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Showing posts with label Montreal travel tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Montreal travel tips. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
Spice Up Spring With Montréal’s Gourmet Scene
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
11 Surprising (And Insanely Charming) Facts About Montreal
Think you know Montreal? It’s bilingual, it’s got pretty architecture, it’s chilly in the winter. All true, sure, but there is a lot about this historic city that surprises visitors. Read through these facts about the largest city in the province of Quebec (stay tuned for: cheese, maple beer, underground tunnels, unsaintly saints, and a potential feud with New York City) and then start searching for your hotel — resisting a visit is futile.
1. Montreal loves cheese.
And we’re not just talking about the cheese curds on poutine (though there’s lots — tons — of that, too). Quebec has over 400 types of cheese and Montreal is a great place to dig in. Bring some breath mints.
2. You know what else they love? Maple syrup.
About three-quarters of the world’s maple syrup comes from Quebec, which, in practical terms, means you can’t walk a couple of blocks in Montreal without a whiff of the sweet aroma of maple cookies, maple butter, maple candy, maple salts, maple salad dressing, maple coffee, maple beer, or, well, you get the idea.
2. Their streets are named after fake saints.
Though Montreal is often called the “City of Saints” because of the many streets named after these holy figures, in many cases, they are actually just the names of wealthy and influential friends of the city’s early architect.
4. In the winter, you can cross-country ski right downtown.
No need to head out of the city to ski resorts — there are over 200km of trails in the city, including some in Mount Royal Park.
5. The first cat cafe in North America was opened in Montreal.
Nothing like a little coffee with a temporarily-adopted fur baby.
6. Montreal has its own kind of bagel.
It’s sweeter, more dense, and has a bigger hole than its New York cousin.
7. Montreal has the highest number of restaurants per capita in Canada.
And the second highest in North America after NYC.
8. The city has its own Mural Festival.
Street art is incredibly popular in Montreal (bet you thought it was all prim-and-proper, didn’t you?). Saint-Laurent is a good place to check it out.
9. Ice hockey was invented in Montreal.
The first indoor game was played in the city in 1875.
10. Montreal has an underground city.
With 18 miles of tunnels and shops, you could almost avoid the cold winter altogether.
11. Montreal is known for its festivals.
And not just in the summer when the weather is nice. Events like Igloofest keep residents and visitors partying all year long.
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Tuesday, March 1, 2016
24 Hours In Montréal, What To Do And What To Expect.
An antique sign in Old Montréal. Image by Chris Cheadle / Getty
Start your day slowly partaking in a local ritual – a long and leisurely brunch. Weekend brunching in is de rigueur, and usually gets started at around 10am, although at some of the city’s hotspots the long lines – full of late-night revellers not long out of bed – will linger until 2pm. L’Express serves up scrambled eggs and pain doré (French toast) in a classic Parisian bistro atmosphere, Beauty’s is worth the legendary long queue for toasted sesame bagels, or join hipsters over Eggs Benedict, fruit plates and smoothies at .
If you’re still hungry, grab some portable snacks from Marché Jean-Talon, the city’s largest market and right on the edge of Little Italy. There are several hundred market stalls on a huge square ringed by shops that stock all manner of produce year-round including fruits, vegetables, potted plants, herbs and (of course) maple syrup. Food stalls whip up fresh juices, tender crepes, baguette sandwiches and more. Don’t miss the Québécois specialty store .
In winter Marché Jean-Talon heads in doors, but the warmer months have stalls and customers mingling outside. Image by Chris Cheadle / Getty
Time to work off all that food! Hike up Mont Royal, stopping to catch your breath and snap the cityscape from the Kondiaronk Lookout. Montréalers are proud of their 'mountain', Mount Royal Park, the work of New York Central Park designer Frederick Law Olmsted. It's a sprawling, leafy playground that's perfect for cycling, jogging, horseback riding, picnicking and, in winter, cross-country skiing and tobogganing.
In fine weather, enjoy panoramic views from the Kondiaronk lookout near Chalet du Mont Royal, a grand old white villa that hosts big-band concerts in summer; or from the , a favourite rendezvous spot for lovebirds. It takes about 30 minutes to walk between the two. En route you'll spot the landmark 40m-high Cross of Montréal, which is illuminated at night. It's there to commemorate city founder Maisonneuve who single-handedly carried a wooden cross up the mountain in 1643 to give thanks to God for sparing his fledgling village from flooding.
The streets of Old Montréal at dawn. Image by Mario Beauregard / Getty
If outdoor rambling isn’t your style, you can explore the cobblestone alleys of Old Montréal. Get a dose of history at Musée d’Archéologie et d’Histoire Pointe-à-Callière. For the most part, the museum is underground. Head to the archeological crypt in the basement where you can explore the remains of the city's ancient sewage and river system and the foundations of its first buildings and first public square. Interactive exhibits include video monitors that allow visitors to ask questions of the hologram-like figures from the 17th and 18th centuries about their lives in the colony.
By now you’ve certainly worked up a thirst, so as the sun sets join thecinq-à-sept (5pm-to-7pm) crowd for outdoor drinks on a rooftop terrace such as . Afterwards delve into the streets of Old Montréal for a decadent meal at atmospheric .
End the evening with a nightcap at Le Mal Necessaire, a subterranean Tiki lounge that's hidden away in Chinatown.
This article was first published in June 2011 and was updated in April 2015 by Regis St. Louis.
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