Montreal is the biggest city in French-speaking Canada and the second largest in Canada after Toronto. Located in the Southwest of the Quebec province, it lies on the Hochelaga archipelago on the the Saint Lawrence river, near Ontario and the United States. Montreal hosted the 1967 International and Universal Exposition and the 1976 Summer Olympic Games. In addition, every year it hosts the Montreal World Film Festival, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, the Just for Laughs comedy festival, the Montreal High Lights Festival and the Formula 1 Canadian Gran.

Montreal is considered the second most important French-speaking city after Paris. The Olympic Park in the east of the city houses the Montreal Biodome (ecological museum and permanent laboratory), the Insectarium and the Botanical Gardens, second only to the Kew Gardens in England. Montreal also boasts a Planetarium, as well as the Biosphere, a museum dedicated to the environment. The city is also the birthplace of singers like Leonard Cohen, Rufus Wainwright and Mylène Farmer, the infamous Star Trek captain William Shatner and Céline Dion (who was born in Charlemagne, one of the suburbs, but is associated with Montreal on an international level). Several major tourist and leisure destinations are also accessible from Montreal, such as the Laurentides Mountains, where the ski resort Mont-Tremblant is located.

Accommodation in Montreal’s student residences

Among its many academic institutions, Montreal has 4 main universities, two French-speaking, the University of Montreal and the University of Quebec in Montreal, adn two English-speaking, the Concordia University and the McGill University. It should be understood that these residences are designed primarily for students and not children or adults expecting a high level of luxury. However, with this in mind, the halls do meet a level of comfort that we expect most visitors to be happy with, and we will welcome any feedback where this is not the case.

Getting around Montreal

Montreal has an extensive metro system, which is entirely under ground, which avoids the problems of the harsh winters. The city is served by Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau airport (also known as Dorval). A shuttle service links the airport and the city centre via the city’s central bus station, Berri-UQAM, which acts as a hub for bus services originating in the rest of Canada and the United States. Via Rail provides the main train services and offers links to most Canadian cities, such as Quebec, Ottawa and Toronto. Amtrak, the American national railway network connects New York with Montreal with the daily Adirondack service. Montreal also boasts over 650km (400 miles) of cylcing routes, largely in the Southwest of the island.

The Iroquois village of Hochelaga was already located on the island when the land was visited by Jacques Cartier in 1535. He christened it “Mons realis”, meaning Royal Mountain in latin. Recent archaeological evidence suggests that there was a human presence on the island as far back as 3000-4000 BCE.

In 1615, Samuel de Champlain has the idea of creating a second city on the Saint Lawrence river in order to assist the diffusion of the Catholic faith to the indigenous people. However, the French did not settle there until 1642. In 1701, 1,300 American Indians from the Northeast of America met in Montreal to put an end to all the hostilities, which were interferring with trade. The wooden battlements were built in 1725. Despite a severe earthquake in 1732, the city continued to prosper and was subsequently fortified in 1740. These fortifications were, however, removed between 1804 and 1812 due to public pressure.

After the British conquest in 1760, Montreal resembled many provincial towns and cities in France. The majority of the population was French, however, the richer classes were largely English. In 1821 the McGill University was founded. Threatened by numerous epidemics and fires, and being the centre of the vast backcountry, the city developped its own bourgeoisie, formed mostly of people of English and Scottish, who sought to further develop the industry and commerce in the city. The city then saw a periof of political unrest, with the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837-1838. The United Canada parliamente was located in the city between 1843 and 1849, when it was burnt down by the English protesters. The city rose to fame during the 1967 International and Universal Exposition and the 1976 Summer Olympic Games. Montreal celebrated its 350th birthday in 1992.