A pleasant and elegant combination of old and new alongside the St. Lawrence Seaway, Montreal is a wonderful place to stay, even for just a weekend.
It is such a rich historical city that it is not hard to find something to do and enjoy. Montreal is an optimal playground for savoring fine food and wine - with plenty of regional offerings available in restaurants and markets, gambling into a casino, shopping, visiting the many attractions and enjoying the full spirit of love - l'amour.
If you want to make your stay even more enjoyable but have shortage of cash, same day money is the short term loan assistance that offers you quick cash without any hassle and delays. Payday loans will allow you to borrow cash without undergoing complex and lengthy formalities, so if you need some quick money in hand they might represent the perfect choice.
I had thoroughly enjoyed my guided tour of Montreal by bike and being the bicycling enthusiast that I am I knew this would be a highlight of my trip. The great thing was that even after the tour was finished, I would get to hold on to my bike until 8 pm tonight since a full-day bicycle rental is included with any guided tour at Ça Roule / Montreal on Wheels.
The “Rendez-vous des cultures” festival in Old Montreal
Posted in 
Well, after a more than filling dinner at La Iguana and a brief excursion to Montreal’s Jazz Festival last night it was time to burn some calories and an official biking tour through the city would help me keep the certain weight gain from the delicious Montreal food at least somewhat under control. My biking tour was scheduled to start around 8:30 am, but on this gorgeous day, Canada Day no less, our national holiday, I got going early.
Early morning sun reflecting on the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours
The Plateau area is one of the trendiest areas of Montreal, so I decided to explore it a little further after my discoveries of Old Montreal. From my hotel I hopped into the subway at Place d’Armes and took the blue train north to Sherbrooke. I enjoyed a wonderful stroll through the St-Denis neighbourhood, considered by many to be the most typical of Montreal’s neighbourhoods. Hundreds of street cafés, restaurants and funky boutiques line the street.
The artsy St-Denis neighbourhood
Well, as much as the walking tour through Old Montreal nourished my senses and architectural sensibilities, my stomach was in dire need of nutrition and I was debating whether I should plunk myself down at one of the enticing terrace cafés on Place Jacques Cartier. Then I literally stumbled over this beautiful small park, Place De La Dauversière off to the side of the main square. In the southeast corner of this space is a little gate that looked like the entrance to a garden and with my perennial curiosity I had to go check it out.
A French mansion including large garden in the middle of Old Montreal
Every time I go to a new city, the spirit of adventure and discovery heightens my energy level and 6:10 am I was already awake. I read my guidebook for a while and then doze off again, only to be awakened by a major thunderstorm that drenched the city with a downpour. So I got up and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and by 9:30 or so things had calmed down again, just in time for my explorations of the city. The Old Montreal Ghost Tour last night had already given me a bit of an overview of the old historic centre of Montreal and introduced me to some interesting characters.
Five minutes from my hotel is the Place d’Armes, one of Montreal’s most famous squares. The old part of the city was still quiet, and I enjoyed a peacefull stroll through the cobble-stoned streets. I headed into one of Montreal’s Tourist Information Office, located right at the southwest corner of Rue Notre Dame and Place Jacques Cartier to stock up on maps and ask various questions of the helpful staff.
Old Montreal in the morning has such a European feel to it, with the little cafés just setting up shop and local residents getting ready to walk to work. The calm relaxed atmosphere contrasts quite sharply with the usual frenetic hustle and bustle that we are so used to in our North American metropolitan cities.
Gothic Revival splendour at the Basilica of Notre Dame
After an enjoyable dinner at Modavie I was ready to head to my next scheduled activity: a ghost tour of Old Montreal. Old Montreal Ghosts or Les Fantomes de Vieux Montreal was founded about 8 years ago by a local Montrealer, Eric Poulin, who got the idea for a ghost tour on one of his travels to London. Recently he has started to collaborate with Louise Hébert, owner of Guidatour and a very experienced tourism entrepreneur who has won numerous prizes from Quebec Tourism and in 2005 was also honoured as one of Chatelaine Magazine Top Ten Women of the Year. Both entrepreneurs together combined to provide a special experience in Old Montreal.
