West Island

The West Island is the western part of the island of Montreal. It is mainly a residential suburb of the city of Montreal. Municipalities such as Pointe-Claire, Beaconsfield, and Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue are popular with visitors from Montreal for their attractive streets along the waters of Lac Saint-Louis. The early Montreal Canadian Pacific Railway from Montreal to Toronto already brought wealthy Montreal families in the late 19th century to this part of the island to sail, canoe, or spend a day in a park or on the small beaches along the lake. Several of the original railway stations are still in operation, such as the stations of Valois and Beaconsfield. Today, the Exo commuter train uses the tracks, with 11 to 12 trains daily. The West Island is the location of Montreal Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport (Dorval) and McGill University's Macdonald Campus (Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue). The residents are mostly English speakers, in contrast to the mostly French-speaking residents of the rest of Montreal.

Guide content adapted from the Wikivoyage article "West Island". Source · CC BY-SA 4.0