In Two Days

With the absolute essentials of historic Old Montréal and downtown Anglophone cultural institutions under your belt, prepare to take a journey into French Montréal. Just before Montréal hosted the 1976 Olympics, municipal authorities erected some principal venues in the city's eastern, overwhelmingly Francophone precincts, which is where we start. Start: Viau Métro station.

1 Jardin Botanique

These lush, romantic, year-round botanical gardens comprise 75 hectares (185 acres) of plants and flowers with 10 exhibition greenhouses. The Japanese Garden has an extremely relaxing Zen garden, while the butterfly house (open Feb-Apr) hosts hundreds of live butterflies who flit around and sometimes alight on visitors' shoulders.

2. Biodôme de Montréal

Originally a velodrome (cycling track) built for the 1976 Olympics, this unique facility replicates four ecosystems, complete with tropical trees and golden lion tamarin monkeys that swing overhead. Just adjacent is Stade Olympique, the controversial Olympic Stadium with an inclined tower. It was scorned as the "Big Owe" and then the "Big Woe" due to cost overruns that provoked elevated taxes. It now houses public pools and a funicular to an observation deck.

Take the Métro to Sherbrooke and walk 1 block west to rue St-Denis, turning left (north).

3. Rue St-Denis

Rue St-Denis is the thumping central artery of Francophone Montréal, thick with cafes, bistros, offbeat shops, and lively nightspots. As you head north into the lower precincts of Plateau Mont-Royal, there are no must-see sights, so wander at will and surrender to the heart of French Montréal's color and vitality.

The Plateau Mont-Royal walking tour provides shopping and eating options for once you reach rue Duluth.