Beginner’s Guide To Montreal

TMP 82 - Montreal
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Jenn: Hey everyone. Welcome back to the Travel Mug podcast. We are happy that you are here.

This is Jenn and we have Meggan here this week. It's just the two of us and we're excited to talk to you about a really cool place. So we are continuing on with our beginners Guide series. So we are gonna talk about Montreal. I'm excited. I,

Meggan: that's all I got. So go ahead. Don't expect anything more. People

Jenn: don't ask for any more.

So if you live in Canada or if you're making a plan to come to Canada, Quebec is actually a pretty unique place within Canada and we've both spent some time there. So we we've got some advice to at least get you started on the path to planning your trip to Montreal. So let's go Meggan.

Why Montreal? Let's start with the obvious question.

Meggan: Yes, exactly. And, and just as a caveat, as we always say with these beginners guides, like these are literally just like beginners guides. We are in no way experts. I'm sure people from Quebec may listen, it'd be like you forgot A, B, C, D to like Zed.

And that may be true, but this is really just to get people started. So, Let's dive into why Montreal. So obviously, as most of us know, I guess Montreal is full of sights and sounds and great food and has a European feel right within Canada. I mean, for us, I know, I'm sure both of us, Jenn, that's enough. We're good here.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: That's enough of a reason. But if you do need more, Montreal also has a rich history, including old Montreal, great museums, professional sports, lots of accommodation choices, and it is the French capital of our only 100% French province, of course, Quebec. It's unique really with really great architecture. Festivals throughout the year. And it can be a really great place to explore all of Quebec from and then head to Atlantic Canada if you wish. Maybe even go into New Brunswick or down along the eastern seaboard of the US. A lot of people from Quebec, I see them in the US when we're in the northeastern seaboard.

So, Great jumping off point as well. I think it's also key to mention too, there are many different neighborhoods in Montreal besides downtown and old Montreal, which kind of get a lot of the focus. And that includes the Latin Quarter, Chinatown, the Village, and Little Italy, just to name a few. Each has their own style, shops, coffee shops, cafes, restaurants.

There's really so much to explore. So let's maybe dive in and talk a little bit deeper on some of these things, and let's maybe start with the obvious. Do you have to speak French to go to Quebec?

Jenn: Do you have to? No, but Quebec's official language is French. Montreal is pretty diverse, pretty bilingual.

There's universities and colleges, so there's plenty of English spoken and I know people personally that live in Montreal that don't really speak French, so you don't have to speak French to visit. But I feel like knowing a little bit. We'll help you go a long way, but also like street signs are only in French, basically.

It, it is the official language, so keep that in mind. I mean, a stop sign is still like shaped like a stop sign, so you know,

Meggan: it's just arrêt. That's all.

Jenn: You can figure it out, I think. But yeah, I mean, learning a little, I think that. If you are visiting other parts of Quebec, like rural Quebec

Meggan: mm-hmm.

Jenn: It's going to be a lot more challenging if you don't speak

Meggan: Yes.

Jenn: In French. But Montreal you can definitely get by.

Meggan: Yeah. And like anywhere with a different language than English, I think they always appreciate if you at least know a few phrases or a few words or if you're trying.

Jenn: Yes, for sure. Alright, Meggan, how could we get to Montreal?

Meggan: Well, this is definitely like a plane, train, automobile situation. Really. Of course, it's going to depend on where you're coming from. I mean, heck, maybe you could even get there with the bus. I mean, you know, there's lots of possibilities. Train travel within Canada definitely an option. Of course, it's going to take longer. So this is something you have to factor into your time and make it part of your vacation. As an example, and of course we live in, in Nova Scotia, so I am gonna use that as an example, but if you. Wish to take via rail from Halifax to Montreal one way. It is going to take you nearly 22 hours.

Which is, and I have done this before, so it is a long train journey.

Jenn: Mm-hmm.

Meggan: And it can cost anywhere between 100 to 200 for a one-way trip. This, of course, is 2023 prices. Now compare this to flying from Halifax to Montreal direct is under two hours, and by car from Halifax, it's just under 14 hours. So, If you're choosing the train, it's because you want that adventure as part of your actual vacation.

There are two international airports in Montreal, so Maribel International Airport and Trudeau International Airport as well. I think too, something to keep in mind and many people don't realize, like Canada is a ginormous country. We're the second largest country in the world, and I've just read so many stories of people not realizing how far away places are from one another.

