What this article omits is the controversial observation made in a highly-controversial piece in Maclean’s magazine: “Compared to the rest of the country, Quebec is an almost pathologically alienated and low-trust society, deficient in many of the most basic forms of social capital that other Canadians take for granted.“
(https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.macleans.ca/news/canada/how-a-snowstorm-...
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@JoeB666 I'm not entirely sure how germane the linked article's observation is to the substance of a travel piece. Are you trying to warn would-be travelers to Montreal to expect "low trust" from their Québécois hosts?
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@JoeB666 Why cite a nonsensical reference to a racist, and utterly ridiculous article in the Anglophone, anti-French, low level magazine Macleans ? I have absolutely no idea what in the world this citation even means. "alienated" from what ? The prairies ? Soul-less Toronto ? And what exactly are these "most basic forms of social capital" that Quebec, along among Canadian provinces, lack? The only "capital" that cities like Toronto and Calgary have in excess and to which Montreal is, thank God, relatively indifferent -- choosing livability and joi de vivre over $$$ -- is vulgar capitalism. Montreal is a marvelous, warm, welcoming, engaging, multi-cultural and the only truly bilingual city in all of Canada. Quebec does, admittedly, lack the Alberta tar sands, and its far right, oil addicted politics. As for Calgary: its only claim to fame is the Stampede where one can watch innocent animals being tormented by testosterone-overloaded jerks in cowboy hats.
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@JoeB666 -- This reminds me of when my late mother-in-law moved to Montreal from her native Magdalen Islands speaking only French, and was told to learn to speak "a white man's language." Since when does the NYT allow racist smears like this -- aren't your comments curated? Really disgusting.
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If you go be sure to take a stroll down Crescent Street, and stop for for lunch and/or a drink or two.
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@Sheldon Liberman
I would go to Bota Bota a spa on a barge in the harbour.
Stay at Auberge Bonaparte (Old City) that has a great breakfast inclusive and some rooms look onto the back of the Basilica. Yes see the basilica (large Catholic Church) where Celine Dion was married. They have an amazing night time light show.
Eat at great restaurants; Toque (Chef's Hat) Rest Cochon and go to the Jello Bar for a selection of over 100 different martinis and live music. See art at the many galleries. McCord museum for fashion exhibits. Go to the top of Mount Royal for a view of the entire city. Visit the Atwater market. Walk around the Old City but here it is very touristy.
I could go on and on. Just visit Montreal and then also go to Toronto and see some great theatre and art and dining and shopping. LMCHO Laughing My Canadian Head Off.
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Visiting Canada is a small act of resistance against the current administration...and an enjoyable one at that! We just returned from Quebec and found everyone to be friendly and helpful. Montreal is a fun city and Quebec is beautiful. Go spend some money in Canada in protest of the shabby treatment our northern friends have received lately.
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@Concerned Voter
Canada stands on it's own as a marvelous country especially Quebec and the Maritimes with generally very helpful people. I spent much of my life there.
But let's keep politics out of it.
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@David
Just returned from my umpteenth visit to lovely Montreal. My earnest vote is against your motion to keep politics out of it. Canadians are our friends, recent events not withstanding, and genuinely seem to wish to remain so. I've found that Canadians are far better informed about and interested in our politics than we are in theirs. They are legitimately concerned with, and even alarmed at, the current nationalistic and protectionist madness in America politics. Your comment doesn't disclose your nationality but, either way, sticking your head in the sand is counterproductive to preserving our relationship with Canada and to straightening out our own unfolding national catastrophe.
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@Pete David is right. Everyone is aware of the political strife in the U.S. and you don't have to politicize everything. That only deepens the problem.
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Recently there with my wife for a short visit, mostly so that she could see a bit of Canada and of Vermont, unknown to her otherwise. Half day in Montreal (aside from overnight at airport hotel), then to the Burlington area of Vermont, then to a once predominantly Anglophone small town to the west, near the Ontario border, Hudson QC.
Quebec's history is fascinating. Montreal a locus for some of it. The people we stayed with in Hudson are Montrealers from birth, but Anglophone. Fascinating to talk to them about the so-called Quiet Revolution in 1970s, when the political and economic dominance of the small Anglophone community was toppled, whence Francophones finally gained political power. Mother and daughter both attended Francophone schools, so are near natively bilingual. Father much less so.
