Riding Around Montreal, Canada in the Summertime is Amazing!
After Ottawa, the next leg of my journey was Montreal or the Royal Mountain 😉
Upon crossing into Quebec, you feel like you are in an alternate reality of Canada.
Everything looks the same as your typical Canada; the buildings, the people, the roads, the infrastructure, yet everything is in the French Language.
In every country I traveled, there wasn’t a single person I spoke with, that didn’t know about the distinctly French-speaking part of Canada.
Everyone knew that an entire part of Canada was dedicated to speaking French, instead of English.
Luckily, I had spent a good 2 weeks re-learning French using Pimsleur French. During this entire road trip, I would actively listen and repeat the lessons in my car, and while riding around on my electric scooter.
“Bonjour madame, comment allez-vous? Est-ce que vous voudriez boire quelque chose avec moi ce soir?”
Furthermore, having a general grasp of Spanish and Portuguese, it was amazing to see the similarities in the languages, ultimately making French just a bit easier to understand.
So by the time I arrived in Montreal, I had a minimal, yet functional amount of French in my vocabulary.
But either way, that didn’t matter, since everyone I interacted with spoke fluent English.
Exploring Montreal
Upon driving into Montreal, my immediate first impression was that I was back in a big city, with the massive towering skyscrapers, complex intersecting highways, and endless houses that adorned the surrounding landscape.
To avoid blowing through money, and potentially meet other travelers, I stayed at a hostel in the downtown area and parked my car in a location with free parking.
Once again, I threw on my camera, hopped onto my electric scooter, and started exploring.
Almost within 50 meters of my hostel, was a park that seemed a bit sketchier and more dangerous than I expected (Emilie-Gamelin Place).
I tried to make some photos, but was immediately confronted by drug addicts who told me to stop taking photos, at risk for myself, and the thousands of dollars of equipment I was riding around with.
I replied with questions, but ultimately my aim was to diffuse the situation and continue on my way with nothing stolen.
Old Montreal is Mind-Blowing
Riding around Montreal felt like a massive city had completely swallowed its historic past of important political and cultural institutions.
Montreal featured old housing complexes built in the early 1900s yet was completely overshadowed by modern gentrified skyscrapers and office buildings.
But the most amazing part was Old Montreal. You suddenly feel like you are transported to the old world of Europe.
Riding around this deeply historical core of Old Montreal felt surreal.
After living in Canada for more than 2 decades, I had a little realization that Canada had something so historic and well preserved hidden away.
Unlike Toronto, which is dotted with the occasional culturally significant architecture, Old Montreal is a relic city within a modern city. Truly magnificent, and one of the highlights of Montreal.
Lakeshore Montreal
After exploring the old historic center for a bit and buying a small souvenir to commemorate that “I’ve been here”, I continued along the shore of the Saint Lawrence River and enjoyed the skyline as it transformed back into either minimalist office buildings or massive gentrified condominiums for the newly rich.
Atwater Market in Montreal
A quick stop in the Atwater Market brought nostalgia for Mexico, Latin America, and the developing world.
Then stopped by a mid-town suburb for a quick vegan restaurant break, before continuing back to the downtown core.
Downtown Montreal
As I continued towards the downtown core, I took note of the French and western European palatial-like homes melded in with more recent build-em-quick style developments.
One of the wonderful things about Montreal in the summer is its relative walkable accessibility, especially in the center of the city. You can walk from one area to the other, without anyone ever bothering you, or ever feeling like you could have a safety concern.
The streets were alive with locals and tourists walking around to and from their destinations, or simply enjoying the very low-risk reality of a Canadian city.
Most, if not all of the streets in Montreal were clean and well maintained, and the right of way on the streets between pedestrians and vehicles was naturally enforced by a strong Canadian culture of safety and hospitality.
The pedestrian or even a tourist on an electric scooter would always have the right of way for any crossing, at any time.
McGill University Montreal
I made my way back through the towering blocks of the downtown core, towards the massive green lawns of McGill University, to start making my way up the hill that represents the name of this city – Mont Real or the Royal Mountain.
The importance of this university could be deduced by how much area of the central downtown core it took up, as well as the marvelously historic faculty buildings that adorned its campus.
Unlike in Latin America where entry into a university is strictly limited to students and staff due to safety issues, here in Montreal you could simply venture into the campus and enjoy a peaceful day amongst the other students who were either reading, studying, or playing sports.
Back To the Hostel For A Recharge
Eventually, the sun was setting, and my scooter battery was nearing the 20% mark, so I started my way back down from the university on top of Montreal, and back through the relaxing streets.
I would come across a small street that had restaurants and bars on all sides and even a fun little foam fountain. But then the battery died, and it was time to call it a day.
Part 1 of Montreal Conclusion
Montreal had an abundance of things to see and do, so I decided to divide this post into two parts, so as to not overwhelm you with photos.
Part 2 highlights Days 2 and 3 of summertime in the absolutely beautiful city of Montreal, Canada.
Sante! (Cheers in French)
Leonidas
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More Links
Montreal Part 2: Mount Royal, Parks, and Night Time
Exploring Downtown Toronto, Canada
Quebec City, The Most Beautiful City In Canada?