Like if you're in BC you can't do a Toronto Day trip, so it's kind of the same idea as you move across the country toward Quebec. You really have to keep in mind travel time is key if you aren't flying into Montreal.

Jenn: Mm-hmm.

Meggan: Something else I wanted to mention, I don't know if you guys noticed this as well, Jenn, but driving in Quebec as an outsider, so someone from not within the province can be a bit harrowing and a tad bit frightening in my opinion.

Now, if you were up for the challenge, And you'd like to drive fast. I mean, this is gonna be the place for you. You're gonna be in your, in your zone. But if you're someone who's just getting to Quebec, not sure where you're going, like you probably will be a little bit intimidated. So it's just something to keep in mind as you, if you do drive there, that it's, it's a little bit wild.

Jenn: Yeah, it is. My last visit to Montreal was quite a while ago, but I do remember. Being very stressed out about the driving and we visited in the summer and there were a lot of like street closures and like one-way streets and yeah, you gotta have your wits about you.

Meggan: Oh my God. Do you ever We actually arrived. We were so silly and we'll talk about this in a little bit, but we arrived on a holiday, didn't know it, there was a parade. It was just a bad situation. So, Lots to keep in mind as you head toward Montreal. Yeah. Now speaking of that, like what are some options where people can stay?

Jenn: There's so many options. Like we said, there's a lot of different neighborhoods. Where would you stay, Meggan?

Meggan: At this point I would stay old Montreal. When we went we stayed kind of like a smidge outside of the downtown core. We were like new to traveling together. It's been a while since we've been there and we didn't plan properly.

Like the Meggan and Peter up today would have an amazing time in Montreal. The Meggan and Peter of then were just sort of flying by the seat of our pants. Yeah, so I would say right now, probably old Montreal or maybe one of those neighborhoods, cuz I would love to have sort of that vibe. Yeah. Now what about you?

Where did you guys stay when you went?

Jenn: We stayed in downtown Montreal. We were like maybe a block, so. From St. Catherine Street, which we'll talk about in a second, but that's kind of like a, the main, the main street in Montreal.

Meggan: Right.

Jenn: And it was really great cuz it was really walkable. So we actually, we took our car to a couple of things, but we mostly just left our car where it was and and walked, which was really, really convenient. Cuz like we said, the driving is crazy. And that was the fun trip. It was August and on that same trip, our car, the air conditioner broke. On the,

Meggan: oh, good.

Jenn: Yeah. So we did that 14 hour drive and our, our air conditioner broke, and then we had a hatchback and the hatch back would not open.

It was stuck closed. So then we had to pull all of our stuff through the backseat. So that was an adventure trip.

Meggan: But you remember it. Those are the things you, it's a story to tell now.

Jenn: Yeah. So, like we said, Montreal has a wide variety of places to stay. Like upscale hotels, Airbnb, interesting bed and breakfast. You know, like any North American city, make sure that you book in advance because. You know, places will book up. And also keep in mind that the city is quite busy with sports, racing events, conventions, like there's so much going on. So not only booking your hotels in advance, but like train or plane tickets and just looking and Googling and seeing if there's anything major going on while you're there.

Obviously if you're going for that event, Woohoo. Good for you.

Meggan: Right.

Jenn: But if you wanna maybe avoid the crowds that might come with the event. Just a quick Google. And Quebec also has some additional holidays that kinda the rest of the, the country doesn't celebrate, so check out those too.

It, it pays to do a quick Google of your dates.

Meggan: You don't wanna get caught in a parade, if you know what I'm saying.

Jenn: Oh yeah. I mean, maybe you do, maybe you do.

Meggan: I maybe you do, but I think we should talk if that is. Let's talk about our favorite subject.

Jenn: Mm-hmm.

Meggan: I mean, where to eat.

Jenn: I love it. We love food.

Meggan: I know, I know, I know.

And you may be unaware, but we aren't sure how. But when people think of Montreal, they usually think of two things. I mean, maybe there's more, but I know there's two major things for sure. Montreal Bagels and put, poutine, poutine, however you wish to say it, we're not gonna judge here in the podcast and honestly, we get it.

Like those are things that we think of too, and you're gonna be able to find, of course, both in many spots around the city. I do have to mention a notable spot for poutine is since 1968. It's open 24 7 and it's, and again, there's gonna be some French names here, so I have to say advance I may butcher, but it's Poutine la Banquise, B A N q, ui, s e.

