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http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/travel/montreal-green-alleyways-take-visitors-backstage.html?smid=fb-share&_r=1

http://www.nydailynews.com/montreal-westmount-saint-henri-nabes-article-1.1393151

J'ai failli tomber de ma chaise...venant du Globe I’m in love. Montreal has always reminded me of an unapproachable crush – it’s arty and sophisticated, and, to me, seems to possess an impenetrable coolness. In recent years, the rise of its indie music scene, trendsetting street fashion and unapologetically rustic comfort cuisine has only added to its mystique. On previous visits, I had felt every bit the awkward outsider. I’d wander the streets of Old Montreal or take in the view from atop Mount Royal, keenly aware that those who lived here were going to the better bars, eating fabulous food and participating in all sorts of amazing activities that I couldn’t even begin to imagine. This time, I wanted to crack that barrier. So I joined a tour. Guided tours are typically the antithesis of cool. But Shea Mayer’s Fitz & Follwell Co. is a different kind of tour company. As the Montreal resident explains, his cycling tours aren’t just meant to take visitors to the most popular tourist attractions. Rather, they’re based on his idea of a perfect day in the city. “That’s how I designed the routes: What’s my favourite bagel place? Where do I think the best coffee is? What do I do when I go down to the market?” he says. His Bike & Yoga tour, for example, takes visitors through the bohemian neighbourhood of Le Plateau, with a break along the way for smoothies at his favourite juice bar and stops for yoga sessions in three of the area’s tranquil parks. His all-day Mountainside to Riverbank package offers a more challenging ride for seasoned cyclists up to the top of Mount Royal, then down along the St. Lawrence River to Saint-Helen’s and Notre Dame Islands. I chose to tag along on his ’Hoods and Hidden Gems tour, lured by the promise I would be immersed “in the local hangouts of the city’s hippest habitants.” Upon my arrival at his Mount-Royal West Avenue shop, Mr. Mayer sets me up with a sleek black city cruiser, which he has christened “Jeanne,” after the pioneering Montreal nurse Jeanne Mance. (All of the bikes at his shop are similarly named after the city’s historic figures, like “Molson” after the beer tycoon, and “Lili” after the legendary burlesque dancer Lili St Cyr.) Montreal is renowned for being a bike-friendly city, with designated cycling lanes throughout the side streets and thoroughfares. It’s also the launching pad for the now-famous Bixi, a bike-sharing system that allows users to rent a vehicle from one of the many stations scattered around town and deposit it at another station when they’re finished riding. The system has proved so popular that cities around the world, from Toronto to Melbourne, have adopted it. But because Bixi bikes are meant for only short commutes, they’re not ideal for longer, leisurely trips. My Jeanne offers a smoother ride. Mr. Mayer leads our small group through the tony francophone enclave of Outremont and Le Plateau. Along our route, he stops to point out quirky details, not always found in guide books, such as where larpers (live action role players) gather to enact their fantastical battles or where resident bohemians hold their “tam tams,” or drum sessions. We stop to pick up freshly baked bagels at the Montreal institution St. Viateur Bagel, and tote them across the street to Mr. Mayer’s neighbourhood hangout, Café Olympico, where he orders us the café’s specialty espresso coffees. La suite ici: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/travel/destinations/travel-canada/how-i-fell-in-love-with-montreal/article2192143/

(Courtesy of Food & Wine) Right behind New York on this list Not sure if Vegas would have been a notable mention or not, seeing it is mostly foreign chefs that have restaurants there, but still a great place to eat. Plus I hear now, that Mexico City is a foodie place.

http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/17/montreal-toasts-gaultier/

