Montreal Suggestions
June 2, 2024 4:10 PM Subscribe
I will be attending a conference in Montreal around the Holiday Inn Montreal Centreville later this month.
Amy recommenations for must-see attractions and/or must-visit restaurants?
I will have conference activities, but I am hoping to slip away to do some sight-seeing, as I've never been to Montreal and dont particularly expect to be back in my remaining years. I enjoy art and history museums and all sorts of food.
I will have conference activities, but I am hoping to slip away to do some sight-seeing, as I've never been to Montreal and dont particularly expect to be back in my remaining years. I enjoy art and history museums and all sorts of food.
Best answer: Downtown Montreal is a great (and safe) place to walk and wander around. You'll be within walking distance of a lot of interesting places. Museum-wise, there's the Fine-arts museum, and Pointe-à-Callières, a great history museum. I also strongly recommend a visit to the Kondiaronk Belvedere on Mont-Royal (which can be done on foot from your hotel, if you feel like doing a little leg work
posted by bluefrog at 5:41 PM on June 2 [2 favorites]
posted by bluefrog at 5:41 PM on June 2 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Seconding the fine arts museum & Pointe-à-Callières. From the latter, I'd recommend walking down the cobblestone street near the Saint Lawrence river. You can look out & see Habitat '67
posted by HearHere at 6:00 PM on June 2 [2 favorites]
posted by HearHere at 6:00 PM on June 2 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Rue St Catherine downtown is very dug up at the moment. While the city's safe and pedestrian-friendly, getting around St Cath on foot is a bit bleahh.
While Schwartz's is the iconic deli with a nothing-quite-like-it ambience and permanent line-up outside, places like Dunn's have been around as long and do an equally fine sandwich.
If you take the subway anywhere and you have to stand, hold on to a pole! The trains run on rubber tires and take off out of stations like a scalded cat
posted by scruss at 6:46 PM on June 2 [2 favorites]
While Schwartz's is the iconic deli with a nothing-quite-like-it ambience and permanent line-up outside, places like Dunn's have been around as long and do an equally fine sandwich.
If you take the subway anywhere and you have to stand, hold on to a pole! The trains run on rubber tires and take off out of stations like a scalded cat
posted by scruss at 6:46 PM on June 2 [2 favorites]
Best answer: all the above are great things (
viande fumée and poutine, for sure). I'd add two of my favorite memories of Montreal:
(1) In the park there's a F1 track that (assuming they're not racing on it) you can like walk/bike/skate/whatever on. 20something adekllny did not set any records, but totally did a circuit of that track, AND
(2) in with all the other Expo '67 stuff, there's the Biosphere which was just cool as hell. And a convenient place to stop and replace bike tubes if you need to lol. Have fun and safe travels :)
posted by adekllny at 6:55 PM on June 2 [2 favorites]
viande fumée and poutine, for sure). I'd add two of my favorite memories of Montreal:
(1) In the park there's a F1 track that (assuming they're not racing on it) you can like walk/bike/skate/whatever on. 20something adekllny did not set any records, but totally did a circuit of that track, AND
(2) in with all the other Expo '67 stuff, there's the Biosphere which was just cool as hell. And a convenient place to stop and replace bike tubes if you need to lol. Have fun and safe travels :)
posted by adekllny at 6:55 PM on June 2 [2 favorites]
Best answer: CultMTL runs a daily column of things going on, plus a weekend item every Friday. It has other info, like a restaurant listing and so forth.
Reddit's Montreal sub has a "what to do in Montreal" item pinned to the top all the time.
If this is the Holiday Inn I'm thinking of, it's in Chinatown. If you like dim sum, you can walk to the Ruby Rouge or the Kim Fung in minutes.
posted by zadcat at 7:05 PM on June 2 [3 favorites]
Reddit's Montreal sub has a "what to do in Montreal" item pinned to the top all the time.
If this is the Holiday Inn I'm thinking of, it's in Chinatown. If you like dim sum, you can walk to the Ruby Rouge or the Kim Fung in minutes.
posted by zadcat at 7:05 PM on June 2 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Bagels are mandatory, St-Viateur is the gold standard. Personally I would prioritize this ahead of the smoked meat.
posted by shock muppet at 7:33 PM on June 2 [8 favorites]
posted by shock muppet at 7:33 PM on June 2 [8 favorites]
Best answer: A short walk from your hotel is the Notre Dame Bascilica. They have projection mapping show set to music there called Aura that is a neat way to see the building. I live in Montreal and I went with some folks who were visiting and I was very pleasantly surprised.
