August 10, 2013 -- On my second full day in Montreal I decided to hop on a Bixi bike share in Westmount and ride up to Mount Royal Park, which is immediately west of downtown and is the highest point in the city.
Montreal took its name from Mount Royal. The park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, of New York Central Park fame, and was inaugurated in 1876.
I biked up to beautiful Beaver Lake located on the park's western slope, but since there are no bike share stations at the top of the hill, I had to bike down to a bike station across from the University of Montreal HEC business school. I did get the opportunity to bike on a nice path that runs along the edge of the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery, which is the largest cemetery in Canada and the third largest in North America.
After lounging around Beaver Lake a bit, I biked across the park on a wide gravely path full of bikers and walkers enjoying the sunny summer day. I even biked past a couple of tightrope walkers who set up a slackline stretched between two trees.
I biked to the eastern slope where Monument à Sir George-Étienne Cartier is located, which is a tribute to the French-Canadian statesman and Father of Confederation. Across the street there was an American football game being played which was kind of interesting to see up in hockey land.
I docked the Bixi bike at a station and walked down Mount Royal Avenue East which is a young, gritty area with a lot of college students. I had lunch at a Portuguese restaurant and then walked to Mount Royal Station for a subway ride to my next destination -- Olympic Park.
Here are more pictures of Mount Royal Park:
And here are pictures of Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery:
Here is video biking across Mount Royal Park:
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