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Montreal Tourism - Travel to Montreal

        

Montreal (French: Montréal) is the cultural capital of Quebec and the gateway to that province. Once the largest city in Canada, recent years have seen it cede that place to Toronto. It remains a city rich in culture and history, and has a well-deserved reputation as one of the liveliest cities in North America.

Montreal is the second largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris.

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Understand Montreal Tourism

Situated on an island in the St. Lawrence River just at its highest navigable point, Montreal has been a strategic location since before the arrival of Europeans in Canada. A Native American village called Hochelaga was on the site of present-day Montreal when explorer Jacques Cartier first visited in 1535. A hundred years later, in 1642, the tiny town of Ville-Marie was founded as a Jesuit mission, but soon became a center of the fur trade. After its capture by the English in 1762, Montreal remained the most important city in francophone Canada, and was briefly capital of the province in the 1840s.

Prohibition on sales of alcohol in the United States during the 1920s and 30s made Montreal a mecca for cross-border fun seekers from nearby New England and New York. The city built up a seedy yet playful industry in alcohol, burlesque, and other vices. In the 1960s, an urban renewal drive centered around Expo 67, the World's Fair in Montreal, brought a subway system and a number of attractive urban parks. The 1976 Olympics left a strikingly idiosyncratic stadium and many other urban improvements.

The opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 1959, though much lauded as an economic boon, spelled the beginning of the end for Montreal's economic dominance in Canada. Once the transition point between western railroads and eastern sea carriers, Montreal watched helplessly as this business moved farther west, up the now navigable Seaway, to ports in Ontario and on Lake Superior. The Quebec sovereignty movement, which began to pick up steam in the 1960s, further chilled the atmosphere for Canada-wide businesses, many of which moved their headquarters to Toronto.

After an economic depression in the 1980s and 1990s -- due to automotive and aerospace plant closures in the surrounding area -- Montreal today has become more secure in its place in North America and the world. It remains a center of culture, arts, computer technology, the biotech industry and media for all of Canada and for the French-speaking world.

Get into Montreal

Travel to Montreal By Plane

Montreal's Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau Airport (airport code: YUL), formerly Dorval Airport, is about half an hour west of the city center on highway 20. Taxi fare to the city is a fixed price of $31. The Aérobus is a shuttle running from Dorval to a station at 777 de la Gauchetière West about once every half hour from 7AM to 1AM. Tickets are $12. Alternatively, public bus nr. 204 leave every half hour towards Gare Dorval, where bus nr. 211/221 can be caught to the metro (subway). This costs only $2.50 but exact change must be provided.

Montreal has a second airport, Mirabel, about an hour north of the city center, mostly serviced by charter plane companies. Cab rides cost $75 to get to the city center, but the Aérobus service runs $22. The bus is pretty infrequent, with only a handful of departures per day.

Travel to Montreal By car

From Toronto, take Highway 401 east for about 6 hours until it becomes autoroute 20 just outside of Montreal. Highway 20 takes about an hour to get to downtown.

From Ottawa, it's about 2 hours east along Highway 40 to Montreal. From Quebec City, it's about 3-4 hours west on either Highway 40 or 20.

From New York City, take Interstate Highway 87 through Albany and the eastern half of New York state, for about 6-7 hours to get to Montreal. After crossing the border near Plattsburg, it becomes Highway 15, which leads directly into downtown Montreal over the Pont Champlain -- the most beautiful approach to the city.

From Boston, take Interstate Highway 93 to Highway 89 in Concord, New Hampshire, through Vermont to the border crossing near Lebanon, where it turns into Highway 133 which intersects Highway 10, which taken wests leads directly into downtown Montreal. The whole trip takes about 6-7 hours.

Travel to Montreal By Train

Montreal Central Station is at 895, rue De La Gauchetière Ouest, one block west of rue University.