Lawyer’s Survival Guide to Montreal By Larry Markowitz Montreal is the most European of North America’s cities, blessed with a joie de vivre that makes a visit worth your while at any time of the year. Although the majority of Montrealers are French-speaking, English-speaking visitors will have no problem getting by, especially if those visitors begin their conversations with a courteous “bonjour.” Entertainment Montrealers enjoy life. Lunches are longer, foods are tastier, and the seasons are filled with festivals of all sorts. In the summer, Montreal is renowned for its international jazz festival, featuring hundreds of free outdoor shows, as well as its comedy festival, known as the “Cannes of comedy.” Many a Hollywood sitcom star has been discovered by the talent scouts who frequent the Just for Laughs comedy fest. Even during its cold and snowy winters, Montreal holds festivals such as February’s Montreal High Lights Festival, which features performances, gastronomy, and activities for the whole family. Of course, one cannot ignore Montrealers’ passion for their Montreal Canadiens hockey club, which sells out the 21,000-seat Bell Centre for nearly every home game. Hockey is like a religion for the people of this city. Many local drivers fly a Canadiens’ flag from their automobile, as they encourage the “Habs” to win their twenty-fifth Stanley Cup. During the summer, the hometown 2009 Grey Cup-champion Alouettes of the Canadian Football League play their home games in the open-air Percival Molson Stadium located on the slopes of Mount Royal, the mountain in the center of this island city, from which Montreal takes its name. Visitors who are less interested in sports can visit the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Montreal museum of contemporary art (Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal) or the leading-edge Canadian Centre for Architecture. Alternatively, visitors may simply go for a stroll atop Mount Royal, along tree-lined pathways designed in the 19th century by Frederick Law Olmsted, who is best known for designing New York’s Central Park. The pathways of the Old Port along the Saint Lawrence River and the narrow cobblestone streets of adjacent Old Montreal are also pleasant places for a walk, especially when the weather is warm. Visitors from the United Sates should remember to bring their passports, as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency now requires a passport to be presented by all those entering (or re entering) the United States. A taxi ride to downtown Montreal from Trudeau Airport costs C$38 (approximately US$36 at the current exchange rate of C$1 = US$0.96) and usually takes less than 30 minutes. Once you’ve arrived in the city center, you’ll discover that Montreal is a very walkable place, with its “underground city” that links numerous office towers, shopping malls, and hotels and provides shelter from inclement weather. Because of its four major universities, three of which are located in the downtown area, and the fact that many residents both live and work downtown, the central core retains an active vibe at all hours of the day and night. The city also features a safe and visually appealing subway (metro) system. For those in a rush, taxis are plentiful, readily available, and quite affordable. Montreal is one of the oldest cities in the “new world.” Old Montreal, the area adjacent to the Old Port, has the largest concentration of 17th, 18th and 19th century architecture in North America. Those buildings are well-maintained and in them, one can find quaint boutique hotels and fine dining restaurants. Accommodations In addition to the boutique hotels, downtown Montreal also has all the usual chain hotels that meet the needs of business travelers and are located in proximity to the office towers that house Montreal’s law firms and corporate head offices. For a trendy boutique hotel in Old Montreal with exposed brick walls in your room, try the Hotel Nelligan (http://www.hotelnelligan.com). If you wish to be pampered in the same chateau-like surroundings as Madonna and the Rolling Stones, try the ultra sumptuous Hotel Le St-James (http://www.hotellestjames.com). For a major downtown business hotel, try the Queen Elizabeth. As an added bonus, 1960’s pop-culture history buffs will be interested to learn that room 1742 of the “Queen E.” was the site of 1969’s famous “Bed-in for Peace” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, during which they recorded their timeless song “Give Peace a Chance” (http://www.fairmont.com/EN_FA/Property/QEH/). Farther uptown and closer to the shopping of Sherbrooke Street (Montreal’s “Fifth Avenue”), and not far from Sainte-Catherine Street, Canada’s busiest shopping thoroughfare, is the luxurious Sofitel Montreal Golden Mile (http://www.sofitelmontreal.com). Dining For cuisine, Montreal’s multiethnic population, combined with its residents’ propensity for going out to dinner, has resulted in a multitude of high-quality restaurants, featuring every imaginable type of food. In fact, Montreal lays claim to having the most restaurants per capita of any North American city. At the basic end of the food spectrum, some local dishes that you might want to sample include poutine, a surprisingly tasty artery-blocking concoction of French fries and melted cheese curds doused in thick brown gravy. You should also sample a smoked meat sandwich with a side-order of kosher dill pickle at Schwartz’s on “The Main” (aka Saint-Laurent Boulevard, which is the traditional dividing line between the more anglophone western half of the city and the more francophone eastern half). Montreal smoked meat is a uniquely spiced and tender smoked brisket that is hand-sliced and served on rye bread with mustard. After sampling a smoked meat sandwich, stop by either Saint Viateur Bagel or Fairmount Bagel for a uniquely Montreal tender hand-rolled bagel, cooked to perfection in a traditional wood-burning oven. There’s no rush to buy your bagels, as both of these institutions remain open 24/7. For more sophisticated cuisine, the absolute top of the top include Toqué! and Club Chasse et Pêche. A top-rated genuine French bistro experience may be had, without the need to fly to Paris, by dining at L'Express, located on Saint Denis Street, a broad avenue lined with numerous eateries. It has been said that Montrealers work to live, rather than the other way around. Hopefully, your travels will give you the opportunity to experience some of the joie de vivre of this “Paris on the Saint Lawrence” sometime soon! Larry Markowitz (larry.markowitz@mcmillan.ca) is a partner in the Montreal office of McMillan LLP. His practice focuses on securities law and competition/antitrust law. http://www.abanet.org/intlaw/pubs/Montreal/montrealLSG10.html Drôle de hasard : je ne connaissais pas le restaurant Club Chasse & Pêche jusqu'à ce que j'y reconduisse huit de mes clients pour la première fois il y a deux jours !!

