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Take flight
Have you ever wished you could fly like a bird? Now you can, at the Aerodium, a skydiving simulator with five electric motors blowing air at 200 km/h. Despite its power, this clean energy produces no polluting emissions. After a half-hour training session, you don a suit and helmet, place yourself above the vertical wind tunnel and presto! you’re flying.
Invented in Québec in the 1980s by Jean St-Germain, the Aerodium recreates the sensation experienced by parachutists in free fall from over 13,500 feet.
Originally located in St-Simon, Québec, the only public free-fall simulator in Canada is now installed in Montréal’s Parc Jean-Drapeau, the Aerodium is an activity for the entire family (children 5 years and older).
Espace Aérodium, every weekend until December. Weekdays by appointment, 514 871-8883.
www.lespaceaerodium.com
Animated Fountain
Canada’s largest animated fountain is located on the Place des Festivals, in the Quartier des Spectacles. With its 235 jets, the fountain is impressive on its own, and even more so when animated with a sound and light show designed by Moment Factory. You can see the animated fountain in action Thursday through Sunday until October 17. Moment Factory is a Montréal group designing innovative multimedia installations that contribute to the city's New Urbanism. The group’s popular urban works, which include Montréal’s Vitrine Culturelle on Sainte-Catherine Street West, use light, technology and loads of imagination.
Montréal’s Indoor City
Variously known as the Underground City, RÉSO or the Indoor City, the remarkable system of corridors and shopping malls in downtown Montréal is a constant source of fascination for visitors. A self-guided walking tour.
By Gary Lawrence
Regarded by some observers as simply a series of interconnected utility corridors and by others as a vast commercial and artistic smorgasbord, the underground city is a maze of shopping malls, a tangle of walkways, staircases and escalators, a mass of humanity in which hundreds of thousands of people shop, stroll or just while away a couple of hours every day.
Created in 1962 from the underground pedestrian links between Gare Centrale (Central Station), the Queen Elizabeth Hotel and at the time the recently inaugurated Place Ville-Marie tower, the underground pedestrian network gradually expanded, without a master plan, with the growth of Montréal, the Canadian metropolis at the time. The basic idea: to catalyze business year round, despite harsh winter cold spells and fierce summer heat waves.
As this millennium got under way, the development of the splendid Quartier international (International District) has made it possible to link up even more buildings with the addition of hundreds of meters of passageways, some under ground, others glass-enclosed, sheltered from the elements. The term “indoor city” has come to designate the area where, according to Montréal daily La Presse, “other than getting buried, you can do anything.”
But how do you navigate a more than 30-km (18-mile) labyrinthine web? Fortunately, you don’t need a GPS or a miner’s helmet.
Just pick up a map of the RÉSO (the Indoor City’s official name), available everywhere underground or at the Centre Infotouriste (the central tourist bureau) at 1255 Peel, opposite Dorchester Square. Then follow this guide, which will give you a taste of the indoor city in about half a day.
On the trail
The Peel Métro station on the Green line is a great place to start. From there, step into Cours Mont-Royal, a stylish shopping centre with upscale boutiques. Feast your eyes on the lavish interior of what was once a luxury hotel – the Sheraton Mount Royal. Then proceed to the lower level where the food courts and other services are located, as they are throughout the Indoor City.
After that, head to the adjacent building, Carrefour Industrielle-Alliance/Simons. To help find your way around, notice changes in ceiling height or ground level. They indicate connections between buildings. The corridors were set up after the buildings were constructed, so it sometimes took a minor engineering miracle to circumvent the piping, sewer system and cabling, or adjust to the varying foundation levels.
As you pass by the access to Simons department store, admire Solstice, an enormous acrylic mobile by noted Montréal artist Guido Molinari. Only a short walk farther east and you’ll be crossing Place Montréal Trust and its vast atrium. Next comes Montréal’s Eaton Centre, another popular consumer destination. If you get lost, locate one of the information booths set up by downtown property owners.
When you reach Centre Eaton, move on two buildings farther east to Place de la Cathédrale. Unique among shopping centres, it was constructed beneath the foundations of Christ Church Cathedral (1856) dubbed the “floating cathedral” because it had to be elevated on piles while the shopping mall was being built and the shaky foundations were being reinforced. Inside the mall, powerful images on panels illustrate these technological feats.
Now retrace your steps to Complexe Les Ailes and drop by SAQ Signature, one of the world’s finest wine and spirits shops. Then go back to Eaton Centre and head south to Place Ville-Marie, this symbolic Montréal tower, designed by I. M. Pei (the architect who designed the Pyramide du Louvre in Paris).
