SW EP-359 WC 29-159 Montreal - largest city in Quebec and 2nd largest city in Canada

Downtown Montreal at sunset

Montreal (French: Montréal) is the largest city in the province, the second-largest in Canada and the 2nd largest French-speaking in the world. The city is on the Island of Montreal.


Downtown Montreal - view from Mount Royal at night

The city has a population of more than 1.6 million and in Montreal's metropolitan area there are 4.1 million inhabitants.
Montreal was incorporated as a city in 1832. For over a century and a half, it was the industrial and financial centre of Canada. There is a variety of buildings including factories, elevators, warehouses, mills, and refineries which today provide a legacy of historic and architectural interest, especially in the downtown area and the Old Port area. There are many historic buildings in Old Montreal still in their original form: Notre-Dame de Montréal Basilica, Bonsecours Market, and the impressive 19th‑century headquarters of all major Canadian banks on Rue Saint Jacques.

French is the city's official language and is the language spoken at home, as Québécois French, by 56.9% of the population of the city, followed by English at 18.6% (2006 census). Quebec is the 2nd largest French-speaking city in the world.
The first postcard came from Kimmi B. (28 November 2014) Swap-bot and the second from Jessica (24 June 2014) Swap-bot.