Weekend in Montréal

Montréal provides visitors a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in an environment that looks and feels more like Europe than just about any other place in North America. Here you’ll find cobblestone streets, superb restaurants, hilarious street entertainers, historic buildings, sidewalk cafés… add in the French-speaking Québecois, and at times it really can be difficult to remind yourself that this is Canada, not Paris. But unlike Paris, Montréal can be amazingly affordable, especially for American visitors, who enjoy a favorable exchange rate and a variety of options for getting to the city, including by air, rail, and simply driving there.For many visitors, one of the city’s biggest attractions is the historic area, known as Vieux-Montréal (for Anglophones, that’s "Old Montréal"). This is the oldest part of the city, and was once surrounded by defensive walls. Here you’ll find some fine restaurants and shops (although these tend to be a little touristy), and narrow, winding cobblestone streets lined by mostly 19th Century buildings. While the historic city’s walls disappeared many years ago, Vieux-Montréal is relatively well-preserved, and it’s easy to see its boundaries even today, as modern skyscrapers downtown quickly transition to smaller, older buildings separated by narrow, one-way streets.One of the city’s absolute must-sees is the stunning Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal, a structure that rivals Europe’s grandest cathedrals. Hidden behind an austere stone exterior, the Basilica’s interior explodes with color, hand-carved wood, and life-size sculptures of Biblical figures. No matter what your religious belief, a visit to the Basilica is a spiritual experience not to be missed.Finally, there’s no better place to spend a sunny afternoon in Montréal than Parc du Mont-Royal. "The Mountain," as it’s known to Montréalers, is an imposing former volcano located just north of downtown. While it’s only 232m (that’s about 761 feet for the metrically-challenged) tall, Mont Royal, and its two neighboring peaks, Westmount, and Outremont, tower above the rest of the city, making the whole mass appear much larger than it really is. The forested Parc du Mont-Royal is the crown jewel of Montréal’s park system, and is a great area for hiking, biking, and other outdoor recreational areas. On a clear day, the views of the city from the park’s summit are impossible to beat. Pack a picnic lunch, and you’ll be set for an incredible afternoon enjoying a natural retreat in the heart of the city.

Quick Tips:

Montréal is a very affordable city to visit. The city is served by several low-fare airlines, including WestJet. Within the city, weekend hotel rates under C(approximately .40) can be found, especially if you are visiting the city off-season.If you plan on shopping in Montréal, you can obtain a refund on the goods and services tax (GST) for items you purchase in Canada to take back home. This refund is also available on short-term hotel lodging. However, the GST refund is not available for purchases of food or other items consumed while in Canada. Watch out for processing services that offer to file and process your refund for a fee; look for the plain white GST refund forms at the airport from the Canada Revenue Agency. These allow you to file for your refund without paying any service charges. More information on the GST refund is available on the Canada Revenue Agency website.When it comes to weather, winters in Montréal can be pretty severe, with heavy amounts of snow. We visited the city over the first weekend of April, and while spring had not really arrived, temperatures were relatively mild, with highs around 55-60°F. Even if you’re not visiting during the winter, you’ll want to bring along a jacket or sweater, as the temperature can drop quickly in the evenings.Finally, this is the French-speaking part of Canada, so English speakers may want to brush up on a few basic French phrases before traveling to Montréal. Many Montréalers, especially those working in hotels, shops, and restaurants that cater to tourists, are bilingual, and are very happy to communicate in English. It’s not uncommon to walk into a restaurant and be greeted by "Bonsoir, good evening," after which the host will see which language you respond in, and continue the conversation in that language. Still, a little French comes in handy, especially when venturing out of the more tourist-oriented areas. We also encountered some non-English speaking transit system employees. Menus in most restaurants are bilingual, but you may still encounter some eateries where the menu is only in French. Overall, you really do not need to be fluent in French to easily visit Montréal, but it’s probably still a good idea to practice a little basic French, and to bring along a French phrasebook just in case you should need it.

Best Way To Get Around:

Getting to Montréal is rather easy from many places in the US, especially the Northeast. The city is less than a 6 hour drive from Boston, so for many Americans, it may be just as easy to drive to Montréal as fly. Once in Montréal, however, you’ll probably want to park the car. The narrow streets of Vieux-Montréal are not car-friendly, and the area is so compact that you really will not need a car to get around it. Additionally, the parking signs along streets are in French only; if you are not able to accurately read them, you may find the language barrier resulting in a citation.For visitors not driving into the city, air service is provided by many major airlines to Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (formerly known as Aéroport de Montréal-Dorval), located about 21km (about 13 miles) west of downtown. Taxi service from Trudeau to downtown destinations is available for a flat C (approximately .58) fare. Charter airlines also serve Mirabel Airport, about 50km (31 miles) from downtown. Rail service is also available to Montréal on Canada’s VIA Rail and Amtrak.

