Montreal – The Underground City

The Ring

Saturday, May 31, 2025

We went back to Universal Dejeuners et Grillades for breakfast. As much as I loved their breakfast poutine, I opted for a somewhat lighter and healthier breakfast. It was supposed to be a cold and rainy day; I decided to book a walking tour Montreal’s Underground city with MTL Detours. After breakfast, we walked over the meeting point. We arrived early and decided to check out the lobby of the Reina Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth) Fairmount Hotel.

When the tour started, the guide explained that the Underground City, which is officially named RESO, is a bit of a misnomer, it was more of an underground network. It started in one place to allow people to get from one building to another without having to go outside and it grew. Today, it consists of 20 miles of underground tunnels that connect buildings, shopping centers, metro and train stations.

The tour guide also mentioned that since it is a network, the signage isn’t always clear, and navigating can be a challenge, when you are underground, you don’t have landmarks to help you navigate.

When the tour began, she pointed out the La Reina Elizabeth Fairmont hotel and said that it was the location of John and Yoko’s “bed-in” which took place in room 1742 – it was a war protest and a media extravaganza. During the bed in, he recorded the song “Give Peace a Chance”, John’s first solo single. From what I understand, the staff and other guests weren’t pleased with the young hippies and complained, yet today, the hotel has turned the room into a tribute and I am sure there are a lot Beatles fans who will spend big dollars to stay there.

We viewed “The Ring” which was in front of the Fairmont. When you look out through it, you can see McGill University and Mount Royal. We then headed inside where we went through a series of tunnels, some with shopping centers and restaurants and a skyscraper with an indoor skating rink. We ended at the convention center. As before, we thought MTL Detours did a good job, we enjoyed the tour and the tour guide.

After the tour, we walked to Old Town to a place called Brit and Chips where we had fish and chips. Can you tell we love Fish and Chips? We took it easy for the rest of the day and had dinner at the hotel.