My First Vacation in Canada Part 2: Montreal, Quebec

By Chloe Jang, Humber Student

Canada is a multicultural country that I have a great respect for, due to it's novel culture and diversity. In addition Canada uses both English and French as official languages. Both languages are written in public places, which I found surprising when I first came to Canada. I believe the Canadian culture means an embracement and a respect beyond a country.

The second stop for my vacation trip was Montreal, Quebec because I wanted to have a feeling of being in another country, and it was the best choice. Since in the city, I couldn’t hear or read a word of English, as it was all in French and I felt as if I was in France itself!

During half the day, with a tour guide, I went around Old Montreal and visited the Notre Dame Basilica, which is one of the three major churches in Montreal. According to our tour guide, when being in Old Montreal you get the mood of being in Europe. I actually felt I was in the Middle Age in a European country when I walked along the unpaved narrow alley and saw a number of European constructions. There were a lot of historical sites such as the City Hall, the Court and even some buildings which had historical meanings and stories. So after visiting most of the city, I felt as though I had read a complete book on Quebec's history. It was interesting.

Here are some tips for you when visiting Montreal:

~ Do not miss listening to a pipe organ recital from the Notre Dame Basilica and check the time table before you visit there.
~ Visit “Noel Etemel”, a 365 days Christmas market by the Notre Dame Basilica. It is amazing.