed as originally planned by Taillibert. Anglo locals refer to the stadium as the "Big O" due to its shape, but also as the "Big Owe" — a reference to the Olympic Park's exorbitant total cost, which was only paid off thirty years later with the help of a special tobacco tax.

The stadium was also home to the Expos from 1977 until the team moved to Washington, D.C. after the 2004 season, and has sometimes been home for the Montreal Alouettes. Today, Montreal's Olympic Park hosts limited professional sports events and is mainly a tourist and cultural attraction. Montréal recently hosted the 2006 1st World Outgames holding the opening/closing ceremonies and many of the events at the Olympic Stadium. The event drew over 10,000 participants celebrating diversity. Most were Gay athletes, but many participated in other cultural events such as ballroom dancing. Opening ceremonies brought international athletes, local politicians, and entertainers to keep the night festive.

Museums and cultural centres

Montreal is the centre of Quebec culture and a major centre of Canadian culture in general. It has many specialized museums such as the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA), the Musée d'art contemporain (MAC), the Redpath Museum, the Stewart Museum, the McCord Museum of Canadian History, and the Canadian Centre for Architecture. The Place des Arts cultural complex houses the MAC and several theatres, and is the seat of the Montreal Opera and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, although the latter is slated to receive a new concert hall adjacent to Place des Arts.

Religious sanctuaries

Nicknamed "la ville aux cent clochers" (the city of a hundred belltowers), Montreal is renowned for its churches. As described by Mark Twain, "This is the first time I was ever in a city where you couldn't throw a brick without breaking a church window." The city has four Roman Catholic basilicas: Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral, the aforementioned Notre-Dame Basilica, St. Patrick's Basilica, and Saint Joseph's Oratory. The Oratory is the largest church in Canada, with the largest dome of its kind in the world after that of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Other well-known churches include the pilgrimage church of Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Secours, which is sometimes called the Sailors' Church, and the Anglican Christ Church Cathedral, which was completely excavated and suspended in mid-air during the construction of part of the Underground City. All of the above are major tourist destinations, particularly Notre-Dame and the Oratory.

An impressive number of other churches, synagogues and mosques can be found, and church steeples are a familiar view all over the city and island.

Little Italy

Montreal has the second largest Italian population in Canada after Toronto. There are around 250,000 Montrealers of Italian ancestry living within its Metropolitan Area. Montreal's Little Italy, located on Saint Lawrence Boulevard between Jean-Talon and St. Zotique, is home to Montreal's original Italian Canadian community. Although many Italians in Montreal have since moved to other parts of town, Montreal's Little Italy has not lost its heritage, as it is home to a large collection of Italian restaurants, bars, and shops.

Città Italiana (Saint Leonard)

There is also a very prominent Italian Canadian community in the Montreal borough of Saint Leonard, a.k.a. Città Italiana. This borough is located further east on Jean-Talon Boulevard. Città Italiana can be considered Montreal's second Little Italy. Many Italian cultural centres, such as the The Leonardo Da Vinci Centre, are located in Città Italiana. Its services are offered in English, French and Italian. This cultural building contains theaters, gyms, bocce playing areas, and a cafe.

Greektown

Montreal's Greektown has historically been located in the district of Parc Extension. Jean-Talon Boulevard, which runs through Parc Extension, is home to many Greek restaurants and shops. The same can be said for Parc Avenue. Thousands of Greek Canadians took to the streets and celebrated in Greektown after Greece defeated Portugal in the 2004 European Football Championship.

Little Portugal

Montreal has a modest Portuguese population, some of which is concentrated in Little Portugal, which is at the corner of Saint Lawrence Boulevard and Rachel street. Portuguese businesses can be found along several blocks of Saint-Lawrence between Pine and Marie-Anne. The Portuguese area has largely absorbed what used to be the traditional Jewish neighbourhood.

