Every May, EC Montreal celebrates Montreal’s Birthday with our staff and students. We have a huge birthday party in the student lounge to show how much we love Montreal. When Montreal celebrated its 375th Birthday in 2017, the city of Montreal had celebrations all over the city. They even lit up the Jacques Cartier bridge and had concerts and festivities throughout the year! We mirrored these celebrations at EC Montreal. On Montreal’s actual Birthday which is May 17, we decorated the student lounge with balloons and banners. We had a huge Birthday cake with the 375 lit sparkler candles. We even had a gigantic Birthday card that all the students and staff signed. We then presented it to City Hall from the EC Montreal team! It was very exciting and we have decided to make this our throwback Thursday picture this week! These are such great memories and we are confident that we will go back to these wonderful times celebrating with our students and creating lifelong memories for them.
I was recently asked by an EC member of our sales team to give her some cool facts about Montreal so she can share them with potential clients. There are so many to list! We are so very proud of our city and think it is the most wonderful destination to learn English, French or both languages. The city of Montreal has something to offer to everyone! Whether you are into art, sports, music, festivals, culture or gastronomy, you will fall in love with Montreal!
Here are the top ten things we are most proud of as Montrealers:
- Montreal is home to the Cirque du Soleil. It was founded right here in Montreal by a street performer named Guy Laliberte. He has now sold the industry but the shows still go on around the world. Montreal puts up the circus tent at the Old Port of Montreal every spring and invites everyone to attend one of their spectacular shows! As it was founded in Montreal, tickets in this city are more affordable than anywhere else in the world! The circus tent also looks so magical along the Saint Lawrence river at the Old Port.
- Montreal is rich in anything art; galleries, museums and performing art. The city tries to promote its local artists so much that there is actually a law in Montreal that any new construction in the downtown must invest 1% of their construction budget on local art. You can see so many sculptures outside buildings or murals in lobbies. All of these examples are works of art from our very own artists.
- Montreal has over one thousand parks on the island of Montreal. It is a very green city. We like to spend a lot of time outdoors, even in the colder months. The parks are safe, clean and very well maintained. They offer facilities that are used by our population like skating rinks, bicycle paths, swimming pools, tennis courts, basketball courts and picnic tables. You often see people exercising, sunbathing and picnicking in parks.
- Montreal has an impressive underground city. It is 32 kilometers in size. It was built to shield us from harsh climates, making it comfortable and convenient for us to get around the city in the winter or summer months when it is so hot and humid. The underground is connected to 73 buildings in the downtown area and to the metro system so you can get around the city without needing to step outside and be exposed to ice, snow, rain and extreme heat. The underground is made up of passageways and tunnels filled with shopping malls, restaurants, movie theatres, grocery stores, gyms, hair salons, spas and so much more! It is very impressive!
- 2nd to New York City, Montreal has the most restaurants per capita. There are over six thousand restaurants in Montreal! Town and Country Magazine has also named Montreal the gastronomy capital of North America because of the number of restaurants, the diversity, culinary schools and celebrity chefs! It really is a food lover’s paradise.
- 2nd to Silicon Valley, Montreal has the most video game studios in the world. Gaming is a huge industry and there are many 3D art schools and video game programs in this city. Montreal also has a multi-media city, where they do graphic art, special effects and gaming. Many are surprised to learn that Montreal is a very popular destination for Hollywood movie productions. Many movies are filmed here because the city can look like any city in the world. If you are in Old Montreal, it can look like a European city. If you are in the financial district, it can look like New York or Chicago. You can film a movie in its entirety in the city and it looks like you travelled to several cities. Each neighborhood is so different and charming.
- 2nd to Portland Oregon, Montreal has the most microbreweries in North America. Many of our pubs, bars and restaurants brew their own beer. Montreal has a craft beer tour where we go to several of these local breweries and they even pair beer with local Quebec cheese! There are many dairy farms in Quebec that make amazing quality cheeses.
- Montreal is a fashion lover’s paradise. There are many fashion design schools in Montreal. Many very famous fashion designers studied right here in Montreal. Montreal hosts a fashion week every year where they transform McGill College street into a fashion runway and all the design students have a venue to showcase their work. It is very exciting! Montreal has great shopping from haute couture to vintage shops. There is something for everyone and every budget.
- Montreal has many beaches and river surfing! Montreal is an island. We are surrounded by water. We have the Saint Lawrence river on one side and the Riviere de Prairies on the other. There are beaches all over the island for us to enjoy as our summers get very hot and humid. Because we are an island we experience tropical weather during the months of June, July and August. In addition, there is a current on the Saint Lawrence River that makes it ideal for surfers. You can actually go river surfing on the river! It is ideal for people who are into extreme sports.
- Montreal hosts over 120 festivals every year! No matter the season or the weather there are outdoor festivals to enjoy throughout the year! The most popular and one of the largest is the International Jazz Festival where millions of people come to enjoy the many free street festivals. We have an entertainment district outside the Place des Arts called Le Quartier des Spectacles. This is where many of the festivals take place, like Just for Laughs, Les Francopholies, Festival of Lights and so many others. We celebrate absolutely everything in Montreal; food, cultures, music, dance, comedy, film, fashion and the annual Formula 1 Grand Prix!
The top 10 features above is our tribute to Montreal, a city so easy to fall in love with! We cannot wait to welcome our students to Montreal when the time is right. For now, we look forward to meeting you in the virtual world with our online English and French classes. Don’t hesitate and make your plans to travel to Montreal. We are offering a wonderful promotion where you book and pay for your onsite classes and now and you get EC Virtual for only $10 per week. You can get a head start on your lessons and plan for your language adventure. You must send the booking before June 1 and you must register for a minimum of 4 weeks of onsite classes. Don’t let this promotional offer pass you by!
