Montreal

If you ever wanted to visit a city that once changed hands without a single shot fired, Montreal is the place.

In 1760, British troops marched in and took control from the French. There was no battle, just a polite handover of one of North America’s most important fur-trading hubs.

Today, the city still balances its French roots and English legacy, all on an island where cultures have met for thousands of years.

Long before Europeans arrived, the island was known as Tiohtià:ke. It was home to Indigenous peoples who farmed corn and squash along the St. Lawrence River.

When French explorer Jacques Cartier landed in 1535, he was greeted by the St. Lawrence Iroquoians at a fortified village called Hochelaga. It sat at the base of the mountain he renamed Mont Royal. That little hill gave the city its name and still defines its skyline today.

A century later, in 1642, Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve and Jeanne Mance founded Ville-Marie. It was a small French mission meant to convert Indigenous peoples and protect French trade interests.

Life was hard. Floods, harsh winters, and attacks were constant threats. But Ville-Marie survived and grew into the fur-trade capital of New France, where canoes loaded with pelts from the Great Lakes arrived daily.

When the British took over in the 1760s, Montreal became a new kind of crossroads. Merchants from Scotland, Ireland, and England moved in, turning it into Canada’s first industrial powerhouse.

By the late 1800s, railways, factories, and shipyards lined the river. Montreal had become the largest city in the country.

That mix of cultures sometimes clashed, especially during the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, when French-speaking Quebecers demanded more control over their identity and future.

Today, Montreal is one of the most dynamic cities in North America. Families can wander Old Montreal, where horse-drawn carriages pass by the stunning Notre-Dame Basilica.

You can climb Mount Royal for the city’s best view or explore history beneath your feet at Pointe-à-Callière Museum.

And of course, there’s the food. Poutine, smoked-meat sandwiches, and chewy Montreal-style bagels are local legends.

Summer festivals light up the streets and winter brings cozy cafés and ice skating.