So you walk up and down Sherbrooke every day, brunch every weekend on St. Laurent, and look up at the Mont Royal cross every night to guide you home, but how much do you really know about this city you call home? Montreal is a city steeped in history, and boasts diversity and culture that other cities would kill for. If you’re like me, you’ve got four years in this beautiful place, so you might as well learn a little bit about where you’re planting your feet. With that said, here are 15 fun facts that I find most interesting about Montreal:
1. Montreal has the highest amount of restaurants per capita in all of Canada. That means miles and miles of poutine and smoked meat, my friend
2. No building in Montreal is allowed to be taller than the cross you see illuminated on the top of Mont Royal.
3. The Mont Royal cross was placed on the mountain in 1924, and was created as a memorial to remember the early French Colonists who were decimated by a flood in 1642.
4. The coldest day ever in Montreal was on January 23, 1979. It was -49.1 C with the windchill. (Although I’m pretty sure it’s been a solid -100 C every day in the month of January ever since I began attending McGill.)
5. Montreal’s underground tunnel system is over 32 kilometers long. It’s literally a whole different world under there.
6. Hiroshima, Japan is Montreal’s sister city.
7. The first Olympics ever held in Canada were the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. #weallplayforcanada
8. The McGill University Hockey Club was formed in 1879, and it was the first organized hockey team in the world.
9. 85% of the world’s maple syrup comes from Quebec. What would the world do without us?
10. John Lennon and Yoko Ono recorded “Give Peace a Chance” at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal in 1969 during a week long bed-in.
11. Mount Royal Park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed Central Park in New York City. I’d say he had a great eye for beauty.
12. The video game Assassin’s Creed was created in Montreal.
13. After Halifax, Montreal has the most Titanic victims buried within the city’s cemeteries.
14. The city of Montreal was originally inhabited by the Iroquois.
15. Montreal has the second largest amusement park in Canada. La Ronde, what’s good?
Information obtained from:
http://www.hikebiketravel.com/26148/30-fun-weird-interesting-facts-montreal-quebec/
http://www.ishlt.org/ContentDocuments/2013AprLinks_MontrealFunFacts.html
http://www.geosmontreal.com/visiting-montreal/10-facts-about-montreal.htm
Images obtained from: