Part of our Montreal guide.
2 places and guides from our Montreal coverage, gathered into one page.
Related travel guides: Montreal Travel Guide, Nakuset: Surviving The 60s Scoop In Montreal, and Best Things to Do in Montreal, Canada.
Montreal: Canada's Subterranean Waterways Revealed
Montreal hides the Pierre River and the buried Glen Creek beneath its streets. These waterways, once flowing freely above ground, now run beneath the city, shaping its landscape in unseen ways. The Pierre River, a former tributary of the St. Lawrence, was gradually covered during the 19th and early 20th centuries as the city expanded. Glen Creek, which once fed into the St. Lawrence near the Lachine Rapids, was buried in sections starting in the 1850s. Both now flow through underground culverts and pipes, their courses marked only by occasional maintenance access points and the subtle contours of the land above. The city’s sewer system still follows the original riverbeds in places, a hidden reminder of Montreal’s pre-industrial geography. This subterranean network also connects to the secrets of montreal’s underground city and how to navigate the tunnels and pathways that define the city’s modern infrastructure.
Quebec
Wild chicory fields bloom across Quebec from late June through September. The plant, with its bright blue flowers and sturdy stems, grows best in full sun and well-drained soil. In the Montreal region, look for chicory along the edges of agricultural fields in the Montérégie area, particularly near the towns of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Saint-Hyacinthe. These fields are not cultivated; they appear spontaneously in fallow fields, roadside ditches, and along railway embankments. The flowers open in the early morning and close by mid-afternoon, so plan visits before 2 p.m. for the best display. Chicory roots were historically roasted and used as a coffee substitute, a practice still remembered in some Quebec households. The plant’s resilience and deep taproot make it a common sight even in disturbed soils, a quiet marker of the region’s agricultural past.
