Questions about Montreal?

[yennyfire]

Hi all,

I figured that we have a lot of travelers around here and possibly some folks who live or have lived in the area....and I trust you all way more than random strangers on various travel forums...

I'm planning a trip to Montreal (and hopefully Quebec too) in mid Sept. Looking at VRBO's, as we prefer them to larger hotels. In your opinion, where is the best place to stay? Downtown? The Old City? Near Atwater Market? Other?

How important will it be to be super close to the Metro (keeping in mind that we will have a 10 and 12 year old with us)?

Aside from the usual touristy things, any recommendations for places to visit/restaurants to try (our kids are fairly adventurous, as are we!)....?? And, because I'm a PSer to the core, are there any jewelry shops we should visit (aside from Tiffany, etc.)? I've found a few online, but would prefer recommendations....

Thanks (in advance)!

 

[chemgirl]

The old port is a great place to stay. It can get busy and touristy, but there is always something to see. We usually stay downtown since it is cheaper and closer to the Metro. DH used to live on the Plateau and still has friends there, so transportation is key for us. We usually take the train from Toronto so it's nice to be near a station.

Will you be driving? Parking can be a bit difficult in the older area, but otherwise the city is very drivable.

I think the best place for you to stay would really depend on what you like doing. Are you there for an event?

Wanted to add that we were there a few weeks ago and went to a really cool Moroccan restaurant. It was bring you own wine and they didn't have menus, you ate what they brought out and it was a fixed price per person. I can try and get the name if that's the kind of thing that you like.

Bring your own wine places are awesome. Lots of them on the plateau and it saves on the dinner bill. Just walk in to an SAQ, buy a bottle, and bring it in. No extra fee. Depaneurs also have wine, but the selection can be iffy. Usually a last resort.

 

[yennyfire]

Hi chemgirl,

Thanks for taking the time to reply! I'm still in the planning stages (so open to suggestions), but none of us have ever been to Montreal or Quebec. We have 8 days, so my thought is to fly into Montreal, stay for a few days and then rent a car and drive to Quebec City (about 3 hours away, I believe). There are a lot of music festivals, beer festivals, etc. going on, but with kids, we will probably stay far, far away! Definitely want to see the Old City, the Botanical Gardens, the BioDome, Notre Dame, etc. Anything off of the beaten path that you'd recommend? Restaurants that you like? We are fond of both fine dining and holes in the wall!!

 

[AGBF]

Isn't blackprophet from Montreal?

Deb

PS-I haven't been to Québec in years, but I infinitely preferred the Gaspé Peninsula to Montréal. Not all the Canadians were friendly, although my husband and I spoke French, but there were many convivial places and it was beautiful.

 

[chemgirl]

To be honest we usually just visit friends, go for long walks, and try and get in whatever festival is happening.

Montreal has countless amazing restaurants so I'm also no help there. We usually eat on the plateau which is more of a hipster area and less tourists. We've done Joe Beef as well as the Bremner a few times for special occasions and both were very good. My husband drags me to La Banquise every visit for "real poutine" but I don't know if I would recommend. It is really well known for poutine and has appeared on a few travel channel shows, but seriously heavy food. Dieu du Ciel brewery is very good and has great snacks.

I believe there are a few travel channel shows with Anhony Bourdain set in Montreal. They are a bit older, but feature some of the better known restaurants.

People swear by Montreal bagels as well as smoked meat. They're made differently here.

If you look at Tripadvisor, you'll see there are soooooo many options for food everywhere.

Along the lines of what Deb was saying, I can speak French fairly well (attended school for French first language students from age 4), however I don't use it in Quebec because I don't have the correct accent and I've definitely been descriminated against. DH either does the talking, or I speak English to the person speaking French. DH says I should just get over it and speak French and if anyone makes fun of me they're just a jerk, but I get a bit nervous about it. Most people are very nice, just the odd jerk.

 

[AGBF]

Yes, the accent thing was odd. When I met someone in Québec who spoke Parisian French, I understood him. (We had just come from living in Paris.) Many of the native Canadians sounded, to me, as if they were speaking Russian. I knew they understood me, however! We got the cold shoulder at a bed a breakfast at which we forced to stay when everything else was closed at the very tip of the Gaspé Peninsula. Gourmet French toast was served for breakfast and everyone else was offered champagne except us. The hostess ignored us. My Italian polyglot husband simply asked for (and got) champagne. End of subject. (I don't drink alcohol.) People complain about the French, but I never had any trouble in France.

Deb

 

[yennyfire]

Thanks chemgirl and Deb. DH speaks a bit of French (I sort of speak Spanish), so I guess we will be the rude Americans speaking English! Hopefully, if we are polite, people won't be ugly to us in front of the kids...thanks for the food suggestions chemgirl. The kids have never had poutine, so I guess we will give it a try.....not expecting them to like it, but when in Rome....err Montreal...

