Canada Trip Day 17: Boulevard René-Lévesque, Montreal

29 June 2010 - After settling our stuff in HI-Montreal, we wasted no time in exploring the city. But first, we were hungry from the long train ride and found ourselves being ushered by a lovely Chinese man in to a Vietnamese restaurant named Restaurant Caravelle located at a basement along Rue Crescent. We ordered the dinner set of fried spring rolls and Vietnamese pho. I love pouring all of the chilli paste and the fresh vegetables into the scalding hot soup and stirring everything together. It feels a little like cooking, which makes the meal somewhat fun. While the pho was not as good as the one in in Surrey, it was still good. The meal was pleasantly enjoyable, thanks to the nice food and the almost empty, modest but comfortable restaurant.

As dusk was soon upon us, we wondered along Boulevard René-Lévesque, passing landmarks such as the Centre Bell building, which is a sports complex and is also home to the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens hockey team, Basilique-cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde de Montréal (Cathedral-Basilica of Mary, Queen of the World) and Place Ville-Marie, which forms the nexus to the world's largest underground city in the world with access to a thousand over shops.

Photo credits belong to Sakana.

Parking payment stand

Entrance of Caravelle Restaurant

Interior of Caravelle Restaurant

Public rental bikes

Basilique-cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde de Montréal

Dorchester Square with a monument tribute to Laurier

Abstract sculpture of a woman's body nude on the fountain, located at the centre of a square where the entrances to the underground city are.

Close-up of the abstract sculpture at Place Ville Marie

An entrance leading to Montreal's underground city

Shops and eateries populated the spaces in the underground city

Underground floor plan and this is not it! It doesn't show the other parts such as Centre Eaton, Place Bonaventure, Bell Centre and many more!

Wandering around the underground city at Place Ville-Marie

Having ice cream at every city we visited is becoming a habitual practice. We are having it at Laura Secord Chocolates.

Laura Secord Chocolates has two ice cream counters! How exciting!

Walking back to the hostel, we passed Basilique-cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde de Montréal again.

Busy Boulevard René-Lévesque

Building of Aéroports de Montréal, main airport authority in Montreal, on the left.