Today, much of what makes Montréal special is either very old or very new. The city’s great, gleaming skyscrapers and towering hotels; the superb Métro system; and the highly practical underground city date mostly from the 40 years since the Expo. A renaissance of the oldest part of the city, Old Montreal or Vieux-Montréal, began with extensive renovations to the Old Port in the 1980s and 90s.

Old Montreal, a tourist destination unto its own, is a living museum of the early history of Montreal, of Quebec and of Canada. It is also a very liveable neighborhood, thanks to renovations of many of the area’s warehouse buildings into offices, apartments, condos, hotels and stores. The scale of the streets, once traveled only on foot or by horse, assures a pedestrian scale that makes it welcoming to people who live/work there or visit.

Montreal as a whole is consistently rated as one of the world’s most livable cities.  It was called “Canada’s Cultural Capital” by Monocle Magazine and recently was named a UNESCO City of Design.  Though historically the commercial capital of Canada, it was surpassed in population, as well as economic strength, by Toronto after 1976. Today it continues as an important center of commerce, aerospace, finance, pharmaceuticals, technology, design, culture, tourism, film and world affairs.