The thrill of Montreal nightlife

[jesseps]

Every so often one dreams of escaping to another country to experience different sights, sounds and cultures. While France possesses all of these elements, so does the little island of Montréal, Canada. Tucked just over the U.S border, close to Vermont and New York, this destination offers all the big city charms and ambiance with a hefty dose of French style.

 

Having the distinction of being the only Canadian city completely surrounded by water, Montréal is approximately 30 miles long and only 10 miles wide. But what it may lack in mass, is more than made up for by its people who have made it the second most visited tourist destination in the country, just behind Toronto.

 

While I may have had to brush up on my French while visiting France, there were no such concerns in Montréal where roughly half of its citizens are bilingual with English as their second language. In fact, the city is a melting pot with neighborhoods offering distinctive shopping and dining options from every culture.

 

The Metro system is a snap to learn as it has far fewer lines than that of Paris and can take you to most destinations in the city. At the Square Victoria station, you will find an authentic Parisian metro grille, which was donated to the city by Paris during Expo 67.

 

Exploring downtown Montréal on foot is a fun and enjoyable experience. Along popular Sainte-Catherine Street, you will find restaurants, department stores, boutiques, and movie theaters, all brimming with locals and tourists enjoying the best the city has to offer.

 

Once you get your fill of topside attractions, enter one of the access points and head down to the Underground Pedestrian Network, also known as RÉSO--one of the city's most remarkable treasures. With 20 miles of walkways, including 1,700 boutiques, 7 hotels, 200 restaurants, museums, and common spaces, RÉSO is the largest man-made underground network in the world. Most maps have these areas in blue and you can see much of the city via this marvelous underground system, perfect for rainy days or colder weather.

 

Montrealers love the outdoors, and in the Old Port area, you can find them strolling along the Saint Lawrence River waterfront, biking or skating. There is also an IMAX theater at the Science Center.

 

Located slightly uphill from Old Port, Old Montréal is a beehive of activity, especially in Place Jacques-Cartier, named after the French explorer who claimed Canada for France. This public market with brick-lined streets and Victorian lamps has been transformed into a cornucopia of specialty shops, restaurants and sidewalk bistros. There are also plenty of street performers, caricature artists and musicians, all entertaining the large crowds that congregate here.

 

There are other areas not to be missed and those include the Atwater and Jean Talon Markets. Both are a combination of inside and out farmer's markets with vendors offering wares from flowers to locally grown vegetables, crepes, fresh juice, and gelato. Market Jean Talon also has a host of international eateries to delight any palate.

 

Speaking of food, Montreal is a food Mecca with the largest number of restaurants per resident in North America, offering 80 different types of cuisine. And among those who live here, the most popular foods are bagels, smoked meat and poutine (french fries topped with cheese curds and brown gravy). The latter is very popular in Canada and can be found just about everywhere with many variations.

 

When it comes to bagels, St-Viateur has been hand rolling and baking them in brick ovens since 1957. Selling over 12,000 per day, this landmark is one reason why you will want to put this on your taste buds' must have list.

 

Not to be outdone, Schwartz's delicatessen has been tempting Montrealers with its own version of smoked meats for over 80 years. Using a secret blend of herbs and spices and marinating the meat for 10 days imparts a unique flavor and creates instantly loyal customers.

 

With more than 90 festivals per year, including their incredible jazz festival as well as 32 museums, 2 symphony orchestras and 50 dance companies, Montréal became the first North American city to become part of UNESCO's City of Design network for its contributions to art and culture.

 

Blending a proud French history and a menagerie of cultures, Montreal is a small city that will make a big impression. More convenient to get to and less expensive than Paris, Montreal is the perfect small city getaway with a global feel.

 

(Courtesy of KDVR Fox 31)

 

The previous topic was written by a woman from here but was published from the Globe and Mail. I found that out when I did some research on the writer.

Modifié 14 juillet 2010 par jesseps
The reason the topic title does not match is posted. Seeing the previous topic was written by a woman from here, so I had to

[Vaillant]

hahahahaha!