Next go down under the Queen Elizabeth Hotel to Gare Centrale (Central Station). Considered revolutionary when it was built, the station literally overhangs the tracks. Adorning the walls at either end of the concourse are monumental bas-reliefs depicting the principal activities of Canadians at the time of the construction of the station, which dates back to the 1940s. The vaguely socialist style of the artworks, a blend of Art Deco and contemporary, is a reminder that the Cold War had not yet begun.
If you have a yen for a whirl on the ice, head west to the indoor skating rink at 1000 de la Gauchetière. Or you can go southeast to Place Bonaventure, an eloquent example of brutalist architecture, fashionable from the 1950s to the 1970s.
Continuing east, you soon enter a long, immaculate corridor bathed in light: you’re passing through the headquarters of the ICAO (the International Civil Aviation Organization), where security dictates that no one hang around long. It’s a short distance to a vast greenhouse opening onto the Tour de la Bourse (Montréal’s stock exchange tower) designed by Moretti and Nervi, the beginning of the remarkable Quartier international (Montréal ’s international district), the recipient of numerous urban design awards.
Keep going east and walk through the corridors under the Quartier international until you reach the Square Victoria basement. Follow the directions to the Centre de commerce mondial (the World Trade Centre Montréal), and you will see a Pointe-à-Callière Museum presentation with two murals showing a cross-section of Montréal’s Underground City.
Take the stairs to the inner court of the Centre de commerce mondial and climb to the footbridge linking the InterContinental Hotel to the Hôtel Le St-James. Pause in the middle of the bridge to peruse a fragment of the Berlin Wall displayed where the city fortifications once were. Before returning to Square Victoria, go back to the lower level to admire the contemporary art on display, particularly Montréal artist Michel Goulet’s steel sculptures, a nod to the international spirit of the setting.
Then head to the CDP Capital building. The corridors are clean-lined and highly stylized. Between the Hotel W and the Caisse de Dépôt building, stop in front of the blue window displaying a vault door. Along the corridor, there is a thick, reinforced concrete wall that was part of the vault that belonged to the Bank of Canada, when it was located there. Artist Christian Kiopini literally sawed off the wall to create an integrated artwork, Stratifications pariétales.
After travelling under Place Jean-Paul Riopelle, you soon come to a mustard-ceilinged corridor with grey and black walls: you are entering the new Palais des congrès. Its dazzling multicoloured façade by Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon has become a Montréal icon. On summer evenings, you can gaze through the wall at the ring of fire jetting from the waters of La Joute, a bronze sculpture-fountain by eminent Québec artist Jean-Paul Riopelle.
Retracing your steps, you are greeted by a forest of rose-coloured trees, Nature légère/Lipstick Forest, by landscape architect Claude Cormier. The fifty-two trees were hand-cast on Mount Royal. The work conjures up Montréal’s joie de vivre, and draws attention to its flourishing cosmetic industry!
Farther east, there is an underground pedestrian boulevard crossing the entire Palais des congrès. From there, take a passageway that runs along Chinatown and feeds into a tunnel leading to Complexe Guy-Favreau, and then proceed to Complexe Desjardins. Each building boasts an enormous atrium.
People flock to see the majestic Complexe Desjardins fountain spout its powerful jets of water. Next you plunge into one last tunnel to access the Musée d’art contemporain (Montréal’s contemporary art museum) and Place des Arts, currently undergoing renovation for the construction of the new home of the Montréal Symphony Orchestra.
From there, head outside and stroll through the spanking-new Quartier des spectacles (the entertainment district), or hop the Métro (subway) and continue your visit of the Indoor City. But you may also decide to come back again soon. There can be little doubt that the indoor network will continue to grow… as will the fascination of first-time visitors.
The Indoor City is…
• 29,700 m (18 miles) of corridors providing access to 22,052 seats for theatre, concerts and shows, 14,500 indoor parking spaces, 4265 hotel guestrooms, 1,700 shops, 1,061 housing units, 477 restaurants, 19 movie theatres, 10 Métro stations, nine hotels, five gyms, four stations (train and bus), two universities, one college, a museum, an arena, an indoor skating rink and a plethora of banks, artistic venues, drugstores, clinics and services
• 3.6 km (over 2 miles) of floor space comprising nearly 80% of local business premises in the downtown core and 35% of all the businesses in the Ville-Marie borough
• The world’s largest and best integrated underground network
• The most beautiful underground pedestrian network in the world, according to National Geographic
Source: Tourisme Montréal and Observatoire de la ville intérieure, 2007.
