Visiting Montreal is always magical, it's like stepping into a European city where friends kiss each other on the cheek and enjoy cafes and good restaurants. Statistics prove this, as Montrealers spend more than a tenth of their household budget on food, which is more than residents of other parts of Canada. Due to the high quality of life and joie de vivre, or as the inhabitants of the largest French-speaking city in North America call it, joie de vivre, it was the second happiest city in the world according to a Lonely Planet survey for years!
ARCHITECTURE
A place of design
Montreal lies on almost five hundred square kilometers a large island in the middle of the St. Lawrence River, which gives it a unique location in nature. Although the city is the majority French speaking, most, approximately 1.6 million inhabitants, Montreal is still talking at least English, and about 20 percent speak a third language. Perhaps it is this mixture of cultures and languages that is decisive for the incredible creative energy of the city, which he even recognized UNESCO and designated Montreal as the first urban center in North America to be a City of Design.
The latest gem of urban design is International Quarter, a fusion of old and new with bold skyscrapers rising alongside historic buildings protected as historical architectural heritage. World Trade Center is a great example of the fusion of modern design with older architecture, as is nearby Montreal Congress Center with a multi-colored facade that reflects light inside and outside the building.
But we must not forget the thread Place Ville Marie, a multifunctional complex that contains five skyscrapers with offices and shopping center, which was the first phase of Montreal's shopping underground city, which today spans four 32 kilometers. Also Canadian Center for Architecture it is a wonderful mixture of a modern building and a 19th century townhouse. But Montreal "lives" in neighborhoods with beautiful iron outdoor stairs, with its multiculturalism and cultural details that coexist on St. Lawrence River.
HINT
Wandering around town...
Montreal is the ideal city for family visit. Compactness and the fact that it is one the most pedestrian-friendly cities in the world, are just two of the reasons for visiting with children. In the city center nam Grévin Museum offers the opportunity to paint with the stars or their wax counterparts. Is there anything better than the envy of your schoolmates looking at a photo with Justin Bieber? Enthusiasts of hockey must visit Montreal Canadiens Hall of Fame, a temple of glory dedicated to hockey to the Montreal Canadiens club, which was founded way back in 1909.
Space for Life it is the largest collection of science museumsin Canada, but includes Botanical garden (flora), Biodome (fauna), Insectarium (insects) and a completely new Planetarium (space), which entertain children while at the same time introducing them to important findings about nature. But children don't last very long indoors, so it's huge of green areas in the city he worries that up-and-comers will be exhausted from running at the end of the day.
... and some other activities
Mount Royal Hill, which rises almost in the center of the city, Parc La Fontaine, where by artificial lakes you can we watch birds in the summer, and in winter they turn into ice rinks, an outdoor theater Théâtre de Verdure and bistro Espace La Fontaine, where we can stock up on picnic snacks, are just a few ideas for spending time in nature. An extensive park also surrounds Olympic Stadium in the area of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve or affectionately just "HoMa". One the most beautiful views of the city opens from the observation tower Montréal Tower, and all year round Esplanade Financière Sun Life Olympic Park offers a program sports and cultural events, which will delight toddlers and teenagers. Airshows, skateboarding competitions, tennis events and a huge ice rink in winter are the reasons why the place where medals were awarded during the 1976 Olympic Games is always full.
If we want to see where some of the Olympic champions in ice hockey started to germinate, we head to Only 1000 De La Gauchetière, beautiful indoor ice rink, where we can show off our skating skills. Those who are more into video games than skating will have a blast by eliminating enemies in the maze in five floors, called Laser Quest, where they can fight against villains alone or in a group.
SHOPPING
Sweet and magical
Canadians love candy. V Canadian Maple Delights stores on St. Paul East Street we will be able to sweeten ourselves without fear of unhealthy sugars, because our specialty - Maple syrup - they are even used to sweeten coffee and tea. For more information about the famous sweetener, you can visit Maple Syrup Museum at the same address.
While getting to know each other of old Montreal children will be most excited about the visit Plush Factory, a plush toy boutique, where they will be able to design and make their own Montreal teddy bear. They also come from Montreal Raplapla dolls, which she started creating fashion designer Erica Perrot. When she gave birth to two children, instead of fashion clothes, she started making cloth dolls called raplapla, which made children all over the world go crazy. Whenever we visit Montreal, it has Santa Claus open your own Christmas decoration workshop in Noël Éternel stores. A visit to the workshop is a visit to a magical land, for the young and the young at heart.
CULINARY
Pastry masters for a day
Due to the large number great restaurants and as the center of French cuisine on the other side of the Atlantic, Montreal is among the 15 cities that make up the network World Good Food Cities Network. More than 6,000 restaurants will satisfy even the most demanding tastes from around the world. The youngest visitors to Montreal will surely be the most excited about the visit pastry shop Maison Christian Faure. The family took as their motto the phrase of the writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: Make life a dream and dreams a reality.
In the old part of the city, you can enjoy heavenly good desserts, made by a team of confectioners with prestigious titles Meilleurs Ouvriers de France. They also organize dessert preparation courses, and every now and then they turn young visitors into young pastry masters, as they organize courses for the youngest, called Little Bakers. Children from the age of six onwards can be in to the company of baking masters and parents they learn the basics of preparing sweet treats. On May 11, they will prepare a chocolate cake for moms, on May 31, they will learn how to make cupcakes, and on June 15, they will make macarons with various sprinkles for dads.
INTERESTING
Circus in the city
In Montreal, residents they laugh a lot, so it is considered a happy place, they organize it even better festival of laughter and that's why it's no wonder that famous people chose it as their seat circus houses, such as Cirque du Soleil, Les 7 doigts de la main and Cirque Éloize. Also National Circus School resides in Montreal, festival Montréal Complètement Cirque is an annual festival that serves as a springboard for young artists. Cirque du Soleil, which was founded in 1984 in Quebec, and today only at the headquarters of the company (which employs 5,000 people worldwide) in Monteralo, more than 2,000 artists, scenographers, costume designers and other designers of dream stage masterpieces are employed.
Slovenes we can be proud of Alan the Guardian, costume designer performances of Zarkan, which more than 70 performers perform in Las Vegas. Cirque du Soleil this year is celebrating its 30th anniversary, and this important anniversary will be marked with the play Kurios, which will host on stage 1,300 artists from fifty countries. There will be a premiere April 24th right in Montreal, in July the show will move to Quebec, and in August to Toronto.
