Montréal - Surroundings

Daily between the end of April and middle of October powerful motorboats specially designed for the purpose run exciting - and usually very wet - trips through the rapids from the Vieux Port.

The Lieu historique national du Canada du Commerce-de-la-Fourrure-à-Lachine in an old fur warehouse (1803) illustrates impressively, various aspects of the fur trade in the 17th/18th c., long the mainstay of Montréal's existence.

Fur Trade at Lachine National Historic Site of Canada also hosts a number of small events throughout the summer months.

Parc Safari near Hemmingford is a zoological and recreational park with hundreds of animals from five continents. These include elephants, rhinos, giraffes, zebras, lions, macaques, chimpanzees and white tigers. There are seven theme parks within the park including the Drive-Thru Safari, the Wildlife Observatory, the Deer Trail, Noah's Ark, and the Insectarium.

The Maison Saint-Gabriel, a charming old stone farmhouse in the Saint-Gabriel district near where the Champlain Bridge crosses the St Lawrence River, dates from 1698. It was restored in 1960 and turned into a museum of colonial life, with exhibits from the 17th to 19th centuries.

Originally the farmhouse was where the "filles du Roy" lived, the unmarried young women sent over by the King of France to provide Nouvelle France with plenty of offspring to carry on the French line.

The Église de la Visitation in Sault-au-Récollet, on the Rivière des Prairies, is worth a visit. Built between 1749 and 1752, it is one of Montréal's oldest Catholic parish churches and has an interior covered with wood carvings by local artists. The monuments (1903) in front of the church are to Père Nicolas Vill and Ahuntsic, the Indian chief who lost his life during the Iroquois wars.

The riverside park is a lovely place for a walk or a picnic.