The fine art museum is great, a bit further west is a contemporary art museum called Arsenal which is small but excellent.
posted by keeo at 7:39 PM on June 2 [2 favorites]
The fine art museum is great, a bit further west is a contemporary art museum called Arsenal which is small but excellent.
posted by keeo at 7:39 PM on June 2 [2 favorites]
Best answer: When I was there I had bagels both from St Viateur and Fairmount, to compare the two. Honestly, they’re both good bagels.
posted by Kattullus at 9:31 PM on June 2 [5 favorites]
posted by Kattullus at 9:31 PM on June 2 [5 favorites]
Best answer: Go for a walk through Mount Royal Park and check out the view of the city from the Kondiaronk Belvedere.
posted by Nerd of the North at 11:15 PM on June 2 [1 favorite]
posted by Nerd of the North at 11:15 PM on June 2 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Also, the city's public markets are very nice. It may be a bit early in the season for a lot of produce, but the markets are fun to browse and there are other food vendors in the surrounding neighborhoods. I'm most familiar with the Jean Talon Market in Little Italy.
posted by Nerd of the North at 11:21 PM on June 2 [3 favorites]
posted by Nerd of the North at 11:21 PM on June 2 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Living in Vermont means that Montreal is practically on our doorstep. We go often, and maintain a map of places we like. Mostly food and drink, but there are a few museums, record stores, etc there too. There are so many great food places, that I don't recommend queuing for the popular ones.
However, if you go to Fairmont bagels (expect a queue on the weekend for sure), do yourself a favor and pick up some fantastic pasta sauce at the little shop next door.
As for other things to do, in the summer there are so many different live music and festivals happening. Otherwise, you can't miss with the botanical gardens, but don't expect to see it all in one visit. We still haven't, and we have been multiple times. Check out any and all of the many parks, large and small, and enjoy watching people.
Since you mention museums and art, the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal is great. Visited in April and enjoyed the Georgia O'Keeffe exhibit a very much.
Feel free to send a MeMail if you need any more help or questions about anything on the map.
posted by terrapin at 5:21 AM on June 3 [4 favorites]
However, if you go to Fairmont bagels (expect a queue on the weekend for sure), do yourself a favor and pick up some fantastic pasta sauce at the little shop next door.
As for other things to do, in the summer there are so many different live music and festivals happening. Otherwise, you can't miss with the botanical gardens, but don't expect to see it all in one visit. We still haven't, and we have been multiple times. Check out any and all of the many parks, large and small, and enjoy watching people.
Since you mention museums and art, the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal is great. Visited in April and enjoyed the Georgia O'Keeffe exhibit a very much.
Feel free to send a MeMail if you need any more help or questions about anything on the map.
posted by terrapin at 5:21 AM on June 3 [4 favorites]
Best answer: The butterflys and other insects in the Vivarium (part of the Insectarium) were amazing.
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 5:32 AM on June 3 [1 favorite]
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 5:32 AM on June 3 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Go to Jeans Jeans Jeans, tell them what you like, and let them pick a few pairs of jeans for you to try on. I've gotten some of the best jeans of my life there. They have TONS, all different styles, and the sales people are very helpful even if you wouldn't expect it - somehow an older man from a different continent chose me some VERY well fitted jeans which were also perfectly in style at that moment in time! He even correctly identified that I was asking for the wrong size and handed me another pair which fit way better.
Last time I was in Montreal (which was several years ago), there was a nice coffee place a couple blocks away from Jeans Jeans Jeans that used to sell tasty coffee slushies. I'm sorry I don't remember what it was called and it may not exist any more, but it was within walking distance of Jeans Jeans Jeans, and you may be able to sleuth it out!
posted by nouvelle-personne at 8:40 AM on June 3 [2 favorites]
Last time I was in Montreal (which was several years ago), there was a nice coffee place a couple blocks away from Jeans Jeans Jeans that used to sell tasty coffee slushies. I'm sorry I don't remember what it was called and it may not exist any more, but it was within walking distance of Jeans Jeans Jeans, and you may be able to sleuth it out!
posted by nouvelle-personne at 8:40 AM on June 3 [2 favorites]
Best answer: A good thing about Jeans Jeans Jeans is that they will shorten your jeans to perfection in minutes, if you happen to need that service.
