Montréal is considered the cultural and economic capital of Québec. It is a beautiful city located on an island in the Saint Lawrence River. The island was originally inhabited by the Iroquois until 1535, when a French explorer named Jacques Cartier arrived in the island. One of Montréal's bridges now holds the name of Jacques Cartier in memory of this explorer. Montréal has a small mountain that was named "Mont-Royal" by Jacques Cartier and hence the name of the city, which was originally called Ville Marie. Ville Marie is now a borough in the centre of the city. There is still today one tunnel called Ville Marie and one metro station called Villa Maria.

Attractions occuring in the summer include the Montréal Jazz Festival and several other festivals, including the World Film Festival (for more information, see http://www.montreal.com/tourism/festivals/index.html). Montréal has many museums, including the Fine Arts Museum, the Contemporary Arts Museum, the Science Centre, and the Museum of Archaeology and History.

Local Restaurants

VDM Global has prepared a summary of nearby restaurants, available here. Tourisme Montréal also has provided a list of restaurants, available here. Several restaurants are also located in the underground mall beneath the hotel.

More Information on Montréal

See the Tourisme Montréal microsite for ACC 2012 for more on the city and for things to do and see during the conference. Tourisme Montréal will also staff an information desk on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons to help attendees plan off-conference activities.

The Montréal Jazz Festival

Ranked as the world's largest jazz festival by Guinness World Records, the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal represents 10 days of jazzcentric celebration, where fans of all types of jazz-related music rub shoulders with aficionados of the genre in its purest form. The Festival hosts some 30 countries and 1,000 concerts and activities -- two-thirds of them free -- in 15 concert halls and on 8 outdoor stages, welcoming more than 2 million visitors to the city, from noon to midnight! The Montréal Jazz Festival starts on June 28. Program details are available at http://www.montrealjazzfest.com.