Griffintown

District directly southwest of Downtown Montreal, today it's considered part of the larger Pointe St. Charles district. In the 19th Century Griffintown, the Pointe and the Ste-Cunegonde Parish was home to thousands of Irish immigrants (mostly of the Catholic faith), many of whom worked for the railway and on massive local projects such as the Victoria Bridge, or the Northern Telecom building. Griffintown was the initial stop-off point for many Irish immigrants in the nineteenth century. It became a multi-ethnic neighbourhood by the turn of the twentieth century, consisting of French, Anglo-Protestants (and later, Italians and others), as well as Irish Catholics. The Irish community claims the neighbourhood as a lieu du memoire because of its significance as one of the original sites of Irish immigration in North America. Many of the immigrants who arrived on "fever ships" or "coffin ships" during the Irish Catholic diaspora resulting from potato famine and British colonialism, suffered from typhoid or other diseases and were quarantined in hastily constructed wooden "fever sheds" at Grosse-Ile outside Quebec City and in Griffintown. Roughly six thousand Irish immigrants died at the fever sheds in Griffintown. They are commemorated by a black rock near the Victoria Bridge. The Irish Catholics in Montreal mostly evaded the level of conflict with Protestants occurring elsewhere because of the Catholicism of the French population. Irish Catholics joined together with the French population in revolt against British colonialism in the Patriote Rebellions. Nevertheless, life in Griffintown was violent, dirty (massive pollution which remains in the soil), and poverty-laden. Montreal had one of the highest child mortality rates in the world until well into the twentieth century. A tight-knit culture developed amongst the Irish Catholics, mostly through social participation at St. Ann's Church and through the perpetuation of Irish Catholic traditions, such as plays, dancing, songs, etc. This culture became pervasive and was adopted either wittingly or unwittingly by other Catholic immigrant groups and even by some of the French who lived in the area. Women were very active in church life and pushed their husbands towards social functions run by the Church to keep them away from the saloons. Carousing sailors from the nearby Port of Montreal were another flash point for violence. Workers organized against corrupt bosses in the two major Lachine Canal strikes and a real class conscious ethos developed partly around local tavern culture (see Joe Beef's Tavern). One of the developments that ensued was the opening up of hockey to working class participation through the Montreal Shamrock Hockey Club. Hockey had been a game played by elites and later the middle classes as an amateur, exclusive club sport. The profitability of the sport soon opened the eyes of its middle class purveyors and ultimately led to its professionalization. The post-war collapse of heavy industry and closure of the Lachine Canal created poor economic conditions, and since then it has been a low-income neighbourhood that is now undergoing some gentrification and renewal. However, in order to purchase property today, you must first pay to clean up the soil, an expensive environmental regulation which has so far limited the renewal of the neighborhood to large development projects along its periphery, mostly condos.

Chinatown

Montreal has a small but active Chinatown just south of downtown, featuring many Chinese shops and restaurants, as well as a number of Vietnamese establishments. Several of these restaurants offer dim sum from as early as 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and can be quite crowded, especially on Sundays. The principal axis of Chinatown are Saint Laurent Boulevard and La Gauchetière Street.

The Gay Village

Montreal is known as a Queer or Gay-friendly city. Its pride festival, Divers/Cité, is claimed to be the largest in North America; organizers estimate that it drew 1.4 million people in 2002. It benefits from financial support from all three levels of government. Montreal is home to one of the largest gay villages in the world, centred around the downtown Beaudry metro station (known in French as le Village gai). Montreal is a centre of Queer life and culture in Canada and hosts several circuit parties every year. As the local gay publication is in French, an alternative for English visitors is GAYroute with details about Montréal's gay community. The 2006 World Outgames were held in Montreal. The 2001 census recorded that 6.3% of couples in the city were same-sex, the fourth highest percentage for cities in Canada.

The Plateau Mont Royal

Montreal's trendy and colourful Plateau Mont Royal neighbourhood is located on the twin North-South axes of Saint Laurent Boulevard and Saint Denis Street, and East-West axes of Mount Royal Avenue and Sherbrooke Street. The cobbled, pedestrian-only Prince Arthur Street is also located in this neighbourhood. In the summer, night life often seems as active as in the day in this area. It boasts the highest population density of all Montreal and the greatest number of creative people in Canada, according to Statistics Canada. The same source also states that it is the urban place where the most people travel mainly by foot, bicycle or public transport. The Plateau Mont-Royal has been dubbed the "coolest neighbourhood in North America" by Wallpaper* magazine . The exterior staircase is a distinctive feature of the city's architecture.

Mile End

The tiny "Mile End" district, officially part of the Plateau borough but generally considered distinct, is home to many Montreal artists and filmmakers. The city's two famous bagel emporia, the Fairmount and St-Viateur bakeries, are located on the streets of the same names. Fairmount Street is also home to Wilensky's, immortalized in Mordecai Richler's novel "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (book)" and Saint-Viateur is the site of several cafés of note. The area has become noticeably more cash-rich in recent years, due in part to the presence of the Ubisoft studios in the district, on Saint Laurent Boulevard. As well, as of late it has been the home of many art galleries, designers, and boutiques. Mile End is also where William Shatner spent some time growing up in addition to Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.