Via Rail Canada operates trains from several Canadian cities into Montreal. From Toronto, trains leave everyday for the five-hour trip to Montreal about every 2 hours from 7AM to midnight, with adult economy round-trip fare running about $160. The train is equipped with WiFi service for those computer nuts wanting to stay in touch. There's also a regular train from Quebec City, leaving four times a day, taking about three hours.

Amtrak's Adirondack service from New York's Penn Station takes about 10 hours, leaving at 9:45AM and arriving after 7PM. The train passes through much of upstate New York and hugs Lake Champlain for a large part of the trip.

Travel to Montreal By Bus

Get around in Montreal

Montreal is divided east-west by boulevard Saint-Laurent. Numbered addresses start there and increase in either direction; most addresses are given as "rue Saint-Quelqu'un Ouest" (west) or "rue Saint-Quelqu'un Est" (east). Many streets are named after obscure Catholic saints.

Driving (SAAQ) in Montreal can be a bit of a hassle. The severe winters take their toll on the roadways, which are either heavily potholed or subject to perpetual construction. Downtown traffic is dense, and street parking is rare. Also, there is no right turn on red lights on the island of Montreal.

Cycling and in-line skating ('rollerblading') are very popular once the cold winter weather is over. The city is criss-crossed by quite well-maintained cycle paths, although outside of these paths, the potholes and generally rather manic driving style do not encourage the self-powered visitor. Skate and bike hire shops are common, particularly in the Old Port and the Plateau. Particularly pleasant places to cycle and skate include:

An interactive map of the cycle path network is available at the Vélo Québec (Bike Quebec) website.

Public transit

In fact, a car may be more of a hindrance than a help: you may indeed be better served by leaving your car where you're staying, or neglecting to rent one, and using the city's excellent public transit system, with Metro (subway) lines covering most major parts of the city including the tourist destinations.

The public transit system, run by the STM, is in general safe, efficient, and pleasant to use. Tickets valid for unlimited use of the metro and buses during one and a half hour are $2.50, and available for about 25% discount in strips (lisières) of six. Tourist passes offer unlimited travel on the bus and metro for periods of one day or three days. They are available from most downtown metro stations during the summer, but only at Berri-UQAM and Bonaventure stations on the off-season. Transit passes are also available for periods of a week (CAM hebdo) or a month (CAM mensuelle).

The STM website offers a trip-planner service called Tous azimuts.

For instructions on how to use the metro, see Metro FAQ at metrodemontreal.com.

For a map of the metro, see Montreal Metro at Wikipedia.

Note : Henri_Bourassa metro Station is closed until end of august 2004.

Travel to Montreal - Montreal Tourism

See Montreal

Do Montreal

Parks

Festivals

Sports

Learn

Montreal is home to one of Canada's oldest university, McGill, which many people esteem to be "Canada's Harvard". Concordia University is the other English-speaking university and has over 20,000 students. The University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM) and the University of Montreal cater to French-speaking students. The Université de Montréal is the second largest French university in the world, after the Sorbonne in Paris.

Work

Illegal factory work paying around $7.50 per hour is fairly easy to find in Montreal. Painting during the summer and moving furnitures in June can be interesting alternatives. McGill and Montreal universities are always in search of research subjects, and so are the many biotech firms established in Montreal.

Buy

Although Montreal's economy has bounced back in recent years, the city remains remarkably affordable compared to the rest of Canada and the United States.

The rue Sainte-Catherine, between rue Guy and boulevard Saint-Laurent, has most of the big department and chain stores as well as a few major malls. Trendier boutiques can be found on rue Saint-Denis, north of rue Sherbrooke and south of avenue Mont-Royal. Avenue Mont-Royal has funky consignment and gothic clothing stores from boulevard Saint-Laurent to rue Saint-Denis, and a mixed bag of neighborhood stores, used record shops, and gentrified boutiques heading east towards avenue Papineau.