Within the city, the best way to get around is by public transportation and walking. Montréal is served by a very good public transit system, comprised of four subway lines (called "The Metro" by locals; like the one in Paris, the trains run on rubber tires, not steel wheels on rails), and buses. One-way fares currently cost C.50 (approximately .18 USD), and include one transfer in the same direction of travel. A tourist day pass is available at some Metro stations from the ticket booth. For C.00 (approximately .99), this pass allows for unlimited all-day travel on the Metro and local buses. It’s definitely the most affordable way to navigate the city if you plan on using the transit system more than three times during the day.For most destinations downtown and in Vieux-Montréal, the best option is to get out and walk. The area is very compact, and the streets are quite pedestrian friendly, with wide sidewalks and pedestrian crossing signals at almost every intersection. When you get tired of walking, taxis are easy to get, and the Metro system is often close by when you’re in the central part of the city.

Marriott’s SpringHill Suites Old Montréal offers modern, affordable accommodations in the middle of the historic Vieux-Montréal. Like all other SpringHill Suites hotels, this location offers spacious "mini-suites" that feature a sitting area with sofa, armchair, and coffee table, separated from the sleeping area by a half-wall. All suites also include a wet bar with microwave and refrigerator, handy for keeping beverages, snacks, and restaurant leftovers in your room; complimentary wired high-speed Internet access; and a large desk and work area. Larger, "deluxe" suites also include a dining table and chairs. All room rates also include a complimentary buffet breakfast, featuring hot and cold items, located on the mezzanine level, overlooking the attractive lobby area. One of the city’s oldest restaurants, Auberge Le Saint-Gabriel, is adjacent to the hotel and accessible via a passageway from the hotel lobby. A very limited room service menu is available during dinner hours five nights a week. And it’s hard to beat the hotel’s location on Rue Saint-Jean-Baptiste, which is just off Rue Saint-Paul, Montréal’s oldest street, and home to numerous restaurants and shops. The stunning Notre-Dame Basilica, and sidewalk cafés and street performers at Place Jacques-Cartier are both about three blocks away. Two Metro stations, Champ de Mars and Place d’Armes, are about a 10 minute walk away.

My friend and I selected the SpringHill Suites due to its location in the city’s most historic sector and its affordable rates. For our three night stay, we paid two rates – the first night was approximately $125 CAD ($109 USD at time of trip) for a standard suite. For the next two nights, we stayed in a larger, deluxe suite for $155 CAD ($135 USD). These rates were about $50 cheaper than those available at other North American chain hotels (Hilton, Marriott, W) in Montréal for the same weekend, and unlike some of the other hotels we considered, the SpringHill Suites was the only one located in Vieux-Montréal. Our choice could not have been better, as we were just steps away from some of the city’s most historic sites, best restaurants, and unique shops. This SpringHill Suites is very new, and compared to other SpringHill locations I’ve stayed in, this was the nicest, with upgraded furnishings and linens that were on par with nicer, more expensive hotels. The comfortable beds feature Marriott’s new bedding package, with higher thread-count sheets, soft blankets, and plush duvets that are laundered between guests. The hotel’s staff is mostly bilingual, and was quite friendly throughout our stay, greeting my friend and me by name several times as we passed through the lobby on our way to and from our ventures out into the city.

When planning future trips to Montréal, I would definitely consider staying at the Marriot SpringHill Suites Old Montréal again. The hotel offers very comfortable accommodations at reasonable rates that are, in my opinion, a very good value for the amenities offered and location of the hotel. For more details, see the hotel’s website.

On Sunday morning of our trip to Montréal, my friend and I slept late, and then decided that since we had missed breakfast, brunch was first on our agenda for the morning. Just down the street from our hotel in Vieux-Montréal, we found Crêperie Chez Suzette, an inviting little French café offering a large variety of crêpes, quiches, salads, sandwiches and fondues. The Crêperie is tucked inside a narrow, three-story building on Rue St-Paul Est, and when we first walked in, the small dining room appeared very crowded. We were soon greeted by a friendly, and enthusiastic, "Bonjour! Hello!" by one of the hosts, and seated at the last vacant table in the dining room. However, it turns out we did not receive the last available table; guests arriving after us were also quickly seated in an upstairs dining area, accessed by a small staircase in the back of the ground floor dining room. The café appeared to be quite a popular choice for Sunday brunch for both Montréalers and tourists; at one point, my friend and I were one of only two English-speaking tables in the main dining room. I took this as a good sign as we were seated. Not only was the place busy, but it was busy with locals, even though it’s located in the center of one of the city’s tourist districts.

