About Montreal

The City of Montreal is a hotspot of urban technology innovation. In 2019 the City was awarded the largest prize from Infrastructure Canada’s Smart City Challenge Program, $50 million prize for its proposal to improve mobility and access to food. Additionally, Montreal is a major global hub of AI in Canada, leading deep learning research at research institutions like Montréal Institute for Learning Algorithms (MILA). McGill University and Université de Montréal, combined, have over 250 researchers and doctoral students in fields related to AI and is the largest academic global community in these fields.

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Montreal is a colorful, eclectic city that combines European culture with a North American way of life. Montreal is rich and culture. Montreal is the largest city in the Canadian province of Quebec, the second-largest in Canada and the 9th-largest in North America. The city is known for its universities, festivals, art and culture, history, and food. The city is an island just off the Saint Laurent River, which leads into the Atlantic Ocean. In Montreal, people have turned the island 90 degrees to its side: in other words, people will say South is East, facing Old Port. While you are here, wondering along the historical buildings or the concomitant underground labyrinth, we also recommend you pay a visit to the following sites.

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1. Stroll or bike along historical Old Montreal. Settled on the west bank of the Saint-Lawrence River, the Vieux-Montréal, still features 17th-century buildings that survived the many fires. You’ll enjoy meandering through a maze of small streets lined by quaint restaurants and boutiques. We recommend you also take a pause at the historical Place d’Armes and Notre-Dame Basilica.

2. Enjoy the vista of Mont Royal. Whether you enjoy nature or not, taking a hike or a shuttle up the the pavilion of Mont Royal (233 m.) will be worth your time. If you have some extra time, we suggest you continue your to the Saint Joseph's Oratory or perhaps to Montreal's most famous citizen's Leonard Cohen's grave.

3.  Visit any of the numerous art, culture and science museums and exhibitions. Among our favorites are the McCord Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Montreal Science Centre. Montreal also boasts a number of temporary exhibitions (check for updates).

4. Take a breather or find some shade in one of the beautiful parks. There is something for everyone, each one worth a stop. Travel up East to the botanical gardens and Olympic park, go more South to Parc Jean Drapeau, the Biosphere and the Grand Prix course, or stay downtown in La Fontaine Park.

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McGill University. Canada's oldest university, home to nearly 30,000 students, is filled with a variety of interesting architectural styles. McGill's main campus is on the slope of Mont Royal in the downtown area. McGill offers degrees and diplomas in over 300 fields of study, with the highest average entering grades of any Canadian university. McGill is ranked among the world's top universities by major publications​.

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Jean Baptiste day. You are in luck. Stick around for Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, June 24, a national holiday in Quebec and celebrated by French Canadians worldwide. It honors the traditional feast day of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. The religious nature of the holiday has been de-emphasized for civic events, and “la St-Jean” is now mainly a celebration of francophone culture and history filled with public events, parades, barbecues, picnics and fireworks.

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