Antoine Ertaskiran is a contemporary art gallery home to a number of exhibits with major focus on thought provoking sculpture art. The gallery has displayed the works of many Canadian artists and has also played host to collaborations in the past. Antoine Ertaskiran keeps itself upbeat with art fairs and other significant art events taking place across the globe thus becoming an important spot for lovers of contemporary art.
Located at the eastern edge of the Plateau Mont-Royal, La Fontaine Park consists of about 40 hectares (100 acres) in all. It serves as site for one of the official rites of spring, with people flocking to it the moment they sense warmer weather approaching. You can relax under the trees, picnic, sunbathe, bike, or play tennis. There is an outdoor theater in the summer, and in the winter the pond becomes a skating rink. Several monuments adorn the park, including one commemorating the sacrifice of French-Canadians who died during the course of the World Wars.
Notre-Dame's twin towers have served as an Old Montreal landmark since the Neo-Gothic basilica was finished in 1829. Today they continue to be the focal point, where tourists disembark from buses and calèche drivers line up for passengers. The interior glows with gilded statuary and gold-leafed fleurs de lys, and is home to one of the largest pipe organs in the world. The Montreal Symphony Orchestra performs its Christmas production of Messiah here at the Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal or the Notre-Dame Basilica.
The namesake of the city and one of its most recognizable landmarks, Mount Royal is the city of Montreal's highest point. The volcanic hill is a part of the Monteregian Hills, nestled between the Appalachian Mountains and the Laurentians, its highest summit measuring at 233 meters (764 feet). At its highest point sits the Mount Royal Cross, originally installed in 1643 by the city's founder, Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve, in honor of Mother Mary who he believes saved the colony from a potentially devastating flood. The existing, illuminated cross was added in 1924. Beaver Lake and the Mount Royal Park are other popular features of the hill, just west of Downtown. The park, in particular, is renowned as one of the city's largest, originally designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, and the venue of the weekly Tam-Tam Jams. For unmatched views of the city, Mount Royal's Camilien-Houde and Kondiaronk Chalet lookouts offer sweeping vistas over Downtown and East Montreal.
Maison Saint-Gabriel in Pointe-Saint-Charles was established as a home to members of the Royal family more than 300 years ago. A recognized national monument as of 1965, and a designated National Historic Site of Canada since 2007, the Maison Saint-Gabriel was deemed a museum from 1966. Featuring over 10,000 artifacts and various objects ranging from clothing, furniture, tools, equipment, art and other ephemera since the early 1700s, it is one of the oldest remaining buildings in the city.