Montreal, Quebec: Canada's French-Speaking Cultural Capital on the St. Lawrence

Old Montreal (Vieux-Montréal) is immediately adjacent to the cruise pier and forms the logical starting point. Notre-Dame Basilica on Place d'Armes is the architectural centerpiece — the interior is a Victorian Gothic interpretation built in 1829-1829 (later expanded) with a painted ceiling in deep blue, carved wooden galleries, and a play of colored light from the stained glass that is more theatrical than most historical churches. Place Jacques-Cartier, the main pedestrianized square in the old town, is lined with outdoor restaurant terraces in summer and runs down to the waterfront. The Bonsecours Market (1847) at the eastern end of the old town is a silver-domed cast-iron building that now operates as a design and craft market; the building itself is worth examining.

Mount Royal, the forested hill at the center of the island that gives Montreal its name, is 4 kilometres from the cruise pier and accessible by taxi, Bixi bike share, or the 80 bus from Berri-UQAM metro station. The Kondiaronk Belvedere at the summit gives the most-photographed view of the Montreal skyline; the walk up from the Avenue des Pins entrance through the park takes 30 minutes. On Sunday afternoons in summer, the Tam-Tams gathering at the base of the George-Étienne Cartier monument (a spontaneous drum circle and outdoor market that has been happening for 40 years) draws thousands of Montrealers and is one of the more distinctive urban social phenomena in North America.

Jean-Talon Market in the Mile End / Little Italy neighborhood, 6 kilometres from the pier, is one of North America's best year-round food markets — a covered arcade of stalls selling Quebec fruit and vegetables, local cheese, charcuterie, honey, maple products, and specialty ingredients that reflect the city's culinary ambitions. The surrounding streets have the best bagel bakeries in North America (St-Viateur Bagel on Rue Saint-Viateur and Fairmount Bagel on Avenue Fairmount are both within walking distance), hand-rolled and wood-fired in a style that differs materially from New York bagels.

Montreal's restaurant scene is one of Canada's strongest by any measure: the concentration of good tables along the Rue Saint-Denis corridor, in Plateau-Mont-Royal, and in the emerging Saint-Henri and NDG neighborhoods is high relative to the city's size. Schwartz's Hebrew Delicatessen on Boulevard Saint-Laurent, open since 1928, serves the smoked meat sandwich (cured brisket, not pastrami, sliced to order from the smoker and served on rye with yellow mustard) that Montreal considers its contribution to the canon of North American deli food. Poutine — french fries, cheese curds, and brown gravy — is available throughout the city; the original La Banquise on Rue Rachel serves 30 varieties and runs 24 hours.