In October I took a vacation to Montreal. My family from the UK met me there. We all flew into Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport which is about a 20 minute ride from downtown Montreal.
From the airport, if you are not taking a car, you are best to use Uber as it is cheaper than taking a taxi. You are looking at $45 including tax and tip for an XL Uber from the airport to downtown.
I really liked Montreal’s European feel with the old architecture and French language. French is the dominant language in Quebec. The dialect is known as Québécois and is very different to traditional French. Most people are bilingual although it’s worth learning some basic French to help with introductions.
Montreal is a great city if you like flatter cities and not having to walk up lots of hills. It is very accessible.
Until visiting I did not know that Montreal is an island with the Prairies River on the West side and St. Lawrence River on the East.
We were really fortunate that one of my friends who lives in Montreal offered to meet my family and I, and give us a guided tour around the city. It certainly helped to start our Quebec Tour on a high note.
During our visit we went shopping on Saint-Catherine Street, walked miles enjoying the architecture, visited Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal, St. George Cathedral, bought fresh bagels, ate smoked meat sandwiches at Schwarz’s, ate Poutine, and walked along the Old Port.
We visited Montreal twice during our trip as we started and finished there. Our first visit we stayed in an Airbnb in the Old Port. One word of warning if you stay near the Old Port there is a train that comes in and leaves in the early hours of the morning so make sure you stay somewhere with good soundproofing. For the end of our trip we stayed at the Bonaventure Hotel. The hotel is more central and right on top of the central train station.
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Email Address – greatcanadianmove@hotmail.com – Please reach out with any questions or queries.