So like it's 3:00 AM What are you gonna do? You're gonna go for 24 7 poutine.

Jenn: I mean, obviously.

Meggan: What else would you do to be sure? Because it's been a while since we've both, Been to Montreal. We kind of wanted to give you some suggestions on restaurants. So we did reach out to a current Montreal resident.

Thank you, Nathalie. She's a local, so we wanted to give you a couple of options. So grab a pen and a paper. Pull out your phone. And obviously do some research in advance as well, cuz you may need to make reservations and you may wanna look for some spots that are near your hotel, of course. But these are just a couple of suggestions and they're very apparently well-known spots.

So for fans of smoked meat, which I think Montreal smoked meat sandwiches are also very popular. There's a spot called Schwartz's Deli. Steak and Seafood. Apparently this is internationally famous. It's called Joe Beef. Now, again, I've never heard of it, but who am I?

Jenn: People don't eat red meat. That's who we are.

Meggan: Yeah, that is, that is very true. That is very true. Nor have we been to Quebec in the last few years.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: A fine Parisian style bistro. So it's called L Express. Italian. The restaurant name is Nora Gray, which I really like for some reason. If you're looking for modern eclectic cuisine, cuisine with French influence, there's something called Boullion Bilk, which has a popular lunch menu as well. So if you maybe wanted to sneak that in there midday. If you're looking for Hardy Quebequois fare there's a restaurant called Au Pied de Couchon, I hope I got that even close. And then sushi fans, you could head to Restaurant Park, which is with Chef Antonio Park. Apparently the sushi is to die for. So this is just a snippet of all the cuisine possibilities.

I really think just in general, Montreal is a foodie's dream. So, Look up what you're looking for, look up what you enjoy and, and make a list and maybe make some re reservations in advance as well.

Jenn: Yeah, I, I'm big fan of reservations in advance now. I, I, I couldn't go without it. I do it in Liverpool Town now. Every time.

Meggan: You're gonna do it, if you go to Montreal, then.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: Excellent. So once you've got your belly full or maybe before if you don't wanna walk around with a full belly. Yeah. What should people see Jenn? Talk to us.

Jenn: Alright, let's start with old Montreal cuz like we said it is beautiful and a great place to visit even if you're not staying in that area.

So it is a historic neighborhood that dates back to the 1600s, which wild I know. And has a lot of beautiful buildings like Montreal City Hall, the Hôtel de Ville, the Place d'Armes public square, the Notre Dame Basilica and many more. So wander down Saint-Paul Street. It is the oldest street in the city. Take it in. It is stunning.

Meggan: Definitely loved that part of Montreal. What else you got?

Jenn: We have Mont Royal Park, so Mont Royal Montreal. Mm. Where the name comes from. It is a pretty large park, lots of trails to wander through. And just make sure that you take in the views of the city from the Kondiaronk Belvedere gives you a really beautiful expanse of the city, so. Definitely that.

So you can visit the Olympic Park where the Olympics were hosted in um, a while ago. We're gonna tell you about that later. 70? Yeah. Something off the top of my head.

Meggan: It was 1976. It was the year I was born, and I'm very aware it was a while ago

Jenn: that was rude. Jenn,

Meggan: you didn't know you walked into that, but I got

Jenn: walked into that.

Meggan: I got you.

Jenn: So the Montreal Tower at Olympic Park is closed right now in, we are right now July, 2023. But it is scheduled to open sometime in fall 2024. So, When you, sometime when it is open, you can go right up to the top of the world's tallest inclined tower. It is

Meggan: Wow.

Jenn: You know, on an incline. So

Meggan: if you watch the video, she shows us what,

Jenn: I show you what an incline is, but I think get

Meggan: Tune into our YouTube channel.

Jenn: Olympic Park also hosts concerts and other events throughout the year. So check it out and see what is going on.

Meggan: Definitely. The next one I enjoyed. You guys went to this as well. Did you?

Jenn: I have not been to this.

Meggan: No? Oh, it's lovely. It was very humid in there, so it's the Montreal Botanical Garden. I really enjoyed it. AKA the Jardin Botanique it's stunning. It features themed gardens, greenhouses, which I'm assuming is where I was really warm. And over 22,000 species of plants plus an indoor waterfall. As of now, adult admission is $22, so it's not cheap, but you can spend a lot of time there wandering.

Jenn: Mm-hmm.

