Montreal activities and restaurants

[Anonymous]

Spending a week there later this month. We will be downtown (very close to public transit in case we venture outside the immediate downtown area) but are also happy to do many miles of walking on any given day.

Any must-see tourist spots, great restaurants, etc. would be appreciated!

[Anonymous]

What are your interests?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are your interests?

Food, architecture, fitness. We are looking for any and all suggestions, though!

[Anonymous]

Have you visited Montreal before? Do you know some French? The plateau is a good starting point for nice restaurants. I love walking up Mount Royal, and Old Montreal is a must. There is a great outdoor garden restaurant, Hotel Nelson, that serves brunch and mimosas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you visited Montreal before? Do you know some French? The plateau is a good starting point for nice restaurants. I love walking up Mount Royal, and Old Montreal is a must. There is a great outdoor garden restaurant, Hotel Nelson, that serves brunch and mimosas.

We have never been before and don't speak any French. I had thought that wouldn't be an issue...am I wrong?

[Anonymous]

No, you do not need French but some neighbourhoods are more French than others. There is a great Indi music scene in Montreal. You should check for concerts if you like music.

[Anonymous]

We went to Montreal two years ago over spring break and loved it. You didn't mention if you were traveling with kids (ages if yes?), we went with our 5yo. We walked or took the metro everywhere. Some ideas:

Things to do:
-the markets - we went to Jean-Talon, but there are several
-Notre-Dame Basilica
-Notre-Dame de Bon Secours Chapel (go up the tower)
-the Olympic Park (take the funicular to the top of the stadium)
-Biodome, Insectarium, and Botanic Garden (next to Olympic park; there's also a planetarium) - we made a day of the Olympic park plus all of these
-Redpath museum at McGill university - it's a small natural history museum

Architecture:
-Palais des Congres
-Habitat 67 complex
-the Basilica
see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_Montreal


Food:
-must try poutine - we went to La Banquise
-bagels - our hotel brought them in every morning, but if they hadn't we would have tried somewhere like Fairmount Bagel
-bakery - Premiere Moisson (there was one at the Jean-Talon market)
-Olive & Gourmando for sandwiches and lighter fare

We stayed in Old Montreal, and had several wonderful meals in restaurants there - with a 5yo we tended to end the day near our hotel - but I just can't remember their names (will check and post if I can find them).

Check the weather before you go - it snowed while we were there, and was cold, but still enjoyable.

Montreal was really kid-friendly - DS loved the activities, and restaurants were very welcoming and accommodating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We went to Montreal two years ago over spring break and loved it. You didn't mention if you were traveling with kids (ages if yes?), we went with our 5yo. We walked or took the metro everywhere. Some ideas:

Things to do:
-the markets - we went to Jean-Talon, but there are several
-Notre-Dame Basilica
-Notre-Dame de Bon Secours Chapel (go up the tower)
-the Olympic Park (take the funicular to the top of the stadium)
-Biodome, Insectarium, and Botanic Garden (next to Olympic park; there's also a planetarium) - we made a day of the Olympic park plus all of these
-Redpath museum at McGill university - it's a small natural history museum

Architecture:
-Palais des Congres
-Habitat 67 complex
-the Basilica
see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_Montreal


Food:
-must try poutine - we went to La Banquise
-bagels - our hotel brought them in every morning, but if they hadn't we would have tried somewhere like Fairmount Bagel
-bakery - Premiere Moisson (there was one at the Jean-Talon market)
-Olive & Gourmando for sandwiches and lighter fare

We stayed in Old Montreal, and had several wonderful meals in restaurants there - with a 5yo we tended to end the day near our hotel - but I just can't remember their names (will check and post if I can find them).

Check the weather before you go - it snowed while we were there, and was cold, but still enjoyable.

Montreal was really kid-friendly - DS loved the activities, and restaurants were very welcoming and accommodating.

+1 I am impressed

[Anonymous]

You need to try fondue and raclette! I was going to recommend fondumentale, but it's closed! Here are some other listings I found. Now OP, you need to report BACK!
These are from Yelp:

Restaurant La Raclette
Plateau-Mont-Royal
1059 Rue Gilford
Montreal, QC H2J 1P7
Canada
Phone number [phone]

La Fonderie
Plateau-Mont-Royal
964 Rachel St E
Montreal, QC H2J 2J3
Canada
Phone number [phone]

Alpenhaus
Ville-Marie
1279 Rue Saint-Marc
Montreal, QC H3H 2E8
Canada
Phone number [phone]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you visited Montreal before? Do you know some French? The plateau is a good starting point for nice restaurants. I love walking up Mount Royal, and Old Montreal is a must. There is a great outdoor garden restaurant, Hotel Nelson, that serves brunch and mimosas.

Agree w/ the Nelson recommendation but you have to sit in the back patio/garden area, not inside. It's beautiful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you visited Montreal before? Do you know some French? The plateau is a good starting point for nice restaurants. I love walking up Mount Royal, and Old Montreal is a must. There is a great outdoor garden restaurant, Hotel Nelson, that serves brunch and mimosas.

Agree w/ the Nelson recommendation but you have to sit in the back patio/garden area, not inside. It's beautiful.

Yes, the patio/garden area is the best.

[Anonymous]

Biodome is cool.
I remember going in the summer and there was a week of rock music-like a street festival with big screens and loud rock music. Check on that before you head, especially if you want to avoid it.
They speak English. Montreal is not like Quebec.

[Anonymous]

One of my favorite meals ever was at Ferreira Cafe - amazing Portuguese food in the heart of Montreal. Such a lovely little city.

[Anonymous]

Dieu du Ciel for some world class beers

[Anonymous]

We took the metro to a bike rental place and rented bikes. They have great bike paths around the city. We biked almost the whole day away that we were there. Make sure to make a reservation for dinner. We showed up to eat somewhere and had to take a reservation for almost closing time.