Mount Royal

Mount Royal is Montreal's outstanding urban park, designed in 1876 by Frederick Law Olmsted, best known as the designer of New York's Central Park. Mount Royal's features include the Chalet and the Kondiaronk Belvedere overlooking downtown Montreal (the most famous view of the city), and man-made Beaver Lake (Lac aux Castors) with its recently renovated pavilion. Mount Royal is topped by an illuminated cross that has become a Montreal landmark.

Observant hikers on the park's many trails will find an abundance of small wildlife. In the winter, the park is the site of numerous cross-country ski trails and a new, refrigerated skating rink near Beaver Lake.

Once, a funicular railroad brought sightseers to its peak. Unfortunately, that attraction has long since vanished. A tramway also went up the mountain on the north side, replaced in the late 1950s by the Camillien Houde Parkway, which now bisects the mountain (the parkway is named for long-time but controversial former mayor, jailed during World War II for his opposition to conscription in Canada). The "11-Montagne" bus line perpetuates the route of the tram.

Every Sunday in the summer, hundreds of people gather at the statue of Confederation co-founder George-Étienne Cartier at the foot of Mount Royal for several hours of drumming, dancing, and juggling (among many other activities), in an event that has come to be known as the Tam-Tams. It is unclear how this event started; but, as it has no formal organization and has carried on both in a lively and peaceful way since at least the late 1980s, it remains a popular event.

The intersection of Park and Pine Avenues (in French : Avenue du Parc, Avenue des Pins), just to the south, formerly a winding urban interchange (inspired by the New York parkways of Robert Moses), is also undergoing a major transformation to become more pedestrian-friendly.

Parc Jean-Drapeau

Located in the middle of the St. Lawrence River, Parc Jean-Drapeau consists of the islands of Sainte-Hélène and the manmade Notre-Dame, which hosted Expo '67. A large green space with diverse attractions and events, Parc Jean-Drapeau is accessible by métro, car, bicycle or boat. The islands are a popular destination for Montrealers due to their green spaces and sports and cultural activities.

Île Notre-Dame The Floralies gardens are located at the centre of the island. Île Notre-Dame also has a network of canals, and, further west at the lake, offers a beach and other water sports. The Montreal Casino and a youth hostel are also located here. The Montreal Grand Prix takes place here at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, which in winter is used as a skating rink.

Île Sainte-Hélène

Dominated by the geodesic dome of the Biosphère and the rollercoasters of Six Flags La Ronde, the island is also home to the Hélène de Champlain restaurant and the De Lévis tower. Built in 1814, the Fort on Saint Helen's Island houses the Stewart Museum, dedicated to the history of New France. The island also contains several large public works of art, such as the imposing “Man”, sculpted in steel by artist Alexander Calder. Buses run every 15 minutes from the Jean-Drapeau metro station to La Ronde.

Underground city

Montreal's Underground City (French: La ville souterraine) is the set of underground city complexes in and around downtown. It is also known as the indoor city (ville intérieure), as not all of it is underground. With over 32 kilometres (20 mi) of tunnels spread over an area of twelve square kilometres (4.6 sq mi), the 60 residential and commercial complexes comprise 3.6 square kilometres (1.4 sq mi) of floor space, including 80% of all office space and 35% of all commercial space in downtown Montreal. Services include shopping malls, hotels, banks, offices, museums, universities, seven metro stations, two commuter train stations, a bus terminal and the Bell Centre hockey arena. There are more than 120 exterior access points to the underground city. Some 500,000 people use the underground city every day, especially to escape the traffic and/or Montreal's harsh winter. Because of the Underground City, Montreal is often referred to as "Two Cities in One."

Night life

During the period of Prohibition in the United States, Montreal became well-known as one of North America's "sin cities" with unparalleled nightlife, a reputation it still holds today. In part, its bustling nightlife is attributed to its relatively late "last call" (3 a.m.), and its many restaurants and afterhours clubs that stay open well on into the morning. The large university population, the drinking age of 18, and the excellent public transportation system combine with other aspects of the Montreal culture to make the city's night life unique.

Crescent Crescent Street is "party central" for Montreal's Anglophone population, lying at the edge of the Concordia University campus. Throughout the summer, it features street fairs and festivals. The Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix unofficially starts off Montreal's non-stop festival season in the summer. Crescent Street also features many clubs and bars. The clientele of Crescent nightclubs and bars are mostly students, tourists and in general a younger crowd looking for exhilaration and excitement. Most venues will play Top 40, rap and hip hop music. The nearest subway stops are Peel and Guy-Concordia.

