Montreal with Owen – Day 4

We got coffee and then walked to the Guy-Concordia Metro stop for a ride to Olympic Park.

I always enjoy getting up high to see over a city. I went up the tower at Olympic Park in 2011 and 2016. Unfortunately, this time it was closed for renovations. These include replacement of the inclined elevator (cable car). They also involve enhancements to tourist areas and reconstruction of the rooftop observation deck. The original plan expected reopening in May 2023. That was delayed to January 2026, then again to fall 2026. However, the official Olympic Park site indicates the tower may remain closed until late 2027. The tower renovation will not be completed in time for the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Games in 2026.

Instead, we decided to visit the Montreal Biodome. Owen loves capybaras, so when I told him that the Biodome had capybaras , he was in.

This is the entryway to the Biodome. The building was originally the Velodrome for the 1976 Olympics. It was close in 1989 and converted into the Biodome. Construction took three years and it opened in 1992.

This hallway was completely covered in ice. It led to the Sub-Antarctic Islands Habitat, which was populated by penguins.

The Labrador Coast Habitat featured puffins.

This is the Gulf of St. Lawrence habitat. There was a second level, which gave you an overview of the habitat.

This is the Tropical Forest Habitat and is a replica of the South American rainforest.

And these are the capybaras.

There was a large aquarium in the Tropical Rainforest habitat.

There was a poignant message in the lobby.

Owen really wanted this capybara puppet in the gift shop but, if I recall correctly, it was about $90, so he passed.

It had warmed up a little and the sun was strong, so we decided to return by bike.

This used to be a street for motor vehicles, but has been converted into wide sidewalks, a bidirectional cycle track, and a park. This type of thing is known as filtered permeability. Active transportation modes can get through, but cars cannot.

La Fontaine Park is a very large park in the Plateau neighbourhood. The roads within the park were blocked for motor vehicle vehicles. We docked our bikes here.

This type of architecture is very common in Montreal with outdoor staircases to upper level apartments.

Here we are outside of the restaurant, La Banquise. There was a lineup to get in, and it was very busy inside. We decided to get takeout and eat in the park.

This is the Vélo Quebec storefront and Café. They can help plan bike vacations, and have pamphlets and maps.

While waiting for our poutine we noticed the Frisquet ice cream sandwich shop. Despite being full of poutine, we indulged. They were delicious. Unfortunately, they’re no longer in business.

We walked back to the park to pick up the bikes, again. There were many people sitting in the park along the shore of the pond.

It was the day of indulging. And after a short bike ride we stopped at La Diperie for Owen to have more ice cream.

Our route, then took us through the Chinatown gates and passed this colourful mural. 

There were many people enjoying the sun in the many places around Place des Arts that invited one to linger.

This is St. Catherine Street, at one end of the section that was closed to cars, but there were very few cars driving. It was quite comfortable to ride along.

St. James United Church was built in 1889 in the Gothic style and just one of Montreal‘s largest Protestant churches. There is a hidden concert hall, Dawson Hall, at the back of the church  Le Balcon.

Here we are back near the apartment, still smiling.

That was my last picture for the day, so I didn’t have pictures to jog my memory about what dinner and the evening entailed. I think Mehrunnisa went home to pack for her return to Ontario for the summer. Owen and I picked up a couple dishes at the Chinese restaurant. We added these to leftovers we had from prior days.