The Islands

Expo '67—the World's Fair staged to celebrate the centennial of the Canadian federation—was the biggest party in Montréal's history, and it marked a defining moment in the city's evolution as a modern metropolis. That party was held on two islands in the middle of the St. Lawrence River—Île Ste-Hélène, formed by nature, and Île Notre-Dame, created with the stone rubble excavated from the construction of Montréal's Métro. Both are very accessible. You can drive to them via the Pont de la Concorde or the Pont Jacques-Cartier, or take the Métro from the Berri-UQAM station.