When I arrived in Montreal it was everything that Toronto was not: urbane, sophisticated, hip

“Montreal was everything that Toronto, its rival, 300 miles to the south-west, was not: urbane, sophisticated, hip, a place where you could dine well and party until the bars closed at 3am.”

The  abbreviated quotes are from a Jack Todd feature in the British, Guardian series Canada Week – Cities.  While the feature discussed the costs and corruption of the 1976 Montreal Olympics,  Todd also writes about what to him made and still makes Montreal, Montreal.

The examples Todd describes, are the very same reasons most Montrealers believe Montreal to be uber hip and cool.  Below are a few abbreviated quotes from Tood’s feature, which we highly recommend you read in its entirety.

“When I arrived in Montreal five years earlier, (1971)…

Montreal was everything that Toronto, its rival, 300 miles to the south-west, was not: urbane, sophisticated, hip, a place where you could dine well and party until the bars closed at 3am.  In Toronto, they rolled up the streets at 11pm and toasted the Queen at public functions.

“Montreal was not just the financial capital of Canada, it was also the most European of North American cities”,…

“Montreal survived by reinventing itself on a smaller, more viable scale. If Toronto seized the mantle of Canada’s financial capital, Montreal is the unquestioned capital of culture, a vibrant city of street art, sculpture and world-class jazz, fireworks, comedy and fringe festivals.”

“Montreal is still hip, the bars and restaurants and clubs the liveliest in the country, a walking city where the cafes are full all day long and joie de vivre trumps quotidian worries.  Montreal remains the polar opposite of money and real-estate obsessed Toronto.”

Click Here to read Jack Todd’s Feature; The 40-year hangover: how the 1976 Olympics nearly broke Montreal