[ProposMontréal]

Quand même flatteur cet article semble avoir été écrit pour des enfants. Mais ressemble à tout les autres articles qui présente Montréal.

 

Quelques corrections:

the most popular foods are bagels, smoked meat and poutine

Je considérerais ça comme des spécialités de la place, mais pas nécessairement les plus populaire.

 

Speaking of food, Montreal is a food Mecca with the largest number of restaurants per resident in North America

Montréal est en fait en 2e position derrière NewYork. Je ne me rappel pas des chiffres de NewYork mais Montréal compte 1 restaurants par 727 habitants.

[uqam+]

Tout à fait d'accord avec Brub : un autre de ces articles "touristiques" puérils et remplis de platitudes.

 

Mais tellement superficiel, en fait, qu'il en devient presque drôle. J'aime presque, par exemple, l'expression "a menagerie of cultures", vers la fin. On se croirait au zoo !

 

Ça me rappelle un jour où avec un ami j'étais allé voir un match de football à l'Université de Montréal, entre l'équipe locale et une équipe américaine. Des adolescentes américaines excitées étaient sur place et quand elles nous ont entendu parler français, elles sont devenues hystériques en criant : "They speak French ! OMG ! Can we have a picture !!!!" (faut dire aussi que j'étais plus jeune...)

 

On est donc rentrés pour la postérité dans leur "menagerie of cultures", dans la cage "real exotic frenchies - quebec subspecies. Rare."

Modifié 10 juillet 2010 par uqam+

[yveslachance]

Hahaha! Serieux ces articles là me font tellement rire. Je trouve ca quand même étrange quelle insiste vrmnt sur le fait que la ville est ''small'' et ''cute'' etc... Quand j'entend ça, ça me fait beaucoup plus penser à la ville de Québec et non à Montréal qui n'est pas vraiment ''small''.. Surtout que cet article est paru dans le Globe & Mail, parce que relativement, Montréal est immense pour une ville canadienne

[jesseps]

Mais ressemble à tout les autres articles qui présente Montréal.

 

I know what you mean sigh

 

I was thinking the same thing last night. Honestly how hard is it for some out of towner to read articles like this and want to do something different.

 

Like go visit Beaver Lake on Mt. Royal during the weekend. Write about some interesting part of Montreal history that we forgot that existed (i.e The restaurant on the 9th floor of the EATON centre) or write about how they bribed the city to try and use the circuit Gilles Villeneuve for an hour. Talk about Tennis that happens in the summer. One year its men and the other year its woman. Even talk about the RBC Canadian Open that use to be on Ile Bizard, but now its in Toronto and we are left with PGAs Champions tour. Also back in 2007 it hosted the President Cup.

 

Maybe I could try and write something like that. Have it published by the NYT but under a different name lol

Modifié 10 juillet 2010 par jesseps

[pedepy]

je pense que ces articles la sont composes de cette facon: qqun d'un journal americain passe un coup de telephone a bureau du tourisme de montreal, lui demande quels sont les points principaux qui servent a vendre la ville aux voyageurs etrangers, puis redige un article de quelques centaines de mots en les enumerants un a un ..

[jesseps]

One thing I would love someone to write about driving up Mt. Royal to see the view of the city. I did the drive up today and its so nice.

[yveslachance]

One thing I would love someone to write about driving up Mt. Royal to see the view of the city. I did the drive up today and its so nice.

 

That is true. And they often seem to forget talking about it. It's one of my favorite place in the city. We always talk about the old montreal and port, but Montreal was built focused on Mt. Royal, and not the St. lawrence river. Even the damn buildings can't be higher than this mountain; just shows how iconic it is for the city. Mt royal is awesome, but I hope in the future they will really bring back Montreal to the st. lawrence shores... Maybe we're on the good track with the developpement of Griffintown and if they could do something with the damn Silo numéro 5

[LindbergMTL]

Ah, the thrill of having a salmon poutine on top of a bagel in small town Montreal!