Hello,
can the fireworks be viewed successfully without buying tickets
thanks

Depends on what you are referring to. There are many places to watch the show for free not at La Ronde. You can also get a pretty good view of them if you are at La Ronde but didn`t but tickets. But if you are at La Ronde i would pay the extra 2$ to get a seat, its worth it.

I think the best view outside of La Ronde is from Notre-Dame street, and the intersection between Notre Dame and De Lorimier street. You can also watch it from the bridge. They're all close to Papineau station.

http://www.windowsgames.co.uk/ConquestMaps/Metro%20Montreal.gif

Just follow the crowd and you'll find your way .

Really Enkil? I used to go a few times each summer and always watched from Notre Dame and De Lorimier until this year where I've seen all three so far from the Jacques Cartier Bridge. I now swear by the bridge and will refuse to watch from anywhere else - to me, for a free view, it is unprecedented. You see everything from less distance than Notre Dame`De Lorimier.

What is the advantage to ground level in your opinion?

The advantage is the angle. Notre-Dame street is parallel to the ramps, so it's like watching them from La Ronde, but exactly from the opposite side.

The problem with the bridge is that you can get closer to the fireworks only if you go to the middle of the bridge. The more you go to the middle, the less you see. You're viewing the fireworks (or the ramps) like this "." when you should be viewing them like this "_"

It's hard to explain, but hopefully you understand what I mean. You can't really watch the fireworks from any angle because they're designed especially for those who watch them from La Ronde.

But I understand what you mean. It's true that you get to see a lot of the very low-level effects way better from the bridge, but most of the action happens in the sky, and I think it's better to stand parallel to the ramps.

As explained by Enkil, Notre-Dame offers a wonderful and efficient view of the fireworks outside of La Ronde. While the bridge is also at a good advantage for witnessing many low effects, some of the fireworks themselves (low and high level) may be hidden because of the bridge being at an angle nearly perpendicular to the firing site.

Notre-Dame is a good secondary choice because it is, as already mentioned, almost like a mirror, if you will, to the firing site (with the exception of seeing the very low effects and proximity to the site itself). Of course, I advise that you do indeed view the fireworks from the park as your primary choice fpr the greatest benefits, but outside of the park, I would point my fingers to Notre-Dame. The ramps are not visible from Notre-Dame, but it's not difficult to pinpoint which ramps the fireworks are coming from.

Trav.

I should add that what I find is a huge advantage when you are standing on the bridge, close to the fireworks, you get to hear the sound exactly at the same time the shells explode.....which is pretty cool! I once watched from Notre-Dame street, and there's a delay between explosion and sound which I didn't like. I think it's a question of what you prefer. ;-)

Pierre