Saint-Denis Saint Denis Street is the heart of the Latin Quarter of Montreal (Quartier latin), just south of the Plateau, and filled with clubs, bars, and street festivals. The principal east-west axis of this district are Saint Catherine Street and Boulevard de Maisonneuve, with Saint Denis Street as its north-south axis. The mood is bohemian, and the language is mainly French.

The Main Boulevard Saint-Laurent (Saint Laurent Boulevard, known locally as "The Main") is one of the best places to find nightlife, with many bars and nightclubs and a wide range of restaurants. Saint-Laurent street night spots are often less mainstream than those on Crescent street, with a great variety; from Top 40 and urban music to electronica and techno, from underground and alternative rock to live bands. South of Prince Arthur Street, towards Sherbrooke Street, one is likely to encounter a "posher" clientele. From Prince Arthur Street north (to Mount Royal avenue & beyond), one should expect to rub shoulders with an "edgier" crowd. The nearest subway stop is Saint-Laurent.

Sainte-Catherine Another notable night life spot is Ste-Catherine Street between St-Hubert and Papineau, where many gay nightclubs are concentrated.

Afterhour clubs

Montreal nightlife is also rated fourth in the world at www.askmen.com for its after-hours (3 to 11 a.m.). One can often see world-famous deejays such as Tiësto, Deep Dish and Armin van Buuren featured in Montreal's clubs and after-hours.

Strip-clubs Montreal is known in some circles as the strip club capital of Canada. The city has over 30 male and female strip clubs in the downtown area alone. Strip clubs in Montreal are unique in that the majority offer full-contact lap dances. Full-contact lap dances have been legal in the province of Québec as of 2001. Strip clubs in Montreal are either categorized as full-contact or non-contact.

Strip clubs in Montreal operate differently from U.S. strip clubs. In Montreal exotic dancers are mostly independent workers, not house dancers. Dancers are thus free to work at a variety of strip clubs, and often do. Unlike U.S. exotic dancers, those working in Montreal retain all of the revenues from their performances; gratuity is not expected.

Sports

The biggest sport following in Montreal clearly belongs to hockey – and the city is famous for its hockey-hungry fans. The Montreal Canadiens are one of the Original Six NHL teams, and boast the greatest number of Stanley Cup championships at 24.

Montreal is also the site of two high-profile racing events each year: the Canadian Grand Prix, and the Molson Indy Montreal of the Champcars Series. Both races take place at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Île Notre-Dame. As of 2006, NASCAR is also rumoured to be in talks with city officials and the track promoter about a possible racedate, most likely for the Busch Series at first and possibly the Nextel Cup down the road.

The Montreal Alouettes of the CFL draw packed crowds at the small but picturesque Molson Stadium. Although university football has long been popular with Anglo Montrealers, who support the McGill Redmen, Concordia Stingers, and Bishop's Gaters, enthusiastic Francophone crowds also enjoy the University of Montreal's Carabins "en français".

The city's current USL First Division soccer team is called the Montreal Impact.

In 2006, Montreal was expected to attract some 16,000 LGBT athletes, who will participate in the first-ever GLISA World Outgames. The Outgames are being hailed as the largest international event in the city of Montreal since the 1976 Olympics.

The Montreal games of the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007 will be held at the Olympic Stadium. This will be the 16th edition of the soccer championship.

Montreal was the home of a major league baseball team, the Montreal Expos, named after the 1967 World's Fair, and began playing in Montreal in 1969. However, due to lack of support, dismal attendance and other financial factors, the team moved to Washington, DC in 2005, where it was re-named the Washington Nationals.

Montreal may have a minor league baseball franchise of the Can-Am League in 2008, if things go planned.

Current professional franchises

Former professional franchises

Recreational sports

Beaches

There are five beaches around the island.

• Cap St. Jacques Nature Park
• Bois-de-L’Ile Bizard Nature Park
• Jean Drapeau Park Beach
• Pointe Calumet
• Oka Beach

The Quebec Ministry of Environment tests the beaches for pollutants, Rated “A” to “D”. Current water quality of Montreal beaches (French)

Cycling

Montreal has an excellent network of bicycle paths. Bike route maps

Bike rentals are available at the Old Port of Montreal (also quadricycles, inline skates, children trailers, and segways).

