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Ohhhh Montreal, Canada! To be honest, we didn’t know much going into living here for a month, and it turned out to be an amazing city! All we knew about was it’s where you want to be during the summer (hello perfect 75 degree days), and it definitely did not disappoint. An urban city, situated next to a river, full of French influence, with endless bike paths, and summer festivals galore! I can’t wait to share everything we did, where we ate/drank, and tips you may need to know before you go…
WHERE TO STAY:
To be honest, our Airbnb was not great! It had everything we needed, but I would not recommend staying with Corporate Stays (there were a handful of issues and they were not dealt with promptly or properly), just beware since they have a huge market in this city. As far as areas go, definitely and stay downtown (near St. Catharine Street) or Old Montreal (near the port). Both beautiful areas and very walkable to everything you’d want to see and do!
WHERE TO EAT/DRINK:
Eggspectation- delish brunch
Faberge- brunch in mile end/plateau area
La Catrina- Mexican food and delish, right in old town!
Sea Salt- delicious food with a little of everything for everyone! great outdoor terrasse near the port/old town
Comptoir 400- delicious pizza restaurant, casual, located in old Montreal right near the port
Vieux Port Steakhouse- incredible outdoor dinner spot, one of my favorites! They have a little food for everyone (grab an aperol spritz and the lemon chicken with feta or wasabi mahi).
Air Terrasse- very neat outdoor terrasse for drinks with the best views of downtown
East- an asian restaurant located downstairs from Air Terrasse (delicious, make sure to order the 23 ingredient salad, trust me)
Time Out Market- very casual, order and sit down type food market with a little of everything off of Catherine Street
Enoteca Manza- Italian food!
Grocery stores to note: Privago, Adonis, IGA
WHAT TO DO:
During the summer, RIDE BIKES! You can rent from Bixi (download the app for city bikes, there are electric and regular and they’re so cheap and so convenient). This is one of the cities with the largest mileage of bike paths in North America and everyone is out riding daily, it’s truly amazing, especially when it’s a nice 75 degrees out daily. But please be careful (this is how my boyfriend sadly got in a very scary bike accident our last day in MTL!). You’ll really get a good grasp on the city doing this as well. Definitely google bike paths there are a ton! Some of our favorites took to Griffintown along the canal, across the island to Parc Jean Drapeau, Nuns Island (amazing mansion type houses), Notre Dame island (beautiful scenery), you can also ride through an F1 track, etc. Fun fact- during the winter these bike paths turn into cross country skiing trails!
Biosphere- this is located on Parc Jean Drapeau which is amazing to go visit. It’s located on an island and super green, with bike paths, the biosphere is here, and they have some concerts/festivals here too.
Old Montreal- go walk the cute cobblestone streets, wander around (it feels like you’re in Europe), grab an espresso or ice cream, and make dinner reservations on a terrasse for dinner.
Mont Royal- this is what Montreal was named after and is a beautiful park, hike, mountain area. On Sundays, it’s super popular to go check out “tam tams” which is where there are a bunch of drummers, locals hanging out and dancing, and everyone gathers for the afternoon near the statue.
Plateau/Mile End area- this turned out to be one of our favorite areas to ride our bikes to. It totally gave us Brooklyn, NYC vibes on the Main Street which was fun to people watch and explore!
Saint Catherine Street- wander along one of the main streets downtown for shopping (very modern and busy but cool)
Le Village Olympique- go see these condos that were built as residences for the athletes in 1973 and are the most unique buildings you will ever see, built like building blocks balancing on each other so each has a gorgeous view of Montreal
TIPS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO:
A heads up that everything is in French! That is their main language, so signs, grocery stores, menus, etc. Of course some people speak English too, but it doesn’t hurt to download the free google translator app before you show up so you can easily use it on the go! We had a difficult time using uber here for rides so mostly relied on bikes. The Ubers seemed overpriced and far and few between so just plan accordingly.
Get travel insurance! I cannot emphasize this enough!! We always purchase on squaremouth (just google it), and select the according plan that works for us when traveling internationally, but THIS trip we really needed it with my boyfriend’s accident. We spent a weekend in the hospital and luckily we had travel insurance to cover some of the expenses! You never know when an accident can happen so it’s always peace of mind to have this while traveling.