Steve and I had toured Old Montréal a few years ago, during our Epic Road Trip 2021. But it was Hope and Dave’s first visit, so I chose a guided walking tour that would hit the highlights in Old Montréal and then venture out into surrounding neighborhoods.
We met our guide Danny in the Place d’Armes. Danny was one of the co-creators of this “Beyond the Basilica” tour. He was fast-talking, funny, and congenial. His droll comments throughout the tour gave us a glimpse into the life of a thirty-something resident of Montréal.
We went inside Notre-Dame Basilica, which we had not done on our previous tour. The interior was breathtaking! The vaulted ceilings and stone columns were decorated in a myriad of colors, with lavish gold leaf accents. The jewel-toned stained glass windows showed historic local figures instead of saints. Danny told us about notable events that had been hosted here: the wedding of Celine Dion, the funerals of Pierre Trudeau and René Angélil (Dion’s husband), the Christmas concert of Luciano Pavarotti. What an astoundingly beautiful setting for any special event! Montrealers have every right to be proud of Notre-Dame Basilica.
We left the Basilica and walked around the western side of Old Montréal. Danny pointed out landmarks we had seen on our previous tour - the bronze sculptures of the Two Snobs, the coffee shop in the former Royal Bank of Canada building; the statue of Poseidon’s wife Amphitrite and the section of the Berlin Wall in the World Trade Centre.
From the World Trade Centre, we went down into the Underground City, a vast network of tunnels under Downtown Montreal. This is how Montrealers survive the cold, snowy winters! We resurfaced at the Montreal Convention Center, near the distinctive Lipstick Forest. In Montréal’s Chinatown, we had a tasty snack at Patisserie Bao Bao Dim Sum.
We walked along the Boulevard Saint-Laurent (aka The Main). This historic street was a dividing line between the city’s English-speaking, Protestant, upper-class west side and the French-speaking, Catholic, working-class east side. We walked through the former Red Light District, which is now an entertainment hub with festival venues (and one surviving strip club). We popped into a funky thrift store/coffee shop called Eva B for a quick peek at its wacky merchandise and provocative “art.”
Boul St-Laurent is perhaps most famous for its murals. Every year in June, artists gather here and paint over the previous year’s murals. They were wonderful, and they were everywhere! Some murals celebrated famous local figures (Leonard Cohen, Jackie Robinson). Others cleverly incorporated windows and other building features into the painted image.
After a welcome stop at a coffee shop, we said goodbye to Danny and walked back to our hotel, enjoying the eclectic stores on Boul St-Laurent and the distinctive buildings and public sculptures of Downtown Montréal.