Service at first was a little slow, but we found this to be the norm in every restaurant we dined at in Montréal. It seems that in Québec, dining out is a relaxed experience to be fully enjoyed, not rushed as we so often do in America. This was fine, and it was not long before our friendly waiter returned to take our drink orders. Several minutes later, my piping hot café au lait arrived, and the waiter took our food order. At this point we’d been seated nearly 15 minutes, but despite being very hungry, the sight and sounds of being surrounded by Québécois enjoying the company of friends over a delicious plate of crêpes or a quiche was great entertainment, and made the wait pass more quickly.

For our brunch, I selected La Québécoise, a plate of savory crêpes filled with ham and Swiss cheese, and topped with Québec maple syrup. My friend chose the Quiche Lorraine, a classic French quiche made with eggs, ham, bacon, and Swiss, Brie, and mozzarella cheeses. The food arrived from the kitchen very hot and fresh, and it tasted as good as it looked. My plate of three large, slightly sweet, crêpes was absolutely delicious, and so filling I was barely able to finish it. My friend’s quiche looked quite good as well, and was served with a small salad.

While Crêperie Chez Suzette is not a very formal place, it’s an excellent choice for a casual meal in Vieux-Montréal, and prices are quite reasonable. Menus and more information are available on the restaurant’s website.

On my first afternoon in Montréal, the friend I was traveling with wanted to return to our hotel room to get some rest before dinner. Since I wanted to go back and explore some of the shops we had walked past that morning along Rue St-Paul in Vieux-Montréal, we agreed to separate so that he could take a nap while I shopped. While enjoying a rousing performance by a street entertainer in Place Jacques-Cartier, I kept noticing others in the audience enjoying bowls of gelato, cookies, and other tempting sweets. I asked one of the women where she had bought her gelato, and she pointed back up Rue St-Paul toward a shop with a sign shaped like a maple leaf. "There," she said. "The shop with the maple leaf sign—they have ice cream and homemade pastries."After the performance was over, I headed back up the street to the shop she had pointed out. The sign overhead read "Canadian Maple Delights" in both French and English. Stepping inside the crowded shop, I was greeted by a large, curving freezer case filled with at least two dozen flavors of homemade gelato. Walking further, there was a bakery case displaying a large variety of pastries, including croissants, muffins, cakes, tarts, and cookies. This was definitely the place to stop for an afternoon snack, and to blow one’s diet. The only problem was that with so many options available, deciding what to get provided a real problem.I finally settled on the gelato, which is available in three sizes of bowls, as well as several sizes of cones. The lady behind the counter explained in broken English that you could get as many different flavors as would fit in the cup or cone. Suddenly the choice became slightly easier, as I no longer had to choose just one. I finally settled on a two-scoop cup, with one scoop of maple, and one scoop of pistachio. Both turned out to be excellent choices. The maple had a texture as smooth as velvet, with a sweet, but not overpowering, flavor like that of real maple syrup. The pistachio was equally delicious, with its creaminess occasionally broken by little bits of pistachio nuts. Ice cream in hand, I was ready to walk back to the hotel room, where my friend immediately became jealous of what I was eating.The next afternoon we made a return trip to Canadian Maple Delights so my friend could get his own cup of gelato. This time I opted for one of the pastries—a delicious fudge pecan tart that was heaven for anyone who loves dark, rich chocolate and nuts.More than just a place to grab a sinful snack or dessert, Canadian Maple Delights also features a variety of maple products made in Canada, including a line of gourmet maple syrups in interesting flavors like Grand Marnier, cranberry, and rum. More information can be found on the café’s website.

On our last evening in Montréal, my friend and I left our hotel and wondered up Rue Saint-Paul looking for an open restaurant for dinner. Many restaurants in Vieux-Montréal are not open on Sunday evening, and those that are were typically fairly empty. After looking at the menus of several places, we settled on Le Senateur, one of the many restaurants on Montréal’s oldest street.

