OLYMPIC STADIUM
The closest station to the Marriott Chateau Champlain Hotel, Bonaventure (station link), was a short 2-minute walk (underground of course). My first stop on the Metro was Olympic Park, built for the 1976 Summer Olympics. Olympic Park includes a stadium, velodrome, swim center and Olympic Village. Although this year marks the games' 30th anniversary, the stadium still draws many visitors. Guided tours of the park are available year round for $8 CAD (adults). It was cool to see where the athletes competed, and where the Montreal Expos played baseball (1977-2004). The stadium was built with enough concrete to pave a sidewalk all the way from Montreal to Miami! Now that's a lot of concrete. The stadium these days looks a little depressing. The Expos have moved to Washington, D.C. (Washington Nationals), and the facility is only used part time for Canadian Football League games, trade shows and events like Monster Trucks.

INDOOR SWIM CENTER
A visit to Olympic Park is still worth a trip, because there a lot more than just the stadium. The swim center is also on the tour. It was the largest indoor swimming center in the world, until Sydney built its for the 2000 Games. I know, who wants to see a swim center? I was expecting something dark and depressing, with no sign of life -- like the stadium. What I found could not have been further from the truth. The swim center was colorful, loud, warm, and alive with people swimming, working out, playing badminton, and other fun games. It's open to the public, with both yearly memberships and day passes ($4 CAD for adults) available. Here are the rates to swim. For more click HERE.