In Romantic Montreal Two Baby Boomers Discover A City Young at Heart

By George Medovoy, Editor

(Shop 'till you drop? That could very well be the motto of shopping in Montreal, a city with a stunning array of shopping options -- from Quebec crafts and antiques to charming fashion boutiques in trendy neighborhoods. Stephan Poulin, Tourisme-Montreal photo)

I remember it like yesterday, that warm summer day.

My wife and I were walking hand in hand up St-Mathieu Street off Sherbrooke, a broad avenue with chic boutiques and fancy apartments behind Victorian facades that is often called Montreal's own version of Fifth Avenue.

Looming above Sherbrooke for us to behold, of course, was Montreal's very namesake, Mount Royal, the beloved wooded mountain named by Jacques Cartier, the French explorer and discoverer of Canada, who arrived here in 1535.

(Montrealers love to get around every which way. Here, on the Jacques Cartier Bridge, against a background of the St. Lawrence River and city center, bikers and skaters take advantage of the city closing the bridge for a day for alternate forms of travel)

Montreal is now a multi-ethnic island city of 3.7 million people, but it still bears the name bestowed upon it by Jacques Cartier over 400 years ago.

(From her balcony on the leafy street, an old woman tossed us a rose)

As my wife and I continued along the leafy street, I looked up and saw an old woman watching us from the balcony of her apartment.

Then, suddenly, she tossed us a rose -- an act I knew could only happen in a city with a contagious joie de vivre that seems to be everywhere - in its cafes and restaurants, in its myriad parks, and along its flower-decorated streets.

Now graying "baby boomers," the two of us had come back to rediscover this quintessentially romantic city. And what did we find?

In fact, what we found was the same joie de vivre, the same joyous city as when we were young.

On this latest trip we had a plan: we would find the "essence" of Montreal again: good walks, good food, and the cradle of the city, Old Montreal, a two-mile area by the port.

(A sidewalk cafe in Old Montreal is a great place to while away some of your time near the quays of the port)

Old Montreal's narrow streets and historic buildings dating from the 17th and 19th centuries have become the centerpiece of a gentrification peopled by artists, baby boomers, and young couples without kids known here as "dinks," - double income, no kids - who live in expensive condos carved out of venerable properties which, 20 years ago, went for $40,000 and today fetch as much as $350,000 for two bedrooms.

The area's renaissance has produced new art galleries, boat rides on the St. Lawrence, stylish boutique hotels under mansard roofs, and, of course, gaily-colored horse-drawn carriages made for romantic rides through cobblestone streets.

(A horse and carriage awaits passengers in front of the imposing Notre-Dame Basilica in Old Montreal)

On rue Sainte-Helene, the city has even installed 22 gas street lamps to add to Old Montreal's flights of fancy.

So there we were, we two baby boomers, rediscovering a city where every corner brings a new discovery. Our first stop was Marche Bonsecours, whose distinctive Greek Revival portico and tin-plated dome have stood out since 1847, when the building was Montreal's agricultural marketplace.

(The distinctive silver dome of Marche Bonsecours is like a beacon throughout Montreal. The building today houses boutiques of many kinds)

The building's new incarnation as a showcase for Quebec designers and artisans features 15 boutiques and the Quebec Craft Council.

Here we saw distinctive hand-woven rugs, watched glass blowing, and, for our granddaughter, bought a pig-tailed doll that moved its head to "Somewhere over the Rainbow."

At "Meubles d'autrefois" (Furniture of Bygone Times), I connected with an expression the owners had posted at the entrance to their shop: "The art and the pleasure of living is knowing how to appreciate each day the preciousness of our home and to feel the comfort of our surroundings." Anyone who knows Quebec, understands this to be a fairly accurate reflection of the importance attached to home and hearth here.

(Place Jacques Cartier takes on a special quality at sunset. The imposing Montreal City Hall is seen in the background. Stephan Poulin, Tourisme-Montreal photo)

By noon, we were both getting hungry and decided to visit Place Jacques Cartier, a broad square with many restaurants and the imposing Montreal City Hall, built at the end of the 19th century in the distinctive Second Empire style.

But on the way, we were pleasantly distracted by the annual International Flora Montreal at Parc des Ecluses.

Using the theme "The Garden Passion," the exhibit features landscape designs of 45 designers - 17 from Quebec.
The goal is to awaken all of our senses.

(A touch of whimsy is added to one of the garden designs at International Flora Montreal, at Parc des Ecluses)

And, as baby boomers ourselves, we agreed that the enthusiasm for landscaping attracts a growing number of "us" because of free time and means.

