Vieux-Port
Montréal's Old Port was transformed in 1992 from a dreary commercial wharf area into a 2km-long (1 1/4-mile), 53-hectare (131-acre) promenade and public park with bicycle paths, exhibition halls, and a variety of family activities, including the Centre des Sciences de Montréal . It stretches along the waterfront, parallel to rue de la Commune, from rue McGill to rue Berri.
The area is most active from mid-May through October, when harbor cruises take to the waters and bicycles, in-line skates, and family-friendly quadri-cycle carts are available to rent. Warm months also bring information booths staffed by bilingual attendants and 45-minute guided tours in the open-sided La Balade, a small, motorized tram. Cirque du Soleil often sets up its signature blue-and-yellow-striped tents here in spring. In winter, things are quieter, but an outdoor ice-skating rink is a big attraction.
At the port's far eastern end, in the last of the old warehouses, is a 1922 clock tower, La Tour de l'Horloge, with 192 steps leading past the exposed clockworks to observation decks overlooking the St. Lawrence River (admission is free).
Montréal's Old Port was transformed in 1992 from a dreary commercial wharf area into a 2km-long (1 1/4-mile), 53-hectare (131-acre) promenade and public park with bicycle paths, exhibition halls, and a variety of family activities, including the Centre des Sciences de Montréal . It stretches along the waterfront, parallel to rue de la Commune, from rue McGill to rue Berri.
The area is most active from mid-May through October, when harbor cruises take to the waters and bicycles, in-line skates, and family-friendly quadri-cycle carts are available to rent. Warm months also bring information booths staffed by bilingual attendants and 45-minute guided tours in the open-sided La Balade, a small, motorized tram. Cirque du Soleil often sets up its signature blue-and-yellow-striped tents here in spring. In winter, things are quieter, but an outdoor ice-skating rink is a big attraction.
At the port's far eastern end, in the last of the old warehouses, is a 1922 clock tower, La Tour de l'Horloge, with 192 steps leading past the exposed clockworks to observation decks overlooking the St. Lawrence River (admission is free).
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