What to do in Montreal

[hikergirl 277]

Thanks for posting this topic Future hubby has already said he'll meet me in Montreal and we'll make a vacation out of the medical/interview time.

[Stuart and Thea 95]

I'm in Montreal now, and we're planning on checking out Old Montreal tomorrow. (Sunday looks like a better weather day, but I wasn't sure about what's open and not on Sunday's here)

Last night we went to Bistro Cafe e Cucina at 350 Sherbrooke west, it was really yummy! Very good service. I had Linguine with baby clams, my mom had 3meat lasagne and my son had mussels and frites. It was really good!

We're planning on looking at the museum at McGill, RedPath I think it's called. It has free admission! Also there's the largest underground city here, so we have to check that out too!

I'll keep posting reviews on here as we go places, but don't expect a whole lot of restaurant reviews, we have a kitchenette and plan to make a lot of our own meals!

[Stuart and Thea 95]

Chinatown!!!

We went to Old Montreal today, it was nice, and ate at les 3 Brasseurs. (I had Maxi Poutine, which is poutine like normal, but the fries are dipped in beer batter first, really yummy!) My son had the Royal Sauerkraut (sausage, ham, pork shank, potatoes and sauerkraut) and we tried their beer too, very nice. It was fun running around in Old Montreal, definitely worth a look, the cobblestone streets are worth it alone just to see them.

But what I really liked today was Chinatown! I will even be going there again! There is a guy there named Johnny Chin that makes Dragon's Beard candy. This is rarely available anywhere outside of Hong Kong. It's chinese cotton candy with sesame seeds peanuts and some other sugar too. (can't remember what) It's 75cents a piece, or 4$ for a box of 6. We each took a piece on the way to Old Montreal, but came back for a box of it when we were on our way back to the hotel. I then looked it up and realizing how rare it is, I will make sure to go back before we leave to get somemore to take home. He's open 7 days a week. (also his bubble tea is really nice too) China town has a lot of really neat buildings to look at as well, all with a Chinese flavour to them, but old..

[Stuart and Thea 95]

Goodness, I'm the only one posting in here!

Today was a nice day, we went up to Mount Royal, walked all the way up Parc Avenue and wound our way up the mountainside till we got the the steps. Someone said there are 286 of them to the top. It's definitely worth the view, really pretty, and we stayed and got a ton of great photos. The park is really nice and with all the trees changing colours right now, it was a great sightseeing day. I would recommend this as a must do here too!

[Stuart and Thea 95]

today was Rue St. Catherine's downtown Montreal. Apparently it has a great Santa Claus parade for anyone that will be here come closer to Christmas. As to shopping, it had a lot of great shops to go into, nothing too far different than Toronto. I particularly enjoyed the Betsey Johnson store, just because it was so much fun! I did not spend any money, though was sorely tempted by a faux fur scarf in a le Château there....

Hope everyone else here is having fun!

We're also right around the corner from Place des Arts, and they have a light show going on, so tonight we went to go check out the giant spotlights that you can manipulate and point into various angles of the sky. It was so much fun, we'll be doing it again I think!

Two more days to check things out then on to the consulate!

[hikergirl 277]

Bumping to the top for the new people heading to interviews

[alizon 77]

Ditto to La Banquise, Premiere Moisson, and Fairmount Bagels (they're better than St. Viateur)! We always love/d just strolling the Maissoneuve and Jean Talon markets, and you can't miss Parc la Fountaine. Obviously, I spend most of my time there in the summer, but Juliette et Chocolat and Fonduementale are wintery places. Other than that, my husband and I are youngin's, so my thoughts go to the bars...

As for the language, I've never had anyone be rude to me and my weak French in Montreal (Quebec City is another story), but making an effort will get you big props. Just trying to speak got me a free brownie once!

[hikergirl 277]

Any more recent recommendations? Especially for Poutine?

My teenager wants to try “the best poutine in Canada”?

We’re going to have days to kill in between the medical and the interview.

[Lemonslice 4,590]

Poutineville or La Banquise are my favourite poutine restaurants.

Other fun things to do in Montreal... going to the spa (Scandinave Les Bains Vieux-Montréal is great and a good deal some days of the week). The Beaver Hall next to the consulate is a great restaurant and lunches are reasonably priced.

Coffee lovers will enjoy Café Saint-Henri, Caffè Art Java, Flocon Espresso, Caffé in Gamba

[hikergirl 277]

The spa looks amazing. Might have to give that a go

[Ms Hogan 295]

I couldn't get OUT of Montreal fast enough. The area around the consulate was run-down and filthy while we were there. Many buildings were boarded up. Walking in the evening with the kids was awful. All I wanted to do was get back to the hotel! I couldn't get a decent recommendation for a good family restaurant from anyone. It was also cold so it made it hard to walk anywhere. Sadly, we were also there during March Break so our big planned day to the BioDome with the kids was a bust because there was a two hour wait to get in! My last trip to Montreal had been in lovely weather and adults-only trip, so it was a very different experience at that time! I enjoy the historical parts of town and like to walk but we couldn't do any of that this time around!

Edited April 2, 2013 by MsHogan

[Fayeara 8]

If you like chocolate and hot chocolate, Juliette et Chocolat is really the place to go to. It's like drinking heaven!

The best place I found for ice cream is Tache de Café near metro Cote-Vertu. It's all made there, the guy even roasts his own nuts.

For something pretty different there's l'auberge du dragon rouge, though you might get teased for speaking in english. It's a medieval style

restaurant, with musicians on place and the staff dresses and acts. Usually there's a lot more animation on fridays and saturdays, but it might be harder to get in.

I also like to go on top of Mont-Royal to take in the view of the city.

In the summer, on sundays, you can catch the Tam-tam players that come and jam in the park.

In the summer also, there's a lot of festivals going around, so you can maybe catch a few free shows

[NikLR 13,220]

so have the interview in spring or summer?! DEAL! lol

Edited April 2, 2013 by NikiR

[LA and CF 9]

Don't forget the Poutine Tour !! For some of you, this'll be the last chance you have to get some decent poutine.

Oh ok, last chance to get some EXCELLENT poutine.

must remember to do that before i move out of montreal for god didnt even think that minnesota might not know what a poutine is omg!

darn been here for over 20 years and cant believe the only thing ill be missing is that hahahaha! gotta love MTL!

[a and m 2]

"St-Viateur-263 Rue Saint Viateur Ouest, Metro Du Parc (Blue Line)-The bagel shop operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and serves over 12000 bagels a day"

MUST GO!...picked up 4 dozen there last time...

BTW - I am the Ohio side of the equation....

Edited April 3, 2013 by a and m