Montreal; Saturday, 24 August, 2019

I had another good nights sleep and a late breakfast before heading out of the hotel and pickup up the bus up to the city’s mountain (albeit its only a hill) – Mont Royal. I had a long wander around the top, taking in the stunning observation point that looks directly over the Downtown area of the city as well as the large illuminated cross that sits at the highest point of the hill. I then continued on my walk down to the observation point that looks over the Eastern end of the city and also has the second of the two Mont Royal stops for the sightseeing bus.

I caught the bus back round to Old Montreal and went for a wander through the streets of the old city. I had originally intended on visiting the Notre-Dame Basilica, but as it was a Saturday afternoon it was closed to visitors for a wedding, so instead I continued on wandering through the Old Town towards the Town Hall before stopping for a leisurely lunch.

After lunch I headed down to the old harbour and was able to join one of the afternoon cruises on the river operated by the Bateau-Mouche. The cruise was very interesting with a really good guide giving out lots of information about the history of the city, and the rivers development with the various canals and seaways that have been built to link the Great Lakes, via Montreal and Quebec City to the Atlantic.

Back in the harbour I had a bit more of a wander around the old town before heading over to the Metro station and catching the subway back to my hotel to freshen up for dinner.

After dinner I headed back out to the Metro and over to St Helens Island. The island was in part created by the Metro as the spoil from the building of the underground was used to join up a number of small islets and islands into the much larger island that exists today, and as if to complete the loop, the island itself is connected to the metro on the short yellow line that runs under the river.

I had a long wander around the park, being able to take in the stunning views across the river to Downtown Montreal at night, with the lights of the city twinkling on the rapid waters of the river. Sadly, I just missed the boat back across to Downtown, so rather than hanging around for another hour I walked back to the metro station and caught the metro back to hotel and my bed.