A few years ago, Montreal was on the skids. Store after store stood empty, and houses on every block were à vendre (for sale). It was easy to forget that within recent memory, Montreal had reigned as the industrial and commercial capital of Canada.

The ups and downs of business affect all locales. But Montreal also feels the impact of the political cycle. With support for Quebec secession on the rise, uncertainty sent investment and growth away from the province and its major city.

Happily for business, if not for séparatistes—as secessionists are known, where breaking up is a polite political option—a 1995 referendum narrowly kept the status quo. Today, the economic and political cycles are in sync once again, and happily on the upswing.

More than 350 years old, the "new" Montreal—formed by the annexation of suburbs on its island in 2002—has suddenly grown to two million. It basks in the glow not only of its breathtaking beauty and fortunate placement, but also a low-cost business climate, multilingual sophistication, abundant amenities, developing high-tech industries and a booming business in meetings and conventions. Properties are rented, old banks and insurance companies have morphed into enchanting boutique hotels, and condos sprout to welcome urban pioneers along the banks of the once neglected LaChine Canal.

The city's character
Imagine New York or Toronto with a Gallic populace. Residents would not only strive to make a living, but also perfect the art of living well. They'd conduct business in the languages of the world, and live in them, too. They'd pause for a break at sidewalk cafés for an aperitif, and rejuvenate at an urban spa before an evening out on always-lively streets. They'd probe the frontiers of the culinary arts, and dress to be seen. Someday, they'd be compared to Montreal.

It's the mix, clash and—somehow—the perfect harmony of French and English, North America and Europe, tradition and change, work and leisure, old and new, refined culture and homespun tastes, that define Montreal.

French, English, and Montréalais
Only in Paris do more people speak French than in Montreal. And while there really are locals who don't know much English, you probably won't encounter them in business dealings, at the airport or in downtown restaurants and hotels. More likely, you'll meet the Montrealer who earned college and graduate degrees in both English and French, or who speaks perfect American learned from television. In the trademark Montreal conversation, one party speaks entirely in French, the other in English—and each understands the other perfectly.

Just remember that in a province where many feel insecure about the survival of their language, French comes first—but if English is not proffered initially, it's usually supplied with a smile upon request. Knowing a few words in French is helpful, of course. Even better is to recognize Quebec's own usage. Ask for la facture rather than l'addition when you're ready for the bill in a restaurant, and for craquelins rather than biscuits salés (crackers) with your soup. But make no mistake, they watch films from Paris, and the use of even schoolbook French will be appreciated.

Oddly, the greater language barrier could be English. Crossovers from French are abundant and integrated seamlessly. While speakers may slow down in French for your benefit, no quarter is given when the local English dialect is used. Forget about "contact information," and start thinking "coordinates." The company you're calling on has a "director general" or DG, not a CEO. And you'll hear "eh" or "heh" instead of "huh," written differently but pronounced the same in Montreal's dominant languages.

What to see and do
In Montreal, the past is present, in ecclesiastical buildings from the era of New France, and in 19th-century palaces of commerce. By zoning and by preference, these wonderful old bones are converted or absorbed into new uses, as hotels and offices and colleges and condos, rather than be replaced. The newer wing of the Museum of Fine Arts subsumes a heritage apartment building, while some of its galleries stretch under the street, another hallmark of the montreal urban style. The Montreal World Trade Center preserves the facades of period commercial buildings, with a fiber-optic interior.

But there are also purely modern additions, most notably the new hightech Bibliothèque Nationale (provincial library) on the eastern side of downtown, and the recently expanded convention center (Palais des Congrès). Its trademark multihued facade is a beacon in the continent's number-two convention destination. Along with it comes a new city square in the financial center, Place Jean-Paul Riopelle.

Decades ago, Place Ville-Marie blurred the lines between building and streetscape and indoor passages, and it remains the crossroads of the underground city. Passages, concourses, sheltered lanes and covered plazas continue to expand and intersect, even while work on the city above appears largely completed. When the temperature heads south, descend to the village of shops and cafés along the indoor lanes of Montreal's central station, or onward to the shopping complexes of Eaton Centre and Place de la Cathédrale.

Place d'Armes is the starting point of a walk in old Montreal. Notre Dame Basilica and the adjacent 17th-century old sulpician seminary, on one side, square off against the secular domed headquarters of the original bank of Montreal and its newer tower on the other. Just down the hill is the old port, with amusements and a science centre that mainly attract kids, though the Riverside Clock Tower is worth a climb for the view to the botanical gardens and fort on St. Helen's Island. Turn your back to the river to view a virtually intact 19th-century seaport along cobbled Rue de la Commune. Finish off by descending into the excavations of early Montreal at the Pointe à Callière Archeological Museum.

