Yup, that’s us (apparently)
It seems that when you live in a certain place, you become the default consultants for tourism in that place. People contact you, sometimes on behalf of people you don’t even know, wanting to hear about the best restaurants or most exciting local experiences or whether the weather is weathering, etc.
This is understandable, since we (supposedly) know this town better than a rando visitor does. However, I have now had to answer these questions many times, I’m making a blog post so I can give people a link and stop repeating myself.
I wish could make you a comprehensive list of Montreal must-dos. However, it’s impossible for three reasons: first, there’s no way to know what any specific person will enjoy. Our young single relatives like very different Montreal things than our friends who have toddlers or business concerns or bachelorette parties.
Second, Montreal is not strong in its event-listings game. Though there are many government resources dedicated to tourism–and they’re pretty good, if you want to be a typical tourist–there’s no one single source that compiles special-event listings, those one-off seasonal performances and exhibits that make a visit here memorable. They’re scattered over a myriad of websites and social media, sometimes only on posters in parks, so it’s almost down to luck whether you find info on a local event or not. We have a hard time finding info on local events and we *live* here.
Third, though we *live* here, we don’t really party here (or back home, frankly) nor do we do most of the tourist things. We don’t eat out very often because we need to mind our time and budget, and we don’t have a car so we are limited to places and events that are easily accessible by public transit.
So when you ask me about the best places for gourmet food or trendy cocktails or finding hot hook-ups, I really don’t know. There are many best-of lists available for your edification; go check out the stuff that interests you and report back to me. You can also add any favorites to the comments below for the benefit of all.
In any case, here’s what we can tell you about some of Montreal’s amenities of interest. THIS IS NOT A BY ANY MEANS A COMPLETE LIST AND YMMV but it should get you started anyway. Happy hunting.
CULTURE
The entire OCanaderp website is dedicated to our discoveries about culture here, so one blog post isn’t going to cut it. However, prime directive culturally: take to heart that Quebec is a French province and politesse is extremely important to French people. Greet everyone with “bonjour” (not “bonjour-hi”) and say “merci” and “bonne journee” (“thanks” and “have a good day”) each time you end a transaction. Even if you switch to English for the rest of your conversation, being polite in French is essential for getting along here.
That said, most people in tourist places, restaurants, and downtown retail will speak to you in English if you ask. There’s a lot of anti-Anglophone sentiment in Quebec right now though, so don’t be surprised if some people refuse. And never presume someone speaks English.
TRANSIT
As far as getting around, public transit here is excellent, so if you can avoid renting a car, do so. Driving in Montreal is awful due to constant roadwork (with our famous orange cones), and parking is pricey and hard to find. Depending on the nature of your visit, you can probably get by with the bus and the Metro.
To get into town upon arrival, the 747 express bus from Trudeau (YUL) airport is about $10 Canadian and goes direct to Lionel-Groulx Metro station in about 25-35 minutes. You can buy tickets from a kiosk at the airport before you board. Taxi fares from the airport to downtown are set by the government; it should run about $45-$50, depending how many passengers there are.
The Metro system of subways and buses is extensive and pretty reliable; more info on fares, routes, and schedules at the Societe de Transit de Montreal (STM) website. You can get an all-inclusive weekend pass and other easy-to-use transit packages if you’re here for a short stay.
We use the Chrono app to plan our public transit trips; it has the bus and Metro schedules, and real-time location mapping so you don’t get lost.
Once you’re in town, if you feel the need for some exercise, you can rent a Bixi bicycle and toodle around a little–don’t use the electric bikes if you don’t have a helmet, you’ll get ticketed, but otherwise it’s a nice way to get acquainted with the city. There are credit card rental kiosks at each Bixi station.
SUMMER
In the summer Montreal has a lot going on. Frankly, we really don’t know what the scene’s like other times of year (sorry, sugar shack, apple-picking, and Christmas market purveyors).
Much of the best outdoor tourist stuff–the boat tour of the harbor with the beautiful city views, walking around the Plateau and hiking up Mount Royal, or strolling in the Botanical Garden–are not going to be enjoyable if it’s cold/rainy/slushy. If the weather is fine, I would recommend any of those things, or just walking around the Old Port and looking at the buildings and historical monuments.
CITY HISTORY/ENCLAVES/MUSEUMS/HATCHETS
Cité Histoire – this is a very cool outdoor history walk downtown with projection-mapped images on important buildings and sites. You download the app on your phone and take a walking tour of downtown Montreal and pause to activate the projections and listen to the soundscapes. It’s an engaging and visually pleasing way to absorb a little MTL history.
Being a formerly Catholic stronghold, Montreal is full of historic churches. If you’re into religion or architecture, you might enjoy downtown’s Basilica de Notre Dame (you may need to book tickets) and/or Our Lady of the Harbor down in the Old Port (which I think you can just walk into that and look around when it’s open, and privately-run tours are available if you look around the internet).
Sylvain wishes me to remind you all that Our Lady of the Harbor is the church referenced in “Suzanne” by Leonard Cohen, who lived and wrote here.
