Overview
** MONTREAL TOURS, CANADA **
Read travel tips for Montreal, Canada from our amazing community of BLACK AND BROWN TRAVELERS that will help you find some of the best places to visit Montreal, Canada. Our variety of travel tips will definitely help you plan your next trip. Our tips range from best places to visit in Montreal, Canada, affordability, nightlife, local food, where to stay and even what it is like Traveling While Black. Lastly, we are working diligently to create a comprehensive city guide for Montreal tours, Canada. Stay tuned! But in the meantime, scroll down to read tips below!
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Montreal is a fun city, people are bilingual due to being a former French colony. I feel like the are more laidback than Quebec also a former colony. But ppl from quebec are more typical french attitude, If you speak to them in english they might pretend they dont understand or give you attitude just like people in france lol. In fact they wanted to break away from canada ,anyway i dont remember much about Montreal because it wasnt a long trip but the bars were fun! Go visit club bobo and enjoy listening to french
So my friend and I really decided last minute to head to Montreal during a three day weekend. We took the train there which was cool but I wouldn’t recommend doing again. We actually traveled (unbeknownst to us) during a railway strike and had to wait a massive amount of hours for the train to depart. But besides that, Montreal is a beautiful city. Definitely a slower pace than Toronto. We did all the sightseeing at places like Norte Dame and of course St. Viateur Bagels. It’s true what they say, the bagels are bomb and can be eaten plain! You MUST have boozy brunch at Suwu but get there early, there is always a line. We also visited Roue de Montreal which had amazing views and since it was Valentines Day weekend, we even got cute chocolate hearts as a gift. We did some shopping on St. Catherine street which looks a lot like NYC. We did a short visit to the Timeout Market as well. For a quieter but still boozy brunch, try Rosewood, their chicken and waffles were bomb.
So Montreal is my hometown.
For my foodies, here’s a list of my favourites affordable restaurants (top 5)
1. Banquise (where they sell the famous Poutine) Ask for “The Reggae” Poutine it’s my favourite and you won’t be disappointed.
2. Ganadara (Korean Food) hands down. That’s the type of restaurant that only the real knows. Honestly everything on the menu is a must try.
3. Agrikol (Haitian food) one word Amazing. ..not only because I’m Haitian but you should definitely give it a try. Right seasoning, good proportions, cute food presentations and also good music to set the vibes you don’t want to miss out!
4. Seasoned dreams (black owned) they also have an instagram page! try the jerk poutine you’ll love it guaranteed
5. Petinos (breakfast & brunch) and you always have to add both cheeses to your potatoes… yum!
Here’s a few recommendations If you like eating with a view: Les Enfants terribles, terrasse Nelligan, Terrasses Bonsecours, Terrasse William Gray, Terrasse sur l’Auberge. They are mostly located in the Old port of Montreal. (always good to call in advance for reservation). Terrasses are only opened in the summer time (from May to September)
I went to visit a friend and family who lived there. The best time to visit Montréal is during the jazz festival around the end of June until mid July. The weather is perfect, there are multiple activities, shows, stages outside. I had the best time. I would recommend to book a flight early (at least 6 months before) so you can have it cheaper and also buy tickets for the shows in advance (special prices!).
Everything happens around st Catherine Street (shops, pub’s, restaurants, places, park…. Underground malls).
Traveled to Montreal, Canada around Thanksgiving time and just fell in love with the city!! My husband and I hiked in Mont Royal Parc in about 12 degree Farenheit weather in the in the snow, sleet and rain! It was very difficult but we managed to make it. The day was very foggy so by the time we made it halfway up we couldn’t even see the city views and didn’t bother to go the rest of the way up. The park was beautifully covered in snow and the crunch of the sleet under our feet just made it that much more beautiful. My advice would be to make sure you go on a clear blue sky day or else you will not see the city views! It is also very romantic and serene to go when there is not that many people in the park, as we went in the winter.
