things to do while in montreal? (1 Viewer)

[Christ Reynolds]

i'll be in montreal this weekend, and i may be stuck without anything to do. it was supposed to be a trip of 2 guys and 3 girls total, but as it turns out, i may be the only guy. sounds like a fun time, except they want to go clubbing, and i dont want to at all. one look at me trying to dance and you wouldnt blame me. anyway, what can i do in montreal, alone? hopefully they wont want to go clubbing on sat night too, i dont want to be by myself the WHOLE weekend...so any suggestions? thanks

CJ

 

[Bill Slack]

While, if you don't mind going alone to the 'other' clubs, then you'll have a great time. St. Catherines Street is great, and perfectly safe.

I've only been once with my high school buddies when we were 19, but we had a great time.

I'm sure you can find plenty of culture too if you'd prefer that. You won't be bored, as long as you don't mind chilling by yourself (it can be fun, really!)

 

[James T]

You can go to the strip club or you can head to the casino. Montreal is pretty much a club city. Known for getting drunk and smoking a couple packs a night.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

yeah i dont mind being by myself. better than making an ass of myself dancing! if the other guy comes we were probably going to find a bar to go to while the girls were dancing, so i may wander around the bars a bit. i'll be that creepy alone guy that people may notice in 2 different bars. "hey we saw that guy at the last place we were at, and he was alone then too!" ok this may seem like a stupid question. but does any place accept US currency? normally i wouldnt ask such a silly question, but i thought it may be true, since they are close to the border and so many college kids go there. the american dollar is worth about $1.35 cdn, and i'm sure there are places to exchange near the border. if certain places do accept US currency, do they have a different price since it is worth a little bit more? if not, it would only make sense to exchange some money. thanks for the reply bill.
CJ

 

[GuyMaren]

You'll likely get the best cash exchange rate from a bank once you cross the border. Credit card purchases also offer pretty good exchange rates. You can use an ATM to get cash too, but expect a service fee at least from your bank.

 

[Richard Travale]

Go see the streaking Habs (Montreal Canadiens) play. We just picked up superstar Alexei Kovalev.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

ah, so i heard! well, as a red wings fan, i'd like to say that we just picked up nhl leading scorer robert lang i wish the red wings picked up kovalev too, he is scary talented. lang is no slouch either, but in the skills department, very few are in kovalev's class. looks like the canadiens dont come back home until 3.11 vs florida.

CJ

 

[Law]

My fiance grew up in Montreal and took me back over our Christmas holidays for a week and a half. I thought it was one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen. It was nice to have a personal tour guide too.

The first thing on the list of things to see is probably the old port. It's the oldest part of the city and in some places it felt like I was in Paris. The streets are narrow, horsedrawn carriages clop past you and you get a real sense of the history of the city.

If you're into old churches and that sort of thing, I'd recommend seeing Saint Joseph's Oratory (www.saint-joseph.org) and while you're in the area, take a walk around Mount Royal. You'll get some of the best views of the city. Also check out Notre Dame downtown, I literally gasped when I saw the santuary, it's that beautiful.

For stuff to do at night, there's always the clubs, but if you like pubs, try McGibbon's. It's where I spent my New Year's. It's a three level Irish pub that features live music every night. You might be tempted to go to the Peel Pub because of it's popularity (it's on St. Catherines, it's the one with the lineup), don't. There's nothing special about it, there could be a Peel Pub in every city.

Finally (maybe after the bar), absolutely make sure you don't miss Le Belle Province. It doesn't look like much but they make the best poutine I've ever had in my life. Their hot dogs and hamburgers are great too. Plus, it's cheap. There's one close to Notre Dame downtown.

That's probably about all you can squeeze in, but if you have time, check out the old Montreal Forum if you're into hockey history and Olympic Stadium.

 

[Max Leung]

Montreal is great, with one fatal flaw: The smoking.

Bring a gas mask...the clubs are so thick with smoke you can do snow angels on the floor and admire your work two hours later.

