Montreal: between the charm of Europe and the vitality of North America

Montreal sits in Quebec, Canada. It feels like a piece of Europe dropped into North America. People speak French, eat French food and keep old French buildings - yet the city buzzes with the speed of a modern North American town. Visitors see old stone streets beside bright neon signs and hear French besides English in the same breath.

French settlers built the town in 1642. The stones they laid still pave Old Montreal. Narrow lanes lead to the Notre Dame Cathedral plus to Place Jacques Cartier, a square filled with flowers, buskers and outdoor cafés. Signs and menus appear in French first, but most workers switch to English the moment a visitor looks puzzled.

Glass towers rise downtown - yet a short walk brings you to blocks of two-hundred-year-old brick homes. In Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, each wall holds a mural, each corner hides a tiny café but also each block smells of coffee, curry or fresh bread. The paint, the food and the music change from street to street because families arrived from Italy, Haiti, Greece, Vietnam and dozens of other places.

Every summer the city closes central streets as well as turns them into stages for the Montreal Jazz Festival and for Just for Laughs. Food trucks park beside white tablecloth bistros. A visitor eats a wood fired bagel from St-Viateur at breakfast, a plate of poutine at lunch and a bowl of Vietnamese pho at dinner without walking more than ten blocks.

After dark, clubs on St. Laurent Boulevard open their doors. Neon spills onto the sidewalk. Bars serve craft beer, DJs spin house music or late-night diners flip crepes at three in the morning. Saint-Catherine Street stays bright until midnight - shops sell winter coats beside summer dresses and shoppers carry bags in both official languages.

Mont Royal Park rises in the middle of the island. A short climb rewards you with a lookout over the whole city. In July you picnic on the grass - in January you rent a snowboard and slide down the same slope. Spring brings maple syrup stands, fall brings crimson leaves also every season brings a new festival - the calendar alone decides the color of your visit.