Montréal for families: 500 stair steps between the MBAM and the mountain top

I found my way to the top... of Mont-Royal

This summer, I was looking for a nice walk to enjoy the city and to stretch our legs after a visit to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MBAM). Found it!

Facing the main entrance to the MBAM (on Sherbrooke Street) is the Avenue du Musée. Part of it is carless and features a whimsical installation during the summer. This year, it's a labyrinth of flowers painted on the street. Last year, it was a series of bicycle reflectors attached to the pavement. All around, is the permanent sculpture garden featuring 22 artworks. (Torontonians will recognize one of the cows by Joe Fafard that we can see in downtown's financial district!).

Part of the sculpture garden is the spectacular Soleil (sun) by Dale Chihuly, which has to be stored every winter to protect its 1,200 pieces of glass! Every spring, it is reinstalled in front of the Michal & Renata Hornstein Pavilion. Watch the master piece being put back together on this cool timelaps clip. 

Then, walk up the Avenue du Musée to the end of the street, where you'll find a staircase. Go up, then turn right on Avenue des Pins. Cross the street and keep walking along Avenue des Pins, past Redpath Crescent. You'll see a paved path to your left with signs for Chemin Olmsted.

Follow the signs and the (several) staircases up until you reach the Chalet du Mont-Royal, where you'll be rewarded by a breathtaking view of Montréal. 

The chalet itself is a gorgeous, spacious, and underutilized building. A nice café taking advantage of the view would be lovely (but they have washrooms). You can buy snacks and water from machines, and frozen treats from vendors, and then sit on Muskoka chairs to enjoy the panorama.

It takes 30 minutes to walk from the museum to the Chalet du Mont-Royal... some 500 stair steps away.

Are you hungry?

You can have a generous all-day breakfast at Eggspectation, a whimsical big restaurant at 1313 de Maisonneuve West, or a big sandwich at the urban cafeteria Anton & James (1414 Stanley) which you could eat in the cute hidden garden on the west side of the presbyterian church of St. Andrew and St. Paul (just west of the Soleil), accessible through a little portal off Sherbrooke Street. 

Out of curiosity, I asked my Montreal colleague, Josée Noiseux, author of Humeurs de Paris and blogger of cool things in big cities, what would be her recommendation for a casual yummy stop before or after the walk and/or a visit to the MBAM, she pointed me to a lovely place I had totally missed! The cute Café Vasco Da Gama (1472 Peel Street), a small Portuguese delicatessen/cafeteria with a great menu.

(This post is a partial translation of my French article in L'Express de Toronto on Rodin's exhibition at the MBAM until October 18, 2015.)

Family outings: Need some inspiration?

Sandbanks Beach, one of the three beaches in Sandbanks Provincial Park

Go to the Activity of the week section of torontofunplaces.com, the website supported by Nathalie Prézeau, author of 482-page guide on family outings Toronto Fun Places, now it its 5th edition.

Family outing of the week: Splash Pad in Coronation Park

Visit our new page on the Splah pad in Coronation Park, Oakville.
(Note that the FREE Oakville Children's Festival will be on Sunday, July 19 from 10 am to 4 pm in Coronation Park!)

Things you'll like about ROM's exhibition Pompeii (2)

The Royal Ontario Museum's new exhibition Pompeii: In the Shadow of the Volcano will be on until January 3, 2016. 

What YOU will love about it:
The casts of Pompeii citizens frozen in time.

What YOUR KIDS will love about it:

The cast of a dog that could not escape because he was chained to his dog house... And the mosaic of a dog which said "Beware of the dog", which was found at the house of this dog!... And the T-shirt of this dog mosaic you will find in the gift shop at the exit of the exhibition.

Related post:

Things you'll like about ROM's exhibition Pompeii (1)

How it's made: Pompeii body casts

Interesting facts about the casts

• People were buried in the ash, which hardened to form a porous shell, meaning that the soft tissues of the bodies decayed, leaving the skeleton in a void. Fiorelli, the director of works in charge of the excavations in 1863, had plaster poured into the cavities and then chipped away the ash, exposing the cast of a person killed during the eruption almost 1800 years earlier. 

• Some 100 casts were done of the estimated 1,100 bodies found. We think there were 12,000 people living in Pompeii at the time.

• The casts at the ROM's exhibition which are made out of resin are actually 3D prints of the original casts. 

I recommend you watch the BBC movie Pompeii: the Last Day with your kids AFTER attending the exhibition, for more impact.

Underpass Park turned into a (street) art gallery!

A concrete milestone for the Pan Am Path!

I expected that we would see murals gradually pop up in the Underpass Park under the Gardiner but I didn't count on the Live Art Festival on June 20th, when many pilars got a major make-over all at once!

A friend who lives in the neighbourhood told me that Corktown Common, which hosts a fantastic splash pad (one of my most popular post!), would be closed for the summer because of the Pan Am Games. So yesterday, I went to see for myself. 

Bad news: Corktown Common and its splash pad will be CLOSED until August 31. Good news: the Underpass Park and playground on the west side of Lower River Street will remain open.

I crashed a party!

Little did I know that a multi-arts festival was going under the Gardiner! I was so distracted by the dancing performers on stilts colourful costumes that I did not see right way that something was different in the background. 

The only touches of colour we used to see in the Underpass Park (on the east side of Lower River), came from lights effects.

That was before artists were commissioned to adorn the pilars with murals!

 

Now, skaters and basketball lovers will be able to enjoy the most beautiful park in Toronto! 

When the Friends of the Pan Am Path said 

"Let's paint the Corktown!"...

They meant business!

While you're there

Two other great additions in the neighbourhood: Tim Hortons with a patio (south-west corner at the corner of King East and Lower River Street), perfect for families to grab a snack and drink after they've let off some steam in the park. And Odin (across the street at 514 King east), a new independant café which belongs to the owners of Thor Espresso Bar on Bathurst.

About the Pan Am Path

Friends of the Pan Am Path is the main organizer of the Pan Am Path Art Relay, motivated by the chance to celebrate the best of the region while also creating a meaningful legacy of the TORONTO 2015 Games for residents. Much of the route lies on existing trails and pathways that are being improved and connected.

Since its inception, the Pan Am Path project has been endorsed by the Pan Am/Parapan Am leads at all three levels of Government and 22 other elected officials. Legacy construction to improve and create new connections along the Pan Am Path will continue through 2017.