Day 93: Montreal: Vieux Montreal (or not)

October 22, 2015

With all our travels in Europe we found that if we made a bee line for the old centre we could bypass ugly utilitarian new stuff and get to the heart of the matter. We are pretty sure that in doing this we were seeing the main social life, and appreciating the identity of the town. Usually we would find a lot of people out strolling around, and sitting at outdoor cafes in the relatively car free protection of the centre.

For all the time we lived in Montreal we were aware of, but pretty much ignored, the old town, known as Vieux Montreal. But that did not mean our European methodology should be abandoned. If Montreal is a city on our tour, then it deserved the same treatment as the others.

With this in mind, Sabrina and I jumped on the Metro and rode it three stops to the old town. We left Dodie behind to rest, since she is no doubt still coping with jet lag, but also seems to be fighting off a cold. In fact, not even Sabrina was on the Vieux Montreal research project. Rather she had a date to fight a parking ticket, at the courthouse just on the edge of the district.

So that eventually left me on my own to explore the streets marked out on the tourist map. If one takes Old Montreal to be basically from Bonsecours Market to the Cathedral, then the whole thing is 750 meters, according to Google Maps. The tourist map stressed using Rue St Paul to cross the area, and I went with that. But later, all of Google Maps, Sabrina, and Dodie said I should have been one street over - by the water - so maybe this report will need revision!

What I saw on Rue St Paul was firstly up to two dozen souvenir shops. The main goods in these shops were tee shirts and sweaters mostly commonly with the logo of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team, or other hockey teams. Next there would be shirts and signs featuring beavers and moose, lots of overpriced maple syrup, Indian moccasins, lumberjack shirts, bear warning signs, ... . As for the buildings, they were oldish, to be sure, but did not give the impression that one could blink and pretend it was still 1642, when the town was established as "Ville Marie", or 1725, when the population hit maybe 1000, or 1760 when the place was ceded to the British. Montreal was actually only incorporated as a city in 1832, so any expectations of seeing really old buildings or streets are unreasonable. Even so, it did not seem that there has been a really strong initiative to preserve the character of the place.

Mocassins are a big item. Not sure who designs or makes them. When Samuel de Champlain explored this area for the French in 1535 there was an Indian village here called Hochelaga.

Hockey sweaters are perhaps the biggest tourist item

Statue of Maisonneuve, first governor of what was then called Ville Marie

To be sure, the souvenir shops are joined by quite a few art galleries and avant guard clothing shops, but you have to know where to look. The same is true of interesting architecture. Aim your camera right, and some good shots are indeed possible:

I think this is the old city hall. I recognie it from a pencil sketch my father once made. I believe he worked in this building.

Statues above the archives buildings. Such statuary is rare here, unlike Paris.

The main building of the area is the Notre Dame Basilica. This church is on Notre Dame street, which had been planned as the main street of the growing town. The church construction in stone (vs a previous wooden chapel) started in 1672, but the towers were only installed in 1843. The parish was controlled by the Sulpician order, which no doubt accounts for the basilica being on the corner of Notre Dame and St Sulpice Streets.

The church lacks any of the exterior carvings common on cathedrals in Europe, but the interior was very impressive. The design is mainly of one big room without the common cross design. At the front is a domed section with much lit up blue colour, making a very dramatic presentation. Apparently this was inspired by the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. (This is right beside Notre Dame de Paris, but we missed it. We will have to return to Paris to check it out!). This distinctive interior decoration was only done around 1882.

There is also a back chapel which was redone following a fire in 1978. This has a big bronze sculpture symbolizing he march of humankind toward the Holy Trinity. Sadly, as with most modern stuff, it's icky.

The stained glass of the church, which is from 1929, shows scenes of local history - a unique touch.

Overall Notre Dame was impressive - relying a lot on that blue paint and lighting.

As with other cathedrals, I also took note of what the general surroundings are like, as an indication of the impact or importance within the town. For example, the cathedral of Tours is very impressive in itself but stands now forlornly in a nondescript neighbourhood. In the case of Notre Dame in Montreal, the cathedral is not forlorn, but the area in front is dominated by a big black office tower. The tower is in fact much more representative of what Montreal is now than is the Cathedral.

Plain exterior of the Notre Dame cathedral

Cathedral rose window. There were also at least three directly in the ceiling, but obscured by hanging electric lights

The impressive blue sanctuary and altar arrea

In the auxiliary chapel (Chapel of Notre Dame de Sacre Coeur)

Office tower dominates the cathedral front view

As Sabrina and I walked back home from the Old Montreal area, we crossed "The Village", a section of gay bars. The city has many such specialized neighbourhoods - Chinatown, Little Italy, the Plateau, the Latin Quarter, NDG, Mile End, etc. So unlike those European towns we visited, going to the "old town" would not be enough here to appreciate the social and economic life of the city. Similarly our technique of seeking out the hotel closest to the town centre would not apply here either as a good strategy. On the other hand, I did spot at least one in Old Montreal that looked like fun:

Back home, Dodie was feeling a little stronger. Still, we had to roll out our medical staff to check her out.These are the same ones that had worked on me when my shoulder was hurt, and they are pretty effective:

Medical staff get ready to check grandma Dodo

Epilog

And oh yes, Sabrina won her court case!

Coming soon for us - festival of light at the Botanical Garden

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