I was pretty lucky this summer and had the opportunity to spend 10 days in this beautiful city.

I stayed at the lovely Hotel Place D’Armes.  This charming hotel is brilliantly located in Old Montreal and just steps away from Notre-Dame Basilica.

The hotel featured high ceilings, spacious rooms and a great team at their concierge desk! Not to mention a fantastic bar and a roof top patio!

 

Highlights of my trip included:

a) Jean Talon Market. I simply adore this market! A trip to Montreal would not be complete without it.

b) The Hop-on-Hop-Off Double Decker bus tour throughout Montreal, that is offered by Greyline. This is the best way to see a city and I’ve now done these tours in Ottawa, Barcelona and Montreal.

c) I spent hours wandering thru the The Botanical Garden. It’s truly magical. Then I visited the The Planetarium  and the Olympic Stadium. Sadly I didn’t go to the Biodome as I’d been a few years ago but regret not returning as they are all grouped together. Give yourself a whole day or break up these three attractions into two days!

 

d) Discovered a beach in the port of  Old Montreal – which was the perfect place to relax after a long day of touring.

e) A trip to Simons Department store. Believe it or not – had never been to this store even though I’ve been visiting Montreal on a yearly basis since 1990.

HAPPY TRAVELLING

For more information:

Greyline Bus Tours: Click here for more information

Montreal Tourism Office: Click here for special promotions, tourism info, etc.

Planetarium, Botanical Gardens and The Biodome: click here for more information

Hotel Places D’Armes 55, rue Saint-Jacques West, Old Montreal (Quebec). Tel: 514.842.1887

Simons: 977 St. Catherine Oeust, Montreal, Quebec  514 282 1840

 

I recently visited Montreal from Aug 3 to Aug 10. What a treat for both my tummy and my eyes! I’m actually going to dedicate TWO blog posts to the “food” part of my trip. Does that give you an indication of how much food I ate? LOL

Here’s a list  of restaurants that I tried.  Sadly I didn’t make it to Joe Beef as they were closed. Sniff.

Garde Manger:  What did we order? The lobster poutine, Foie Gras with brioche and a blueberry sauce, and the Walleye. We sat at the bar in the back and loved both our food and the cool yet casual vibe of this restaurant. PS almost went back another night for the Foie Gras dish – it was that good.

Au Pied Du Cochon; This is my 3rd time to this restaurant in the past 7 years and I keep ordering the same thing! Foie Gras Poutine and Cromesquis Foie Gras (basically deep fried squares and when you pop them into your mouth – foie gros oozes into your mouth). This visit I felt like I need to add some vegetables to balance the meal and it didn’t disappoint.

L’Gros Luxe: Noticed that they had a poutine sandwich on the menu AND deep fried avocado. Didn’t take me long to add L’Gros Luxe  to the list of restaurants I wanted to check out. There’s a reason why they just opened their second location…great food, great prices and friendly staff.

Olive & Gourmando: This restaurant seems to be packed ALL the time. I went an hour before closing and it was still full of customers (minus the line ups). It was a good strategy not to go for breakfast or lunch seeing as I’m not fond of line ups. The waitress told me that #24 on the menu is a popular salad so I ordered it. It was SO pretty and SO tasty. Just what I needed. I can see why this is a popular spot for tourists and for locals.

Brit & Chips; One night I was looking for a casual restaurant that wasn’t far from Old Montreal and this restaurant fit the bill. Just perfect.

Ceviches: Oh what a treat to discover this restaurant. Love. Love. Love this restaurant. Again – another casual restaurant and exactly what I was looking for. I wish there was a restaurant like this in Toronto!

 

Just so you know – I followed three blogs that were instrumental in helping me decide which restaurants to go to!

1. www.mtlblog.com

2.www.willtravelforfood.com

3. www.shutupandeat.ca

For more information:

Garde Manger 408 Rue St. Francois Xavier, Montreal (514) 678 5044

Au Pied Du Cochon 36 Avenue Duluth Est, Montréal  (514) 281-1114

L’Gros Luxe  3807 St-André  514-447-2227 OR 150 Bernard Ouest  Mile End 514-507-8883

Olive & Gourmando 351 Rue Saint Paul Ouest (514) 350-1083

Ceviches 152 Rue Napoléon, Montréal (514) 419-6391

Brit & Chips 433 Rue McGill (514) 840 1001 or 5536 Cote-des-Neiges, Montreal (514) 737-9555