Weekend in Montreal?
1. Notre-Dame Basilica has unusual stained glass windows depicting the history of Montreal, which my teens (not particulary devout, and who had seen it before) found interesting. It's a beautiful old church full of carvings and old wood, with a gorgeous sapphire-blue ceiling covered with gold stars.
2. Quoc Te on boulevard St.-Laurent is full of Chinese remedies, and nearby is Surplus IG, crammed with military clothing from all over the world.
3. The underground is interesting and led us to Three Monkeys (aka IIIMNKYS under Peel Street), where my denim aficionado tried on every damn thing in the store and wound up with a pair of Naked and Famous, which are "proudly and ethically Made in Canada."
4. Dinner at Chez L'Epicier in Old Montreal. Kind of funky and fun French, with Canadian wines and locally sourced foods. We were there for Christmas Eve and the tasting menu was memorable. Taverne Gaspar was good for a casual meal. I was reminded a number of times that the legal drinking age in Québec is 18. ;^)
As I was leaving Montreal on a bus, I read in a magazine (not a local magazine) that the best bagels in North America, possibly the only authentic ones left (that means you, New York) are to be found in Montreal. I have since seen this judgement in other publications. If memory serves, they were to be found in The Plateau neighborhood, the only close-in neighborhood I didn't get to. I think one bagel place was called "St. Viateur," but I don't remember the name of the other one that was specifically mentioned. Google is your friend.
with regards to Little Italy... I was in Montreal the spring of 2014 on a girl's weekend. One of my friends thought we should walk to Little Italy as it didn't seem far...do NOT recommend doing this. We didn't make it; honestly, there were times we felt unsafe and were glad we had pointy large umbrellas from the hotel just to feel like we could hopefully protect ourselves if needed. No one did anything, but we definitely felt like we were being watched. (I can't recall which direction we were walking from though.) So that said, we didn't make it to Little Italy as it seemed like some of the area the map said was Little Italy had been taken over by another group and we decided to hop on the subway and head back towards the hotel. Highly recommend talking with the concierge at the hotel or doing research before on the best way to get there. Learned my lesson and now I don't "wing it" when I am in a city I don't know...instead, I ask someone to be sure that where I am walking is safe.
We had WONDERFUL meals while there. Definitely do some research ahead!
Really enjoyed Old Montreal.
The Botantical Gardens were beautiful even though not much was even yet in bloom when I was there. Am sure they are really exceptional in the summer.
St. Viateur bagels are phenomenal, as are Fairmount Bagels. They are lighter, crunchier, and sweeter than American mounds of chewy dough, er, bagels.
Smoked meat, especially at Schwartz's.
Walking along the riverfront is fun. Taking a horsedrawn carriage around Old Montreal is also fun.
Try the food at any restaurant in Chinatown. Very different than American Chinese food, and in a good way.
Walk up St Denis and check out all the neat stores.
Walk around Mont Royal Parc--bring a bunch of St. Viateur bagels and smoked meat and some cold beer for a great picnic.
Try poutine and then take an extra dose of statins.
chopin said:
As I was leaving Montreal on a bus, I read in a magazine (not a local magazine) that the best bagels in North America, possibly the only authentic ones left (that means you, New York) are to be found in Montreal. I have since seen this judgement in other publications. If memory serves, they were to be found in The Plateau neighborhood, the only close-in neighborhood I didn't get to. I think one bagel place was called "St. Viateur," but I don't remember the name of the other one that was specifically mentioned. Google is your friend.
Montreal bagels are different enough that they're not really directly comparable. Their bagels are thinner and sweeter as honey is used. The two big purveyors of bagels are St. Viateur and Fairmount. The bakeries are largely just that where they generally sell them by the bag, although St. Viateur does have a few cafes where you can get a bagel prepared and served. Generally if you're getting a bagel somewhere in town it'll be from one of those bakeries so you don't really need to seek them out, so while it's always fun to go to the source - if you have something else to do it's not worth going out of your way for.
Poutine is the main food interest of Montreal. You can get it pretty much anywhere. I'm a vegetarian, and there are some places that make a good vegetarian version. Montreal Poutine in the old town is good. And Smoke's Poutine (which I originally knew from visits to Toronto) is also good.
For desert, if you don't stop by Juliet Et Chocolat, you've commited a crime against humanity: http://www.julietteetchocolat.com/en/content/8-menu
As far as attractions. The science museum is good (there was a cool Star Wars exhibit there when I went, but it's not going to be there anymore), and the botanical gardens are nice as well. It's one of my favorite cities to visit, you pretty much can't not have a good time there.
Mount Royal Park (Parc du Mont-Royal) was designed by Frederic Law Olmsted, designer of Central Park, although it seems much of his design was not completed. "Real" in "Montreal" is evidently an earlier rendering in French of "royal."
And try to use your French if you know any at all. I'm ashamed I didn't even try, even to ask where the bathroom was, which I probably would have remembered if I'd made the effort. The guy I asked seemed pretty miffed I didn't even try. Come to think of it, it would be smart (and thoughtful) for anyone to learn a few phrases. Ya know, not everyone up there speaks English, and you shouldn't just assume anyone does.
Ou est la salle de bain, s'il vous plait? (Without the appropriate accents over some letters, and you'll have to look up the pronunciation yourself).
I have little ones but we loved the BioDome and the Granby Zoo.
BioDome is great if you love animals. The Zoo is about 45 mins outside of the city but worth it. That is our favorite zoo by far!
If you go to stop Jean Talon it's a short walk to the huge farmers' market in Little Italy. Also a large section of St. Catherine's is a pedestrian zone at this time of year. You can walk from the festival area to the Village.
great history lesson at the Montreal Museum of Archaelogy:
http://www.pacmusee.qc.ca/en/home
- Schwartz' is a must-do for smoked meat sandwiches, and in a very interesting area with tons of cool walking stuff for tweens/teens, like vintage stores, alleyways, cool old houses etc.
- Old Montreal is quite beautiful and something the kids will remember
- Montreal also has a very decent bike share program and is pretty bike-friendly.
- And, do NOT miss out on Saint Joseph's Oratory. It is quite profound and you can see Brother Andre's heart encased in a box ... it is a church, but is NOT to be missed, I swear: https://www.saint-joseph.org/en
- I'll vouch for St. Viatauer bagels as well... Expect a line-up, though.
I had dinner at Chez Delmo (Seafood Poutine) and lunch at my company's cafeteria. Neither meals were memorable. Enjoying a Coffee Crisp while I wait for my delayed flight back to Newark. Here are some pictures that I took in Old Montreal last night...
Summer is festival season so check to see what is going on. The international fireworks festival is ongoing and there are major shows every Saturday night through August 1st.
http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/What-To-Do/Events/l-international-des-feux-loto-quebec
For a cheap meal, head to Chinatown for dumplings. Our favorite spot is at 1082 Boulevard Saint-Laurent. It is not, however, vegetarian friendly.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mai-xiang-yuan-montréal-3
Are you driving? Saratoga Springs is a great place to stop for a half-way point meal and walk around. Lake George is another good spot with lots of kid (teen/tween) activities.
I stayed at The Hotel Place D'Armes this week in Old Montreal. It has a boutique feel with exposed brick walls.
http://hotelplacedarmes.com/en/
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Planning a long weekend in Montreal in July or August with the family, including two teens and a tween. Just ordered travel guide and printed Trip Advisor lists, but any must do's? Thanks!