It's not quite a Cole Porter event, but Mont Royal does dominate the skyline of Montreal. At the top, there stands a cross that dominates the city. Our goal was to climb to the cross today (June 27th). How we got there and what we saw make for one more blog, if you'll allow.
Mont Royal Park was inaugurated in 1876. It was designed by Frederick Olmstead of Central Park fame. Olmstead also designed Boston's Emerald Necklace and St. Louis's Forest Park, among many other urban oases.
Mont Royal appears to be a rock drumlin. The south-facing edge, where the Kondiaronk scenic outlook is located, is at the edge of cliffs that we walked up on a series of switchbacks and l-o-n-g stairs (350+ steps) The cliffs were formed by glacial plucking of the ice as it flowed from the north over the hill and to the south.
Mont Royal was named by Jacques Cartier in 1535 when he first landed at Ville-Marie's waterfront. While earlier crosses were erected on top of Mont Royal, the latest one was built in 1924. Its location is the small red dot to the right of the outlook.
The Park is blessed with beautiful green landscapes and many paths. There are Olmstead-like lawns and lakes. The Montreal Police patrol the Park on horseback, as you can see in the first picture.
From the outlook, you can look down on the city and can even spot the River just beyond the skyscrapers of the Financial District.
Of course, Montreal is a cosmopolitan city that welcomes this boy and his family from America.
Other views further to the east of the River can be had from other promontories.
You can see the norther Appalachians over on the right. The most prominent hill to the right is Mount St. Bruno. It is about 225 metres tall (about 800 feet).
and, just to the left, is the iconic Montreal Tower at the Montreal Olympic Park. The Tower is the world's tallest inclined tower. It is visible in the middle of the horizon.
The other fun part about this outing is how we got to Mont Royal.
We bought a multi-day pass for the Metro. From near the waterfront, it was three stops to Mont Royal. Then it was an hour's walk and hike to the scenic outlook, or 4.5 kilometers.
The Metro, if you remember from the 1967 World's Fair, was the "talk of the town" because the train cars ran on tired wheels rather than squealing steel wheels,
Yes, the trains are MUCH quieter!
Nothing like Brio, of course. We still have our preferences!
Cheers,
Brio
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