(Raquel Penalosa of International Flora Montreal)

Flora Montreal's artistic director, Columbia native Raquel Penalosa, who previously worked in San Francisco, told me that one of the ideas behind the displays is to encourage opening one's home to gardens and creating spaces that passersby can also enjoy.
Montrealers are passionate about gardening, maybe because their city gets so much snow during long winters.

So, when you come here - and come here you must - it's important to visit one of nature's own gardens, Mount Royal, the 490-acre park in the center of the city whose modern design was crafted in 1876 by Frederick Law Olmsted, the man also responsible for designing New York's Central Park.

(A cyclist and child circle Beaver Lake on Mount Royal, the pleasant urban mountain-park in the heart of the city)

The highlight, as always, was a walk around Beaver Lake, where one can do boating in the warm months and ice skating in winter. And don't forget cross-country skiing on the slopes.

But I digress…we were about to have lunch in Old Montreal.
And what a lovely lunch it was, at Jardin Nelson, an outdoor café whose courtyard filled with live jazz and spreading hibiscus plants on this warm summer day.

(Great food, smooth jazz, and a lovely garden setting...it's all at Jardin Nelson, an outdoor cafe in Place Jacques Cartier, Old Montreal)

My entrée of cauliflower soup was just right, and the eggplant lasagna came with healthy helpings of tomato sauce, mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan cheese.

Before leaving Old Montreal, you must make time for two more, very essential stops if you really want to understand Montreal's history.
One is Pointe-a-Calliere, the Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History, built over the city's early remains from Indian times. At L'Arrivage, the museum's café-restaurant, we enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast of Eggs Wellington.

Old Montreal's other "must see" is Place d'Armes, where architecture reflects historic development - including the 17th-century Sulpician Seminary, the 19th-century Gothic Revival Notre-Dame Basilica, and a 20th-century glass-and-steel office building.

(The imposing interior of the Gothic Revival Notre-Dame Basilica)

Standing in the center of the square is a monument to the two founders of Montreal, Paul de Chomedy and Jeanne Mance, a businesswoman who managed the young French colony in Maisonneuve's absence.

The two had left France in 1641, part of a party intent on evangelizing the native Indians, a mission that later gave way to the burgeoning fur trade.

There's a fine story told about the flag of Montreal, which flies near the monument. Its four squares represent the symbols of the four countries that played a major role here: the fleur de lis of France, the rose of England, the thistle of Scotland, and the shamrock of Ireland.
And that's why Montrealers like to say that they drink good wine, good beer, good gin, and good scotch.

Well, good drinks inevitably lead to good food, and it's no small coincidence that the island of Montreal is shaped like a croissant.
Montreal has four major farmers markets, offering fresh Quebec produce from April to October.

(The art deco clock tower of the Atwater Market is seen from a foot bridge that crosses the Lachine Canal)

One of the most popular is the Atwater Market, where an art deco depression-era tower hovers above indoor stalls of produce, cheese, meats and wines.

(Pansies for sale at the Atwater Market, The spelling may be French, of course, but flowers are flowers in any language)

Outside, vendors sell crafts and beds of flowers ready for planting. The market's neighbor, the Lachine Canal, is an 8.7-mile bicycle-and-pedestrian pathway.

(A nice warm croissant and a cup of coffee are well worth the stop at the Atwater Market. Tourisme-Montreal photo)

We joined cyclists, friends out for the morning, and families with small children, as we relaxed with café au lait in big bowls and warm croissants at Premiere Moison, a bakery with 14 branches throughout Montreal, including this one at the market.

(At Premiere Moisson Bakery, there are pastries of every mouth-watering kind to behold...and taste, of course)

Besides croissants, there were also scrumptious cakes of every description in what I like to think was a "baker's ode" to the fruits of summer: raspberry-blueberry, raspberry-lemon, almond and red fruit, blueberry-yogurt tart, raspberry-lemon mille-feuille, and summer ingot.

(Gilles Jourdenais slices a piece of Quebec cheese. Linda Turgeon, Tourisme-Montreal photo)

Before leaving the market, we met Gilles Jourdenais, the proprietor of La Fromagerie du Marche Atwater, looking spry in his dark beret, for some Quebec cheese tasting.

"A nice blue cheese and a nice glass of chardonnay - it's the perfect match," a smiling Jourdenais says in his shop.

