Happiness is in the scooter | heading east

What could be better than a scooter to discover the city, its shores and its thousand secrets? After surveying the South-West, Little (and medium) Italy and the South Shore last year, our journalists are going on an adventure again this summer. This week, Silvia Galipeau is heading east, on a route designed by Pierre-Marc Durivage. Narrative.

Silvia Galipeau
The Press

Here we go again for a trip on two wheels! When our bosses asked us to do it again, with different scooter rides, let’s say that we didn’t hesitate for long. There are worse factory assignments, let’s be honest. So here we are, a sunny Monday morning, back on our bike, hair in the wind and a smile in our hearts, to better serve you, dear readers. Pinch us, someone.

Our journey through the city and through time takes us east this time: through Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, to the “Montréal Far East”, according to the directions provided by our inspired colleague. So as not to be caught off guard, we start the day with a little detour to the gas station, a place from which we rarely leave singing these days. Except there. Oh joy: it’s our first little happiness of the day. A full tank for a total of $7.05, who says better? The day will be beautiful or it will not be.

Ontario Street

Then head to rue Ontario, for a café at 3 Patapoufs (3227, rue Ontario Est), in front of the magnificent church (and its square!) in Hochelaga. When we arrive, the line is already long. Obviously, the place is popular. We promise to come back one day to try their homemade bread. And their cakes, especially.

Second happiness (yes, already): we park here, and despite the headache of street cleaning, between two cars, without really looking. Or think about it too much. Another luxury in town these days, and for any driver, admittedly.

No time to stroll (too much) (despite the inviting terrace), we then head further east, towards the Maisonneuve market this time. New happiness (we’ll stop counting, we promise): rue Ontario is closed in places, we know that. But where exactly? Mystery. No GPS with us, we go there with flair. It is the joy of the Vespa, freedom incarnate, which takes on its full meaning in front of this first (and not the last) crossed orange cone. How tasty it is to “zigzag” in the small streets (Rouen and Adam, our favorites of the day), or via the alleys, to avoid traffic jams and closures!

Former town of Maisonneuve

Here we are in the former town of Maisonneuve (founded in 1883). Several monuments, Beaux-Arts style, bear witness to a prestigious bygone era, when it was hoped to see the birth in this industrial corner of a large French-speaking bourgeoisie. Savor the architecture of the market (1912-1914), where La Bolduc sang (did you know that?), walk down Morgan (looks like a little Champs-Élysées, you’re not dreaming), without missing the magnificent public bath (1916 ), to the park, in front of the very beautiful Denise-Pelletier Theater (still Beaux-Arts style, once a cinema!).

A well-kept secret is hidden here as a bonus: always further east, and at the very end of rue Adam, dive into this unsuspected self-proclaimed “nature park”, the Boisé Vimont, protected thanks to the active activism of local citizens. . A maze of railway tracks once again testifies to a not so distant past (certainly less green).

From Bellerive Park to the Far East

It was written. We were going to drive east, east again. Direction rue Hochelaga this time, surprisingly pleasant, suddenly, in this corner of the city, towards Tétraultville. It’s like being on a small urban boulevard, far from the industrial street that we know. After a brief stop at the M café (9079, rue Hochelaga) for a take-out picnic (try their Mexican bowl), we head for the river, at Bellerive Park.

Another well-kept secret: in this pretty park, where the famous Route verte passes (crowned as the most beautiful cycle route in the world by the National Geographic), also hides a wild beach. If Mayor Valérie Plante promised last year to develop it (there was even talk of building a Biergarten there!), at first sight, the project is far from materializing. We have to go back to savor this little-known (and oh so welcome!) water point.

It’s not over, back on the scooter, for a final stop, at the Far East of our route: at the Old Mill in Pointe-aux-Trembles (11 630, rue Notre-Dame Est). This is one of the last windmills in Quebec (and one of the tallest). Notice to those interested, the mill (1719) is part of the historic circuit of Old Pointe-aux-Trembles (a downloadable application on site allows access).

On the way back

It’s time to come back. On the way back to the city (via Hochelaga, then Rouen, our new favorite routes), colleague Pierre-Marc thought of us.

We stop first for an affogato (vanilla soft serve on espresso) at Hocheglacé (2225, avenue Bennett). Then, finally, a stone’s throw away, one last secret to reveal to you: the hidden terrace of the Espace Public Tasting Room (2287, avenue Letourneux). Here, and for only one year, beer lovers from the neighborhood, families and workers alike, have been meeting for original creations (sour beers such as the Terrasse Mangue or the Creamsicle, to try), or why not an aptly named Kölschlaga ( enjoy the pun), blond and very fresh, in complete privacy. The art of ending the day in style. And what a beautiful day it was!

Word from the author of the course

Unlike last year, with the circuit concocted on the South Shore for Sylvain, I didn’t send Silvia into familiar territory. So I called on my network of contacts, my very well-stocked faith, in the east of Montreal. All these beautiful people hastened to communicate to me lots of suggestions and original finds which testify that happiness is not only on a scooter, but probably also in the East! This time, it is therefore more Silvia who clears the land for me, but reading her journey frankly makes you want to go back and take a closer look! On two wheels, of course! — Pierre-Marc Durivage The Press

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