The island of Montreal,  Quebec is located in eastern Canada between Ontario and the Maritime provinces. The largest french speaking population after Paris,  the city of Montreal gets it's name from Mount Royal, the mountain that is located in the heart of the city. When one drives to the top of Mount Royal one can enjoy a panoramic view of the whole city. The land was originally inhabited  for thousands of years by the native peoples such as the Inuit and the Cree, amoung many others.

At the time Jacques Cartier, the first European from France arrived in Hochelaga, (which was Montreal's former native name before being changed,) he was  looking for a passage to Asia. Several years later, another explorer by the name of Samuel de Champlain arrived in Montreal to attempt to establish a fur trade. During the 16th century there was much migration to Canada by the French and the english and both communities were looking to claim Montreal as their own. Montreal was originally a majority english speaking city, however many conflicts took place between the different european settlers, (mainly the english and the french) so eventually the land was divided up and most the settlers who remained were french. There still remains a sizeable irish and scottish minority who have put their stamp on Montreal as well. The St.Patrick's Day Parade celebrated every year is one of the largest in North America.

Today, the population of Montreal and its surrounding area comprise approximately 3 million habitants. The island of Montreal's linguistic make up is approximately 53% french speaking (or francophone) and 47% english speaking (or anglophone). There are many people of other nationalities who identify themselves with either the french majority or the english minority. Most people are bilingual and many are even trilingual.

The hottest days run from Mid May to Mid September where it can climb as high as 34C (approx 92F). The coldest time is January and February where it can drop to minus 30C (30 below )F). Talk about extreme temperatures!

Things to do and see:

Because of it's European influence, Montreal tends to attract a lot of tourists from all over the world, especially in the summer. The city boasts many events such as the well known Montreal Grand Prix, the Jazz, Comedy and Film festivals during the months of June, July and August.

Old Montreal, which is located downtown between Place d"Armes  and ends at Place Jacques Cartier welcomes many tourists. It's cobblestone streets, where one can enjoy live outdoor entertainment, bars and shops,  draw a lot of visiters. The most famous landmark in this part of the city is Notre Dame Church where Celine Dion was married.

The Underground Malls: These malls, which are located in the downtown area beginning at the Eaton Center and ending at Les Cours Mont-Royal. They include hundreds of stores, restaurants and movie theaters. There are a lot of designer stores in this area as well as merchandise for the bargain hunter.

There are 4 universities in the city. The first two are The University of Montreal and University of Quebec at Montreal which are french universities. The other two are Mcgill and Concordia  which are english.

St Joseph's Oratory, well known as the basilica where healing miracles have taken place. Inside the oratory one can see hundreds of crutches that were left behind by those who were allegedly "cured" by the miracle of Saint Joseph. Pope John Paul II deemed these miracles to be authentic in 1982.

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