undefined
undefined
Olympic Park
We spent nearly a whole day at the Olympic Park. There is so much to see here: we only visited the Biodome and the stadium itself, although there is also an Insectarium and the Botanical Gardens. Even though the park is situated in the eastern part of the city, it really didn't take long to get there on the Metro.
Click on the pictures for the fullsize photos.
The stadium's tower soars up at a very acute angle. Originally the roof was retractable, the wires in the tower controlling its movement. In time, though, there were problems with the fabric used, and the roof is now a fixed one.
We took the lift to the top of the tower, where there is a viewing deck. The park was laid out beneath us; the two huge buildings you can see comprised the Olympic village. They're now luxury apartments.
After coming back down to earth from the tower, we took in a tour of the rest of the stadium. The guide was very informative, telling us about the construction and the materials used. We were able to go on the pitch itself, which is now used for baseball and football. Certain sections of the seating can be moved about to change the size of the pitch for the different sports.
The tour ended at the swimming pool. I don't think it's used for competitive events any more, which is a shame as it's a huge pool. In this shot you can see the original scoreboard at the far end.
After a quick lunch, we spent the afternoon in the Biodome. Originally the velodrome, they've created four different ecosystems of the Americas, each with its own flora and fauna.
There's tropical forest, Laurentian forest, St Laurence Marine ecosystem and a Polar world - which has a complement of penguins amongst others! It really is a fascinating place, and so informative - well worth spending a few hours in. I can thoroughly recommend it!
It's difficult to really appreciate how big the stadium is, but I thought this view of it gives a good idea! It was taken from Mont Royal, the mountain that rises from the middle of the island. As the eastern suburbs are so low rise, the stadium does dominate the scene, in fact to me it looked like some huge spaceship had just landed!
Vieux Montréal | Downtown Montréal