PHOTO ESSAY: The murals of Montreal

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher  |  The unexpected delights of a recent vacation to Canada were the murals that flourished around Montreal.

According to the city’s tourism website, “street art has become one of Montréal’s core visual identities over the last couple of decades, thanks to the marks left all over the city by intrepid artists like Omen, Bonar, Zïlon, Roadsworth, Chris Dyer, Kevin Ledo, Jason Botkin, the HVW8 and En Masse collectives and so many more. Now with two annual graffiti festivals, one of international renown, there’s something to see on virtually every block.”

We particularly enjoyed the neighborhood near the city’s namesake, Le Plateau-Mont-Réal, where color and intensity smacked you in the face as you were walking, shopping and digesting the vibrancy of the city.  Here are some of the delights we saw:

• Next week:  The skinny churches of the Eastern Townships