We said a final Au Revoir to Eric and headed back to Montreal for a quick city tour before flying home.
Lunch was at the famous Schwartz’s Deli for Montreal smoked meat sandwiches, salade de choux & cornichons.
They claim to have been ‘serving the best smoked meat sandwich since 1928”!
Due to our lack of time in Montreal, we drove most of the way up Mont Royale, instead of scaling one of the famous staircases.
After checking into our hotel, we wandered out into Old Montreal.
In 1535, Jacques Cartier arrived in an Iroquois village named Hochelaga, claimed it for France and renamed it Mont Real (Royal Mountain). He did not establish a permanent settlement, though. In 1642 Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve founded the settlement of Ville-Marie which later became Montreal.
The Aldred Building / Edifice la Prevoyance (1930) is an art déco skyscraper that is reminiscent of the Empire State Building in New York.
The Basilica of Notre Dame dates from 1824. The stained glass windows are unusual for a basilica, in that they do not depict biblical scenes but the history of Montreal.
There was a mass happening at the time of our visit, so we were not allowed to peek inside.
Pointe a Calliere is a museum built on the site of the city’s first settlement in 1642.
Rue St Paul, named for Paul de Chomedey, is the oldest street in Montreal. Parts of the street date back to 1672 when it was a path alongside a fort. Much of the street is still paved with cobblestones & many of the buildings date back to the 17th C.
Dinner was at a nice Italian place on the Place Jacques Cartier.
Our trip has now come to an end and it is time to head home.
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