Meggan: I do recommend it especially like if Montreal, if you're there in the summer, it is also really warm there. So if you do wanna get out of the glaring sun, it is a really great place to go in and it's, it's, it's an enjoyable, calming place in my opinion.

Jenn: Mm-hmm. Yeah. I'm sad that we didn't go cause I have seen pictures and yeah. Next time. So nearby the Olympic Park and the Botanical Gardens is the planetarium. It's super cool. I had a lot of fun here. So you can learn about astronomy in immersive theaters. They have other exhibits. The theater, like you literally are like lazyboy backing into, I'm doing a lot of visuals.

Meggan: Motions,

Jenn: for this podcast.

Meggan: Yes, I love it.

Jenn: You literally like lay back and look up and it is. Super cool. Yeah. And I did wanna mention, so there's a couple things we didn't talk about, but the biodome, the biosphere, the insectarium, the Jardin Botanique, the botanical garden, and the planetarium form Canada's largest natural science museum complex.

Meggan: Wow.

Jenn: So they're all like right around each other, and you can by a passport to visit all five of them as many times as you wish, within a 12 month period for $83 per adult, or $145 for a family. So if you plan to visit you know, a bunch of these things while you're in Montreal, it's probably worth getting the passport.

Cuz like we said, just the botanical garden by itself is $22.

Meggan: Right.

Jenn: So yeah, it's just a little way to save some money.

Meggan: Especially in this economy, you know?

Jenn: Right. Alright. Next is La Ronde which is a Six Flags Park in Canada. Crazy.

Meggan: I don't think I knew about this.

Jenn: No? So we don't have many theme parks in Canada

Meggan: mm-hmm.

Jenn: That most people know. It's on a small island. It's accessible by bridge and it has plenty of th thrill rides, including one called Vertigo. Which is, gosh, no thanks. Like you named them. No. Anyway, there are also some family friendly rides as well. One day tickets start at $35.99, which is honestly like super cheap for me.

Like I'm, I'm used to Disney prices and I was like $35.99??

Meggan: Are you sure that's correct? Pretty good. That's, no, that's really excellent, actually.

Jenn: Thought so too. So our last kind of thing to do on the list here is Cirque du Soleil. So yes, you can see Cirque Soleil a lot of places around the world, but why not see it in the place that it all started?

So it started in Quebec in the 1980s. Right now in 2023, they have two shows in Montreal. One under the big top in the old port of Montreal and one is on ice at the Bell Centre or the Centre Bell. So yeah, they both look really cool and yeah, highly recommend a Cirque du Soleil show.

Meggan: Yeah, we went to one in Vegas. I've never obviously been to one in its birthplace, but thank you Quebec for Cirque du Soleil.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: Let's talk about some shopping. You've walked around the city, you've got some great food. Let's take home some goodies. And of course, us coming from a small city, it is fun to shop in our bigger city. Not even that there's better prices or anything, but it's just really fun because of course there's boutiques, malls, specialty stores, all kinds of different things.

And as you referenced earlier Rue St. Catherine's Montreal's Main Commercial Street it stretches 11 kilometers. That's quite long.

Jenn: It's long. Yeah.

Meggan: No it goes across, the city has many major department stores, an array of boutiques, restaurants, cafes, and more.

Jenn: Mm-hmm.

Meggan: There is the Eaton Centre which is right in the center of Montreal's downtown hub.

Not to be confused with the one in Toronto, although I can see why you would be

Jenn: like, I was like, wait a minute. There there's two. Why? Okay.

Meggan: I know. I'm like, Jenn's obviously got a little bit of a typo here and I was like, no, she doesn't, doesn't it has 125 stores, five levels, so lots of spots to shop it up and swipe your debit card in.

Another favorite is Mont Royal Avenue. A dream apparently for second hand shops, boutiques, and bookstores. That sounds like where I'd wanna go.

Jenn: Yeah, let's go, let's do that.

Meggan: I know. I know we're not driving there, but We'll, we'll get there. Some we'll fly.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: And we cannot mention shopping. And I have been here. It's wild. Without mentioning the underground city. So La ville souterraine, this place is wild. So spanning 33 kilometers it connects so much of downtown, it is one of the largest protected pedestrian walkways in the world. Has in total some 1700 shops. And 200 restaurants, which are connected by this network.

It's just mind boggling. I've been down there before and I just, I don't love places where I'm not sure how I'm getting out. So it freaked me out a little bit, but it's still really cool.

