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Proceeding north for two short blocks brings you to rue Ste-Catherine , the city's main commercial thoroughfare since the early 1900s. The street stretches for 15km across the island of Montreal, with the stretch east of rue Peel serving as the main shopping artery featuring department stores interspersed with exclusive boutiques, souvenir shops and fast-food outlets. For all its consumerist gloss the road still has its seedy bits, with the peepshows and strip clubs enlivening the streetscape. Further along, the street adjoins the Quartier Latin, forms the heart of the gay village, and extends into the working-class neighbourhoods of east Montreal. From the intersection of Peel and Ste-Catherine (purportedly the busiest in the city) you can see the elegant Cours Mont-Royal . Formerly the largest hotel in the British Commonwealth, it now contains four floors of shops (including those of expensive designers), apartments and offices. Peek inside and gawk up at the fourteen-storey-high atria and chandeliers preserved from the hotel. One of these hangs from the coffered ceiling over a permanent catwalk - a testament to the fashion aspirations of the shopping centre. Montreal's Anglican Christ Church Cathedral (daily 8am-6pm; www.montreal.anglican.org/cathedral ), built in 1859, is five blocks east of Peel, at 635 rue Ste-Catherine ouest, cater-cornered to Square Phillips. By 1927 its slender stone spire was threatening to crash through the wooden roof and was replaced with the peculiar aluminium replica. Inside, the soaring Gothic arches are decorated with heads of saints, gargoyles and angels, but the most poignant feature is the Coventry Cross , made from nails salvaged from England's Coventry Cathedral, which was destroyed by bombing during World War II. With the decline in its congregation, the cathedral authorities' desperation for money led them to sell off all the land around and beneath the church. For two and a half years, Christ Church was supported on concrete struts while the developers tunnelled out the glitzy Promenades de la Cathedrale , a boutique-lined part of the Underground City. This engineering feat has attracted worldwide interest. A couple of blocks east of Square Phillips, Ste-Catherine slopes down towards Place des Arts , Montreal's leading performing-arts centre and the site of major festivals throughout the summer. The layout tends to throw first-time visitors - the entrances to all the performance halls are via an underground concourse. Atop that is a large plaza, with a series of gardens and fountains. The wide steps create a seating area for use during outdoor concerts, and the walls around the fountains are a popular snoozing spot for nearby office workers during the summer. Occupying the west side of the Place des Arts plaza, the Musee d'Art Contemporain de Montreal (Tues & Thurs-Sun 11am-6pm, Wed 11am-9pm; $6; www.macm.org ) is Canada's only museum devoted entirely to contemporary art. The city's foremost showcase for work by Quebecois artists, like Paul - Emile Borduas and Jean-Paul Riopelle , the museum also has works by other Canadian and international artists. One wing is devoted to the permanent collection (rotated two or three times a year); the other stages temporary exhibitions. There's a nice restaurant terrace, often filled with live music, and a small sculpture garden - though difficult to find, it holds a Henry Moore sculpture amidst the greenery.
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