Montreal, gem of the St. Lawrence, the Paris of North America, la Ville aux cent clochers - like all clichés these phrases both blur and reveal the truth.

Founded by French explorers more than 350 years ago, it is among the oldest cities on the continent, its history a rich backdrop to its vibrant multicultural life. Notorious for its harsh winters, Montreal flourishes through a hot, sweet summer enlivened by festivals, street fairs and innumerable terrace cafés where locals and visitors alike eat, drink and socialize.

A visit to Montreal can be exciting and fun, but we know that some prospective visitors have concerns about safety and comfort in a place where another language and a different style prevail.

Montreal is located at 45 30 N / 73 36 W. It is the largest city in Quebec and the second largest in Canada, with a metropolitan population of 3,359,000. The City of Montreal has an area of 68 sq mi/177 sq km and the whole metropolitan area 1,354 sq mi/3,509 sq km. Montreal is one of two large islands in this part of the St. Lawrence River (the other, Île Jésus, includes Laval and several other communities) and its highest point, Mount Royal, is 761 ft/ 232m high. Montreal island encompasses 27 municipalities of which the City of Montreal itself is the largest.

Montreal is a cosmopolitan city. Quebec's language laws have made it all but impossible to post signs in languages other than French, so there are few signs in English, but of course place names and street names remain the same, so the inconvenience is minimal. It would not be unrealistic to say that in the parts of Montreal where most travellers go, people will give directions in English, and anyone working in a store, restaurant or service business expects to address customers in the language they prefer.

The crime rate has dropped considerably in Montreal over the past 10 years. At the beginning of the decade, Montreal averaged 205,000 crimes per year. In the year 2000, that number is down to a rock-bottom 150,000 crimes per year. That's almost no crime at all!

There were only 41 homicides in 1998, less than half the number of a decade earlier. Drug use, however, has been on a steady incline, reaching over 3,000 prosecuted incidents in 2000.