On a Toronto visit in late September, I drove to Montreal. My brother was invited to a friend’s gathering outside of Montreal, but couldn’t drive, having recently had surgery. So I offered to drive, along views of Lake Ontario, then through hills and forest. We stayed with friends on the west side of Mont Royal Park. That evening, we walked the neighborhood and up the hill to L’Oratoire Saint-Joseph du Mont-Royal.
I had the next day to myself to explore the city. The subway was an easy catch to the centre; I chose the closest stop to Notre-Dame Basilica. Along the way, I passed through the colorful streets of Chinatown.
Notre-Dame and the Centre plaza
The downtown streets were clogged with construction, so I didn’t stay long.
The St Lawrence River waterfront was a great place to stroll among the piers and quays.
My afternoon destination was the art museum. I took a different route, down interesting looking urban streets, to Sherbrooke Street.
A neighborhood street festival!
Other travelers may look for history or archeological museums, and depending on where I’m traveling, that may be appropriate. But I am often drawn to art museums that represent their area or heritage. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Le Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, inhabits several buildings, old and new, connected under the street by underground levels with their own galleries.
In a large museum, I zero in on just a few areas of interests. It was a wonderful place to spend a few hours. The museum has an excellent collection of indigenous art. After exploring those exhibits, looking for the early twentieth century paintings, I descended to lower levels – a confusing warren, as I wandered the same hallways several times.
The Group of Seven was a collaboration of Canadian landscape painters from 1920 to 1933, plus Tom Thomson and Emily Carr. Their paintings show the influence of the Impressionists and celebrate Canadian natural landscapes. I had seen many of their paintings in earlier trips to Toronto at the McMichael Museum, and was excited to find more of their work.
A later and lesser-known group of Montreal artists, the Beaver Hall Group, including several women, were heavily influenced by the Group of Seven. This group’s work centered mostly upon urban landscape and portraiture. They were well represented in this Montreal museum; it was a joy to discover a new group of artists in a genre that I love. (Look for these groups online; I prefer not to photograph in museums.)
Just south of the museum is Crescent Street, packed with restaurants. Leonard Cohen, the famous Canadian singer/songwriter and poet, floats above it. I chose a restaurant for dinner, then walked around Mont Royal Park back to our lodging.
A related post to come: A wintry day in Montreal
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Ruth Rosenfeld 
Nice photos. We enjoyed several days in Montreal many years ago. I love that tall (apartment? office?) building with the rainbow colors around the window!
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I found that building while I was just walking by further down the street. It was a wow!
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You saw quite a lot in Montreal in a few short days. I haven’t been to the museum, but I’d love to see the Group of Seven exhibit. Maggie
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I’m happy to have learned about the Group of Seven on my many trips to Toronto. They were not part of my art history studies or art museum explorations in the States.
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I always loved Emily Carr’s work the most since many of her paintings were western Canada.
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Yes, I can see her deep green forests.
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Wow, you sure packed a lot into one day! I’ve not spent a lot of time in Canada. Exploring it is on my bucket list. It looks amazing through the filter of your lens, Ruth.
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Thank you! It was a day of a lot of walking, and hours in the art museum. There’s a lot more to do there, but you have to make the most of the time you have.
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I love your travelogues. Thanks for sharing.
Cousin Barbara R.
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Thanks so much, Barbara! Hope you are all well.
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Thanks for the tour. I wonder if Leonard Cohen lived in the area where the mural is.
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I just looked it up… he was from a town just west of Montreal, so he was quite local.
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What beautiful photos of the city, it looks so full of life and colour. It sounds like a lot of walking but well worth it when there’s so much to see 🙂
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Thanks so much, Hannah. I tend to do a lot of walking when I travel! It’s fun mapping out a route to hit a few places of interest.
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We visited Montreal in February. I must say, the city looks much more vibrant when it’s not covered in snow! We enjoyed the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts as well. This makes me want to go back and see the city in a different season.
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I was there once in the snow (next post!). It certainly has a different feel.
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We visited Montreal a few years ago. What a beautiful city. You captured it so well with your photos – as always! Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks so much! (Please add your name to your comments. It shows up as Someone or Anonymous.)
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Hello, Montreal! Seeing them again through your lens brings back good memories. This is the first city I went to as a solo traveler and I enjoyed the art scene here that I had to return with my husband a year later so he could also enjoy it.
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Glad my post brought back good memories! It’s a comfortable and safe city for traveling alone.
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It’s been years since I last visited Montréal (honestly, since I was a kid). Although I returned to Canada a few months ago, I didn’t make it to the east side of the country. The city looks fantastic, and it sounds like you had a fun day in town! Thanks for sharing, Ruth 🙂
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It’s a different feel than other Canadian cities I’ve visited. A good day to wander.
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Thank you for taking us along with you to explore Montreal 🙂 It looks like my kind of city, very lively yet liveable! I love the Leonard Cohen mural, the costumes at the street festival, the cathedral and waterfront.
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I’m sure you would find Montreal interesting, Sarah. Thanks for sharing your favorites in this post!
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Thanks for this tour of Montreal! It’s a city I’d love to visit.
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My pleasure! Thanks for reading, Diana.
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It looks like you had a good time wandering the city and at the art museum. The city is familiar to me as my sister and her family live there so we go most years for Christmas. Some time I’d love to see it without snow on the ground! — Alison
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I was there once in the snow, for just a day again (next post!). Quite a different feel. It would be good to have more time to get to know the city.
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Thanks for sharing these varied sights with us.
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You’re welcome. Thanks for reading!
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I was in Montreal many years ago on business, and only had one evening’s time to drive around the city. I sensed it would have as much life and character as you show here. I love the photo of the artist getting off his scooter onto the sidewalk, especially his outfit and the mask on the bike.
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That moment intrigued me. I’m sure there was a story to tell there.
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I really enjoyed exploring Montreal, a city I know little about, through your lens Ruth. I was expecting street art and you handsomely delivered, though it is your closing shot of the Leonard Cohen tower block that I love the most. Glad you managed to swiftly dodge the construction, our ever-present enemy on city trips (and even in smaller towns and villages grr). I have just been checking out the artists you mentioned and am particularly taken with Emily Carr. Thanks for putting her on my radar.
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Thanks, Leighton! Glad you looked up Emily Carr; I do love her work and several of the Group of Seven. Leonard Cohen hovering above that street took my breath away.
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