Visit to Mont Royal

It was a beautiful fall day today in Montreal so we took a drive up to Mont Royal, known for its magnificent views.  We were not disappointed.

It is said that Mont Royal is where Montreal got its name, based on the spelling in early French of Mont Real. Jacques Cartier was the first European to climb the mountain, led there in 1535 by villagers from the native village of Hochelega.  By the way, Montreal  only became the name of this city in the 18th century; previously the city was called Ville-Maria.  

.

 

Here we are with our friends, Sarah & Dick.

Here's a short video I took of the view:

The National Film Board of Canada has made an interactive video about Mont Royal called The Holy Mountain which you can view at this link:  http://holymountain.nfb.ca/#/holymountain/oratory
The film is in French mainly with a little English.  It has nice 360 degree mapping out the mountain.  I found it interesting to learn that the design for this park was created by one of the co-designers of Central Park in New York, Frederick Law Olmstead.  Mont Royal is one of the largest greenspaces in Montreal.

 There's a spacious green area with picnic tables behind the Chateau.

 There is an immense cross up the gravel road about a quarter mile on the top of Mont Royal

The cross is more than 30 meters high and is lit up at night with LED bulbs.   Usually lit in white, the cross can apparently be changed to any color, such as purple, traditional when a Pope dies.

I hadn't realized when we were on the mountain that the cross marks the site of a time capsule full of children's drawings and writings about what they think Montreal will be like in 2142 when the capsule is to be opened.

 This photo is under the legs of cross.

We saw some bikers going up and down the mountain as if it were a flat stretch of land.  I read later that this park was the site of the 1976 Summer Olympics' individual road race cycling competition.  It's also the site of many ski trails in the winter and an annual tobboganing race.

If you would like to find out more about Mont Royal, here's a link to the website discussing tours and guided hikes set up by a group called Friends of the Mountain:
http://www.lemontroyal.qc.ca/fr/connaitre-le-mont-royal/accueil.sn

We headed home as the sun was setting.