From the observation deck of Montréal’s Olympic Tower, almost sixty stories up (574ft/175m), look down at this stingray/spaceship-inspired structure. It’s the Biodôme. Originally built as the velodrome for the 1976 Olympics, it was converted in 1992 to become an indoor ‘house of life,’ recreating four distinct eco-zones of the Americas: tropical rainforest, Laurentian maple forest, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Polar Labrador Coast and sub-Antarctic islands. In summer you can see penguins, and in the winter you can visit the macaws. The different habitats feel surprisingly spacious; ‘indoor zoo’ seems inadequate as a description—maybe a ‘gigantic terrarium?’ However you describe it, it’s definitely worth the trek east of downtown.

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From Cycling and Judo, to Macaws and Penguins: Montréal's Biodôme

From the observation deck of Montréal’s Olympic Tower, almost sixty stories up (574ft/175m), look down at this stingray/spaceship-inspired structure. It’s the Biodôme. Originally built as the velodrome for the 1976 Olympics, it was converted in 1992 to become an indoor ‘house of life,’ recreating four distinct eco-zones of the Americas: tropical rainforest, Laurentian maple forest, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Polar Labrador Coast and sub-Antarctic islands. In summer you can see penguins, and in the winter you can visit the macaws. The different habitats feel surprisingly spacious; ‘indoor zoo’ seems inadequate as a description—maybe a ‘gigantic terrarium?’ However you describe it, it’s definitely worth the trek east of downtown.

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