Montreal, Canada is the largest city in the Canadian province of Quebec and it is the second largest city in Canada. Geographically, the city is as close to the European coast as it is to Vancouver and in both look and feel it blends some of the most splendidtraits of the two continents.

Paris is one of the cities that Montreal really parallels. Montreal is also the second largest French-speaking metropolis in the world. Three and a half million people are of French heritage, the other third being a cosmopolitan mixture of les autres - including British, Eastern Europeans, Chinese, Italians, Greeks, Jews, South Americans and West Indians. The city is easily Canada's most lively place with bars and clubs, a global variety of cafes all matched by a calendar of festivals.

One thing no one can question about Montreal is that it’s a place tourists love to visit and explore due to all the history and beauty that is all around you when you’re in Montreal. Finding a nice hotel is only going to present one challenge in that there are just so many options. Whether you’re looking for accommodation in a fancy boutique hotel or just would like something more fitting to your budget, you have countless options to select from. If you really want you can even get luxury accommodation in the form of waited housing, penthouses that overlook gorgeous Montreal or short term rentals that are available for visitors. There are a bunch of options in any budget range for you to choose from when searching for hotel rooms. A good plan will be to look for Montreal cheap hotels online when finalizing your travel so you assure a good rate before hand.

While in Montreal you will find you have a great deal of choices for activities, so I will recommend a few to help guide you in your fun. The former Olympic cycling track known as the Biodome has since been converted into an artificial habitat that contains four different ecosystems. A tropical forest, Laurentian Forest, St. Lawerence Marine Ecosystem and Arctic and Antarctic polar winds ecosystems are all there for you to enjoy and learn about. After enjoying the Biodome if you want to remain close Montreal Botanical garden is only a few steps away from Olympic Stadium. You basically walk underneat the Sherbrook Street Bridge and find yourself right at the gates of the Botanical Garden. To enter it costs .75, however it gives you access to the gardens and the Montreal Insectarium. The insectarium seemed like it would give a detailed exploration of the world of insects so I started with it.

The Montreal Insectarium opened its doors in 1990 and since then has built up a magnificent collection of insect species that include butterflies, moths, bugs and spiders. The scientific collection contains more than 140,000 insects while the exhibition collection contains 4000 specimens which are on public display, with about 16000 more than they cycle out for unique public viewing anytime you wish to visit. What intrigues me most about the Insectarium is that it focuses on more than just science. It explores aspects I hadn’t even imagined with art that involves insects and even the cultural and gastronomical views that are associated with insects.

Once you’re done at the Insectarium you should check out the marsh and bog garden that showcases many different water lily breeds. Also in very close proximity there is a rose garden which has many different kinds of roses and typically over 10000 on display.

If you’re looking for some more scenic spots to visit, the Japanese Garden is located a north of the bog marsh garden and is definitely worth checking out. The designer is the world famous Ken Nakajima. The design and elements of the garden was carefully chosen and laid out from the stones, water features and plants within to create a peaceful symbolism. Right next door to the Japanese Garden lays the Chinese garden and it represents the link between the Montreal Botanical Garden and the City of Shanghai’s park departments. The Chinese garden consists of more than 120 containers that were shipped from Shanghai and required 50 specialized Chinese craftsmen to create the unique and beautiful garden.