Quebec cheese producers are relatively small compared, say, to their counterparts in France, with most artisan cheese-makers in the province using 40 cows or goats.

Yet, as Jourdenais adds, "I would not be ashamed to put any of our Quebec cheeses on a platter in France."

The province currently exports Quebec cheese to other Canadian provinces and New York State, as well.

On this trip, we tried out two wonderful restaurants for the first time, remembering, of course, that this is a city where good food is so important.

Altitude 737, at 737 feet above sea level, sits at the very top of Place Ville Marie, a leading shopping complex linked to the largest underground city in the world - 35 miles of walkways, hotels, cinemas, restaurants, and boutiques all linked by the super-quiet Metro.

(The view of the city is simply spectacular from Altitude 737. Robert Painter photo)

One floor down from the restaurant an open-air rooftop disco lounge offers 360-degree views of the city. The food, a mix of fusion-French cuisine, was top notch.

Our selection, being fish devotees, was the Atlantic salmon filet, prepared with red onion rolls and a heavenly sweet garlic cream, whose use seemed just right and not overpowering.

The piece de resistance was an unforgettable chocolate hazelnut creme brulee to die for.

(Altitude 737's open-air lounge, high above the city, provides a 360-degree view of Montreal and the St. Lawrence River. At night, spotlights look down on the city)

Our second choice was an informal place behind a plain store front in the east end called O Thyme, where you can bring your own wine and the menu is posted on the wall.

(The menu is posted on a chalkboard at one end of the simple interior, with its exposed lights. But the food is anything but simple at O Thyme)

We began our meal with a luscious mushroom soup flavor subtly with anise, followed by a very tender Chilean sea bass with a crispy crust and buttery meat in a very lemony white sauce made from coriander, crème, white wine and garlic - which made me yearn for more.

Any visit to Montreal isn't complete without its nearby St. Lawrence River islands, the sites of Expo 67, the 1967 world's fair.

(On a cruise along the St. Lawrence River, passengers see Habitat, a unique form of housing designed by Israeli architect Moshe Safdie for the 1967 world's fair, Expo 67)

At Casino de Montreal on Notre Dame Island we enjoyed Montreal singer Charles Dozier and a cast of singers and musicians in a performance of "Hit the Road Jack," a dinner show featuring the music of Ray Charles.

(Fireworks illuminate the Jacques Cartier Bridge across the city's skyline at night. Tourisme-Montreal photo)

Our last evening was symbolic, indeed, as we visited the La Ronde amusement park on St. Helen's Island for a spectacular fireworks display. The pyrotechnics lit up the sky, and I knew it celebrated another memorable visit to Montreal.

WHEN YOU GO...

For general travel information about Montreal, visit www.tourisme-montreal.org or call (877)266-5687, and for the province of Quebec, visit www.bonjourquebec.com or call the same number.

(Still another sidewalk cafe in the Westmount district of Montreal)

WHERE TO STAY

Montreal has a wide variety of hotels to suit all tastes. What follows is a list of some that I can recommend, having stayed at them all. I suggest that you contact them directly for rates, as these are always subject to change and specials.

Old Montreal has a number of lovely boutique hotels in updated historic buildings, including Auberge du Vieux-Port, www.aubergeduvieuxport.com, (888) 660-7678, 27 rooms; Hotel Nelligan, www.hotelnelligan.com, (877) 788-2040, 35 rooms, 28 suites; Le Place d'Armes, www.hotelplacedarmes.com, (888) 450-1887), 83 rooms, 52 suites.

(Sherbrooke Street shoppers admire a new purchase. Tourisme-Montreal photo)

On Sherbrooke Street, near the Museum of Fine Arts, is the Chateau Versailles, a beautiful old heritage home, www.versailleshotels.com, (888) 933-8111, 65 rooms, 14 suites.

Downtown on a quiet street is a small bed and breakfast called Le Petit Prince, www.montrealbandb.com, (877) 938-9750, 4 rooms.

Between Old Montreal and the downtown core is the large Inter-Continental Montreal, www.montreal.intercontinental.com, (514) 987-9900, 357 rooms, 23 suites.

"Do You Speak English?"

A word about spoken French here. Though French is the official language of the province, virtually everyone too, speaks English, but if you do know French, don't be surprised if you can't understand the Quebec pronunciation.

A Montreal cab driver once told me that he had picked up a passenger from Paris who was so puzzled by the local pronunciation, that finally, out of desperation, he asked the cabbie: "Do you speak English?"
-- George Medovoy

(To read more about Montreal, click here)