 

[lyra]

Don't bother trying to speak French, lol. In Montreal you absolutely don't even have to try. In Quebec city, they want you to try, but will feign disdain if you do and immediately answer you in English! It's a different vibe there, but there are tons of tourists from everywhere, so it will be fine.

 

[Begonia]

It is the home of poutine!
Our favourite comfort food in my family

 

[Garnetgirl]

Hi Yennyfire,

I grew up in Montreal. Though I no longer live there, I still go often.

I don’t know anything about rentals from home owners. I had to look up what VRBO meant!

When my husband and I visit, we stay downtown. The Sofitel is very nice though a bit pricey. We’ve also stayed at the Delta on President Kennedy Ave. and the Bonaventure. All three are well-located, walking distance to downtown shopping and sights, and walking distance to Old Montreal and the Old Port. The Bonaventure has a great outdoor heated swimming pool surrounded by gardens. I’ve been swimming there in December, while it was snowing!

Old Montreal would be a good place to stay also. There are a few smaller boutique hotels there, which I’ve heard are lovely, though we’ve never been.

I would not suggest staying near the Atwater Market. Aside from the market itself, which doesn’t take long to visit, unless you are shopping for food, there’s not much else in that area - a few trendy restaurants, but that’s it. It’s also a much farther walk to downtown, and not really walking distance to Old Montreal and the Old Port.

If you’re downtown or in Old Montreal, you’ll always be at least within a few blocks of a Metro station, so that’s not a problem. I left Montreal before the subway system was well-developed, but at least in the central core, the stations are not far from each other.

Have to run! I’ll get back to you later with more ideas of things to do, restaurants, jewellery stores. Hope this helps.

 

[yennyfire]

Thank you so much garnetgirl! We booked a condo in Old Montreal (and one in the heart of Quebec City). We need two rooms because my DH snores so loud no one can sleep if we share a room (at home, I do my best to fall asleep first ), so a VRBO is much more cost effective than two hotel rooms! Thank you so much for being willing to make some recommendations! This trip has been in my bucket list for quite a while. We were supposed to go when I was 27 weeks pregnant with our now 12 year d and I went into premature labor at 24 weeks and spent the next 12 weeks on bedrest and (obviously) didn't get to go!

 

[Garnetgirl]

Hi again, Yennyfire,

Sounds like you’ll be in great locations in both cities. And a condo does make much more sense in your case than two hotel rooms. I didn’t realize that Montreal was on your bucket list of places to visit. I really do hope you’ll enjoy my old home town.

Some recommendations for things to do: You already mentioned the Biodome and Botanical Gardens. Other possibilities which are nearby are The Planetarium and Insectarium and Château Dufresne.

Besides seeing Notre Dame Basilica, try to visit the Catholic cathedral, Mary Queen of the World (downtown). It’s a mini replica of St. Peter’s in Rome. While in Old Montreal, the sailors’ church – Notre- Dame-de-Bonsecours is well worth a quick look.

You really should try to make time to go up ‘The Mountain’ (Mont-Royal). The park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed Central Park in NY. The easiest way would be by car – perhaps once you get your rental for Quebec City. The #11 city bus goes up, and I believe there are tour buses to take you up also. You can also walk up, but that would require lots of time. I didn’t know, but apparently, there are 4 lookouts (I just googled this; I always thought there were 3). From the Camillien Houde lookout, you can get a good view of the city, including the Olympic Stadium. There’s another lookout at the chalet at the top of the mountain, and one at Summit Circle, from which you can see the downtown, the river, and beyond.

I second Chemgirl’s suggestion to just wander around, if you have the time. St. Denis Street, Boulevard St. Laurent and Crescent Street are nice places to walk, with lots of shops and restaurants. I don’t believe there will many festivals going on in mid-September, however. Most of the action takes place late June, July and August.

Bling: Did you know there are 2 Tiffany boutiques in Montreal? One is on Sherbrooke St., the other is in the Ogilvy department store, on the ground floor.

Right next to the Tiffany counter in Ogilvy’s, there are a few other nice jewellery merchants. Ogilvy Jewellers and H. Stern are two that come to mind.

Birks (the Canadian Tiffany) is worth checking out, not just for the jewellery, but also the architecture. It may sound strange, but I’ve taken visitors in just to look at their ceiling!

The Château d’Ivoire on de la Montagne Street specializes in watches, and has a very a small but fine jewellery collection. Many of their pieces are made by their in-house jewellers, and I was told that all their diamonds are have GIA reports.

Kaufmann de Suisse on Crescent St. is very high end, I think. I’ve never been in, though.

There are/were some small independent jewellers with boutiques in Old Montreal as well.

This post is getting rather long, so I’ll come back again with some restaurant ideas. Restaurants come and go, so I’ll check first to see if my favourites are still in existence!

 

[Garnetgirl]

Bump for yennyfire