Montréal’s Métro
An integral part of Montréal’s Indoor City, the Métro has a well-deserved reputation for the attention given to street furniture and especially for the diversity and prominence of public art embellishing many of its stations. The most notable works include a dazzling stained-glass window by Marcelle Ferron (Champs-de-Mars station); the aluminum and concrete mural sculpture by Jordi Bonet (Pie-IX station); the stainless steel sculpture by Maurice Lemieux (De la Savane station); the murals worthy of Matisse by Robert LaPalme (Berri-UQAM station); fluid sculptures by Hélène Rochette (Montmorency station); stained glass windows by Merola and Osterrath (Charlevoix station); the stained glass mural by Frédéric Bach and the sublime stained glass work by Gaboriau and Osterrath (Berri-UQAM station).
Information: Montréal en métro, Guides Ulysse, Montréal, 2007, 240 pp.,
www.guideulysse.ca.
Also worth seeing on the Web: www.metrodemontreal.com
FOUR ACES POKER
450 638-POKER (7653)
www.fouracespoker.ca
Playing poker is a unique experience in Montréal because unlike most cities in North America, Montrealers prefer to play in Poker Clubs devoted exclusively to the game of poker. The most popular of these Poker Clubs is Four Aces Poker located just ten minutes from downtown Montréal: fifteen spacious poker tables, tournaments every Wednesday to Sunday at 8:30pm, nightly cash games, free dinner and beverages for cash game players, all dealt with an impeccable level of service. Four Aces Poker features a world class chef in its popular Carte Blanche restaurant. From Downtown, simply take highway 720 West to the 20 West, exit Pont Mercier and follow the signs towards Chateauguay. You will see Four Aces Poker on your left about 2.5 kilometers down. If you are a fan of poker, playing at Four Aces Poker is an opportunity you do not want to pass up.
Important dates
1535 - Jacques Cartier travels to North America for the second time. The explorer climbs and names Mount Royal (Mont Royal).
1642 - Paul Chomedey, Sieur of Maisonneuve, founds a French colony, Ville-Marie, which will later be renamed Montréal.
1672 - The first map showing the street’s main arteries.
1701 - Montréal is the hub of the North American fur trade.
1831 - Montréal surpasses Québec City in population, making it the largest city in Canada.
1874 - Mont-Royal Park is designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the man who gave New York City Central Park.
1951 - Montréal’s population tops the million mark.
1966 - The underground city gets started. The metro is inaugurated.
1967 - The World’s Fair changes Montréal forever.
1976 - The summer Olympic Games.
1992 - Montréal celebrates its 350th anniversary.
2005 - The 11th FINA World Championships (aquatic sports).
2006 - The first World Outgames.
2008 – The Montréal Canadians (hockey) celebrate their 100th anniversary.
New beginnings in Mile End
When people are asked to name Montréal’s most creative neighbourhoods, they often mention the Plateau, but over the past few years, Mile End has been at the forefront of the city’s cultural scene. Formerly the centre of Montréal’s Jewish community, which Mordecai Richler described in his novels and where William Shatner (better known as Star Trek’s Captain Kirk) grew up, Mile End has become the place for independent culture in the city, particularly the music scene. Groups like Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade and Godspeed! You Black Emperor all have ties with Mile End, and the area is home to the Casa del Popolo and the Sala Rossa, two hubs of alternative culture. Charming little cafés, clothing boutiques and bookstores along Saint-Viateur and Bernard streets are sure to delight shoppers.
Montréal bagels: out of this world
In 2008, the Montréal bagel went where no other bagel had gone before. American astronaut Gregory Chamitoff embarked on a six-month stay aboard the International Space Station, taking with him three dozen bagels from one of the two temples of this Montréal delicacy, Fairmount Bagel (74 Fairmount Street West, 514 272-0667), the other being the nearby St-Viateur Bagel, (263 Saint-Viateur Street West, 514 276-8044). Montrealers are very proud of this doughnut-shaped roll that the city’s large Jewish community brought with them from Eastern Europe. If you don’t want to offend Montrealers, never compare Montréal bagels (smallish, chewy and slightly sweet) to the New York variety (puffy, moist and salty)!
Highlights
If your last visit to Montréal was more than a few months ago, you’ll discover major changes in the area bordered by City Councillors, Berri, René-Lévesque and Sherbrooke Streets. This downtown sector—now called the Quartier des spectacles (French for “entertainment district”)—will continue its facelift for a few more years. Within this square kilometre, there are some 130 cultural industry related companies (including 30 performance venues), which employ 8,500 people. This is also the heart of Montréal’s major festivals—an indisputable driving force in the city’s economy—which contribute to Montréal’s reputation around the world. The sector’s first landmark, Place des festivals was ready in time for the 30th anniversary of the Montréal Jazz Fest, where it was inaugurated with a free Stevie Wonder concert. This is only the first stage of the Special Planning Program to revitalize the entire sector.
