Aside from honesty, curiosity is the most important ingredient of good travel writing.
The best stories come from authors who are both ignorant and interested, who want to know, and simply report what they find.
Good travel writing is so much more than spa reviews and “8 Best Restaurants in Rome”.
Travel stories are windows to the far corners of the world; reports that have the freedom to dig deeper and paint more boldly than any filed by reporters for the Associated Press.
Le Centre des Sciences de Montr?©al, as it’s formally known, is one of the premier attractions in a city already filled with so many. Located along the length of King Edward Pier in Old Montreal, it’s also one of the newer sights. Chock full of the latest computer and video technology, along with hundreds of interactive science-related exhibits, the iSci is a wonder.
That wonder is not merely to behold, but to operate as well. Visitors can enjoy dozens of experiments that demonstrate the principles of electricity and magnetism. Or, they can use one of the many computers to explore the leading edge technology that may make its way into homes in the near future.
Designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, builder of Central Park in New York, the parks atop Mont Royal provide one of Montreal’s finest attractions. From there the view of the St. Lawrence River along its edge, as well as that of the city itself, is breathtaking.
Comprising over a hundred hectares, and reaching to 234m (725ft), Mont Royal (from which the city’s name derives), offers a variety of things to see and do. Just sitting in the cafeteria inside the Chateau is alone worth the trip. From here, the buildings of Montreal are easily visible against the bold blue sky present in winter and summer. The western lookout, built in 1906 and named Belv?©d??re Kondiaronk for a local Huron chief, offers equally spectacular vistas.
Tags: Montreal, Mont, RoyalOne of the few cities to dedicate a museum to the glory of building, the Centre Canadien d’Architecture in Montreal is itself glorious.
The center is actually two separate buildings.
Combining austere Trenton limestone mined in Quebec with traditional old greystone found throughout Montreal, the buildings reflect the twin aspects of the architecture of the city. Providing a permanent library of over 165,000 volumes along with revolving exhibits, it is both a home to scholars and a popular tourist attraction.
The older of the two structures is an 1874 mansion built for the president of the Pacific Railway, Sir Thomas Shaughnessy. The interior, fully restored to its original state, houses an art nouveau conservatory whose intricately decorated ceiling is alone worth a visit.
Tags: Montreal, Canadian, Center, for, ArchitectureThe Insectarium de Montr?©al, is one of the foremost collections of insects in the world. Possibly the largest in North America, there may be some larger, such as that in New York. But there are none finer. Opened in February, 1990 over 400,000 visitors per year come to be amazed at the collections.
There are six separate geographically themed areas, but any of them offers astounding sights.
Whether you see the Afrotropical’s Goliath Beetle or Tailess Whip Scorpion, or the Oriental Zone’s Ornamental Black and White Tarantula, there’s a crawling creature to amuse and astound.
Tags: Montreal, InsectariumThe Jardin Botanique de Montr?©al happily resides in one of the most lush areas of North America. It was founded in 1936 by one of Canada’s premier botanists, Fr??re Marie-Victorin and houses over 100,000 specimens representing 20,000 species. Second in size only to Kew Gardens in London, it is easily a rival for New York’s famed institutions.
There are nine public greenhouses and over 20 others that house research and maintenance plants from the world over. There are here some of the rarest medicinal herbs in the world, lovingly cared for by the Jardin’s gardeners. Associated with The Botanical Institute of the University of Montreal, it has the expertise and interest that has helped create one of the world’s finest botanical treasures.
Tags: Montreal, Botanical, GardenUsing waterways to move goods, aid industry or simply for transportation has been done for centuries. But the excellent canals and ports used today didn’t always exist, and sometimes creating them took generations. So it is with the Lachine Canal in Montreal.
One area of this complex of islands in Quebec contain a natural feature called the Lachine Rapids. Like most rapids, they can be fun for adventurers, but they’re a real problem for commercial activity. As early as 1689, less than 50 years after the city’s founding, enterprising locals tried to forge a canal around them. But, owing to government resistance, lack of funds and absence of engineering knowledge it took over a hundred years to become a reality.
Tags: Montreal, Lachine, Canal