I'm headed to Montreal in late March for the first time. Takin' a cheap bus, and aiming to stay in a hostel (Unless anyone here tells me otherwise). The trip's planned to be 3-4 days, but.... I have no idea what to fill those days up with. So, I figured I could maybe tap some of your brains for some recommendations. Whether you've been there, live there, or HAVE lived there, I'd like to hear what you have to say about the place. Any info at all would be helpful. Where to eat, what to eat, what to see, what to try, who to offend with broken french, etc.Â
Been to Montreal a couple times. You have to see the Old City (The old downtown) and the waterfront. As for eats, Baton Rouge is a must, but bring your wallet. Montreal is a stunning city, the new mixed with the old, all with the delightful French vibe to it. In some part, you feel a European vibe more than a Canadian one.
Not to perpetuate the stereotype, but be wary: The further away from major commercial or cultural centres you go, the more the ratio tips from Anglophone to Francophone. There are a great many decent Francophones, but not all of them go out of their way to be polite or helpful. A mild disdain is my best description. I only survived because of my girlfriend at the time, and my own translation abilities.
Other than that, Montreal has a decent subway system, getting around shouldn't be a problem at all. Enjoy your trip, Montreal was a wonderful taste of another culture within Canada.
Alright so this depends what you like doing, Montreal is a lovely city (I live here) so I guess it all depends on what you like doing
All of the best English clubs are on Crescent Street, all bars here are open until 3 a.m so there is plenty of time for debauchery.
If you have the opportunity I suggest that you see a hockey game at the bell centre the atmosphere in that arena is different than any other hockey arena I have been to and it really is a unique experience.
There are two really good museums,
http://www.macm.org/en/index.html is modern art and the
http://www.mbam.qc.ca/fr/index.html is for fine arts, they are pretty inexpensive tickets and can be a pretty neat date.
I suggest taking the hike up mount-royal because then you can see the panoramic view of Montreal and see all of its glory. What's neat is that there are automated rentable bikes
www.bixi.ca[url=http://][/url] and they are really cheap I'll add a little bit more in a bit but check out the links because they could help give you some ideas
That a benito is a terrible guide, don't believe anything he says
Want to go to warped tour with me and 2 other guys from here in the summer? check the site for the Montreal date to see if you can make it/ are game.
Come back when it's warmer and go to La Ronde. 8)
Yeah, try to get to a Habs game, or go to a bar during one. Old Montreal is worth checking out too (the waterfront, it's somewhat close to downtown).
Also I might go to Warped, since Sum 41 is playing... except they suck now (unless they strictly play old stuff and only old stuff).
We should organize a BRBU Montreal trip. 8)
(03-03-2010, 08:41 PM)Nitrous Oxide link Wrote: [ -> ]Come back when it's warmer and go to La Ronde. 8)
Yeah, try to get to a Habs game, or go to a bar during one. Old Montreal is worth checking out too (the waterfront, it's somewhat close to downtown).
Also I might go to Warped, since Sum 41 is playing... except they suck now (unless they strictly play old stuff and only old stuff).
We should organize a BRBU Montreal trip. 8)
set it up - I'd be interested
drive me there nitroussssss
OH HI
Kor got most of it right... stay downtown and you can survive with nothing more than English.
Read what Commish says too, he seems to know more about museums than me...
(03-02-2010, 11:56 PM)Black Aspen link Wrote: [ -> ]Where to eat, what to eat
SMOKED MEAT!
I've been told that Montreal is actually a city waayyy safer than most big cities, so don't worry too much about having your stuff stolen / body raped.
That, and it's actually quite hard to get really lost when you learn how streets work. Streets go either north-south or east-west (note: Montreal North and East AREN'T geographic North and East). If you know whether one street you're looking for is N-S or E-W, you just walk in one direction and you'll eventually find it (unless you began walking in the wrong direction...)
(03-02-2010, 11:56 PM)Black Aspen link Wrote: [ -> ]what to see, what to try
Noon/early afternoon: If you can get to the Viau station, you can check our
Biodome,
Insectarium, and
Jardin Botanique (Although you should speak more French for those)
Afternoon: The
Old Port is a nice place. Some
beaver tails and a nice view on boats is nice too.
Evening: You can check the
Mount Royal. Lots of nice things. Go check the
St-Joseph Oratory.
Night: Go downtown, around streets
Saint Catherine and our
"Main": Saint-Laurent
Another nice place I'll recommend just for you.
Ask if you ever have any questions. I can give you my phone number if you ever need it too. It's nice to have people visiting =D
Alright, so I've started to plan the itinerary for the trip, and the notes left have been awesome. With no clue going into this trip, these'll add some structure to the plans. Something beyond what you've all said that I'm looking to check out would be geek-centric locations. Any places I should go to for games, movies, books, comics, etc? In the same mindset of
Forbidden Planet, or
Silver Snail. Also, live comedy recommendations? Sketch, standup, improv, whichever.
Thanks guys.
(03-18-2010, 01:44 PM)Black Aspen link Wrote: [ -> ]Also, live comedy recommendations? Sketch, standup, improv, whichever.
learn french first
Well there are english shows during the Just for Laughs festival, but it's in July.
But... if you're looking for local games, movies, books and comics, well you'd have to learn French too... otherwise, there wouldn't be much that you wouldn't find elsewhere.
For awesome pies, visit Rockaberry, it's located on mont royal. some nice places to go at night within the intersection of st-denis and ontario such as La distillerie, good place to start a night out, variety of drinks served in glass jars .drinking places around such as the St-sulpice or l'abrevoir. However, these places are mostly french speaking places, so if you find yourself having a hard time over there, i'd suggest going over on Peel, lots of irish pubs and clubs.
There's la queue leu leu in the vieux port where funny place with hot chicks, le café campus on prince-arthur and
McKibbins not far off on st-laurent where you can find pretty much anything.
I'm near Viau, if we get to hook up with other brbu's in the area, that would be cool
Just giving a quick update. Tips have been working awesome so far. Having no trouble figuring out the town with the help you guys have provided. Funny that you should mention St.Denis and Ontario, SanityMask, that's exactly where my hostel is (the neighbours next door like to fuck loud, BTW. Thanks hostel). Been pretty damn impressed with the city so far. All the benefits of the other large cities I've visited, but with a much nicer laid-back attitude. Only one homeless person's yelled at me so far (I'm used to being yelled at every 3rd block in Toronto/Hamilton). Oh, and hooooooooooooooly shit..... Frite Alors?!?!? Best fastfood burger and fries I've had in my life. Food has been fucking incredible thus far, and I don't even get to Schwartz's Deli until tomorrow. Would have liked to make it to a Habs game this week, but the trip was too last minutes to get tickets. I'll be catching a Leafs/Habs game here next season anyways, so I think I can hold off until then.
Fact: Montreal is the best city in Canada.