Transportation

Montreal is a transportation hub for eastern Canada, with well-developed air, road, rail, and maritime links to the rest of Canada, as well as the United States and Europe.

Public transit

The city is served by a network of buses and subway and commuter trains that extend across and off the island. The current subway and bus system is operated by the Société de transport de Montréal, and buses off-island are operated by the Société de transport de Laval and the Réseau de transport de Longueuil in their respective territories. The commuter rail system is managed and operated by the Agence métropolitaine de transport, and extends across several municipalities.

The STM bus network consists of 169 daytime and 20 night-time service routes, and provides adapted transport and limited wheelchair-accessible buses.

Each station of the Montreal Metro was designed by different architects with individual themes and features original artwork, and the trains themselves run on rubber tires, making the system quieter than most. It has 65 stations spread out along four lines. It was inaugurated in 1966 and completed in time for Expo 67. The project was initiated by Montreal Mayor Jean Drapeau, who also brought the Olympics to Montreal in 1976. The metro system has long had a station on the South Shore in Longueuil, and is currently being extended into Laval, north of Montreal. Three new stations are scheduled to be opened in 2007, several months late and several hundred million dollars over budget.

Passenger rail

VIA Rail, which is headquartered in Montreal, provides several rail services to other cities in Canada, particularly to Québec City and Toronto with several trains daily.

Amtrak, the U.S. national passenger rail system also provides service to Montreal, operating its Adirondack daily between Montreal and New York City.

Airports

Montreal has two international airports, one for passenger flights only, and the other for cargo. Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (formerly Dorval Airport, the name still used by locals) in the City of Dorval serves all commercial passenger traffic and is the headquarters for Air Canada and Air Transat. To the north of the city is Montréal-Mirabel International Airport in Mirabel, which was envisioned as Montreal's primary airport but which now serves only cargo flights. In 2005, Montreal-Trudeau was the third busiest airport in Canada. It handled 10.9 million passengers and is expected to handle 11.2 million in 2006. Trudeau airport serves 117 destinations worldwide making it one of the most connected airports in North America.

Montreal-Trudeau is one of the few airports in the world that is prepared to handle the new Airbus A380, which is expected to begin service in 2007. Montreal is expecting to handle two of Air France's A380s and a Air France Boeing 747 every day. The A380 will initially be used on North Atlantic route services from Paris to Montreal.

Roads

Like many major cities, Montreal has a problem with vehicular traffic congestion, especially from off-island suburbs such as Laval on Île Jésus, and Longueuil on the southeastern shore. The width of the Saint Lawrence River has made the construction of fixed links to the southeastern shore expensive and difficult. Accordingly, there are only four road bridges (plus one road tunnel, two railway bridges, and a metro line), whereas the far narrower Rivière des Prairies is spanned by eight road bridges (six to Laval and two to the north shore).

Limited-access highways (Autoroutes)

The island of Montreal is a hub for the Québec Autoroute system, and is served by Québec Autoroutes A-10 (aka the Bonaventure Expressway on the island of Montreal), A-15 (aka the Decarie Expressway south of the A-40 and the Laurentian Autoroute to the north of it), A-13 (aka Autoroute Chomedey), A-20, A-25, A-40 (part of the Trans-Canada Highway system, and known as "The Metropolitan" or simply "The Met" in its elevated mid-town section), A-520, and A-720 (aka the Ville-Marie Autoroute). Many of these Autoroutes are frequently congested at rush hour.

Street grid system

Since Montreal is on an island, the directions used in the city plan do not precisely correspond with compass directions, as they are oriented to the geography of the island. North and south are defined on an axis roughly perpendicular to the St. Lawrence River and the Rivière des Prairies: North is towards the Rivière des Prairies, and south is towards the St. Lawrence. East and west directions are defined as roughly parallel to the St. Lawrence River (which flows southwest to northeast) and the Rivière des Prairies. East is downstream, and west is upstream.

Saint Laurent Boulevard, also known as "The Main," divides Montreal into east and west sectors. Streets that cut across Saint Laurent Boulevard undergo a name change, in that Est (East) or Ouest (West) are appended to their names. Streets that do not cross the Main do not generally contain a cardinal direction at the end of their names. Address numbering begins in either direction at one (1) at Saint Laurent Boulevard, increasing in both directions away from the boulevard. On north-south streets, house numbers begin at the Saint Lawrence River and the Lachine Canal and increase to the north. Odd numbers are on the east or north sides of the street, with even numbers on the west or south sides. Numbered streets generally run north and south, and the street numbers increase to the east.