But don't put the sights before your Montreal experience. Browse antique shops and galleries along Rue St. Paul and in the Bonsecours Market, or hire a carriage to clip-clop over cobblestones along the waterfront. In summer, enjoy an aperitif on a terrasse on wide Place Jacques-Cartier sloping down to the river. Or head into a bistro on Rue St. Paul, and savor a wintry street scene through frosty windows.

A rare pleasure for a large city is finding countryside, recreation and mountains just beyond the city gates. At Bromont, in the eastern townships, relax after a day of business with Quebec's signature nighttime skiing on floodlit slopes, or steam in an oriental hammam at Spa Bromont. And if the weather's fine, tarry in the vineyards on the way out or back. Even in the city, Montrealers cross-country ski in forested Mount Royal park right above downtown.

Entertaining clients
In Montreal, food is spectacle. A key word is terroir, the best of local produce from farm, forest and sea. Toqué, housed in gleaming art moderne premises on Place Jean Paul Riopelle in the financial district, has perfected the art of preparing venison, wild fowl and local vegetables as classic european terrines, roasts and risottos. At Aix Cuisine du Terroir, in cozy ground-floor surroundings on Place d'Armes, wild boar, bison, duck and salmon star in classic and hearty "bistro-style" preparations at lunch, with more ornate appetizers and accompaniments at dinner. Long established in the midtown commercial area on crescent street is classically French Les Halles. Excellent Szechuan cuisine is served quite formally at Le Piment Rouge, in the elegant Windsor office complex of midtown.

Essential sports venues are Molson Stadium, just a few blocks north of most hotels, where the Alouettes play wide-open Canadian football from late summer into fall; and the Bell Centre, home of the fabled—if not still fabulous— Canadiens hockey team.

Montreal has assorted performance spaces grouped at Place des Arts for theater and classical music, but entertainment transcends standard premises in the city where Cirque du Soleil began. Churches, converted movie theaters, the former stock exchange (the Centaur Theatre) and tents are also venues for music and drama in English and French, acrobatics and equestrian performances. For informality, venture into a Boîte &ageave; Chansons, a song bar where patrons may join the performers.

Restaurants
Aix Cuisine du Terroir
711 Côte de la Place d'Armes
514-904-1211

Les Halles
1450 Crescent Street
514-844-2328

Le Piment Rouge
1170 Peel Street
514-866-7816

Toqué
900 Place Jean Paul Riopelle
514-499-2084

Hotels
Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth
900 Boulevard René-Lévesque West
514-861-3511
All business on the outside, all elegant public spaces and fine dining inside, with more than 1,000 rooms

Hotel Intercontinental Montreal
360 Rue St. Antoine West
514-987-9900
In the financial district, the largest full-service hotel near old Montreal

Hotel Place d'Armes
55 Rue St. Jacques
514-842-1887
Sleek furnishings and state-of-the-art amenities complement ornate spaces in this 19th-century palace of commerce

The Ritz-Carlton
1228 Sherbrooke West
514-842-4212
Grand dame of Montreal hotels, classic French accueil and the most elegant garden dining and duck pond

Sofitel
1155 Sherbrooke West
514-285-9000
Midtown, with modern French flair in decoration, amenities and service

Getting there
Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (formerly Dorval) is just 10 miles west of downtown. With passenger traffic added from rural Mirabel Airport, construction and expansion have been ongoing. Walks from arrival gates can be long, and pickup and drop-off areas are often congested. But everything is in one terminal, and outside of rush hours, the trip into the city takes under a half hour by limousine (C$50), L'Aerobus shuttle to several large hotels and the bus station (C$13), or taxi (C$31).

Quebec City
Just 150 miles to the northeast, along the St. Lawrence river, lies the capital of the province, the only walled city north of St. Augustine. A stroll through the St-Jean gate is your essential entrance, followed by a meander past 17th- and 18th-century stone houses along Rue St-Jean. Linger at an outdoor café, and you're transported to old Europe.

Swing around to Dufferin Terrace for commanding views of the St. Lawrence, then catch the funicular down to the Lower Town's walking streets lined with galleries, restaurants, boutique inns, and the stunningly modern Museum of Civilization. For a rare view of a walled city from above, ascend to the revolving L'Astral restaurant in the Loew's Concorde Hotel.

Mont Tremblant
Experience winter the way Canadians do—enjoy it. A trip to Tremblant, a resort in the Laurentian Mountains, is a ninety-minute drive north of Montreal and a perfect add-on to a business trip.

The mountain is calling. Tremblant offers 94 trails on four faces, including 16 novice, 31 intermediate and 47 expert runs, with 628 acres of skiable terrain.

Rent a new generation. Of skis, that is. High-performance skis are available to rent in nine centers in the village set up to make getting equipment fast.

Think beyond skiing. Sure, the skiing is great. But spas are part of the culture, too, and abound. And where else would you be able to try dogsledding or ice climbing?

Visit www.tremblant.ca for details.
—Nancy Branka

PAUL GLASSMAN is a freelance writer and guidebook editor in Montreal.