Fascinating Montreal facts

1. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Montreal was -37.8 C (-36) on January 15, 1957. The record low with windchill was -49.1 C (-56 F) on January 23. 1976.

2. Montreal’s “underground city” has 18 miles of pedestrian walkways, indoor areas and tunnels linking eight metro stations, five train stations and termini, 63 buildings, 10 major hotels, 2,000 businesses, 37 movie theatres and exhibition halls, 10 university buildings and 43 indoor parking areas.

3. Old Montréal’s cobblestone streets, historic squares and buildings have made it a popular location for the production of major films, such as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, and Life of Pi.

4. Numerous circus companies have chosen to settle in Montréal, with its advanced infrastructure, and a global festival that make it a springboard for young artists.

5. Bixi, composed of the words bicycle and taxi, is a not-for-profit public bicycle sharing system developed in Montréal. Bixi systems are now found in New York City, Boston, Minneapolis, Ottawa, Toronto, London, and Melbourne.

6. In Montréal, the municipal building code stipulates that all construction is limited to a height of 200 metres so as not to detract from the view of Mount Royal.

7. Montréal is the only francophone metropolis in North America. According to the 2011 census, 63.3% of its 1,650,000 residents are native French speakers.

8. Close to 80 languages are spoken in the Montréal region, including French, English, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Greek, Chinese, German, Portuguese, Creole and Vietnamese.

9. John Lennon and Yoko Ono recorded ‘Give Peace a Chance’ in Montréal during their legendary Bed-In at the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth hotel from May 26 to June 2, 1969.

10. Montréal hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics, the first Olympic Games ever held in Canada. It was here that Nadia Comaneci became the first female gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastics event.