I visited Montreal in September 2017. This was the perfect time to go as it was heading into low season and the weather was just right (light jacket). Montreal is a walkable city, definitely use their metro system for getting around. I highly recommend the following places below:
Notre-Dame Basilica (go when it opens, they offer free short tours inside)
Montreal Botanical Gardens (absolutely beautiful, definitely worth the price)
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (worth the money whether you are an art fan or not; something for everyone)
Bike Tour with Fitz and Fowell (Amazing guides! Great tours of the city and the guides look out for everyone, especially when riding through traffic; this is the best way to get an overview of the city)
Montreal, Canada was such a pleasant experience. The city is beautiful, I felt like I was walking through Disneyland with the cottage like store fonts & resturants. Everyone was so nice, it felt like the safely place in the world. The city was so clean , even the alley ways were beautiful & had hidden treasures, such as bars & coffee shops. The food was similar to Los Angeles. My hotel was in the city where it looked more like New York with all the skyrise buildings. The nightlife was the best experience due to the fact they everyone embrace each other. All types of people under one roof enjoying their selfs. Black , white, straight, gay, cool kids the not so cool kids….popping bottles…. everyone just having fun not judging each other which is completely different from LA/NY/MIA. It was just refreshing & cool to see. The bars gave me a New Oleans vibe with the double decker buildings & the flooded streets. It’s was an awesome experience.
I loved travelling to Montréal, Quebec Canada. My winter (January 2019) adventure trip to Canada is one to remember. Though, the temperature was -20 F everyday throughout my vacation there, I enjoyed doing some winter outdoors activities suc as skying and ice-skating. I fell in love with Quebec and will go back again.
Took a trip to Montreal in Fall of 2018 for a quick girls trip. Mtl never disappoints! Great food, poutine galore and an old, enchanting city feel. I stayed at an air bnb in old Mtl which was easily accessible to the downtown area by transit and car share. There are a lot of great brunch & lunch spots, including the Deville Dinerbar & Ginkgo Cafe Bar. There are lots of great touristy spots as well.
Great city for family vacation. If you love winter, this is the place to go because snow is always on the forecast for most of the year. Things close early most of the week, like malls, stores, shopping plazas etc. The country is a lot like the US in terms of architect. The people are very friendly, and the night life is great! Clubs close at 5am. Tax is super high there, so expect to always pay more for things than the US. Very diverse in terms of race.
Montreal has an old world charm and very European feel to it. If you’re looking for a taste of Europe w/o the long flight, I would definitely recommend. The architecture is beautiful, and food is good but the people are not particularly friendly. The Norte-Dame Basilica is a must see.
Montreal is a beautiful multi-cultural city. If you’re staying in and around the downtown area, don’t worry, almost everyone can easily switch from French to English. I speak zero French, so this was helpful. Don’t waste money on taxis, the metro system is very adequate and clean.
My sister and I did a spontaneous long weekend to Montreal in November a couple years back. It was a little chilly when we went but roundtrip flights from LGA were $120 so honestly I wasn’t going to argue. On the bright side the town was filled with beautiful lights gearing up for the upcoming holidays. We stayed in an Airbnb on the border of Old and New Town which honestly was a great decision because we ended up being in walking distance to a lot of things. The vibe in this city is very cool and hip. There’s tons of well known street art and thrift stores to check out. Be sure to check out Plateau Mont-Royal for all the beautifully colored houses and spiraling staircases. And you cannot miss out on Mile End. The neighborhood is very artsy and cool and this is where you’ll find most of the street art and thrift stores.
If you’re like me and love food and/or breakfast you MUST check out Restaurant Maison Publique. But be sure to be there before they open because a line is already forming. The cafe is tiny so I would say getting there at least 10-15 minutes before they open would be a good idea. I had delicious pancakes and bacon covered in the best maple syrup you’ll ever have of course. Also, you cannot go to Montreal and not have their smoked salmon. It is to die for. Check out St-Viateur Bagel, a landmark bakery in Montreal. They also have the best hot chocolate.
There are a lot of clubs in the area we stayed. My sister and I decided to check out a speak easy close by to our Airbnb. It looked like the inside of a cave and they played techno all night. Techno isn’t my personal favorite genre but I have to say it was a pretty fun night. I don’t remember the name of the place but there are a town in Old Montreal and Downtown. Montreal is a really fun place to go especially for a long weekend. The people there are super nice and it’s a pretty diverse community. Highly recommend visiting!!
The coolest things I did while I was here was going to Mount Royal and seeing the Notre Dame Basilica!
Great nightlife. Not the most affordable but it is amazing.
You have an abundance of so many foods to try in Montreal and they are huge on presentation so it makes it fun. Korean BBQ and desserts were my favorites here during my visit. Also visit the botanical garden across from olympic park.