Montreal: Tips, tricks and recs!
The most European city in the Americas.
About 20 years ago, my brother visited Montreal for a month in search of an artsy, cheaper spot to live and never came back. He’s now settled down with two kids and a dog in Quebec, speaks French without an American accent and English without a French accent and is a full on Canadian citizen.
And I’ve visited him approximately one thousand times in the last 20 years at many stages of my life.
So, this is all to say, I’ve never lived in Montreal but I’ve spent a lot of time there and it’s one of my favorite cities in North America, hands down. If it wasn’t so damn cold for the majority of the year, I’d probably have moved there a long time ago.
I also feel a deep affinity for Montreal because my favorite songwriter of all time lived there. Sometimes walking around the city, feels like you’re in a Leonard Cohen song.
I’ve spent time in Montreal during winters when it was nearly 40 degrees below zero (fun fact, minus 40 is where celsius and Fahrenheit meet!) and been there countless springs and summers when it’s sunny and mild.
Parts of Montreal can feel like a small town and once you get to know it, you might find yourself running into the same people, having coffee at the same café (or social club) and saying hello to people on the street you don’t even know. Montreal is the friendliest French place you can imagine, full of warm people, interesting shops, restaurants and unique architecture.
Here are a whole bunch of Montreal tips from our many trips there before kids, with kids and everything in between. It’s a guide for people who like to walk, eat and get to know a place and for those who want to visit Montreal like a local. Read on!