I attempted to speak French with the agent at a car-rental facility at the airport. My vocabulary is poor, so I cannot say much. I can however "fake" a French accent fairly well, so French speakers think that I can say much more than my very limited vocabulary allows. The agent nonetheless gracious, appreciative of my effort. Old Montreal of interest, but touristy. Enjoyable to walk around it. We ate lunch in the tiny Chinatown, not far from Old Montreal, at a prototypical Chinese restaurant, where the food is excellent and inexpensive. Well worth seeing the rest of the city, needless to say.
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Please don't even think of driving around. If you take public transit or bixi or walk, you are okay. There is construction pretty much everywhere. I used to love Montreal, but like so many Montrealers we are fed up with orange cones, dirty streets and the fact that nothing gets done on time or even well. Things that were built last year for its 375th need to be rebuild again this year... It used to be a great city and might be again in 10 or 20 years. Now it is just a very frustrating city to me...
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Interesting how the NYT promotes Airbnb so hard in this profile. If Airbnb has its way, every dwelling would be a hotel. How much fun would Montreal be then?
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je parle un peu francais....how far do you think I'd make it there with these limits?
@R.Terrance
You don't need French at all in Montreal. It is an international, diverse and cosmopolitan city. You will be hard pressed to find anyone who does not speak English. That being said starting conversations with Bonjour will be appreciated by francophone Montreal's, they will then respond in English. Enjoy the trip if you do visit! It is a wonderful place.
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@R.Terrance very very easily. Most montrealers speak English.
@R.Terrance. Hi. You will be more than fine. NINO
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I believe the bixi is more than 5$ a day. It's a commuter bike system like citibike here. There is a bike rental by Atwater market. Indeed research other articles about Montréal and its suburbs for a greater variety of travel tips.
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@km
Yes there is a daily base rate. Then if you exceed 30 minutes before checking the bike into another Bixi station an additional charge apllies. There are many stations around the city so you will have no problem finding one and there is a Bixi app on the App store and Play store I which makes finding stations easy. In my experience as a tourist I have never exceeded the 30 minute limit as I mostly used the bikes as a way to get around. If you want a bike all day you are probably better off renting a bike at a rental location. It is unlikely you will need more than 30 minutes to get between the main tourist neighborhoods. That being said the fees for exceeding 30 minutes are not so significant but I believe they do escalate for every additional 30 minutes. Bixi has a Great website with all this info. Just google Bixi.
An easy way to avoid the extra charge is to return the bicycle in a bixi stand, wait 1-2 minutes, repeat the procedure for a rental and you have another 30 free minutes. (repeat if necessary. Bixi stands are all over the City.
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@km Yes, it absolutely is not $5 a day. By my calculations, Bixi will cost you $9.75 for the first hour and then $12 for every hour after so a 4 hour bike ride approaches $50.
Bike "sharing" systems everywhere have to do a better job of explaining themselves to tourists. Their impression of the city could be ruined when they see the bill. Or offer a special rate for tourists? It is a wonderful way to see a city.
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Good article. Schwartz’ is overrated for smoked meat and a bit of a tourist trap. I suggest walking across the street to The Main restaurant for a better sandwich. You’ll be glad you did.
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@Mariam Pal I’m a montrealer and I agree 100%!
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@josee totally agree
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Safe, anglo friendly places. Parc LaFontaine is missing. The reference to the plateau is cursory. Taking the metro to the Biodome or the Insectarium is worth the trip, doubly so if you get a rainy day. When the ferriesb (bateau mouche like Paris) are running a river cruise is a great thing to do. It all depends on how comfortable you are being in a place were a different language is dominant.
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Stay in the Old Mile. The bagels, Cage Olympico, Omnivore. Lots of spots to relax, eat and enjoy. A trip to Eva B, a huge vintage store / cafe is a must. So much culture...
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Down here in Tampa, more than a few baseball fans think visitors to Montreal will soon be able to enjoy the Montreal Rays baseball team.
Sad.
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No trip to Montreal is complete without eating at almost any one of the fine Vietnamese restaurants, most family run. A big plus is that a fine meal can be had for a fraction of the prices at the restaurants listed in the article.
