Montreal, Quebec

Marketplace

The City of Montreal has a population of 1,650,000 and an estimated metropolitan population of nearly 4 million on the Island of Montreal. French is the city's official language and is also the language spoken at home by 57 percent of the population in the City of Montreal proper followed by English at 19 percent. Montreal is the second largest French-speaking city in the Western world after Paris.

Montreal was called "Canada's Cultural Capital" by Monocle and recently was named a UNESCO City of Design. Though historically the commercial capital of Canada, it was surpassed in population, as well as economic strength, by Toronto after 1976. Today it continues as an important centre of commerce, technology, and tourism.

Downtown Waterfront

We took a day to get from Ottawa via Route 17 East to reach the outskirts of Montreal. Our journey had included some of the quaint little towns that reflect a bygone era. About 20 miles from the city we found a lovely but expensive ($49 per night) campground. We were not surprised when we got to the gate to learn that that host did not speak English. However, from out of nowhere, our “angel” appeared. His name was Henry, and he introduced himself as being the “other Airstream owner” in the park. He quickly got us registered by serving as interpreter and then he led us to our site. He was most eager to talk about Airstreams as he had a new 34 footer which, ironically, he had purchased in Texas from our favorite dealer. It was the last one made last year by Airstream. Jerry asked Henry about tour buses for the city, who said, “I’ve got a better idea. Let me be your tour guide. I’ll pick you up in the morning.” What a blessing to have our own private guide in a French speaking city. Driving around Montreal can be a real challenge.

Government Building

One of Montreal's Oldest Homes

Gloria and Henry, Our Guide

View from Mount Royal

Turns out that Henry came to Montreal from Florida during the Vietnam War to live with his father and grandfather. Now he spends equal time between the two cities. He has been divorced for 30 years, and his new Airstream is his home. He proved to be a fantastic tour guide and took us to most of the city highlights. We toured the downtown area with its magnificent architecture, saw the waterfront, and drove up to Mt. Royal where we could see the entire island. We also visited the old and new marketplaces. Lunch was at one of the finest restaurants in Montreal. While we were inside the old walls, we were also within a lush, stately garden. That evening we sat around the fire and swapped a lot of Airstream stories with Henry. As we left the campground the next morning Henry rushed out the gate to say goodbye. We will never forget the man that made Montreal a awesome city to tour. God was so good to send him our way.