Culture

Major cultural events include the world's largest jazz and comedy festivals as well as celebrations of French-language song (les Francofolies), African culture (Nuits d'Afrique), electronic music (Mutek), artisanship (Salon des Métiers d'Art) and cinema (World Film Festival).

Francophone

Montreal is the cultural centre of Québec, French-speaking Canada and French-speaking North America as a whole, and an important city in the Francophonie. It's the largest French-speaking city in North America, and second in the world after Paris when counting the number of native Francophones (or third after Paris and Kinshasa when counting second language speakers). The city is hub for French language television productions, radio, theatre, circuses, performing arts, film, multimedia and print publishing.

Unlike other North American cities which mainly serve their localities, Montreal plays a national role in the development of French-Canadian and Québécois culture. Its contribution to culture is therefore more of a state-building endeavour rather than limited to civic reflection. The best talents from French Canada and even the French-speaking areas of the United States converge at Montreal and often perceive the city as their cultural capital. Montreal is also the most important stop in the Americas for Francophone artists from Europe, Africa and Asia.

The degree to which Montrealers and Quebec residents support local output is impressive, considering the influence of nearby American and English Canadian culture. The cultural divide between Montreal's and Canada's Francophone and Anglophone culture is strong and was famously referred to as the Two Solitudes by Canadian writer Hugh MacLennan. Reflecting their deep-seated colonial roots, the Solitudes were historically strongly entrenched in Montreal, splitting the city geographically at St-Laurent Boulevard. This split however has become less and less aparent in the past decades.

Anglophone

Montreal is also the cultural capital for English Quebec. The Montreal Gazette newspaper, McGill University, and the Centaur Theatre are traditional hubs of Anglo culture. Notable English-speaking Montrealers such as Leonard Cohen, Oscar Peterson, Nick Auf der Maur, Melissa Auf der Maur and Mordecai Richler have been influential. Anglophones from the Eastern Townships, Ottawa Valley and Northern Québec enjoy radio and television that is produced in English in Montreal.

English is well-represented and widely understood on the island of Montreal. Though Anglophones only account for approximately 18% of the population, the majority of non-native English speakers are bilingual : some 57% of Francophones and 70% of allophones claim to be able to carry a conversation in English.

Anglophones are concentrated and sometimes even form a majority in the Montreal boroughs (or demergered cities) of Hampstead, Montreal West, Westmount, Côte-Saint-Luc, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Pointe-Claire, Beaconsfield, Baie-d'Urfé, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Dorval, Kirkland, Senneville, Pierrefonds, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and Town of Mount Royal.

Some 30 years after the adoption of the Charter of the French Language, French is more widely spoken by Montreal's various communities. 66% of Quebec Anglophones claim to be able to carry a conversation in French. It is now common to hear the children of Vietnamese, Italian, Haitian and Arab immigrants speaking French with a distinct Québécois accent, as well as English and their own mother tongues.

While tensions can occur between Anglophones and Francophones, contemporary Montreal is home to a diverse collection of cultures and peoples who generally live together amicably.

Italian

Montreal's Italian community is one of the largest in Canada, second only to Toronto. With 250,000 Montrealers with Italian ancestry, Montreal has many Italian districts, such as Little Italy, Città Italiana (Saint Leonard), R.D.P. and LaSalle. Italian is the 3rd most spoken language in Montreal and in the province of Québec. There is such a large number of Italian Canadians in Montreal, that when Italy won the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Italian Montrealers took to the streets an celebrated en masse, resulting in many major streets such as Saint Lawrence Boulevard to be closed down.

Jewish

Montreal's Jewish community is historically one of the oldest in Canada and one of the most populous in the country, second to Toronto and numbering about 93,000 according to the 2001 census. The community is quite diverse, and is composed of many different Jewish ethnic divisions that arrived in Canada at different periods of time and under differing circumstances. Included among Montreal's diverse Jewish community are the European Jews (Ashkenazim) who arrived mostly prior to and following World War II ; the Middle Eastern and North African Jews (Mizrahim) who were already French-speaking having come mostly from former French colonies; and Spanish Jews (Sephardim) and again Ashkenazim who had previously settled in Britain and from there moved to Canada as far back as the 18th century. More recent arrivals include significant numbers of Russian, Argentinian, and French Jews as well as some individual Indian Jews, Ethiopian Jews and others. Close to 25% of Montreal's Jewish population have French as their mother tongue.

