Fodor's Expert Review Parc Jean-Drapeau
Île Ste-Hélène and Île Notre-Dame now constitute a single park named, fittingly enough, for Jean Drapeau (1916–99), the visionary (and spendthrift) mayor who built the métro and brought the city both the 1967 World's Fair and the 1976 Olympics. The park includes La Ronde (a major amusement park), acres of flower gardens, a beach with filtered water, the Formula 1 Grand Prix Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, performance spaces, and the Casino de Montréal. There's history here, too, at the Old Fort, which was built by the British to protect the country from a possible invasion by the United States. In winter, you can skate on the old Olympic rowing basin or slide down iced trails on an inner tube.