There is a really nice crepery place downtown. And be sure to visit the Botanical Gardens, although this early in the year there won't be any gardens to see outside. However, you will also get a nice glimpse of the failed Olympic Stadium project that cost a trillion dollars in public monies.

The food in Montreal is the best. Even mall food is orders of magnitude better than anything you'll find in most shopping malls in the U.S./Canada/world.

Oh, and you will see the most beautiful waitresses in the world...go find a nice bar or pub...you'll see.

And no, I was NOT kidding about bringing a gas mask. *choke* *cough* Everyone smokes in Montreal.

 

[Mark Paquette]

Is the language difference a problem? I haven't been to Montreal since I was a punk and relied on my parents for all the French speaking. I'd love to go back, but my French isn't all that.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

this does a lot to make up for the last quote. ugh i am dreading this smoke, it sounds like it is really bad. guess i have been spoiled, no smoking in bars in boston or in my hometown of plymouth. i'll have to bring a couple garbage bags to put my clothes into on the way home. seriously. the only smell i hate worse than smoke is 'smoke stanked' clothes. do you guys think anyone will get in our faces about not speaking french? i know everyone speaks english, but should we expect some rude looks when we are the rude americans who dont speak french? (i prefer to be called a masshole) i will definitely check out the old forum, i'll be able to soak up as much hockey history as i can get. now if only i could get to toronto...

CJ

 

[Richard Travale]

I've seen better at the Mall of America (sorry, couldn't resist)
Go to Schwartz's Deli and get a smoked meat sandwich...*drool*
You shouldn't have to worry about not speaking French. Most people in stores and restaurants will greet you with "Bonjour hello" and from your response will continue the conversation in either French or English. So don't try to show off your 1 or 2 French words by replying with "bonjour"
Montreal is a very "Anglo friendly" town. It's when you get to the outer townships and up to Quebec City that you can and will run into a lot of very anti-Anglo people.

Oh yeah, you simply MUST try Poutine.

 

[Angelo.M]

I seem to remember visiting a restaurant that served almost nothing but. Correct me if I'm wrong: French fries + gravy + cheese.

 

[Law]

That's mostly right Angelo. French Fries + Gravy + Cheese Curds = Poutine.

My fiance kept telling me, "We have to go for poutine, we have to go for poutine" and despite really trying, I couldn't get excited for french fries, gravy and cheese. We went to Le Belle Province one night and I haven't felt that good since Archie Geville scored against Holland in 1978. I made sure we went back twice more and I tried the hamburgers and hot dogs and they were great, but nothing beats the poutine.

 

[Richard Travale]

yeah, the key is the cheese curds. You can't just use cheese otherwise it's crap.

 

[Max Leung]

Christ, the smoking isn't as bad in the pubs and bars. It's the clubs you'll have to worry about!

Hmmm I think I exaggerated a bit much on the beautiful waittresses part...there was this nice pub you see, and it was full of sociable hot barmaids. The other pubs...well I can't remember, with all that beer and fog from the smoke obscuring my vision.

 

[Francois Caron]

The best visual description is to imagine what would happen if an elephant sneezes in your plate of fries.

Mmm... mmm... good!

Language issue: not really an issue. Downtown Montreal is a VERY multilingual area.

If you're into shopping, there's no lack of indoor malls all joined together with tunnels. But if you're not fully aware of the size of the "underground city", it's easy to get lost.

If you're into DVDs (who here isn't ), stop by Metro Video located in the basement of the Paramount theater. They're down to a single aisle of VHS tapes!

For restaurants and bar hopping, try Crescent Street between St-Catherine and Maisonneuve plus the surrounding areas.

The Old Forum is not much to look at these days. One Circuit-City wanna-be (Future Shop), a multi-level family restaurant and recreation center, and an AMC multi-plex.

Casino winnings are tax free here in Canada. Plus, there are no aggregate payouts. Everything is a lump sum payment.

Enjoy!

 

[NickSo]

Hehe, i was just gonna suggest POUTINE after reading a poutine thread in another forum...

Fries = Good... Gravy = Good... Cheese (Curds) = Good... Poutine = GOOOOOOD...