Montreal's Jewish community is very active in business sectors such as fabrics, alcohol, real estate, finance, and the fine arts. Demographically smaller than other ethnic groups, Montreal's Jewish community has nevertheless been a leading contributor to Montreal's cultural landscape and is renowned for its level of charitable giving and its plethora of cultural and social service community institutions. Among these are the world renowned Jewish Public Library of Montreal, Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts, and Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre.

Jewish culinary contributions have also been a source of pride for Montrealers; two world-renowned contributions are Montreal's smoked meat sandwiches and Montreal style bagels. There are many private Jewish schools in Montreal, partly funded by the Québec government (like most denominational schools in Québec). Approximately 7,000 children attend Jewish day schools, over 50% of the total Jewish school age population, an extremely high percentage for North American cities.

The Montreal Jewish community has experienced a significant population decline since the election of a seperatist provincial government in 1976.

Arabic

Arabic is the fourth language in importance, with many of Lebanese and Algerian origin having a special French connection. In Montreal, their biggest community in North America, they are well appreciated for their Middle Eastern cuisine and art, and in the view of most they enrich the whole city with their presence. The Arabic presence is so large that it is clearly fragmented into multiple "subcultures:" an anglophone with no knowledge of Arabic history or culture can distinguish some distinct "Arabic" cuisines in restaurants observed during a 30-minute walk along Saint Catherine's street.

Greek

Greek is the fifth language in importance, formerly the fourth before ceding that position to the Arabic communities. Still the Greek community is a vibrant one with their own little part of town and their local festivals and churches. Neighbouring Laval also has a sizable Greek community.

Montreal Festivals

Montreal is a "Gamma" global city, hosting a multitude of international festivals and events.

• Montreal Reggae Festival
• Montreal Jazz Festival
• Fantasia Festival Genre films festival
• Les FrancoFolies de Montréal
• Divers/Cité gay pride celebrations
• Just for Laughs comedy festival
• Pop Montreal indie-rock festival
• Black and Blue Festival gay circuit/rave festival
• Montreal World Film Festival
• L’International des Feux Loto-Québec - International fireworks competition
• FestiBlues international de Montréal
• Montreal High Lights Festival
• Montreal International Festival of New Cinema and New Media
• Jamaica day
• Trinidad day
• MEG
• Fringe
• Osheaga rock festival
• Mutek

Montreal Parades

• Montreal's St. Patrick's Day parade and the Irish in Quebec (in French) Montreal's is the longest continuous running St. Patrick's Day Parade in North America and the largest parade in Montreal, see also the United Irish Societies of Montreal (in English)
• Saint-Jean-Baptiste Parade, see also the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society
• Canada Day Parade, celebrating Canada's birthday
• Carifiesta Montreal, a Parade celebrating the Caribbean culture of Montreal
• Twins Parade , a Parade hosted by Just For Laughs Festival
• Divers/Cité gay pride parade, celebrating Montreal's gay community
• Santa Claus parade

Montreal music scene

Montreal's music scene has always garnered much attention in popular media (The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Spin Magazine, BBC, NPR...). The growing success of the current "scene" owes much to a couple of bold local record labels (Alien8 Recordings & Constellation Records), as well as the edgy Pop Montreal Music Festival.

The city's culture, a melting pot of nations from around the world, has produced a variety of artists and bands who are currently enjoying the limelight of "Montreal's music scene".

Montreal in films

Hollywood Movies

• The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974), Richard Dreyfuss, Jack Warden, Randy Quaid, Joseph Wiseman.
• The Jackal (1997), starring Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, and Sidney Poitier.
• The Red Violin (1998), starring Samuel L. Jackson, Colm Feore.
• The Whole Nine Yards (2000), starring Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry.
• The Art of War (2000), starring Wesley Snipes, Donald Sutherland, Anne Archer.
• The Score (2001), starring Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, and Marlon Brando.
• Taking Lives (2004), starring Angelina Jolie, Ethan Hawke, and Kiefer Sutherland.
• The Day After Tomorrow (2004), the boat scene filmed at the Old Port of Montreal.

Quebec English Films

• Mambo Italiano (2003), starring Paul Sorvino, Luke Kirby, Mary Walsh, Sophie Lorain, and Ginette Reno.
• Eternal (2004).

