A Romantic Weekend in Montreal

This was a cool medium sized boutique hotel that reminds me of the Royalton Hotel or other Ian Schrager hotels in New York City. There was a unique fireplace in the lobby (see photo) and lounge DJ music setting the urban-hip scene, even though the building exterior seems more classic than modern. They had a free breakfast with cheese, pastries, fruit, juice, coffee, and some hard boiled eggs. The room was spacious and had contemporary minimalist furniture and a flat screen TV. They give you a little box of chocolates when they turn down your bed.

I loved the location. Not exactly in the heart of Old Montreal, but about 5 blocks away from the heart of Old Montreal. You can walk to the old port area in 5 minutes for a walk or a jog along the St. Lawrence, and you are also located in the Old Montreal section with its many restaurants and shops, and romantic cobblestoned streets.

The is a classic old school French bistro that is famous in Montreal. We felt like we were in Paris. The waiters were all men and they spoke French (which is true for all places) and the menu had hand-written specials. Tabletops are covered with white paper on top of white tablecloths. Waiters bring you a pretty big olf-fashioned jar of sweet pickles (cornichons) swimming in pickle juice to snack on.

There is a long bar on one side and the dining room converges into it. Ally enjoyed the pumpkin soup as a first course, and for the main course, she had duck with mashed potatoes. I had the raviolis with mushrooms. Chocolate cake for Ally's dessert was a nice complement to my apple tart with vanilla ice cream. 

L'Express is a very solid and delicious bistro that is a quite memorable Montreal experience. Also, very reasonable prices. They are open practically all day from 8am to 3am.