If you walk around the area at night, take time to admire the Quartier des spectacles lighting plan, which illuminates the Monument-National theatre complex, the Society for Arts and Technology (SAT), Club Soda, Métropolis, la Vitrine (Montréal’s Cultural Window), the National Film Board’s CinéRobothèque, the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, etc.. Over time, other cultural venues will be added to this lighting plan.
A GPS-guided walking circuit
Environment Canada's Biosphère has launched a permanent outdoor activity: the interactive GeoTour 67* walking circuit, using a GPS (Global Positioning System) navigational device. What makes this educational activity unusual is its use of an innovative interpretive device that merges high technology with geolocation, complete with multimedia content for an interactive discovery experience unique in Canada.
The pre-programmed GPS includes photographs, audio clips, anecdotes and various information relating to 25 points of interest on Sainte-Hélène and Notre-Dame islands. When the participant arrives at any of these points, the GPS device automatically begins to display or play related visual or audio content.
GeoTour 67* offers two 4-km circuits based on Expo 67 and the evolution of environmental awareness over the past 40 years, an original way to discover the nature and history of the islands. The circuits were designed to lead visitors to the most scenic parts of the islands. New themes and additional circuits may be added in the future. The handheld GPS devices are available at the Biosphère ticket office (rental fee: $5).
160 chemin Tour-de-L’isle, Sainte-Hélène Island. 514 283-5000
www.biosphere.ec.gc.ca
Showcasing culture
Like New York, Paris, London and Toronto, Montréal now has its very own last-minute ticket counter for shows and cultural events. La Vitrine (The Showcase) is a centralized information and ticket office designed to showcase and promote the diverse range of events and activities offered in and around the city (within an 80-km radius). Not only can Montréalers and visitors purchase last-minute tickets at discount prices, but they can also get advice from agents on choosing an activity, a concert, an exhibition or a festival.
La Vitrine culturelle de Montréal, 145, Ste-Catherine Street West. 514 285-4545
www.vitrineculturelle.com
Scaling the heights
Some Montréal buildings worth checking out:
• 1000 de la Gauchetière West: Montréal’s highest skyscraper, with 51 floors. Built by SNC-Lavalin, its post-modern style is easily recognizable from a distance. On the ground floor, a skating rink with a glazed dome welcomes winter sports lovers twelve months a year.
• 1250 René-Lévesque West: the former IBM-Marathon Tower is one of the city’s most graceful buildings. Its glass-clad, streamlined form seems to split the air.
• Place Ville Marie (at the corner of McGill College and Cathcart, or René-Lévesque): this icon of downtown Montréal was the city’s first skyscraper, built in 1962. Designed by the renowned I.M. Pei (Hong Kong Bank of China, Louvre Pyramid), it launched Montréal’s underground city.
• BNP – Laurentian Bank Tower, 1981 McGill College Avenue: with their blue-tinted glass, these twin towers thrust skyward to form an exquisite modern set. Don’t miss Raymond Masson’s sculpture, a crowd that you might not expect to encounter on this avenue.
• Place de la Cathédrale, 625 Ste-Catherine Street West: the former Coopérants building is easily recognizable by its rosy glass façade reflecting the magnificent Christ Church Cathedral next door.
• Sun Life Building, 1155 Metcalfe: for years, this was the largest building in the entire Commonwealth. During the Second World War, it housed the British Crown Jewels. Inaugurated in 1918, this admirable example of the Beaux-Arts style still presides magisterially over Dorchester Square.
• Westmount Square, at the corner of Ste-Catherine West and Greene: the sleek, black towers on Greene Avenue bear the signature “less is more” styling of their illustrious architect, Mies van der Rohe. Built in 1964.
A few Montréal landmarks
• Cours Mont-Royal. 1455 Peel St. It was once the biggest hotel in the British Empire. Today, it is a magnificently restored shopping and residential complex.
• Windsor Station. At Peel and de la Gauchetière Streets. A fine example of Romanesque Revival architecture.
• Place des Arts. Ste-Catherine West and Jeanne-Mance. Five concert halls, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and a landscaped public square with fountains.
• City Hall. 275 Notre-Dame East. From one of its balconies, Charles de Gaulle uttered his famous words, “Vive le Québec libre!” (“Long live free Québec!”) in 1967.
• St. Joseph’s Oratory. 3800 Queen Mary Road. The world’s largest sanctuary dedicated to St. Joseph; a major pilgrimage site, and the largest dome in the world after Saint-Peter’s in Rome.
• Maison Alcan. 1188 Sherbrooke Street West. Headquarters of the Alcan aluminum company. A shining example of heritage conservation and inventive urban design.
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