Montreal, city of architecture

Mike Pilewski names five reasons to visit Montreal, even in the middle of winter.

A reader of Montreal's English-language newspaper, The Gazette, commented recently: "Everyone knows that we do not get snow in the Montreal area; we get snowstorms." Weeks of ice-covered roads are not unusual in the Canadian city on the St. Lawrence River. Montreal was hit by 30 centimetres of snow earlier in December.

Fortunately, you can walk across a large part of downtown Montreal without ever going outdoors. Kilometre-long underground passageways connect many office buildings and shopping streets. Montreal also has a few large indoor shopping malls that are right in the middle of town, such as Les Jardins (The Gardens).

Les Jardins. Photo: Mike Pilewski