Mont-Royal: the mountain and Olmsted's great park

Stops along the way

Things to notice.

1. 01

   1

   Avenue du Parc & the Sir George-Étienne Cartier monument

   The eastern gateway, where the Tam-Tams drummers gather on summer Sundays around the angel-topped monument. Start here and pick up the path up the slope; the city stays at your back the whole climb.

   01

   Avenue du Parc & the Sir George-Étienne Cartier monument

   The eastern gateway, where the Tam-Tams drummers gather on summer Sundays around the angel-topped monument. Start here and pick up the path up the slope; the city stays at your back the whole climb.

   ◉Street View
2. 02

   2

   Chemin Olmsted

   The original carriage road Frederick Law Olmsted laid out to wind gently up the mountain, never steep, always shaded. Take it over the staircases if your knees prefer the long way; the grade is the whole point of his design.

   02

   Chemin Olmsted

   The original carriage road Frederick Law Olmsted laid out to wind gently up the mountain, never steep, always shaded. Take it over the staircases if your knees prefer the long way; the grade is the whole point of his design.

   ◉Street View
3. 03

   3

   Chalet du Mont-Royal & the Kondiaronk lookout

   The 1932 stone chalet and the great belvedere in front of it, where downtown's towers and the river line up below. This is the view on every postcard, and it earns it. Step inside for the painted murals and a warm-up in winter.

   03

   Chalet du Mont-Royal & the Kondiaronk lookout

   The 1932 stone chalet and the great belvedere in front of it, where downtown's towers and the river line up below. This is the view on every postcard, and it earns it. Step inside for the painted murals and a warm-up in winter.

   ◉Street View
4. 04

   4

   The cross (la croix du Mont-Royal)

   The thirty-metre steel cross on the eastern summit, lit white at night and visible across the city. A marker stands where Maisonneuve is said to have planted a wooden cross in 1643. Less a view than a quiet clearing in the trees.

   04

   The cross (la croix du Mont-Royal)

   The thirty-metre steel cross on the eastern summit, lit white at night and visible across the city. A marker stands where Maisonneuve is said to have planted a wooden cross in 1643. Less a view than a quiet clearing in the trees.

   ◉Street View
5. 05

   5

   Lac aux Castors (Beaver Lake)

   The shallow ornamental lake on the western meadows — pedal boats in summer, a skating loop in winter. The modernist pavilion sits on its bank. Walk the full rim; this is the open, social heart of the mountain after the woods.

   05

   Lac aux Castors (Beaver Lake)

   The shallow ornamental lake on the western meadows — pedal boats in summer, a skating loop in winter. The modernist pavilion sits on its bank. Walk the full rim; this is the open, social heart of the mountain after the woods.

   ◉Street View
6. 06

   6

   Mount Royal Cemetery woods

   Drop north off the summit into the wooded paths above the cemetery, where the migrating warblers come through in spring and the maples turn first in autumn. Loop back east toward the monument and the metro at the foot of the slope.

   06

   Mount Royal Cemetery woods

   Drop north off the summit into the wooded paths above the cemetery, where the migrating warblers come through in spring and the maples turn first in autumn. Loop back east toward the monument and the metro at the foot of the slope.

   ◉Street View