Walking up Place Jacques Cartier as the sun sets
After my initial introduction to Montreal through my driving tour, my next step was to explore the city on foot. I set out on my first walk through Old Montreal (Vieux Montreal). Literally five minutes from my hotel is the Place d’Armes, one of the most historic locations of Montreal, highlighted by the impressive Basilica of Notre Dame. I strolled eastwards on rue de Notre Dame towards Place Jacques Cartier, Montreal’s main square, that is surrounded by historic buildings, featuring many restaurants, as well as by Montreal City Hall, an excquisite Second Empire architectural beauty elevated on a ridge overlooking the port area on the St. Lawrence River.
The gorgeous Basilica of Notre Dame
Shortly after my arrival in Montreal, right around 1 pm, I met Carole, a licensed professional tour guide from Guidatour in the lobby of the Holiday Inn and she was going to be my local expert on a driving tour through the centre of Montreal. I had only been in Montreal once before 10 years ago, so I really needed a quick overview of the city to familiarize myself with its layout. And although Montreal’s downtown area is very compact and walkable, a driving tour would give me a great introduction to this metropolis.
From my hotel we drove south on St. Urbain Street and our first big sight was one of Montreal’s key tourist destinations: the Place d’Armes and the exquisite Basicilica of Notre Dame, Montreal’s largest and most beautiful cathedral. From there we passed by Montreal City Hall and then made our way up the Boulevard St. Laurent, also referred to as “The Main”, for generations the traditional path of successive waves of immigrants as they made their way north the port area to settle permanently in other neighbhourhoods of the city. We passed by the Hotel Godin, a former garment factory that has recently been converted into a boutique hotel, one of many revitalized historic buildings that has been turned into a modern hotel.
Prince Arthur Street further north is a pedestrian street featuring a variety of reasonably priced restaurants with outdoor patios. This area was a hotbed of hippie culture in the 1960s and today provides a great selection of family restaurants. A little further west we decided to have lunch at Chez Gautier, one of Montreal’s most well-known bistros, established in 1978. Chez Gautier’s Parisian-style décor features beautiful woodwork and a magnificent handcrafted glass dome ceiling in the bar area.
Glass dome at Chez Gautier
It was an early day today, I got up at 4:30 am, and my husband dropped me off at 5:45 am at Toronto’s historic Union Station. Several buses of young students were already unloading their luggage and ready to enter the train station. At about 6 am the Via Rail counters were opening up and since I had a first class ticket (called Via 1), I was directed to Via’s Panorama Lounge, a special section with comfortable armchairs, free newspapers and soft drinks. This was my first time on a Canadian train and I was very excited about experiencing train travel and not having to fight my way through traffic driving to Montreal.
Via 1 passengers received their own special priority boarding announcements and off we went to the first coach behind the locomotive. I made myself comfortable in the seats and stretched my legs. The seats recline very far back so a tired traveler will have a chance to get a good rest. Shortly after I was joined by a gentleman, a businessman from Edmonton who had some appointments in Toronto and was now heading to Montreal for other business duties. Ray kept me entertained with his family stories and humorous tales of growing up in Montreal and time passed quickly as we started rolling through the suburbs of Toronto.
Early morning departure from Toronto’s Union Station
Despite the fact that Montreal is one of the closest and most easily accessible cities from Toronto, I had really only been there once, for a couple of days ten years ago. We also did stop in a couple of times for lunch in Montreal on our way home from our ski trips in the Eastern Townships, Vermont or New Hampshire. But I knew Montreal deserved a much longer visit. So I set off to plan a four-day extended weekend over the Canada Day festivities to explore this city.
St. Joseph’s Oratory
