Montreal, being one of the country's older cities, has developed some remarkable architecture over the years – and some remarkable contrasts.

Parts of the downtown are adorned with colour to a degree that would be considered garish across the border in Ontario, but that seems right at home here.

Not far away, stark, angular and monochromatic is the predominant theme.

We don't have to go much farther north on St-Catherine to encounter a bold statement in wood, glass and aluminum.

Creativity in architecture, even if it leads to the occasional oddity, has got to be a good thing. Far too many downtowns have become bland, character-free business hubs of featureless, "value-engineered" glass and concrete. I'd much rather see a huge variety of buildings, some beautiful and some weird, than block after block of indistiguishable generic towers.