Montreal
Montreal is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest in Canada. Founded in 1642 as Ville-Marie, it takes its name from Mount Royal. French is the city's official language; 58.5% of the population can speak both French and English. Montreal is the largest primarily French-speaking city in the Americas. Historically the commercial capital of Canada, Montreal was surpassed by Toronto in the 1970s. It remains an important centre of art, culture, literature, film, music, aerospace, finance, pharmaceuticals and technology. Montreal hosts the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization, and was named a UNESCO City of Design in 2006.
Typical weather
1981–presentCity Rhythm
measuredOpening hours, by kind of place
median across mapped venuesVital absurdities
measured · the Anti-AwardsSame time system
by rhythmWhat to do each season
4winter
cold, snowy and windy; openmeteo mean −11.8 to −7.0 °C (Wikipedia January daily avg −9 to −10.5 °C; wind chill often to −30 °C); ~210 cm of snow/yr; snow cover from early Dec to Mar; 4 rain-days/mo even in winter
- the cold snowy season — the Underground City (RESO) and the Metro keep downtown life going; the lowest tourist density outside the holidays
- the snow-cover season and the winter festivals (Igloofest, Montréal en Lumière)
spring
variable; openmeteo mean −3.1 to 13.1 °C; 'prone to drastic temperature changes; spring even more so than fall'; late snowstorms possible into April
- the unstable spring — the snow melts, the sugar-shack (cabane à sucre) season; rapid warm-and-cold swings
summer
hot and humid; openmeteo mean 18.5-21.6 °C (Jul warmest 21.6; daily max 26-27 °C; >30 °C common); thunderstorms common late spring–early fall
- the festival season — 'the vibrancy of its downtown, particularly during summer'; the Jazz Festival, Just for Laughs, the fireworks festival, Osheaga
- the terrace (patio) season opens; the peak tourist window
autumn
mild with 'Indian summers'; openmeteo mean 1.1-16.2 °C; the comfortable clear window before winter; early snow possible in Nov
- the autumn foliage on Mount Royal and the clear comfortable window; the Pop Montreal / film-festival autumn cluster
What it is known for
Important moments in a year
Montreal Jazz Festival
- the Montreal International Jazz Festival — the largest jazz festival in the world
Just For Laughs
- Just for Laughs — the largest comedy festival in the world
Expo 67
- Montreal hosted Expo 67 — the International and Universal Exposition
- Habitat 67 and Buckminster Fuller's Biosphere became permanent landmarks
1976 Summer Olympics
- Montreal hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics — the Olympic Stadium and tower
On the record
source-trackedMontreal is classified as a hot-summer and warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification: Dfa and Dfb).
Summer … daily maximum average of 26 to 27 °C in July; temperatures in excess of 30 °C are common.
Winter brings cold, snowy, windy, and, at times, icy weather, with a daily average ranging from −10.5 to −9 °C in January. Annual precipitation is around 1,000 mm, including an average of about 210 cm of snowfall.
Spring and fall are pleasantly mild but prone to drastic temperature changes; spring even more so than fall.
French is the city's official language. Montreal is the largest primarily French speaking city in the Americas.
58.5% of the population able to speak both French and English.
Montreal was referred to as 'Canada's Cultural Capital'. The city has more than 100 annual festivals, the largest being the Montreal International Jazz Festival, the largest jazz festival in the world.
The Montreal Canadiens … has won an NHL-record 24 Stanley Cup championships.
There are 50 National Historic Sites of Canada, more than any other city.
The Port of Montreal is one of the largest inland ports in the world, handling 26 million tonnes of cargo annually.
Montreal has the highest concentration of post-secondary students of all major cities in North America.
The STM Metro … trains run on rubber tires, making the system quieter than most. Each station was designed by different architects with individual themes and original artwork.
The method behind this atlas — 196 pp. Not published yet.