I'm not sure if this is "urban tech", in that it probably isn't something that's applicable in a variety of scenarios, nor if it has already been talked about on this site, but regardless, i still think it's worth mentioning. -------------------- Solar City Tower for Rio Olympics is a Giant Energy Generating Waterfall by Bridgette Meinhold, 03/19/10 This renewable energy generating tower located on the coast of Rio is one of the first buildings we’ve seen designed for the 2016 Rio Olympics, and boy, is it crazy! (In case you didn’t notice, it’s also a waterfall.) The Solar City Tower is designed by Zurich-based RAFAA Architecture & Design, and features a large solar system to generate power during the day and a pumped water storage system to generate power at night. RAFAA’s goal is that a symbolic tower such as this can serve as a starting point for a global green movement and help make the 2016 Olympic Games more sustainable. The self-sustaining tower for the 2016 Olympic Games is designed to create renewable energy for use in the Olympic Village as well as the city of Rio. A large solar power plant generates energy during the day. Any excess power not used during the day is utilized to pump seawater into a storage tank within the tower. At night, the water is released to power turbines, which will provide nighttime power for the city. On special occasions water is pumped out to create a waterfall over the edges of the building, which RAFAA says will be, “a symbol for the forces of nature.” Info on the size of the solar and pumped water storage system is not available yet. Access to the eco tower is gained through an urban plaza and amphitheater 60 meters above sea level, which can be used for social gatherings. On the ocean side of the 105 meter tower (behind the waterfall) is a cafeteria and shop. An elevator takes visitors up to the top floor where an observation deck offers 360 views of the ocean and city. At level 90.5, a bungee platform is available for adventurous visitors. Link to article: http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/03/19/solar-city-tower-for-rio-olympics-giant-energy-generating-waterfall/ -------------------- if for nothing else, the renderings look kinda cool. wonder if you could have such a waterfall flowing off our own olympic tower ? or would that risk to bring in even more toilet jokes ? .. ..

Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/8596627.stm Published: 2010/04/05 10:53:21 GMT © BBC MMX

:eek: :eek: Montreal gets geotourism designation The Gazette Published: 7 hours ago Montreal can expect a substantial boost in tourism as a result of becoming the first city to be awarded a geotourism charter by the Washington-based National Geographic Society. On his first visit here, John Francis, National Geographic's vice-president for research, conservation and exploration, said it was not hard for the multi-media publisher to select Montreal from other unnamed applicants. "This metropolitan city has and natural assets that appeal to visitors," he said before a signing National Geographic's "geotourism charter" with Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay and other officials today. Montreal, he said, can "stand as a guiding light for protecting cherished resources around the world." The city's "holistic approach to tourism" is a continuing process. Guatemala, Honduras, Norway, Rumania, Arizona, Rhode Island also have been singled by National Geographic out as global destinations. It recognizes the importance of urban centres to global tourism and rewards those who safeguard the "uniqueness of integrity" of special places. Special attention is given to architecture, cuisine, neighbourhoods, neighbourhoods, entertainment districts, green spaces, historical, cultural, and urban landscapes. After his first visit this morning, Francis said he could see Montreal is doing a good job of preserving its heritage and is "worthy of visiting." National Geographic, through its flagship magazine and other publications, TV channel, and other platforms, is said to reach some 300 million people each month. About 7.5 million visitors came to Montreal last year, pouring $2.5 billion into the economy

National Tour Association NTA selects Montreal and Las Vegas for 2010 and 2011 annual conventions Thursday, April 19, 2007 The National Tour Association Board of Directors has selected the host cities for its 2010 and 2011 Annual Conventions — Montreal and Las Vegas, respectively. “NTA could not be more pleased to announce our return to Canada and the great city of Montreal,” said NTA Chairman and CEO Randy Julian. “This chic metropolitan city is rich in culture and history. And the grand hotels and tremendous entertainment venues of Las Vegas make it a perfect host for the industry’s top travel professionals. NTA looks forward to doing business in these two great destinations known for hospitality and flare.” The Convention draws tour companies, as well as destinations and suppliers, to network face-to-face, develop future travel packages and attend top-notch seminars that deliver the latest market research and trends. The Annual Convention also is home to the Tour & Travel Exchange® — the industry’s only arena for buying and selling packaged travel with a business floor that is all-access, all the time. The 2010 Convention will take place Nov. 13–17 at the Palais des congres de Montreal. “We are thrilled that Montreal has been chosen as host city of the National Tour Association’s Annual Convention in 2010,” says Charles Lapointe, president and CEO of Tourisme Montreal. “The tour operators, tour suppliers and DMOs attending this prestigious event will have the chance to discover a sparkling city on the St. Lawrence River whose European charm and North American energy never fail to dazzle the thousands of visitors who come here annually.” Las Vegas is the number one-trade show destination in North America for the 12th consecutive year, according to Tradeshow Week 200. The 2011 NTA Annual Convention will be held there Dec. 5–9. Rossi Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said, “We look forward to hosting the National Tour Association for the first time and are excited to showcase Las Vegas at its Annual Convention in 2011.” Theodore Koumelis - Thursday, April 19, 2007