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‘WORLD CITIES’

Montreal derives its name from a nearby mountain, Mont Royal, which also happens to be one of its main tourist attractions but there’s much more to this city on the St. Lawrence River than natural wonders. Read more… »

The Jardin Botanique de Montréal resides in one of the most lush areas of North America and was founded in 1936 by one of Canada’s premier botanists, Frère Marie-Victorin. It houses over 100,000 specimens representing 20,000 species is second in size only to Kew Gardens in London, and is easily a rival for New York’s famed institutions. Read more… »

Constructed on the site where Montreal was founded in 1642, the Museum of Archeology and History is deservedly one of the most popular attractions in the city. First opened in 1992, the museum itself is built on some of the grounds that once held the objects now on display. Read more… »

Known officially as the Quai du Vieux-Port, this section of Old Montreal is paradoxically one of the most up-to-date portions of the city. Like many cities bordered by large bodies of water, activities abound. Read more… »

Using waterways to move goods, aid industry or simply for transportation has been done for centuries but the excellent canals and ports used today didn’t always exist, and sometimes creating them took generations. So it is with the Lachine Canal in Montreal. Read more… »

What do New York’s Central Park and Mont Royal’s parks have in common? They were both designed by Frederick Law Olmstead. Read more… »

One of the most unusual religious structures in existence, due to its design and its history, St. Joseph’s Oratory is a large Catholic church atop Mont Royal in Montreal. Read more… »

The iSci Science Center, or le Centre des Sciences de Montréal, as it is formally known, is one of the premier attractions in a city already filled with so many. Located along the length of King Edward Pier in Old Montreal, it’s also one of the newer sights. Read more… »

The Insectarium de Montréal, is one of the foremost collections of insects in the world, and while there may be some that are larger, such as that in New York, there are none finer. Opened in February, 1990 over 400,000 visitors per year come to be amazed at the collections. Read more… »

One of the few cities to dedicate a museum to the glory of building, the Centre Canadien d’Architecture in Montreal is itself glorious and is, in fact, actually two separate buildings. Read more… »

The Casino de Montréal gets about 15,000 gamblers per weekday, 25,000 on a weekend day. It’s not hard to see why. With 3,000 slot machines alone, there’s a lot of action. But that only begins to cover the possibilities in this gaming house in Quebec. Read more… »

The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal is the oldest museum in Canada, and one of its finest. Founded in 1860, it moved to one of its present locations just before WWI in 1912, and is ‘one of’ because the museum is actually comprised of two separate buildings separated by a street, connected by a long underground tunnel. Read more… »

French for ‘Our Lady’, this Catholic cathedral of Montreal called Notre Dame richly deserves the same name as its more famous Parisian cousin. The church was designed in 1824 by an Irish-American Protestant, James O’Donnell.   Read more… »

Vieux Montréal, as it’s known in the native language of Quebec, is a European postcard made real in North America. Along the cobblestoned streets crossing Place Jacques Cartier it’s easily possible to imagine oneself in Paris. Read more… »

The Montreal Biodome is one of the most unusual tourist attractions in the world. Originally built in 1976 to house Olympic Games events, it has evolved into a showcase of ecosystems as they might be. The Biodome holds four such areas, representing different ecosystems of the Americas. Read more… »

Underground City has brought into reality a popular science fiction scenario with its network of tunnels under the streets of Montreal that house one of the most unusual shopping areas in the world. Read more… »

Translated from the French, ‘La Ville Lumière’ means ‘City of Lights’. By now a commonplace description, there’s nothing commonplace about the place. Paris, for those who love… well, anything, is stellar. Read more… »

The Eiffel Tower was originally intended as a structure to commemorate the French Revolution so who would have expected that 100 years later it would become the symbol of Paris itself? Read more… »

The Cathédrale Notre Dame is second only to the Eiffel Tower as the recognized symbol of France. It is both a tourist destination and a working church. Read more… »

Approaching the gates of Versailles, the feeling is of entering an entire city, not just a palace, and the impression is justified considering the massive scale of the building and the even larger grounds. Read more… »

Unquestionably the most famous name in the world of art museums, The Louvre largely deserves its renown. Enormous and filled with irreplaceable treasures from around the world, this premier series of exhibits offers something for everyone. Read more… »

Though less artistic than its older cousin of Porte Saint-Denis, the Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile is the more famous and far larger. Set atop the hill of Chaillot it forms the center from which radiates a dozen busy Parisian avenues. Read more… »

The Seine River flows nearly 800km (480mi) from Dijon through Paris and into the English Channel, but even the short section through the city provides enough sights to satisfy the most discerning traveler. A leisurely walk or one of the excellent boat tours will provide an unforgettable view.   Read more… »

Known to Parisians simply as Beaubourg (after the neighborhood), The Centre National d’Art et de Culture Georges-Pompidou is a museum of modern art rivaling the best in New York or London. Read more… »

