Saint Joseph's Oratory

It is the largest sanctuary dedicated to Saint Joseph and one of the world's most visited centres of pilgrimage. Its founder, Saint Brother André, began construction in 1904. The shrine includes a majestic building whose dome reaches 97 metres, the small original chapel, a votive chapel, a crypt, gardens of the way of the cross, a basilica that can accommodate close to 2,000 worshippers. Its magnificent organs and its carillon composed of 56 bells give audible testament to the world's great composers. The Oratory Museum is dedicated mainly to sacred art. Renowned for its exceptional collection of crèches of the world, the museum displays works of religious, historical, and artistic heritage from Québec and abroad.

RR: 10 Countries RR (20)
Date: August 13

Interior of the Notre-Dame Basilica

 

Notre-Dame Basilica is a minor basilica of the Catholic Church in the historic Old Montreal district. The interior of the church is amongst the most dramatic in the world and regarded as a masterpiece of Gothic Revival architecture. The vaults are coloured deep blue and decorated with golden stars, and the rest of the sanctuary is decorated in blues, azures, reds, purples, silver, and gold. It is filled with hundreds of intricate wooden carvings and several religious statues. Unusual for a church, the stained glass windows along the walls of the sanctuary do not depict biblical scenes, but rather scenes from the religious history of Montreal.

Tag: Favourites tag
Date: May 2

Montreal Downtown Skyline

Montreal downtown skyline. Downtown Montreal is the central business district of Montreal, situated on the southernmost slope of Mount Royal.

Tag: Favourites tag
Date: Oct 24

Vieux-Montreal

Vieux-Montreal after snowstorm on St-Paul Street.

St-Paul Street is a street in the Old Montreal historic area of Montreal, Quebec. The street was laid out by François Dollier de Casson, along the route of a path that had bordered a former fort. Saint Paul is Montreal's oldest street and for many years served as its main thoroughfare.The street is home to such landmarks as the Bonsecours Market and Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel. Much of St-Paul is still paved with cobblestones. Plans to pedestrianize the street in 2008 were dropped by the City of Montreal after complaints from merchants.

RR: Canada x World RR
Date: Jan 9

Saint Joseph's Oratory

Saint Joseph's Oratory lit up at night.

What started out as a small chapel has since become one of the world’s most visited sacred spaces and one of Montréal’s most iconic landmarks.  Rising majestically above the cityscape is Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal. It is the largest sanctuary dedicated to Saint Joseph and one of the world’s most visited pilgrimage sites with over 2 million visitors per year.  There are 233 steps leading up to the front of the church and some pilgrims climb those steps on their knees as they pray to St. Joseph.

RR: North America Meets the World
Date: March 7

Port of Montreal

The Port of Montreal is a hub of world trade and the economic engine of Greater Montreal.  In 2019, the Port of Montréal welcomed 112,000 cruise ship passengers and crew members to its new passenger terminal, located in Old Montréal. Conveniently located at the crossroad of the Saint-Lawrence and the Great Lakes, the Port greets transatlantic and North American east coast cruises, as well as river cruises.

Thanks a lot Sophia!
Date: Feb 19

Montreal

In some streets of Montreal, you can see town houses with original colors.
Saint Louis Square is an urban square in Montreal's Plateau Mont Royal. The square is notable for the Victorian-style residences that face the park.

RR: 10 Countries RR (20)
Date: Dec 18

Montreal and Mount-Royal

Majestically rising up in the middle of the city, Mount Royal is a symbol of the city’s heritage, history, geography, and inspiration, hosting founding institutions, beautiful hillside cemeteries, and Mount Royal Park, a 4-season playground.

RR: 10 Countries RR (20)
Date: Nov 25

Saint Joseph’s Oratory

Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and national shrine in Montreal, Quebec. It is a National Historic Site of Canada and is Canada's largest church, with one of the largest church domes in the world.  With its monumental scale, Renaissance Revival facade and contrasting Art Deco interior, the Oratory is recognizable not just in Montreal but around the world, attracting more than 2 million visitors and pilgrims to its steps each year. The Oratory is the highest building in Montreal, rising more than 30 meters above Mount Royal's summit, allowing it to be seen from many kilometers away.  It is one of the few buildings that violates the height restriction under the municipal building code of Montreal, which limits the height of any building, including skycrapers, from surpassing the height of Mount Royal.

RR: September alternative RR
Date: Sept 2

Mount Royal

George-Étienne Cartier Monument and the Mount Royal Cross in autumn - Mount Royal.
The Sir George-Étienne Cartier Monument is one of the most prominent features of Montreal’s Olmsted-designed Mount Royal Park. The park and its surroundings is the first landscape in Quebec registered as a protected historic and natural district. The monument, which is topped by a winged Goddess of Liberty, was inaugurated in 1919.  On the front, or East side of the monument, George-Étienne Cartier is portrayed standing above four other figures, each one representing a Province that signed the Canadian Confederation of 1867.

Thanks a lot Daphne!
Date: July 13