There are lots of concerts and music events in old churches around town–not just liturgical and classical music, there are jazz, contemporary, and Quebec traditional music offerings too. You can search specific church websites for their event calendars to see what’s up.
Montreal is a city of First Nations and immigrant peoples, each with a rich and intriguing history. There are many enclaves around town worth exploring: Chinatown, Little Italy, Petit Mahgreb, Mile End (with its famous Jewish bagel bakeries and delis), Little Burgundy’s historic Black community, and St-Laurent Boulevard aka The Main, the former dividing line between anglophone and francophone Montreal. You’ll also find many more events and cultural preservation sites dedicated to Indigenous peoples as they reclaim colonized spaces in Quebec.
There are various history and art museums too; one of our favorites is the Museum of Montreal History, which has cool exhibits about the World Expo and Montreal Olympics.
Other unique and famous things of Quebec: maple syrup, poutine (see below), and rough-and-ready French pioneers. If you’re feeling flannel-shirty, you can learn to throw hatchets and knives like a lumberjack at Sports de Combat, or hit their rage cage if you’re having a bad day.
PRIDE
Montreal is home to a large and diverse 2SLGBTQIA+ community. If you come in August, come be part of Fièrte Montréal and the Pride Parade.
BAD WEATHER?
Montreal has a lot of harsh weather but you needn’t stop exploring; there’s an astonishing underground city, comprising twenty-two miles of tunnels filled with shopping, restaurants, and event spaces. The RESO connects a large number of hotels, government offices, movie theatres, and cultural buildings with the Metro system, so you can easily reach the underground city without braving snow or extreme heat (it’s also a great way to escape the cigarette smoke on the streets above). Complexe Desjardins with its grand central plaza is probably the most impressive part of the RESO if you only have a short time to visit.
FOOD/BOOZE/COFFEE/MUSIC
Since I know coffee is of extreme importance to most of our friends, please take the time to visit Montreal’s most beautiful and elegant cafe The Crew Collective, built in a historic Royal Bank of Canada building, replete with marble halls and exquisite vaulted ceilings. Otherwise you’ll find decent coffee of both new (fruity) and old (roasty) varieties pretty much everywhere in town. The pastries aren’t bad around here, either.
Montreal is famously the home of poutine, a comfort food pile of french fries, cheese curds, and gravy. It’s Quebec’s Big Mac (yes, you can literally get poutine at McDonald’s in Montreal, as well as Big Macs) but for less awful versions of poutine you can try the touristy La Banquise or Poutineville if you’re curious. Poutine is hearty and filling, especially in cold weather. It’s junk food, but hits the spot when it’s snowy or post-bar-hopping binge.
But it’s not all trash food here! Montreal has a gourmet food scene that just started being included on the Michelin list. Good food and wine are of key importance in French culture; it’s an essential part of spending quality time with others. Check out recent restaurant lists here.
As I mentioned, we don’t go out to eat much so can’t give too many specific recos, but we do enjoy having lunch at the vegetarian restaurant at the Botanical Gardens on Sundays and we just found a very tasty Mexican restaurant with the best churros I’ve ever had (they have chile *and* cinnamon in the sugar coating!!) The margaritas weren’t bad, either.
Montreal has a banging band, music festival, and bar scene–it’s known as a party town, with crazy times scheduled around the big summer events like the Formula One races, Piknik Electronik, and Osheaga. There are also tons of indy music venues if that’s your meat.
If you’d prefer more intimate and less noisy party-times, there are many speakeasies and small cocktail bars with unique settings, menus, and music. I like Le Quatrieme Mur (the Fourth Wall)–it’s grown-up but fun, with murder-mystery puzzles served with your drinks and a very tasteful old-school burlesque show. Cocktails are expensive at the Fourth Wall, up to $20 a pop, but creatively concocted and the service is friendly and attentive.
You can check out other bars and speakeasies of interest here: https://www.mtl.org/en/experience/speakeasies-hidden-bars.
For a more upscale time, dinner or cocktails with splendid city views are offered on a few rooftop restaurants and terrasses downtown; however, these are mostly in swanky downtown hotels like the William Gray and the Hotel Place d’Armes, and as of this writing many Montreal hotel employees are on strike. Check the news to see what’s up before you make reservations.
OTHER IDEAS/LOCAL QUIRK
If you want to scroll endlessly through other tourist options and arguments about their relative worth, Reddit/VisitMontreal has you covered. I’ve also found interesting private tours and quirky activities on AirbnbExperiences (that’s how I learned about hatchet-throwing lessons). These “experiences” are usually conducted by local individuals and businesses, so you can hear personal insights into life in MTL. And probably more recommendations for stuff to do around here.
There are a billion books and websites and movies and tour books about Quebec and Montreal. I recommend dipping into a few before you arrive to enrich your experience. Maybe learn a little French too.
Okay, j’ai fini. If this post helped you figure out what the hell you want to do during your stay here, you can owe me a cocktail at the speakeasy of your choice. Oh, and a poutine and a chocolatine. Maybe we’ll cross paths on The Main someday.
Until then, profitez et bonne journée!