Le Senateur offers a continental menu, with an emphasis on seafood. During our trip, over the first weekend of April, the chef was featuring lobster, with several special lobster entrées available, in addition to the regular menu offerings. The regular menu offers items such as seafood casserole, grilled salmon, chicken, steak, and veal. A wine list is available, although for this meal we chose not to order wine. All entrées at Le Senateur include a choice of soup or salad, coffee, and dessert (choice of fruit salad, cream puff with chocolate sauce, or chocolate mousse – the mousse was not available on the evening of our visit). Prices average around $20-30 CAD ($17-26 USD), which I considered a good value for a full, three course dinner. The total for my friend and I was just over $65 CAD before tip.

I selected the Santa Barbara pasta, a large bowl of linguine tossed with shrimp, salmon, and a light cream sauce. My friend chose the veal Marsala. My dinner was very good, starting with the large, very fresh house salad. The pasta entrée was very tasty, but nothing spectacular. The large entrée was too much for me to finish, and was filled with lots of flavorful salmon and about six large shrimp. My friend reported that has veal had good flavor, but was slightly tough. We both had the cream puff for dessert, which was quite good, and topped with a very rich, dark chocolate sauce. Overall, I’d rate the quality of food as above average, but not exceptional.

While the service at Le Senateur was a little on the slow side, it was very cordial and we never felt like we were being ignored. This is not a restaurant to dine at when you are in a hurry, as the service is more geared toward a lengthy, relaxed dinner. The quiet dining room is dimly lit with votives on each table and small lamps overhead, creating an atmosphere that complements the relaxed service. Soft French-language vocal music was playing in the background. Several tables for two are located along the dining room’s front wall by the windows overlooking Rue Saint-Paul. We sat at one of these tables, and enjoyed the view out onto the sidewalk and into the Place Jacques-Cartier.

Le Senateur is not the finest restaurant in Vieux-Montréal, but it is still a great choice, especially if you desire a very good, yet affordable, dinner served at a relaxed pace. With these expectations, you’ll likely find Le Senateur to be quite enjoyable.

The grandest building in Vieux-Montréal, if not the entire city, is the Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal, an amazing structure constructed in just five years between 1824 and 1829. For the next few decades, this was the largest religious building in North America, until it was surpassed by New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Compared to some of the mega-churches that exist in the larger American cities today, the Basilica may not seem all that large by modern standards. But in the third decade of the 19th Century, the Basilica was an incredible symbol of French Catholicism in a city that was becoming increasingly more Anglophone and Protestant.

While the exterior of the Gothic-Revival Basilica is impressive, it’s really rather average. The structure’s interior is where the real beauty is found. Walking into the dimly lit Basilica, visitors’ eyes are immediately drawn to the stunning carvings, gilded columns, and the enormous altar, all dramatically bathed in theatrical lighting that highlights the sanctuary’s deep hues of cobalt blue, green, red, and gold. This striking interior is the work of architect Victor Bourgeau, who transformed the originally stern interior into the current design between 1874 and 1880. Inspired by Paris’s Ste-Chapelle, Bourgeau designed an interior creates the illusion of a night sky, with a deep blue vaulted ceiling adorned with hundreds, if not thousands, of hand-painted gilded stars. This "sky" is broken by three large rose windows in the ceiling, through which natural light is filtered through multi-colored panes of glass into the sanctuary. Surrounding the sanctuary are a series of wood columns, carved by hand, and adorned with gilt tops, that support the two balconies that run the sanctuary’s full length. About halfway between the narthex and the altar is the graceful circular pulpit, reached by a spiral staircase. At the staircase’s base, several carvings of prophets can be found. Turning around, toward the narthex, visitors will see some of the approximately 7,000 pipes that comprise the Basilica’s four manual, 97 stop Casavant-Frères organ, parts of which date to 1891.

As beautiful as the rest of the sanctuary is, the real highlight is the massive altar. Centered around the crucifix are nearly life-size sculptures of Biblical figures, including Moses, Abraham, Aaron, St. Peter, St. Paul, and Mary. All of these are centered around the theme of the Eucharist, with angels surrounding them. All of this is dramatically lit from behind, and cast against a wall of deep cobalt blue, giving the altar an almost heavenly glow. It’s almost impossible to take it all in at once, because there is so much detail to the scene.

There is a nominal admission charge to enter the Basilica, but it is well worth the small donation to witness this incredible place in person. No matter what your faith or personal beliefs are, it is almost impossible not to feel the presence of something greater than mankind here.

For more information on tours and services, see the Basilica’s website.

