National Geographic Today
I interviewed Keith Bellows, editor-in-chief of National Geographic Traveler magazine, on the attractions of his home city Montreal.
Susan: Sophisticated, sexy, and often overlooked. That is Montreal. A jewel of a city in Canada and the cover story in the new issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine. So for an insider's tour of Montreal, we went to the Canadian embassy here in Washington, D.C., with Traveler editor Keith Bellows, a Montreal native.
You know, a lot of Americans tend to think of Canada as just this vast land mass to the north of us, I have been guilty of that, but this article really dispels that myth.
Keith: I hope so. It is amazing to me that you have this gigantic country on our border, the United States border, and so many Americans really don't know much about it.
Susan: Tell us about Montreal.
Keith: Well, you know there are a lot of cliches about Montreal. It's a little bit of Europe, a little bit of France, 60 miles (90 kilometers) from the border. It is a very distinctive culture, and if you do want to have a taste of a different kind of culture that is not really European and it certainly is not American, you will get it here and it really is not very far away.
Susan: The energy level that your writer talks about in this article makes Montreal sound like a fantastic, throbbing city 24 hours a day.
Keith: I think that this is the sexiest city in North America. I think this city really has this kind of je ne sais quoi. The people make this city in a way that probably doesn't happen in a lot of cities because the people are very much of the city. What I mean by that is these are people that have a sense of themselves as independent of anywhere else in Canada. Of course, you've heard a lot of talk about they are going to secede, that they are going to split off from Canada. They are a distance apart from America as well.
Susan: In practical terms, you can get this experience for not a lot of American money.
Keith: Actually this is the great thing about Montreal. For all its savoir fair, it is enormously affordable. First of all, the Canadian dollar is running about 30 percent less than the American. The exchange rate is a huge benefit. Second of all, you jump on a plane and with the air wars you can get there pretty cheap. So, think about a little bit of Europe for a lot less.
Susan: What I find so appealing about Montreal, one of its aspects is the rich history that goes back hundreds of years. If we were going to go, would you say go to the new city or go to the old part? What would be most appealing?
Keith: Well that depends on your taste, but one of the incredible things is that you have buildings dating back to the 1600s. You've got L'Auberge La Vieux Saint-Gabriel, an amazing restaurant where you can go down into the depths and have drinks in the catacombs. You've got a really rich cobblestone city here. If you ask me, that is where I would go. Montreal is also a very modern city. It is one of the most technologically advanced cities in North America. It is a hotbed of software development. So you've got both of those—sort of a polar opposite—and you can have a bit of both at the same time.
