Montreal
Canada
- Cityscape
- Mountain-centred metropolis
- City life
- Bilingual balancing act
Canada’s second city, Montreal, is the North American meeting point of French and English heritage, a culture-rich hubbub, and one of the world’s original winter wonderlands.
There’s no better place to practise your Franglish than the city that coined the phrase ‘bonjourallo’ to accommodate greeting Francophiles and Anglophiles alike. While the official battle is between its twin heritages, visitors quickly realise what a multi-cultural foodie haven this city actually is. Dine on authentic Spanish, Portugese, Italian, French, Greek, Vietnamese, Indian, Japanese, Chinese… the international menu goes on and on. You’ll thank your lucky stars and booted feet that the city is notably walkable too – there’s got to be some way to shed the pounds gained in all the local microbreweries, cafes, and restaurants. Although some small areas of Montreal sit on the wrong side of the ‘urban regeneration’ fence, look a little closer and you’ll find a city riddled with history, character, and blithe resistance to the often freezing temperatures.
Pictured: Hotel St Paul
Boutique hotels in Montreal
Our round-up of the hippest hideaways and boutique hotels in Montreal
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Getting there
Planes, trains, automobiles, or maybe even helicopter – we tell you the best way to go.
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Worth getting out of bed for
Highlights the best Montreal has to offer, from art and culture to fun-packed activities; we've even found the most inspiring place to enjoy the views from.
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Eating, drinking & dancing
We've tracked down the best cafés for people-watching, the bars with the coolest cocktails, the most accomplished restaurants and the liveliest local nightlife in Montreal.
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Smith Maps
Here is the map of Montreal; each Mr & Mrs Smith hotel is marked by a flag; click it for more details.
moreLocal knowledge
- Taxis
- Cars can be readily flagged down in the street and cost a pittance compared to cab fares in cities such as London. A cab from the airport to downtown Montreal is roughly CA$30.
- Tipping culture
- As in the United States, the standard tip-rate is around 15–20 per cent, and cab drivers, hotel porters, doormen, waiting staff and bartenders will expect their palms crossed.
- Siesta and Fiesta
- In winter it gets dark and dreary early (around 3 or 4pm) and it’s just so cold that an afternoon siesta is almost mandatory before hitting the nightlife. In summer you can stand to rest in the park post picnic and keep on hopping through the cafes, terraces, bars, and clubs on offer. It’s a non-stop kind of city with things to do from breakfast straight through to late-night partying.
- Packing tips
- Serious winter gear if visiting any time between October and May – it can get bone-shiveringly cold – but bust out the summer frocks for the fleeting season called summer when all of Montreal rejoices in some long-awaited warmth.
- Recommended reads
- Sign Language and Other Tales of Montreal Wildlife, is Gazette-columnist Josh Freed’s laser-guided comical take on the quirks of life in the city. Beautiful Losers by Montreal’s favourite musical miserablist, Leonard Cohen, proves to be strange but compelling novel.
- Cuisine
- Quebecois cuisine has its roots in the city’s history as a fur-trading outpost, so a lot of local specialities are notable for their high fat content – essential padding for those long winter months. As in New York, bagels are a staple, but they’re smaller and chewier than their NYC counterparts. You’ll find heaps of handmade Montreal bagels at St Viateur (www.stviateurbagel.com) available 24 hours a day. Also keep your foodie eyes peeled for tourtiéres (meat pies traditionally eaten at Christmas), cretons (pork spread on breakfast toast – nicer than it sounds), brisket and smoked meats.
- Currency
- Canadian dollar (CAD).
- Time zone
- GMT -5 (Eastern Standard Time)
- Dialing codes
- +1 for Canada; 514 for Montreal.
- Do go/don't go
- The Canadian winter’s a punishingly chilly period, but it can be sunny, snowy, crisp, clear and beautiful too. So, do visit, just be prepared for the extreme temperatures Montreal has to offer. Autumn is short-lived but the changing colours of the maple trees are beautiful in this part of the world. Summer in July and August is warm and packed with festivals and the whole city takes advantage of the few months of heat. Spring is possibly the least desirable time to visit as the March-to-May months generally bring mushy snow and damp shoes.