Just north of downtown Montréal is Mont Royal, an extinct volcano that towers above the rest of the island. While it’s only 232 meters (761 feet) from its base to its summit, Mont Royal is still considerably larger than all of the surrounding hills, giving it the appearance of being larger than it really is. Much of the mountain has been preserved since 1876 as a city park, while other areas provide a scenic home to two very large cemeteries. The Parc du Mont-Royal is Montréal’s finest, and largest, city park. The park was laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted, the architect who designed New York’s Central Park. Largely wooded, the slopes of the mountain provide a home for many varieties of birds and other wildlife that have adapted to living in this wilderness oasis located in the heart of a major urban area. The forested areas are beautiful in every season, from the snow-covered barrenness of winter to the bright green of new spring growth, to the explosion of red, gold, and orange when autumn’s cool weather arrives.

Parc du Mont-Royal is an absolute must for any Montréal visitor’s itinerary. On a clear day, the views from the summit of the city and surrounding terrain are absolutely breathtaking. The opportunities for a variety of outdoor recreational activities are abundant. Hikers and bikers alike will find the steep approaches to the mountain’s summit an invigorating challenge. In the winter, the snow-covered trails and slopes of the park are great for sledding and cross-country skiing. For those desiring a more leisurely stroll, the Route 11 bus (connects to the Orange Metro Line at Mont-Royal) makes reaching the upper elevations of the park very easy. From the bus’s second stop in the park, near a large parking area, it’s an easy walk along a well-marked trail up a gradual incline to the Chalet, and the mountain’s summit.

I visited Mont Royal on a sunny Sunday afternoon in early April. While the weather was cool, and snow still had not melted in some of the more shaded areas near the top of the mountain, it was a beautiful day to spend an afternoon on Mont Royal. We decided to take the bus up the mountain, as our feet and legs were a little weary after four heavy days of walking in Toronto and Montréal. We enjoyed a great walk along the Chemin Olmsted, pausing along the way at several lookouts to take in the amazing view of the surrounding city. One of the best viewpoints is at the Chalet, a facility at the top of the mountain offering a gift shop, snack bar, and restrooms. This is perhaps the best place to look down on downtown and Vieux-Montréal, and it’s a great place to catch your breath before heading back down the mountain.

No trip to Montréal would be complete without a visit to Mont Royal. More information can be found on the park’s website.

Vieux-Montréal (Old Montréal) is the city’s oldest quarter. Its limits roughly match the boundaries laid out by the old city walls, the remnants of which are viewable on the Champ de Mars adjacent to the Hôtel de Ville. The neighborhood is somewhat of a mix of centuries. In some areas, the narrow, cobblestone streets lined by well-kept old storefronts give the appearance of a quaint French village (or perhaps even a very clean version of New Orleans’ French Quarter). In others, the neighborhood takes on a more Victorian appearance. And in some places, Vieux-Montréal looks much more modern. Due to a devastating fire, and Montréal’s former role as the economic hub of Canada, very few buildings exist in Vieux-Montréal that predate the Industrial Revolution. Still, there are some structures that are among the oldest in North America, if you know where to look. Portions of the historic Séminaire de St-Sulpice were almost a century old at the time of the American Revolution. The neighborhood can be rather touristy; at times it may even seem a bit like an amusement park’s version of French Canada. All this aside, the area has a certain romantic, and historic, charm, and it’s hard not to fall in love with it all.

Vieux-Montréal is home to some of the city’s most famous attractions. The stunning Basilique de Notre-Dame is here, along with the posh shops and galleries of the Marché Bonsecours, and the city’s most popular outdoor festival and marketplace, Place Jacques-Cartier. Place d’Armes, site of a historic battle between French settlers and native Indians, is surrounded by buildings representing almost every period of Montréal’s history.

More than any other part of the city, this is a place to leave the car behind and get out and walk. Vieux-Montréal’s narrow streets and limited amount of parking make getting around by any method other than foot very inconvenient. It’s not very far from one end of the neighborhood to the other, so any place in the area can be reached easily by walking. I spent almost half of our first day in Montréal strolling the neighborhood’s streets, stopping in shops that looked interesting. Because we were visiting somewhat off-season, the old city was not as crowded with tourists as it is during the summer. This eliminated the wait in restaurants, and shopkeepers seemed to enjoy taking the time to chat with the few people who were out on the street.

The main street for shopping and dining in Vieux-Montréal is the cobblestone-paved Rue St-Paul, which winds through a narrow canyon formed by rows of interesting façades of buildings from the last two centuries. At night, these buildings come alive in light; Montréal has embarked on a project to illuminate the old city with a variety of lighting techniques that highlight the neighborhood’s interesting architecture. It’s worth coming back to Vieux-Montréal in the evening to see the buildings all lit up.

For maps, and more information, see the Vieux-Montréal website.