"Secret hideouts of Montréal."
SECRET MONTREAL A neat little soft bound pocket book all of you visitors to
Montreal and even local inhabitants may want to read is
SECRET MONTREAL.
This book was written by Tod Hoffman, photographs by Linda
Rutenberg and published by ECW Press.
The publishers have informed me that the book may be out
dated as it was last published in 1997 and is now in the
process of being updated. However, I still found the
information, for the most part, relevant and very
interesting. The main objective of the book is to make the traveller to
Montréal and even the local inhabitants aware of the many
different sites in Montréal that are often neglected.
As mentioned in its introduction it will appeal to unique
sort of travelers who are really explorers, "those who
aren't content to collect exactly the same pile of
snapshots taken from exactly the same spot as every other
tourist." Within the first few chapters the author informs us as to
how to use the book.
It is pointed out that the entries have been organized
alphabetically and the table of contents lists all of the
secret hideouts and relevant chapters.
Once the traveller decides what interests them, he or she
can refer to the relevant chapter and find out where the
site is located and also have a good idea of why the site
is considered to be secret. For example the first chapter deals with Africa as it is
mentioned that Montreal is home to many French-speaking
Africans. We are informed of the many activities related to African
culture such as the annual
Festival Nuits d'Afrique dedicated to French African
culture and music. Another chapter describes the St. Leonard Caves that is the
only cave on the island of Montréal accessible to
visitors.
Other "goodies" inform us of secret sugar shacks, secret
theatre, secret walks and nature parks and even secret
restaurants that have, as the author indicates, "a
particularly storied pedigree, and with a particular focus
on the variety of ethnic cuisine".
There are also sections of the book dealing with secret
history and even secret hockey. If you like hot dogs and French fries or as the French
Canadian refers to it as "steamie-frites" we learn of the
several secret-eating establishments that offer this
delicacy. The chapters are very succinct and informative. We are
given telephone numbers, addresses, hours of operation and
admission fees for all of the sites. Furthermore there
exist several maps showing the exact location of the
author's suggestions. One criticism I have, however, is that the author neglects
to mention if any of the sites are wheelchair accessible.
Another element omitted is that there is no mention if
admission fees can be paid by credit card. If any of you cyber readers are planning a trip to Montréal
or even if you are local inhabitants of the city, this
little handy gem of a book will make your trip and
experience much more interesting and fulfilling.
Reviewed by Norman Goldman
Courtesy BootsnAll
Posted May 23, 2002
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