Quebec French Films

• Maelström (2000), by Denis Villeneuve, starring Marie-Josée Croze and Jean-Nicolas Verreault. Winner of 5 Genie Awards and 7 Jutra Awards.
• Les Invasions Barbares (2003), by Denys Arcand.
• Jésus de Montréal (1989), by Denys Arcand.
• C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005), by Jean-Marc Vallee.
• October 1970 (2006), story of the FLQ terrorist group and the October Crisis.
• Bon Cop, Bad Cop (2006)

Spanish Film

• Barrera de Amor (2006), by Ernesto Alonso, starring Yadhira Carillo, Aaron Diaz,and Susana Diazayas

Montreal cuisine

Montreal is considered to be one of the cities with the most restaurants in the world

This article contains weasel words: vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiable information. Such statements should be clarified or removed.

(based on the ratio of restaurants to population), serving a wide variety of cuisines.

• Poutine
• Montreal-style bagel
• Smoked meat
• Montreal hot dog

Literary

Due to its vibrant literary scene, Montreal was designated as the 2005 "World Book Capital City 2005–2006" by UNESCO.

Education

With access to six universities and twelve junior colleges in an 8 kilometer (5 mi) radius, Montreal has the second highest concentration of post-secondary students of all major cities in North America. After the demerger, Montreal Regains the "concentration" title.

Francophone Universities

• Université de Montréal:
  • École Polytechnique de Montréal
  • HEC Montréal - École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Montréal
• Université du Québec:
  • Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM)
  • École de technologie supérieure (ETS)
  • École de technologie supérieure (ENAP)
  • Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS)
• Université de Sherbrooke (Located in Sherbrooke, campus in Longueuil)
• Université Laval (Located in Québec, campus in Longueuil)

Anglophone Universities

• McGill University
• Concordia University

English-language public schools are operated by the English Montreal School Board .

Neighbouring municipalities

Sister City

• Athens, Greece
• Hiroshima, Japan
• Shanghai, China
• Daegu, South Korea
• Busan, South Korea
• Hannover, Germany
• Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States
• Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
• London, England
• Los Angeles, California, United States
• Paris, France
• Toulouse, France
• Volgograd, Russia

See also

• List of famous Montrealers
• List of communities in Quebec
• List of Quebec regions
• List of Montreal boroughs
• List of Montreal media outlets
• List of Montreal metro stations
• List of bridges in Montreal
• List of Montreal mayors
• List of malls in Montreal
• List of Montreal's 10 tallest skyscrapers
• List of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in Canada
• Montreal Screwjob

Notes

1. It is most common to omit the acute accent in English-language usage (Montreal), unless one is using a proper name where the context requires the use of the accent (e.g. Le Journal de Montréal, as compared to Montreal Gazette), and to keep the accent in French-language usage (Montréal). This is also the approach favoured by The Canadian Press Style Book (ISBN 0-920009-32-8, at p. 234) and the Globe and Mail Style Book (ISBN 0-7710-5685-0, at p. 249). According to The Canadian Style (ISBN 1-55002-276-8, at p. 263-4), the official style guide of the Canadian government, the name of the city is to be written with an accent in all government materials.
2. Statistics referenced in "Census includes gay, lesbian households for first time", canada.com, 2002 October 22. "Out of all common-law couples, Vancouver had the highest proportion -- 15.0 per cent -- who were gay. Toronto came second at 9.8 per cent, Ottawa third at 6.7 per cent, and Montreal fourth at 6.3 per cent."

References

• Statistics Canada (2004). 2001 Census of Canada. Retrieved Aug. 29, 2005.
• Natural Resources Canada (2005). Canadian Geographical Names: Island of Montreal. Retrieved Aug. 29, 2005.
• Michael Sletcher, 'Montréal', in James Ciment, ed., Colonial America: An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural, and Economic History, (5 vols., N.Y., 2005).

External links

2. Part 2

• WikiSatellite view of Montreal at WikiMapia
• Template:Wikitravel
• Official portal of Montreal
• Navigateur Urbain (map and aerial photos)
• IMTL Montreal: All building and skyscrapers in Montreal
• Life in Montreal (1840-1945), Images from the McCord Museum's collections
• Montreal 1894 (476K)
  • The Atlas of Canada: Montreal, circa 1915
  • Bibliothèque Nationale du Québec (Quebec National Library): various high-resolution maps, accessible via "Index des toponymes" / "M" / "Montréal (Québec).

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• Sport in Montreal
• Cities in Quebec
• Host cities of the Summer Olympic Games
• Montreal
• Gamma world cities
• World Book Capital
• 1642 establishments