By Jackson Stanclift
Pop quiz: what is the closest major city to Glens Falls? One may think it’s NYC, considering that’s honestly the only city in this state that a normal person could name. Others may think it’s Buffalo, Upstate’s biggest city, but that is even more wrong. A slightly more savvy person would incorrectly assume it’s Boston, considering how much of Glens Falls’ economy is based on it being near Boston. Once again; close, but no cigar. The actual answer requires you to drive north. And by north, we mean the Great White North. That’s right, the closest major city to Glens Falls is none other than Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
With well over 1 million residents and the culture, architecture, and vibes akin to those of Europe’s finest cities while being less than a 3 hour drive away from here, Montreal is truly a place unlike anywhere else in the Americas. While, yes, Montreal is a francophone city, not speaking French will not hinder you at all in your visit, as almost all of the citizens can speak English and all the signs have English translations on them. Therefore, tourism to Montreal is way easier than you may think at first, and there are tons of things for families to do.
La Ronde
Originally built to host the World’s Fair in 1967, La Ronde (which literally translates to “The Round”) has since become one of the largest and most popular theme parks in all of Canada. It is currently owned by Six Flags, who are best known in these parts as the owners of The Great Escape. La Ronde was their only foothold in Canada until last year when they bought Cedar Fairs and, by extension, Canada’s Wonderland in Ontario.
While La Ronde has a reputation as being the black sheep of the Six Flags parks (like Great Escape) , having a bad name shouldn’t get in the way of having a fun time, and there are a ton of fun rides at La Ronde where you can prove those critics dead wrong. For example, Le Vampire (French for “The Vampire”) is an inverted roller coaster that is basically just the Batman rides found in several Six Flags but without any of the Batman branding. Monstre (French for “Monster”) is one of the world’s largest wooden roller coasters (and the absolute largest one with two tracks), where you will be frequently lifted off of your seat for several seconds at a time thanks to the laws of physics. Goliath, the largest and fastest coaster in the park, has G-forces as immense as the size of every twist, turn, hill, and loop in the coaster. And there are so many other attractions that La Ronde has to offer that you will get your money’s worth here.
However, this is not the most exciting aspect of La Ronde. Every year, during June and July, La Ronde hosts the largest fireworks competition in the entire world: L’International des Feux Loto-Québec (simply called the Montreal Fireworks Festival in English). Hosting millions of visitors every year and thousands of fireworks every day as the festival goes on, the Montreal Fireworks festival is basically the Olympics for pyrotechnicians. Several fireworks companies come every year to compete and create the best fireworks show possible, competing for Jupiter Medals (of Gold, Silver, or Bronze varieties) or trophies. While I personally have not been there, it seems like an absolutely beautiful lightshow that could leave even the biggest fireworks haters in awe.
Montreal Biodome
A combination between an indoor zoo and a museum, the Biodome is a place in the heart of Montreal where families can go to see plants and animals in carefully designed artificial versions of various natural ecosystems. This place, which used to be an Olympic cycling stadium, is not a mere tacky tourist attraction. The people in charge are hyper-focused on making sure visitors learn at least something about the beauty of our natural world during their stay and become more aware of the need to protect our natural ecosystems.
There are four main ecosystems that make up the biodome, each one simulating an ecosystem found within the Americas. The first of these is the Tropical Rainforest, which is the largest of the four. It’s kept in a perpetual warm temperature perfect for a rainforest climate and flowing with lush and exotic vegetation. Of course, the place is overflowing with all sorts of rainforest critters as well, from catfish to capybaras, not to mention all of the tropical birds flying through the dome (personally, I don’t know how they are stopped from flying into other ecosystems).
Next is the Laurentian Maple Forest, which replicates “a typical Quebec forest”, with beavers and lynxes galore. This ecosystem is special because the Biodome people somehow made it so the temperature and foliage will change with the seasons, albeit with much shorter winters.
Next, the Gulf of St. Lawrence ecosystem is, of course, based on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, a gulf between Quebec and the Maritime Provinces that the St. Lawrence River, which surrounds the island Montreal is situated on, flows into. I forgot to mention this before, but I went to the Biodome once as a kid, and I definitely remember walking through this exhibit’s rocky cliffs and bridges that overlook the 2.5 million liters of saltwater below. Not only are there tons of fish in this part of the biodome, like the spotted wolffish, but there are tons of marine invertebrates like starfish and urchins for the kids to discover, as well as seagulls that conquer the land and sky of the area.
Last but not least, the Sub-Antarctic Islands exhibit is made to evoke the kinds of volcanic islands found just east of the southernmost tip of South America. There, you will come face to face with a bunch of penguins (who are hopefully not that mad about being tarriffed) of various species. The landscape, which is made to be super cold, of course, is equipped with large windows that lets visitors see underwater to look at how fast penguins can swim.
The Old Port of Montreal
In 1611, European settlement in what is now the city of Montreal started with a little port for trading beaver pelts (this was back when beaver was the hot commodity for some reason). As the city started to evolve, the city’s port stayed in that location. At least, it did until 1976, when the port’s activities were moved a tiny bit up the St. Lawrence. Not wanting such an important piece of history to be lost, the Canadian government stepped in to revitalize the old port and turn it into a major historical tourist attraction. After years of hard work, the Old Port had its grand reopening in the early 90s, as a separate entity from the actual port but instead a fixture of tourism that attracts over 6 million visitors every year.
As one may expect, the Old Port has a lot of historical attractions, the most notable of which being the iconic Montreal Clock Tower, a symbol of the port’s economic prowess and historical importance. However, historical sites are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to attractions in the Old Port. For example, the Clock Tower overlooks a beautiful beach with soft sand, although swimming isn’t allowed. Also, there are tons of fantasy restaurants peppered around the Old Port. If you are looking for something a bit “wetter”, there are several different guided tours that show areas around the island of Montreal, either by jetski, ferry, or basically any other method of water transportation you can think of.
For more kid-focused activities, the Old Port hosts the Montreal Science Centre, where kids can discover the scientific principles of motion, light, air, geometry, and other stuff. Kids can also learn the fundamentals of coding there. There is also Mini-Putt Montreal, a mini-golf course right on the pier (near a bungee jumping place) that has two tracks: an easy one for the kids and a harder one for teens and adults. Finally, to round things out (pun intended), there is a ferris wheel at the Old Port known as La Grande roue de Montreal. In the grand scheme of things, it’s an extremely recent addition to the skyline of the Old Port, opening in 2017. However, it’s already become an iconic part of the area (or, at least that’s what they claim), and it holds the record for the tallest ferris wheel in all of Canada, allowing you to get a true birds-eye view of Montreal.
Overall, Montreal is a great place to have a little vacation, especially considering it’s a pretty decent drive from here. As Montreal is the very model of a modern major world city, I can only scratch the outermost inch of the surface of what a family could do there. There is so much else to do up in Montreal that my American brain probably wouldn’t even fathom. Therefore, I bid you all adieu (Get it? Because it’s a french word. What do you mean that’s not funny?).
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