This week’s travel dream: Montreal’s endless party

“You can’t not have a good time in Montreal,” said Adam Sachs in National Geographic Traveler. Maybe that’s because this is “the last big city in eastern North America before the North Pole.” Far away—in location, language, and history—from Canada’s other major cities, the continent’s only Francophone metropolis has long prided itself on being a “place where the sense of play and originality is free-form and free-wheeling.” It’s no surprise to learn that Montreal is home to the international headquarters of the world-famous Cirque du Soleil; like those “preternaturally flexible” performers, the city’s vibrant street life often seems “spectacle and entertainment and living thing all at once.”

The city’s thriving bohemian community and “merry-go-round of festivals” make it easy to enjoy yourself in any part of town. The European feel of Old Montreal is largely a product of the many historic buildings, erected by French, English, and Scottish settlers from the 17th century to the 19th century. Yet streets not far away bristle with art deco styles reminiscent of Chicago. “A pleasure here is that when you are in one neighborhood, you completely forget that an altogether different-looking spot lies just a few blocks away.” Each neighborhood offers distinctive cafes, parks, and performance spaces to explore.

It helps that “huge chunks of the city are given over to play.” Mount Royal is a “communal as well as a visual focal point of the city,” its park landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of New York’s Central Park. Another of the city’s main attractions, Parc Jean-Drapeau, spreads across islets on the St. Lawrence River, and boasts a snowboarding park, a beach volleyball court, an inline-skating course, and a race-car circuit. Of course, the city’s “outdoor playland” becomes a tundra throughout the winter—part of the reason why “hockey is the secular religion here.” Fortunately, Montrealers of all stripes share a common cheery determination “to keep spirits aloft” despite life’s challenges and the city’s extreme weather. While Londoners pride themselveson their benevolence­ and New Yorkers have their grit, Montrealers have a “way of finding the sunny side of the afternoon street.”

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Contact: Tourisme-montreal.org