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Long Weekend in Montreal

A March 2001 trip to Montreal by Binky

Living RoomMore Photos

My wife and I spent a 3-day weekend in Montreal. We saw the sites, ate the food, and tried to experience as much as we could in a short time.

  • 8 reviews
  • 4 photos

Long Weekend in MontrealBest of IgoUgo

Overview

The Notre Dame Cathedral was absolutely beautiful. I also enjoyed walking through Mont Royal Park, even though it was tiring on my legs!

Quick Tips:

The currency exchange at the airport did NOT have a good rate (even though I read somwhere that it did). Make reservations for your dinner plans, even if your travel books don't say they're necessary.

Best Way To Get Around:

The public transit was pretty easy to use once you started to figure out the locations. We took taxis, the bus, as well as the metro (subway). Oh, and a lot of walking as well. I heard a car is a hassle downtown, so I didn't bother getting one, but I might if I go back.

Studio B&B￿Best of IgoUgo

Hotel | "Studio B&B"

Living Room
Very nice apartment-like accomodations. The B&B is essentially the ground floor of a building in Westmount, a fairly well-off enclave just W of downtown Montreal. The apartment had a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen area, and living room, much more than you''d get at a hotel. Breakfast was yogurt, fruit, and bagels left in the fridge. They had a TV with a digital satellite hookup which was nice. More details can be found on this website: http://www.bbcanada.com/2778.html or email at rooms@aei.ca
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by Binky on March 19, 2001

Studio B&B￿
483 Victoria Montreal, Quebec
(514) 989-1640

La TransitionBest of IgoUgo

Restaurant

Excellent food. This restaurant specializes in Mediterranean fusion cuisine. My wife had veal with artichokes and lemon. I had a daily special: lamb with spinich and feta. Great service, friendly staff. Plus it was 2 blocks away from our B&B!
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by Binky on March 19, 2001

La Transition
4785 Sherbrooke West Montreal, Quebec
(416) 486-2742

Paris (Le)Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "Le Paris"

This place was listed with a star in Fodor's Canada 2001 so we gave it a try. We should have made reservations because we got stuck right in front of the door at 7pm on a Saturday night. The onion soup was excellent. The staff was friendly and attentive. However, our main dishes didn't seem like anything too special (veal for the wife, sausage, duck, and some-other-meat platter for me). Maybe we ordered the wrong things!
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by Binky on March 19, 2001

Paris (Le)
1812 Ste-Catherine St W Montreal, Quebec H3H 1M1
+1 514 937 4898

Chalet du Mont-RoyalBest of IgoUgo

Attraction

City View
All the guidebooks say the first thing you should do when you get to Montreal is hike up the mountain to the Chalet. So we did. Along the snowy, icy paths. With the wrong shoes on. It was a beautiful walk through the park however, with a nice view of the city from the Chalet. However, take a cab or the bus as much as you can, cause you're in for a 6km walk (3km x 2) or a lot of steps after that.
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by Binky on March 19, 2001

Chalet du Mont-Royal
Parc du Mont-Royal Montreal, Quebec

Notre-Dame BasilicaBest of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Basilica of Notre Dame"

Chapel Woodwork
This is an absolutely beautiful church, riviling many I saw in Europe. Well worth the CAN$2 admission fee. Try to get on a free tour so you can spend less time reading the brochure and more time looking around. Don't forget to go to the back of the church to see the smaller, but also exquisite chapel.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by Binky on March 19, 2001

Notre-Dame Basilica
110 Notre-Dame St Montreal, Quebec H2Y 1T1
+1 514 842 2925

The Montreal BiodomeBest of IgoUgo

Attraction

It's OK. It is a little botanical garden/mini-zoo with four or five seperate ecosystems represented. It used to be the cycling venue for the 1976 Olympics. I thought the CAN$10/person price was a little steep for what you get. The kids there seemed to be enjoying it. I would rather go to a quality zoo anytime though.
  • Member Rating 2 out of 5 by Binky on March 19, 2001

The Montreal Biodome
4777 Pierre-De Coubertin Avenue (514) 868-3000 Montreal, Quebec

Casino de MontréalBest of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Casino de Montreal"

It's a pretty nice, but crowded casino. I lost CAN$100 in a hurry playing $10/hand blackjack. The dealer just couldn't bust! Anyway, it's a really beautiful building, and easy to get to with public transit (CAN$2 gets you there: Metro to Ile-Ste-Helene, free transfer to bus). Nonsmoking floors are up top and less crowded. And don't believe the older guidebooks saying you have to dress up. Jeans are FINE.
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by Binky on March 19, 2001

Casino de Montréal
1 du Casino Ave Montreal, Quebec H3C 4W7
(514) 392-2746

About the Writer

Binky
Binky
Troy, Michigan

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