The City of Saints (Montréal)

Montréal has the nickname of the City of Saints because of the numerous churches around the city. We certainly saw a few.

Our accommodation in this interesting city was in an aparthotel near Central Station and right in the middle of the city. We had an accessible apartment, though the only difference to the other rooms was a few grab rails in the bathroom. We had a large main room with sofa, easy chair, writing desk, a double bed and open plan kitchen area, the second room was a double bedroom with a super king size bed. It had everything we needed for our three night stay.

On the whole, we didn’t find Montréal very accessible (more about accessibility in another blog), but we did enjoy exploring the city and had some wonderful experiences.

Day one we walked to the waterfront, then made our way through old Montréal to Chinatown. We discovered some very steep hills! There were some beautiful buildings in the old part of the city, but almost always seen with a backdrop of modern skyscrapers. The Marché Bonsecours is a particularly impressive building with its silver dome, but no longer a trading centre for goods brought by sea, it is now a small shopping mall selling expensive clothing and overpriced souvenirs.

In the Palais des Congrès, there was an immersive light exhibition taking place. The building itself was colourful and the exhibition was incredible. There were three rooms, the first projecting films of wildlife and the natural world on to the walls. The second room, Racheal’s favourite, had patterns and different light effects, and the third was a short ‘documentary’ on the environment, climate and our impact on the world.

Montréal is also the city of potholes! I encountered a large one and tripped, landing heavily on my knee, on the way back to the hotel. Fortunately no serious damage done, just a graze and bruise.

The second day, Summer went to an art gallery in the morning, while Racheal caught up with some sleep and I prepared some meals for her. After lunch, we set off for a vintage clothing shop, Eva B, Summer had read about. When we arrived we found a large step preventing Racheal from entering, so she and I sat in the sunshine while Summer browsed the rails inside.

As well as the city above ground, Montréal has an underground city which consists of 20 miles of walkways leading to shops, hotels, offices and entertainment venues. Unfortunately it proved very difficult to access, even the subway station only had a lift in one of the four entrances. We eventually found a way in, but after a few minutes found it changed levels and were again faced with only stairs or escalators. We soon gave up on the underground city and went in search of a cafe where we could give Racheal her tea. It was to be an afternoon of quirky eateries. Both the cafe where Racheal had her tea and the restaurant where we had a meal later we full of character as well as good coffee and nice food. We would definitely recommend Le Petit Depanneur near the Basilique Notre Dame and 5 Senses Restaurant on Rue St Catherine, though the former was a little tight for space.

Our evening entertainment again involved lights. Summer had found another immersive light experience, this time in the Basilique Notre Dame. While I joined the queue, Summer and Racheal spent some time listening to a violinist playing in the square. We were taken into the darkened cathedral first as we had to use a different entrance, and spent 10 minutes or so exploring it, along with another wheelchair user and her companion, before finding a pew near the back when the rest of the audience began to file in.

‘AURA’ was divided into three ‘acts’ - The birth of light, The obstacles and The eternity of light. A variety of lighting and sound effects were used to create the story of creation, mankind’s separation from God and attempt to control light, and finally Christ’s return and the glorious light of eternity in heaven. It was a deeply moving experience. No photos or videos were allowed, so the pictures below are only of the pre-show lighting.

The morning of our third and final day was spent packing our luggage in such a way that at least the large suitcase and my backpack could go in the ‘checked luggage’ on the train to Halifax. Once we had got everything sorted out, which took awhile, we were able to leave our luggage at the hotel and go off to explore another part of the city. We made a short detour to Central Station so that we could find out where we needed to go in the evening when we caught the train. Lunch was a picnic in the park next to another cathedral. It was a hot day and we decided to walk to the old port area, passing through the financial district on the way. Again the architecture was very interesting particularly the way that many banks had incorporated the old buildings into their modern skyscrapers.

At the old port we saw the Montréal clocktower and wondered along pathways and over bridges enjoying the sunshine, and warm wind, along the side of the river.

After a stop in a small supermarket to stock up on snacks for our journey, we returned to collect our luggage and made our way to the railway station to check in our luggage and wait to board the train to Halifax. Although it was only a 10 minute walk, it’s not all that easy when we’re both carrying a big backpack on our backs a small one on our front, one of us is managed ng two suitcases and the other pushing Racheal’s wheelchair while wheeling the third suitcase at the same time. We allowed plenty of time so we didn’t need to rush.