Scots founding footprint is clear in lively city of Montreal

Montreal skyline and Saint Laurent river at dusk

MONTREAL is a fabulous city. A quirky mixture of France and North America, it’s a vibrant, bilingual metropolis that boasts a rich history, architectural beauty and a superb dining scene.

It’s one of the most interesting cities in North America and it’s now reachable from Glasgow with Air Transat at a bargain price – £320 per person– how good is that!

The Scots effectively founded Montreal, and their influence in Quebec is massive.

I knew about their dominance in other parts of Canada, but in French- speaking Quebec their impact astonished me.

Mind you, the clues were all around me: McGill University, McTavish Street – oh, don’t start me! In 1779, Scotsman Simon McTavish helped establish what would become the North West Company to compete in the fur trade with the English-owned giant, the Hudson’s Bay Company. The links are endless.

Fur trading, commerce, engineering – yep, it was all there for the hard-working Scots, and everyone I met was well aware of the Scottish connection. And yes, people do make you feel very welcome because of it.

While Toronto was historically known as ‘the city of churches’, Montreal was ‘the city of sin’. Booze was available here during Prohibition and the nightlife scene has never stopped.

Montreal is a great walking city. In summer it’s lovely, while in winter it has 18 miles of underground city in which to take shelter. I stayed in the centrally-located Inter-Continental Hotel.

Although it needs a bit of renovation, negotiate hard on the room rates and you’ll be feeling very happy.

I began exploring this beautiful city by looking down on it all from Mont Royal – the highest point in the city at 234 metres.

From here you can take in the vista of skyscrapers, the St. Lawrence River and the pilgrimage site of St. Joseph’s Oratory.

My favourite parts of Montreal are Mile End and Little Italy. Both boast great delicatessens, vendors’ stalls and atmospheric cafes. Get your maple syrup at the bohemian Jean-Talon Market and stop for a legendary fresh hot bagel at St Vaiteur Bagel (the Italian owner is a hoot, and a dead ringer for Tony Bennett!). It’s open 24 hours.

There’s a large community of Hasidic Jews in Mile End. It’s also an enclave of actors and artists, present-day hipsters and ageing hippies. As the kids would say, it’s very, very cool.

Among its eclectic streets you’ll find art galleries, vintage clothing shops, antique stores and dozens of wonderful bistros.

Montreal’s architecture is worth a book in itself, with a fabulous mix of styles and designs, and the external wrought-iron staircases are so typical of the city (à la New York). In one street you can find 30 buildings, all of a totally different design.

The Notre-Dame Basilica, dating back to 1829, is definitely worth a visit. It’s incredibly ornate, with fabulous wooden carvings, statues and dozens of works of art. Local lass Celine Dion was married here.

It is likely that Old Montreal is where you’ll spend most time.

This is a warren of lovely old cobbled streets with the most impressive buildings in the city, such as its first bank and Montreal’s World Trade Centre. For a good explanation of how Montreal was founded in 1642 head for the Pointe-a-Calliere, a national historic site housing the remains of the city’s first buildings.

Next year marks the 375th anniversary of Montreal and, with a plethora of events planned to celebrate this ancient North American city, it’s a great time to visit.

The gourmet scene in Montreal is superb but standing head and shoulders above the rest is my number one recommended restaurant Toqué – a stunning establishment laden with well-deserved awards and using the freshest of local produce. Voted number one by ‘Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants Magazine’, it’s run by the legendary Chef Normande Laprise and it is essential to pre-book.

Interior of Notre Dame Basilica, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

The food is simply divine: creative and executed as only a Grand Chef Relais Chateaux can (see restaurant-toque.com).

There’s a lot to praise about Montreal. I just loved my few days there and will definitely return within a year to explore it more, especially now that Air Transat makes the trip so easy and enjoyable.

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