A Day in Old Montreal

Today was an exciting and full day in Old Montreal! With my trusty map in hand I spent the day walking around this beautiful part of Montreal and made a few stops along the way...

My first stop was Crew Collective & Cafe for a tea. The building that houses this cafe used to be a bank, which now means that you can sip your coffee beneath elaborate ceilings and stone arches. It was easy to tell who were the tourists and who were the locals - the tourists (including myself) could hardly stop looking at the ceiling, while the locals had their heads buried in books and computers. It was a really lovely place to sit and write.

Here is the table where I made myself at home. Tea, notebook, and camera equals my happy place! 

This was the view of the ceiling from my seat in the cafe. Out of all the coffee shops I have ever been to, this certainly is the grandest!

My next stop was one of the highlights of my time in Old Montreal, the Notre Dame Basilica. I was fortunate enough to arrive just in time to catch the guided tour in English. The photo above is of the glorious organ in the Basilica. Behind the scenes, this organ has three keyboards, and the same man has played the organ every Sunday for forty years! According to my guide, not just any church gets to be called a basilica. Only churches with great historical importance earn the right to the title. The ceilings were painted a vibrant blue and adorned with delicate gold stars.  

While the organ was beautiful, the front sanctuary really hogged my attention! Seeing this in person was incredible. Each of the statues is immensely detailed. My guide explained that just the sanctuary alone took four years to build. 

After much walking, I stopped for a bite to eat at Tommy Cafe, located in the beautiful building above. The cafe was absolutely packed and the last seat available was nestled against the window. I was so thankful to have such a great spot, as I got to spend some quality time reading and enjoying the view outside. 

My spot in Tommy Cafe was wonderfully cozy. The cherry pastry and latte weren't so bad either - nomnom!

The glorious town hall! This is located in the Place Jacques-Cartier, which is a well-known historic square in Old Montreal. I love the curves of the building around the clock and the majestic tower in the center.

Another activity that I enjoyed in Old Montreal was exploring the many art galleries. I was surprised just how many there were, AND how prolific these artists are. The above gallery features just one man's incredible work. Most of the paintings are floral or abstract scenes, and the artist quite liked his sunflowers. 

A quick photo in front of one of the abstract pieces. My brother is an amazing painter, and this piece reminded me of one of his!

Oh, how I loved the buildings of Old Montreal! The blue roof in the middle only partially covers the restaurant below, Le Jardin Nelson. My friend from Montreal, a girl I met two years ago in London, raved about this restaurant. It is only open during the spring and summer, and draws in quite a crowd.

Another lovely art gallery! I really enjoyed walking through this gallery. It spanned three narrow floors, and I felt like I had been transported into another world as I climbed the steep staircase to see endless beautiful art. I chatted with the gallery manager and she explained that the gallery houses mostly acrylic and oil pieces. The gallery owner is the main artist, who is also a chemist and has applied his chemistry expertise to develop his very own formulation of acrylic paint! His paint is much thicker than regular acrylic, which enables him to create a raw textured look to his paintings. 

I made a quick stop into a tiny store called Le Petit Dep. I was hoping to buy a chocolate bar to take home, but couldn't quite part with sixteen dollars for a single bar! Pretty to look at, but I think I'll stick to BC chocolate!

The weather in Montreal today was ideal. I walked along La Commune, which houses many restaurants and a lovely view of the river. Between La Commune and the river were these beautiful water features.

On my way back to Downtown Montreal, I basked in the sunshine outside of the Notre-Dame Basilica. There were large platforms that served as a great place to relax, read, and soak up the warmth of the day.

As for dinner, I chose to load up on a delicious veggie bowl from the cutest place called Freshii. It was a great way to end a long day of exploration! Back in Downtown Montreal, I ventured into some of the shops and discovered an incredibly fancy mall called Les Cours Mont-Royal. All in all, today was a great introduction to Old Montreal and I thoroughly enjoyed my time! Tomorrow morning I will be walking to Le Plateau Mont-Royal and meeting up with a friend. The conference starts in the evening and I am so excited for the incredible research that I will get to learn about!

Until then,

- Vivienne