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My husband and I spent two wonderful weeks in Montreal in May. The city blossomed into spring before our eyes and it was amazing to watch the transformation. I highly recommend the Musee Stewart located in a beautiful park near the Biosphere. It is an intimate museum offering insights into Montreal’s history. The location is perfect for picnics and offers an incredible panoramic view of the city.
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The Olympic area is also well worth a visit.
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Nice to read a positive take on this beautiful city. No mention of the "rivalry" between the English and French speaking communities nor the over hyped Poutine. J'aime Montréal.
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This is a terrible piece. It does no justice to Montreal. The venues chosen are not representative at all (for the most part) of Montreal.
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Would you please provide your recommendations? Better to light a candle than curse the darkness.
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An absolute must see is the Redpath Museum @ McGill University. It's like rummaging through your grandmother's attic. Best of all, they've got SHRUNKEN HEADS! SHRUNKEN HEADS! Plus lots of other cool stuff. Admission fee is suggested, not required.
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There are so many neighborhoods in Montreal and environs that are worth making as a home base. Having lived as a student in Montreal two decades ago, I am partial the area circumscribed by between Boulevard Mont-Royal, Boulevard Saint-Laurent, rue Bernard and Avenue du Parc. It includes the neighborhoods of Mile-End and the Plateau and also a bit of Outremont. There are just so many great restaurants, cafes, pubs, shops, bicycle paths and places to stroll to that one never will be out of activities to do.
Specifically, I recommend the St-Viateur bagel shop (one block away from Fairmount bagel shop), Dieu de Ciel (God in Heaven) brasserie and Cafe Olimpico. Guaranteed that you will find your own places under the sun in Montreal.
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You seem to have messed up Canadian-U.S. dollar currency conversion this article.
Specifically, regarding the Museum of Fine Arts, you state “Admission is 15 Canadian dollars, or about $17.50.”
In fact, at current conversion rate, C$15 is equivalent to US$11.48.
Note also that the C$15 museum admission only applies to visitors aged 15 to 30. The admission for all visitors over 31, including seniors, is C$23. Ages 12 and under admitted free.
https://www.mbam.qc.ca/en/information/admission-fees/
On cursory glances, many of the other dollar figures in the article appear suspicious, and it is unclear whether they refer to Canadian or U.S. dollars.
This is going to confuse many readers.
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I have always wanted to visit Canada, especially Montreal. As I don't like to fly the trip for me is not easy one. I would love to go via rail. Very informative article.
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@Margo Channing Its only a 6 hour drive from the city. Rent a car and go.
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There is a daily train from NYC. Though buses may be faster.
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@Margo Channing: Amtral's Adirondack train departs NYP daily at 8:15 am and is supposed to arrive in Montréal at 7:15 pm. Return trip leaves 10:20 am and arrives in New York at 8:50 pm. It travels up the Hudson, mostly during daylight, which means at this time of year you can get a lot of leaf-peeping done along the river. Best way to go!
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montreal and Quebec city are my favourite Canada cities.
this piece says montreal is the original settlement on the st. Lawrence.
I thought Quebec city was.....
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@brupic I think the author meant Old Montreal was settled on the St. Lawrence. QC is definitely older and the first city in Quebec.
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@Lori
still don't get it.
Quebec city is on the st Lawrence, innit?
doesn't that make it the original?
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What's with the repeated (and repeatedly annoying) reference to "X Dollars", when the customary standard is Can$ or C$ or CAD? Mentioning once that all prices are in $C (adding the current exchange rate vs $US would be helpful too) would have made things clear and simple (and much less annoying to read, for me anyway...)
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My husband and I visited Montreal for five nights in 2013. At that time, and possibly now, rates at clean, modern hotels in the middle of the city were most reasonable (a lot less than $299 per night). It was a wonderful visit -- we walked to a different neighborhood each day (unless you go to the suburbs, Montreal is a very walkable city).
And really cheap, compared to New York.
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It has been a while for me visiting Montreal. One of the unique aspects is its subway. From what I recollect it rides on rails and pneumatic tires which makes the ride a lot smoother. Relatively clean too. The food is uniquely French and fabulous. Great city to visit!
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What's the difference between Toronto and Montreal? All the difference in the world!
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The C$15 entrance fee for the art museum is more like US $12, not$17. Their dollar is trading at about 77 cents.
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Viewing of the permanent collection is free.
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@Pb of DC The writer must have thought it was 15 Euros.
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