The Champs-Elysées is not just a boulevard. In Greek mythology, the Elysian Fields was the resting place of heroes who dwelt in perfect happiness. Fortunately, visitors don’t have to die to reach it although some may think so after making their way through the French airports and into Paris. Read more… »

Affectionately known as DLP by Mouseketeers the world over, Disneyland Paris is a cornucopia of rides, restaurants, exhibits and all out fun for everyone. Read more… »

‘Maison’ is French for ‘house’ but in this case the word is slightly misleading. While no palace, although sited in the Place des Vosges (originally known as Place Royale), the site is no simple domicile. Read more… »

Montmartre is a fascinating mixture of old and new, seedy and sacred, bizarre and blasé. Within this section of Paris, technically the 18th arrondissement, there is everything from Moulin Rouge and Musée d’Erotisme to the Sacré Coeur Basilica. There are several art shops, a Dali museum and even a winery. Read more… »

The site of Sacré Coeur has long been an attraction for religious figures and groups, but, though dedicated to peace and brotherhood, the building owes its birth on the site to the misfortunes of war and violence. Read more… »

Like many of the world’s greatest cities, Rome is a glorious combination of ancient monuments and modern, bustling life. Visitors will find far too much to do, no matter what their tastes. Read more… »

Even though it was named after Pope Sixtus IV, who commissioned the chapel construction, the Sistine Chapel was given everlasting fame by Pope Julius II. He was the one who commissioned Michaelangelo, in 1508, to paint frescoes to cover the 10,000 square foot ceiling. Read more… »

St. Peter’s Basilica is one of Rome’s foremost tourist attractions with enough to see to occupy an entire day or more. St. Peter’s is among the most well-known and frequently visited buildings inside Vatican City. Read more… »

Growing from humble beginnings with Pope Julius II’s 1506 acquisition of the sculpture of Laocoön and his sons in the grips of a sea serpent, the Vatican Museums now number dozens of individual galleries and thousands of works of art. Read more… »

Few ancient buildings have survived the ravages of time so well as the Pantheon in Rome. It is the only example of similar age, size and span that remains intact. The fact is no accident – it’s largely the result of superior engineering. Read more… »

Il Colosseo, as the Romans refer to it, began life as the Flavian Amphitheater, an enormous elliptical stadium capable of seating 50,000 spectators within its six acre domain. Read more… »

The Forum Romanum, located in a valley between Palatine Hill and Capitoline Hill, is one of the foremost archaeological sites in the world. Long before the first millennium, the forum was the center of political and cultural life for the Roman Empire. Read more… »

Though built by the French, the Spanish Steps in Rome provide a way to get from the Villa Mèdici to the Piazza di Spagna. But, as any traveler knows, it’s how you get there that counts as much as the destination. Read more… »

Rome, like almost every metropolitan city, is a bustling, buzzing hive of activity. But, there comes a time when anyone will want to find some peace and quiet and no spot in Rome could serve that purpose better than Villa Borghese. Read more… »

The fountains of Rome have an ancient and glorious history with examples that range from the Eternal City’s glory days in the 1st century AD to its even more glorious days during the Renaissance to the 18th century and beyond. Read more… »

Despite its many churches, museums, restaurants, theaters and other indoor attractions, Rome is an outdoor city and shines best when seen from one of its piazzas. Read more… »

The Golden House of Nero, what remains of it, has been excavated and the ruins are now available for public viewing. Read more… »

No matter your tastes – whether modern or classical art, monuments and museums, zoos and gardens, nightclubs, theater, music, and on and on - London provides it in abundance. Read more… »

Buckingham Palace may be one of London’s most popular tourist attractions but it is also the official residence of Britain’s monarchy, as it has been since Queen Victoria’s designation in 1837. Read more… »

Perhaps best known as Princess Diana’s residence until her death, Kensington Palace has been home to royalty long before Queen Victoria’s birth in 1819. Read more… »

Church, burial ground, coronation site and much more, Westminster Abbey continues to attract visitors over 900 years after its founding. Read more… »

Is there any other prison that has been popular (for various reasons) as long as the Tower of London? It has been an attraction for over 900 years, with twenty towers filled with an ancient tradition of royal blood, armor and jewels and the history to match. Read more… »

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre is long gone – closed by Puritans in 1642 and taken down 2 years later. Fortunately for fans of the bard, there’s a faithful reproduction housed only a few hundred meters from the original site. Read more… »

Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum is one of the very few attractions in London that is both centuries old and completely modern. Read more… »

Visitors to London usually come for the history and to view the things that man has built over the centuries such as the great churches, monuments, art and history museums. But there’s more to experience since London is home to one of the oldest zoos in existence and one of the newest aquariums. Read more… »

Trafalgar Square is the center of England in more ways than one. At its south end lies what used to be Charing Cross, the point from which all distances to London are measured. Read more… »