| When the French first arrived in North America with | | | | crypt is currently the site of an archeological |
| designs on creating a 'New France', they observed the | | | | excavation! |
| native tribes of the Algonquian, Iroquoian and Inuit, and | | | | Another building of historical and architectural interest is |
| built their first colonies based on the fur-trading tradition | | | | the vast Basilique Notre-Dame de Montreal, designed |
| of these indigenous peoples. This was the beginning of | | | | by Irish-American architect James O'Donnel, whose |
| Canada's own grand tradition of integration, of the | | | | Gothic Revivalist style again highlights the coming |
| acceptance of different cultures; a tradition that - like | | | | together of older European themes in a more modern, |
| the language spoken by those colonizers - is still very | | | | North American setting. It is said that O'Donnel, a |
| much alive in Quebec today. | | | | Protestant, was so distraught at the idea of not being |
| What Canada's province of Quebec represents, then, | | | | entombed in this beautiful basilica that he converted to |
| as its French mother-tongue proudly proclaims, is an | | | | Catholocism on his deathbed! |
| area of North America that, rather than striving for | | | | Today, the city's more modern take on Quebec's |
| identity, has instead gained identity through an | | | | tradition of multiculturalism is in evidence wherever you |
| amalgamation of other identities and cultures - a | | | | look, and expresses itself frequently through artistic |
| province that gains uniqueness by mingling great | | | | performances and festivals, from the elegant |
| aspects from many different cultures; a province that | | | | pirouettes of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens to the |
| stands singular in its multiculturalism. | | | | acrobatic barrel jumps of the avant-garde La La La |
| A great example of Quebec's multiculturalism can be | | | | Human Steps; from the world's largest gay-benefit |
| found in its largest city, Montreal, that can be seen as a | | | | dance festival Black and Blue, to the blue notes of the |
| city made from cities; a place grafted from lots of | | | | Montreal International Jazz Festival. |
| different cultures, from its original foundation as part of | | | | Other more modern sights include the Olympic Stadium |
| 'New France', right through its British rule and | | | | built for the 1976 games - which boasts the tallest |
| development alongside the United States, to the | | | | slanted tower in the world - and the Underground City, |
| Montreal we see today - a city with enough influences | | | | the largest underground complex in the world, which is |
| and culture for three cities. | | | | home to many of the shopping malls, museums and |
| As well as its language, Montreal still shows the | | | | hotels in Montreal although surface dwellers are well |
| influence of the original European settlers in the part of | | | | catered for in this department too! |
| the city known as Vieux-Montreal, or Old Montreal. | | | | This majestic city, then, can boast a level of |
| Some of the buildings in this part of the city date right | | | | multiculturalism most cities cannot, for Montreal has not |
| back to the seventeenth century, like the colonial | | | | only adapted to new cultures, but its entire history, its |
| mansion Chateau Ramezay, and the | | | | charm, and its success have all relied on cultural |
| Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel - the colonial | | | | acceptance. |
| history of which runs so deep that its underground | | | | |