4545 Avenue Pierre-De-Coubertin, Montreal, QC, H1V 3G5
Rated this place:
Ah yes, the white elephant: “Organic Modern architecture” my foot. The Big O (aka The Big Woe" or "The Big Owe") is a giant concrete nightmare that may or may not be the first flying saucer from outer space with guided tours. It is basically a sink-hole for money, costing millions in repairs, and featuring five different swimming pools, a retractable roof that doesn’t retract, and an oversized reclining tower that successfully draws attention away from the rest of the view at the Mont-Royal lookout, like a giant, embarrassing, uninspiring blemish. Maybe I am being a bit tough. I had a great time at the last Montreal Impact soccer game with about 55,000 other rabid fans, and I have much respect for the beer guys who teeter on the nearly vertical stairs in the nosebleeds section, and put the ones at the Bell Centre to shame. However, without the adjoining Biodome it’s really not much of a tourist attraction unless you are fan of monster-truck competitions.