Eat - Travel to Montreal

Montreal has a huge variety of food options, from diners and fast food to low-cost ethnic restaurants to haute cuisine. The large local Jewish population has contributed local specialties including a huge smoked meat sandwich called viande fumée and small, crusty bagels. Other specialties are "all-dressed" pizza (pepperoni, mushrooms and green peppers), pizza and spaghetti with smoked meat, and Quebecois favorites like split pea soup.

No visit to Montreal is complete without at least one plate of poutine (from English "pudding"). This unique dish is a plate of french fries, drowned in gravy, and topped with chewy curds of white cheddar. There are variations on the theme -- adding chicken, beef, vegetables or sausage, or replacing the gravy with tomato sauce (poutine italienne). Every Montrealer has their favorite poutine restaurant where you can get "the real stuff."

Many Montreal restaurants require you to bring your own bottle of wine (apportez votre vin). This may sound like a hassle, but you end up paying much less for wine with dinner if you bring it yourself. There's usually a SAQ -- the province's official liquor store -- nearby; ask your waiter.

Restaurants lie thick on the ground in Montreal. A stroll down avenue Duluth or rue Prince Arthur -- both pedestrian streets -- will turn up at least a few worth trying.

Drink/Play

Montreal has two main strips for bar-hopping. rue Crescent, just west of downtown, caters mostly to anglophones, while boulevard Saint-Laurent, especially between rue Sherbrooke and avenue des Pins, has clubs and bars with more of a francophone clientele.

Gay and lesbian

Montreal is an extremely inviting destination for gay and lesbian tourists. Canada's contributions to gay rights have recently become widely known, but Quebec was the first province in Canada to pass a non-discrimination law for sexual orientation and to provide same-sex civil unions.

Montreal itself is a very safe, open, and inviting city. It has the largest gay village in North America (rue Sainte-Catherine from rue Saint-Hubert to av. Papineau - metro Beaudry, whose entrance is marked with rainbow pillars). Montreal's pride celebration, Divers-Cité (last week of July, first week of August) is the second-largest in North America after Toronto's.

Montreal has as many gay and lesbian bars as San Francisco, and every October on Canadian Thanksgiving (Columbus Day in the US) hosts the Black and Blue circuit party, attracting thousands to enjoy the thrill of crystal meth and hordes of pretty people dressed the same as you.

Trendy gay establishments include Unity (Ste-Catherine and Montcalm), Sky (Sainte-Catherine and Alexandre-de-Sève), and Parking (Ste-Catherine and Amherst), all in the Village.

Lesbian bars include Magnolia (Sainte-Catherine and Panet).

Bars catering to a male leather clientele include Stud (Sainte-Catherine and Papineau - not exclusively leather) and Aigle Noir (Sainte-Catherine and Panet).

Cabaret Mado (Sainte-Catherine and Wolfe) is a drag show with outrageous spectacles every night, run by the city's chief drag queen, Mado Lamotte.

Outside the Village, gay bars include Agora (René-Lévesque and Mackay, metro Lucien-L'Allier) and Mystique (Stanley between Sainte-Catherine and De Maisonneuve, metro Peel), both quiet, friendly neighbourhood bars in the west end of downtown.

To find out everything about what's going on, pick up a copy of Fugues, the free monthly gay magazine with a complete listing of what's on where. You can get it at Priape, the gay sex shop and unofficial information clearinghouse in the Village on Sainte-Catherine between de la Visitation and Panet. Fugues is in French; if you don't read French, ask the staff at Priape for help.

Sleep - Montreal Tourism

Budget

Mid-range

Splurge

Get out

Montreal makes an excellent entryway for visiting other cities and destinations in Quebec. Quebec City, about 3 hours to the north east on Highway 40, is almost but not quite a day trip -- you'll want to stay over, anyways. Mont Tremblant lies less than 2 hours north in the Laurentides, while the Eastern Townships are about the same distance straight east. If you're continuing to Ontario, Ottawa is 2 hours west by car, and Toronto is a more distant, but still doable, 6 hour drive.

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