Jenn: Yeah, that's, I don't think I did that. I feel like I would remember if I did that.

Meggan: Yeah. No, it's, it's really, really, it's really cool.

Next -when we go. Next time.

Jenn: Next time.

Meggan: Yeah, exactly. So we've referenced Jenn, there's sports Like professional sports that take place in Montreal. Talk to us a little bit about that.

Jenn: Yeah, like almost any sport you want. So we have NHL hockey November-ish to June-ish if they make the playoffs, which that is,

Meggan: I mean, sorry. I'm sure they'll, next year, year, sorry.

Jenn: Montreal Canadians fans we're sorry. We have the C F L, the Canadian Football League, the Montreal Alouettes, june through October. Mls, professional soccer, montreal Impact is March through November. We got the Formula One Grand Prix, usually the first or second week of June.

And the Montreal Alliance the Canadian Professional Basketball Team season is mid may to the end of July. So you gotta gotta be real specific about your dates if you wanna go to that.

Meggan: Cause you blink and that season seems to be over.

Jenn: Yeah, it's an incredibly short,

Meggan: that's a lot of sports though, like, and it spans a lot of the year.

So like if you're into sports and you just wanna see something live, you can catch it in Montreal.

Jenn: Yeah, for sure. Love that. All right, so we have the return of the fun facts.

Meggan: I love a fun fact.

Jenn: Do we love a fun fact. So I wanna say the first fun fact, if you intend to visit over Canada Day, keep in mind that July 1st is moving day in Montreal. And it tradition that dates back many years, but it is literally the day that people move within the city like apartments. It's a lot of students. My, my cousin actually this is his. First year he is just starting his second year at university in Montreal. And so he just did his first big, like, moving day.

Meggan: Oh.

Jenn: And I think it was really exciting. But my, my uncle went up to help him move and said, It was crazy. Like people are just walking down the streets carrying stuff. Like it's wild out there. So,

Meggan: and like on a holiday.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: On a, it, it, it's like, why are you trying to make life more tough for yourself? But, I mean, tradition is tradition, but it, it doesn't always have to make total sense.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: Next one up is no building can be taller than the Mount Royal. So municipal regulations prohibit buildings taller than the height of the Mountains Summit, which is 232.5 meters above sea level. We don't wanna hurt the mountains feelings.

Jenn: No. No.

And like we said before, Montreal hosted the Olympics. It is the only

Meggan: dating back many decades,

Jenn: many, many years ago. In 1976, it is the only Canadian city to have hosted the Summer Olympics.

Meggan: Oh, we've done the winter.

Jenn: Yeah, we, we know winter, but we have done summer too.

Meggan: Yeah, look at us. Montreal is the second largest city in Canada and one of the five largest French speaking cities in the world. Paris, of course, being number one. I hate it when people give lists and it top five will, what's number one? People tell us number. It's Paris and then Montreal's in the top five

Jenn: and Montreal's sister city is Hiroshima.

Meggan: Mm. Interesting. And finally, legend has it John Lennon's Give Peace A Chance Song was written at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal on June 1st, 1969. I was not born then, so June 1st, 1969. So that's pretty cool.

Jenn: That is really cool.

Meggan: Yeah, I know, I know. So I think, you know, a trip, a girl's trip to Montreal Sounds like fun.

Jenn: I mean, we need to, let's wrap up this podcast so we can go plan that.

Meggan: What are we doing here? I mean, let's, we haven't had a an on the road podcast, so I think it's probably time.

Jenn: It might be. So that is it for this week's episode of the Travel Mug Podcast. I think that we have given you enough information to kind of get the ball rolling and start planning your trip to Montreal. And like we said, there's so much more to do and see than we have time to mention and we don't wanna overwhelm you with things and facts and such.

So continue to do your own research and plan all the things. I got my fancy dancey. Research notebook right here, Meggan, that people can grab on our merch store. People really need to be watching the video for this episode to make sense of,

Meggan: I know you need to see like the body language and you need to see the merch.

So go to our YouTube channel, do yourselves a favor and look at our faces.

Jenn: Yeah, go watch us on YouTube. You can also find us on social media at Travel Mug Podcast. And on our website, travel mug podcast.com. And we would love it if you would share the show with a travel loving pal or, and, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

So until next time, we will talk to you soon. Bye

Meggan: Au Revoir!