montréal's tourist site. nice video on the site. (all flash site though)
more google map fun restaurants in montreal.
Live Music In Montreal on Friday Sept. 19th Land Of Talk (CD release party) and The D'urbervilles @ La Sala Rossa (a few blocks north of the Podcamp opening ceremonies, on St. Laurent.) 9pm $10 at the door (probably with a CD) I saw The D'urbervilles a few months ago, they were a fun dance rock band (lots of hand claps) with a 7 foot tall lead singer. Land of Talk are just plain awesome, one of Montreal's finest. http://www.myspace.com/landoftalkmtl Live Music in Montreal on Sat. Sept 20th… Cut Copy w/ The Presets @ Club Soda (13 minute walk from the Trylon Apts.)9pm $20 adv. $25 at the door (may sell out) Both are good electro bands with a definite 80s aesthetic. Kind of a bummer to see a band from Australia in Montreal, but it seems like all of the local bands are holding out until the Pop Montreal fest a week later. http://www.myspace.com/thepresets and http://www.myspace.com/cutcopy Feadz @ Coda Club// (16 minute walk from Trylon apts.) (no cost/time info) Feadz is signed to Ed Banger Records in France and is the backing DJ to rapper Uffie who appeared on Justice's most recent album. Last time I tried to see Uffie in Toronto she never showed up to the gig. I was pissed. Hopefully Feadz will actually be there. If you're into hip-hop/electro. http://www.myspace.com/feadz
More to come… ~john
Whoever that letter's from hit on a few things, but there's been a bit of a shift in things in the last five or six years; Crescent Street and Peel Street have become the big party streets in the city (many bars, like Les Trois Brasseurs, which were down on the Saint-Laurent end of the Island, have relocated there). The Old Port is the biggest tourist trap east of Niagara Falls, but it is beautiful and worth a visit if you aren't going for the boutiques. Though, if want to see a REALLY beautiful cathedral, you should check out Saint-Joseph's Oratory, which is just gorgeous (though as an atheist, I am a bit struck by the waste of it all).
Downtown really is similar to many other downtown shopping drags, but branching off the main artery of Sainte-Catherine like little capillaries you've got a hundred little side-streets with their own little bars, restaurants and stores which all have a character of their own.
But most of the locations Sofi hit on were nice little places, definitely worth visiting. (Steven/Marc)
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My sister lived in Montreal for a year. When I asked her where to go she sent me this weighty tome. Be careful.
From the mind of Sofi Papamarko… Steer clear of downtown pretty much entirely! It's touristy and not particularly interesting. Rue St. Catherine is the main shopping drag, but you won't find anything on it that you couldn't find in Toronto. It's like a big stretch of outdoor Eaton's Centre-rype stores. It can be a nice place to people-watch but it's generally too crazy and packed and lacks character.
You'd do well to concentrate your sight-seeing efforts on the following areas (which are all connected by Boul St. Laurent - basically stick to St. Laurent and you'll do great):
Old Montreal (also known as The Old Port), which is right by the water and is old and gorgeous and cobblestoned and glorious. Lots of art galleries, souvenir shops and upscale boutiques. Some really nice old restaurants and cafes, but they tend to be a little overpriced. You should check out the Notre Dame Basilicia (a smaller version of the Notre Dame in Paris–in fact, all of Old Montreal looks like the Montmartre area in Gay Paree.) Quite stunning, even if you're not much of a religious type. You have to pay admission, which is a bit silly, but if you show up on a Sunday morning and say you're there for the service, you're in for free! Yay for God!
Chinatown, which is quite small but more scenic and less stressful than Toronto's Chinatown. It is conveniently located only a few blocks north of Old Montreal (just follow St. Laurent). Plus, there are bigass lion statues at the entrance, so you can't miss it! Cheap food, cool place.
The Plateau! This was my old stomping ground and probably where you'll want to spend the majority of your time. It's got a lot of character. Leonard Cohen summers there. Tons of shopping and restos and people watching. Grab a gelato on the pedestrian-only former hippie hangout that is Rue Prince Arthur. Have a cheap (and DELICIOUS) chicken meal at one of the Portuguese places closer to Duluth (I recommend Coco Rico, because it is dirt cheap and super delicious. It's impossible to become a vegetarian in Montreal. Everything smells like cooking meat.) SPEAKING of delicious meat, try to get into Schwartz's deli (also conveniently located on St. Laurent) if the line-up isn't too big. It's the most famous spot in the city for Montreal smoked meat sandwiches. I don't eat red meat, but I'd go for the massive dill pickles alone, which are approximatley the size of a grown man's forearm. For sure have a poutine at some point during your stay. AND FOR GOD'S SAKE, DO NOT LEAVE UNTIL YOU GET SOME MONTREAL-STYLE BAGELS (the best bagel place is St. Viateur, but that's quite far north on St. Laurent into Outremont. Worth the walk, I think.) Montreal is seriously Canada's most delicious city. I gained a bunch of weight when I lived there, but when everything is soooo yummy, it's hard to be disciplined. The Plateau also has lots of clothing stores and fripperies (thrift stores) which can be fun to look through, but unfortunately I had a hell of a time finding clothing in my size when I lived there. French Canadian girls tend to weigh 95 pounds soaking wet. I think it must be the chainsmoking! Anyway, I recommend Pop Shop (St. Laurent) for clothing as well as Scarlett (Mont-Royal)–both carry mod, rockabilly and pin-up girl styles. If the size situation is a bust, they also have cool accessories (and Pop Shop is owned by the same guy as Primitive, I am pretty sure, so they carry some great records too.)
Even with Le Pick-Up out of business, there are still shitloads of great deals on records to be found. My favourite places to buy records in Montreal were Sonik (I love Sonik!!! It's a little off the beaten path on a cool little street called Duluth, at Berri, but worth checking out if you have the time/inclination. Duluth runs off St. Laurent. I used to live right there.), Primitive, Beatnick, L'Oblique and for CDs I really liked Le Subalterne , which is located on St. Denis, a gorgeous street to walk and shop and drink sangria on patios on. St. Laurent is wonderful but St. Denis? Glorious! It's so lively and beautiful in the summer. If you're in the mood for pie at all, definitely head to Rockaberry on St. Denis for some of the best pie slices you will ever taste. (See? Amazing food everywhere!) But back to records! Check out Francofolies on St. Denis, which is all French music. I found a cheap used Jacques Dutronc 45 there once and was thrilled.
If you happen to be in the park at the base of Mount Royal on a Sunday afternoon, you will get a whiff of patchouli and hear drum circles. It's a big “happening” called Les Tam Tams. Neo-hippies and renaissance fair types getting high and wailing on their instruments. Some people find it annoying but I think it's actually pretty neat and worth checking out.
How are you guys getting there? Coach Canada has an insane sale right now. $20 return between Toronto and Montreal. Crazy! I don't know how they can afford to do it. Of course, it means that you're stuck on a bus for 6.5 hours, but soooo much cheaper than the alternative (VIA and their bloody monopoly! They can charge whatever they want…and generally do).
This wasn't even close to exhaustive, but I am exhausted! And I haven't even touched on the night life (to be honest, not many bars that play consistently good music. Check out bands if you can. If you just want to sit down and have a drink, I liked Le Pistol and L'Barouf. There's also this all-French dance night called C'est Extra that happens every month or two at La Tulipe, and is worth checking out, but it seriously has nothing on our Zoi Zoi. I was expecting yeye and got a bunch of French 70s disco hits. Still pretty interesting.).
Phew!
Have fun, kids!