Saturday, June 20, 2009 – Day 23
Montreal was a fun city to visit with kids. The biggest problem was finding a place to park our Motorhome without having to walk too far. Driving in Montreal is a nightmare with a motorhome… and the drivers are not very patient. In the end we ended up parking on the edge of Old Montreal near the George-Etienne Cartier historic site (one of the fathers of Confederation) and walking into the old town. It was even free parking on Saturday… I think.
The Cartier historic site was rather small, but it did give a good look into Cartier’s accomplishments and life during the early 1800’s. It was a great opportunity for the kids to learn a bit of history although they didn’t have the attention span to read the information panels as much as their mother.
There were some beautiful pedestrian only streets in the old city where narrow streets criss-crossed in all directions. We saw the old Notre Dame cathedral where plenty of weddings were taking place (and their waiting limousines). The kids tired quickly as they have been doing lots of walking in the past few days. We made our way down to the old port where there was plenty of activity going on. There were numerous cruises departing from here,Cirque du Soleil was set up with their tents as well as a nearby environmental exhibition. What caught the kids’ attention however was the orange Labyrinth sign on one of the Pier buildings.
We couldn’t resist and so we treated the kids to an hour in the Pirate themed Labyrinth. For an hour the kids walked through the very plain looking yet tricky mazes that went in all directions. If you are gearing for a fancy looking attraction this is not for you. If you are looking for some fun and to get lost in dead-end plastic paneled hallways, you will have a great time. The kids enjoyed themselves immensely and were able to solve all of the clues to get their paper medallion at the end of the course.
Eli, our 6 year old was not too keen on walking the remaining 15 minutes back to the RV but with some prompting he eventually made it… Old Montreal is definitely worth the visit, just make sure you are ready to walk lots.