Frédéric-Back Park was once a dump; a quarry and dump almost the size of Monaco, infested with rats, roaring with garbage trucks, violently belching gas, covered in 40 million tons of waste. So dirty that in the 1970s, the surrounding residents of Saint-Michel - Montreal's most ethnically diverse neighborhood - took to the streets in protest.
But today, if you look around the park, everything is green and serene; the Hercules regeneration project is almost complete. Butterflies feed on meadows of milkweed and echinacea, sunflowers nod in the midsummer heat, new trees appear, cyclists pedal along neat gravel paths. And, uh, a fleet of alien spaceships is dotting the grass...
Olivier Lapierre, who is showing me around, notices my confusion. "The white balls? They are sources for capturing biogas."
All that waste, now rotting under the park, still releases methane, a major cause of climate change. These sources pump it to a power plant, where it is used to generate electricity. "They are phosphorescent and glow at dusk," Olivier smiles. "They make it feel a bit sci-fi. Functional and fun." Just like Montreal itself.
According to the Global Destination Sustainability Index, Montreal is the most sustainable city in North America. But while the metropolis of Québec has a strong ecological bent, it is rarely without a playful edge. And Frédéric-Back literally has a playful edge.
The new park is located at the city's Circus Arts Quarter: the legendary Cirque du Soleil moved its headquarters to Saint-Michel in 1988 and later founded the National School of Circus and the Tohu circus and community complex here. It's all part of revitalizing the area and offering people culture and entertainment for less; Tohu offers free bike and snowshoe rentals to explore the park, and also organizes cheaper events. Guide Stephanie (of course also a juggler and unicyclist) takes me to Tohu's large, round, sustainably designed hall. "The massive doors at the back are high enough for a giraffe, and wide enough for an elephant," she says. "That said, we've never tried it."
The story continues
Montreal is a city of festivals: jazz, comedy, snow, beer - there will inevitably be something going on whenever you visit. For me it was Tohu's Complètement Cirque Festival (held in July), which Olivier helps run. And the bravura centerpiece is the Giant: a free spectacle that takes place twice a night and in which a daredevil group turns, jumps and dangles from a 15-meter-high metal man. I join the crowd gathering under the skyscrapers on Place Ville-Marie. As the sun sets, the music starts, the lights turn and the show begins. Invincible! So far so nice.
I don't have to wander far home afterwards. I stayed in nearby Humanti, a sleek hotel-apartment complex - it calls itself a 'vertical village' - designed to connect city, visitors and local community. It's a former finalist for the Best Futura Project, an award that recognizes buildings whose distinctive architecture and environmental ethos offer a glimpse of what the future could bring - and a lot of smart thinking has gone into this. I especially liked the abundance of natural light and Canadian art, and - a nice touch - the gym's wooden eco-machines, which use water resistance instead of electricity.
Olivier tells me that Montréal is a city that "rewards the wanderer"; a place where the fun lies in making your own discoveries, strolling through neighborhoods, rather than ticking off the sights. Perhaps it's not surprising that a city whose official language is French rewards the flâneur lifestyle. So that's what I do.
The next day I follow my nose up through leafy Mount Royal, the city's great green lung, and down through affluent Outremont, with its cool cafes and art deco theatre. I stroll into Little Italy, through streets lined with duplexes with spiral staircases - a Montreal architectural classic - and the bountiful Jean-Talon Market, packed with fresh and local produce.
I browse for eco-friendly fashion in the vintage shops in Mile End - some, like Annex, are chicer than most designer boutiques. And I end up at the counter of Wilensky's Light Lunch, a kosher café-deli that has changed little since it opened in 1932. I order the Special, a salami and beef bologna sandwich, for $5.01, plus a cherry Coke from the soda fountain. The man next to me also orders a Special, eats it and then orders another.
After all this I need some rest, so I take the bus to the Old Port, to experience the sustainability of the city at its most relaxing. In the 1950s the Arthur Cardin was a ferry; now, thanks to a clever bit of recycling, it has been converted into Bota Bota, a floating spa powered by energy harvested from the St. Lawrence River. Even eco-warriors can relax here.
The design is super slick, a nautical and Scandinavian vibe flowing through the hot pools, cold pools, steam rooms, saunas and chill-out garden. I move around, alternately cooling and toasting myself, taking in the beautiful views of the river and skyline, and of the colossal industrial silos, built when Montreal was the largest grain port in the world. But despite all the luxurious spaces of the spa, I like the simple terrace where no one else was; here I descend the encased steps for a dip in the St. Lawrence itself, watched only by the ducks.
It is possible that the passengers on board the Petit Navire see me too. When I take a trip on this pleasure boat myself a little later, we steer close to Bota Bota - without disturbing the spa bathers inside. Petit Navire's fleet is fully electrically powered; super quiet, zero pollution and CO2 neutral certified.
"It's the equivalent of running two hairdryers," notes Captain François as he sails through the old harbour, past the shire of St Helen's Island and into the Sainte-Marie Current. This fast-flowing undertow has historically been a difficult obstacle for ships trying to dock here. For us today it's just fun. The sparkling water picks up the boat and, whoosh, we are quickly propelled towards the Jacques Cartier Bridge. Those hair dryer batteries have to work considerably harder to get us back.
I still have some time to kill before the grand finale of my trip, so I head to nearby Pointe-à-Callière, Montreal's archaeological museum, located on the site where the city was first founded in 1642. And it was excellent, especially the underground exhibitions, where a Montréal has been brilliantly excavated. Through artefacts and excavations I explore the layers of the city, from traces of indigenous occupation to the original wooden palisade, the first cemetery, an ammunition depot, 18th century cobbled streets and the remains of the Wurtele Inn.
But to finish I walk from the basement to the big top. Every year Cirque du Soleil sets up a mighty tent at the old port; today it is blue and white; the light-colored canvas reflects the heat and significantly reduces the energy required for air conditioning. I'm going to see Echo, the group's newest show, which focuses on balance in nature and the importance of connection in creating a livable world. The way Echo delivered its ecological message was through human skills and agility at its best. Artists do impossible things around a huge Rubiks-like cube, which itself rotates and changes shape. I bet there wasn't a soul in the audience without their hands in their mouths, their hearts in their throats, or gasps, screams and screams on their lips.
After two hours of being tricked, I emerge with a stupid grin on my face. On this evidence, Montreal seems like exactly the kind of world I would like to live in.
Essentials
Air Canada (00 800 669 92222; aircanada.com) flies London-Montréal from around £350 return. Hotel Humaniti (001 514 657 2595; humanitihotel.com) offers double rooms only from C$220pn (£130). A three-hour session at Bota Bota costs from C$70pp (£41) (botabota.ca). Boat trips with Petit Navire cost from C$25pp (£15) (lepetitnavire.ca). See tohu.ca and cirquedusoleil.com for show listings. See mtl.org/en for more information.
