About Montreal

Montreal is the largest French-speaking city in the world after Paris, and is the most bilingual city of Canada, giving the city a distinctive European flair, unique to North America. Witness the mix of centuries-old and new architecture, cobblestoned streets and chic boulevards and one colorful quartier after another.

With 3.4 million inhabitants, Montréal is a cosmopolitan, lively and vibrant city. Whether you are inspired by the performing or visual arts, classical or cutting-edge entertainment, Montréal leaves nothing to be desired, save encore. This is part of Montréal's diversified cultural tradition and famous "joie de vivre" ... à la Montréal.

The Ile de Montréal is located in the St. Lawrence River, 51 km (32 mi) long and 14 km (9 mi) wide. The only rise in the landscape is the 764-ft-high Mont-Royal, which gave the island its name and which residents call simply "the mountain." At the time of the conference you will be able to experience the spectacular view of the maple trees which leafs turn brilliant red, orange and purple during autumn.

At the foot of Mont-Royal is McGill University campus and, surrounding it, the skyscrapers of downtown Montréal. Just beyond this area, along the bank of the river, are the stone houses of Vieux-Montréal. Hugging the south shore on the other side of the river are the iles Ste-Hélène and Notre-Dame; acres of parkland; and the Lac de l'Ile Notre-Dame public beach. To the east are rue St-Denis and the Quartier Latin, with its rows of French and ethnic restaurants, bistros, designer boutiques, and antiques shops.

Montréal is easy to explore. Streets, subways (the Métro), and bus lines are clearly marked. The city is divided by a grid of streets roughly aligned east-west and north-south. The city is not so large that seasoned walkers can't see all the districts around the base of Mont-Royal on foot.