Ravenscrag

If you're up for a bit of a climb, walk up rue Peel to avenue des Pins for a look at a grand example of the kind of palaces Montréal's industrial barons built for themselves in the 19th century. From Ravenscrag's lofty perch, Sir Hugh Allan—who pretty much controlled Canada's transatlantic transportation—could watch his ships come and go. The 60-room mansion, which looks like Tuscany dropped onto the slopes of Mont-Royal, is one of the finest bits of neo-Renaissance architecture in North America. Today the mansion serves as a psychiatric hospital known as the Allan Memorial Institute, which forms part of McGill University

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