Montreal is a city that we always travel through or around without ever taking the time to stop and visit. Mostly, I think, because it's too close to home and when we're on a road trip heading east the goal always seems to be to drive as far as possible on the first day. So when the opportunity arose a few weeks ago to spend several hours in the city, we started planning our adventure. Shortly after we arrived, however, it became clear that we weren't going to be able to visit even a fraction of the places on our list - the city was too big and beautiful. It would take days, if not weeks, to fully tour this historic, interesting and vibrant place.
We decided to explore the area known as Old Montreal on foot, walking the cobblestone streets through the market, past old stone buildings and gorgeous storefronts to the Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal. The interior of the Basilica was stunning and well worth the modest entrance fee. Afterwards, we wandered down to the waterfront, along Quai Jacques-Cartier - where the fall colours were starting to appear - ending at Terrasse Bonsecours, as a golden sunset turned the city aglow.