JJJ is on Casgrain near Saint-Viateur, so nouvelle-personne probably walked along Saint-V and went to the Café Olimpico. Just keep on past the church with the giant dome on your right and it's in the next block on the corner of Waverly. If the weather is nice the terrasse will be full of hipsters.
posted by zadcat at 8:57 AM on June 3 [3 favorites]
JJJ is on Casgrain near Saint-Viateur, so nouvelle-personne probably walked along Saint-V and went to the Café Olimpico. Just keep on past the church with the giant dome on your right and it's in the next block on the corner of Waverly. If the weather is nice the terrasse will be full of hipsters.
posted by zadcat at 8:57 AM on June 3 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Oh, and CBC Radio Noon is, this minute, doing an hour about what people suggest to visitors to Montreal:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal
They will put up a link to a recording of the hour later today on this page:
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-102-radio-noon-montreal
posted by zadcat at 9:01 AM on June 3 [3 favorites]
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal
They will put up a link to a recording of the hour later today on this page:
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-102-radio-noon-montreal
posted by zadcat at 9:01 AM on June 3 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Starting this month, many major streets will be closed to cars for the summer. Take a very long car-free walk along Ave Mont Royal (access via Mont Royal metro station) or former "coolest street in the world" Wellington in Verdun (De L'Eglise metro). If you're here before June 16, a large part of St Laurent will also be pedestrianized for the Mural Festival.
In the second half of the month is the Francos Festival at Place des Festivals, a short walk from your hotel - lots of free outdoor shows every evening from French-language bands. Jazz Fest starts June 27.
And my favorite place in Montreal is the alleys (les ruelles) - they're easy for a tourist to miss, but to me they're the soul of the city. There's a great article here (in French, but Google Translate should fait la job) with some nice ones, but if you're in the Plateau or Rosemont, just take the time to walk through some alleys and explore especially if you see a "Ruelle Verte" (Green Alley) sign. (However, stay out of the alleys in Chinatown/downtown which are to put it mildly, far less pleasant).
posted by Gortuk at 11:05 AM on June 3 [1 favorite]
In the second half of the month is the Francos Festival at Place des Festivals, a short walk from your hotel - lots of free outdoor shows every evening from French-language bands. Jazz Fest starts June 27.
And my favorite place in Montreal is the alleys (les ruelles) - they're easy for a tourist to miss, but to me they're the soul of the city. There's a great article here (in French, but Google Translate should fait la job) with some nice ones, but if you're in the Plateau or Rosemont, just take the time to walk through some alleys and explore especially if you see a "Ruelle Verte" (Green Alley) sign. (However, stay out of the alleys in Chinatown/downtown which are to put it mildly, far less pleasant).
posted by Gortuk at 11:05 AM on June 3 [1 favorite]
Best answer: If you'll be there on July 1 you'll get to see the most absurd bit of organized chaos in the world as everyone whose lease is up attempts to move. It is traditional for residential leases in Quebec to start/end all on one day, July 1st. Moving Day in Montreal. Just imagine. It's a hell of a thing.
posted by seanmpuckett at 11:11 AM on June 3 [2 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 11:11 AM on June 3 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Zadcat - yes! It was Café Olimpico, thank you! So the slushy was a Freddo. And they also serve THIS beautiful concoction of coffee slushy and soft serve ice cream, and I'm now contemplating walking for 124 hours to get one
posted by nouvelle-personne at 12:50 PM on June 3 [1 favorite]
posted by nouvelle-personne at 12:50 PM on June 3 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Olimpico has been on Saint-Viateur for years, but their website now shows additional locations downtown and in Old Montreal.
posted by zadcat at 1:15 PM on June 3 [1 favorite]
posted by zadcat at 1:15 PM on June 3 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Leave extra time if you’re flying through Montreal Airport.
posted by billsaysthis at 10:06 PM on June 3 [1 favorite]
posted by billsaysthis at 10:06 PM on June 3 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Oh, and MetaFilter's Own, kaszeta, maintains the wonderful Offbeat Eats website. Here are the places tagged with Montreal.
posted by terrapin at 3:48 PM on June 4 [1 favorite]
posted by terrapin at 3:48 PM on June 4 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Great suggestions from all - enjoy Montreal :-).
posted by louigi at 8:21 PM on June 9 [1 favorite]
posted by louigi at 8:21 PM on June 9 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks, everyone! I had a great time, and I definitely need to go back (except for US Customs, which was long, tedious, and anxiety-producing)….
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:56 PM on June 17 [3 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:56 PM on June 17 [3 favorites]
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posted by seanmpuckett at 4:47 PM on June 2 [4 favorites]