MONTREAL
Here are the 10 advantages of choosing Montreal as your host city to study French and/or English:
- Biggest bilingual city in the world with French and English spoken by most of its 3 million inhabitants, thus possibility of learning both French and English at the same time
- Completely different from Toronto, Calgary or Vancouver thanks to its unique European heritage, culture and food traditions
- Multicultural, with a mix of European and American flavors
- The city with the lowest cost of living in North America
- The safest city in Canada
- Great cafés and restaurants
- Amazing nightlife
- Huge underground shopping centers
- Lots of outdoor activities all year long
- Proximity to many great cities like Quebec City, Ottawa, Toronto, Niagara Falls, Boston and New York City
About Montreal
Tourists and international students who come to Montreal all think Montreal is amazing and truly an experience! It has this European charm which cannot be found in Toronto or Vancouver, this unique French “joie de vivre” (i.e. literally, happiness of living), 4 distinct beautiful seasons, and so many things that await to be discovered.
Montreal is a huge island where almost 3 million inhabitants live peacefully. It was first discovered in 1646 by the French navigator Jacques Cartier. The famous Jacques Cartier bridge, which links Montreal to the South shore, was actually named after the French navigator.
Montreal has an international airport, Montreal Pierre-Eliott Trudeau airport (formerly called Montreal Dorval airport), named after one of the Prime Ministers of Canada. The airport offers flights to most of the main cities in the USA, as well as in Asia, Europe and Latin America. The biggest airline in Canada is Air Canada (member of the Star Alliance network).
Montreal’s main street is Sainte-Catherine street, which traverses almost the entire city from east to west. Along Sainte-Catherine street, you will find restaurants of every nationality, international name-brand boutiques, great department stores, intimate café-terrasses and lots of nightclubs and bars. As Tourism-Montreal quotes: “A spectacular view of McGill College Avenue and Mount Royal comes into view from the Place Ville Marie esplanade, the birthplace of the underground network.”
What is the “underground network”? It is downtown's famous pride: an underground pedestrian network under the heart of the city. You will be able to wander around 33 kilometers of brightly lit, scrupulously clean passageways, linking thousands of boutiques, major hotels, restaurants, universities, dozens of office buildings and attractions. Every day more than 500,000 people connect through here on their way to work, shop, eat or spend some time downtown. This is especially true in the winter time or during Christmas holidays!
Montreal also has an area for designer boutiques, trend-setting art galleries and museums, including the prestigious Museum of Fine Arts. East of downtown, you will see Chinatown, where a thriving Chinese community continues to celebrate traditional festivals and holidays and where you will find all kinds of things, like medicinal roots, exotic foodstuffs and hand-painted porcelain.
As Montreal is a mix of European and American cultures and architectures, you will soon notice centuries-old buildings facing modern skyscrapers. Montrealers call it a medley of architectural styles standing side by side. A lot of churches are also worth a visit, like Saint Joseph Oratory founded in 1904 or Notre Dame Cathedral where famous singer Celine Dion got married in December 1994.
While in Montreal, through field trips and excursions, you will be able to enjoy all kinds of outdoor activities, like cycling, water rafting, canoeing, camping, hiking, iceskating, skiing/snowboarding, crosscountry skiing, dog sledding, snow tubing, and why not for those who like extreme sports: sky diving!
You can be sure that combining M.I.I.L.A. and Montreal together will make your stay unforgettable!
For more information, click on: www.tourisme-montreal.org.