Montreal

Canadian cities · history · geography

Three-peaked mountain. Mount Royal, the triple-peaked mountain that gave Montreal its name, sits right in the middle of the city and was the reason early settlers chose this spot to build.

Founded as Ville-Marie. Montreal started in 1642 with the French name Ville-Marie, which means 'City of Mary,' but people eventually called it Montreal after the mountain instead.

Second-largest Canadian city. Montreal is the biggest city in Quebec province and the second-biggest in all of Canada, with only Toronto having more people.

Island surrounded by water. The city sits on the Island of Montreal, plus several smaller islands nearby, making it a place where water and land create an interesting landscape.

Eastern Canadian location. Montreal sits 122 miles east of Canada's capital city Ottawa and 160 miles southwest of Quebec City, placing it in a key spot in eastern Canada.