John Lennon at Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel – Photo by Gerry Delter

Montreal, Quebec – This cool site is 18 floors directly above Central Station in downtown Montreal. It’s room 1742 of the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel, a 45-year-old landmark affectionately known as the ‘Queen E’. This is where John Lennon and Yoko Ono caused a media frenzy in 1969 by putting on their jammies and inviting world press for their 10-day ‘bed-in’. During the event they recorded the song Give Peace a Chance in their suite’s living room. Friends who dropped in and joined in on the recording include: Tommy Smothers, Petula Clark, Dr. Timothy Leary and members of the Canadian Radha Krishna Temple.

Today, the suite’s walls feature memorabilia composed of press articles, framed gold records and pictures of the dynamic couple. In the spring of 2009 special events and exhibits took take place to commemorate the Bed-In’s 40th anniversary, including the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts’ special free exhibition entitled Imagine, which featured artwork from Yoko Ono as well as photographs, records, movies and clips detailing their famous week-long peace protest.

The Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel is located directly above the VIA Rail and AMTRAK Stn, at 900 Blvd Renne Levesque West in downtown Montreal. It is connected to the city’s underground pathway system which links office towers, restaurants, boutiques and cultural attractions, which makes it easy to get around whatever the weather.