Montreal... 2 nights pre-cruise...what not to miss??

[olive2]

Getting excited about our Canada/New England cruise end of August. Will

be arriving early evening two days before cruise...will have that evening and one full day in Montreal to do some sightseeing. We're staying in Old

Montreal....looking for tours, by bus or maybe also by boat. We love scenery, seeing the city, eating, shopping. Just fun stuff...any advise will be appreciated!

[olive2]

Thanks! Armani....checking out all the websites you recommended!

[jo-v]

I highly recommend the horse carriage ride through Old Montreal. We went in the evening after dinner. Driver gave a wonderful commentary of the beautiful old buildings - three of us decided it was the hi-light of our trip.

It was dusk and like going back in time.

[MrsMoose2001]

All the suggestions are great, but since you mentioned, bus/boat tours I'll mention the following.

 

I live here in Old Montreal, there is an amphibius (sp?)bus tour, that does both water and land. I hope you know what I mean, it looks like a bus on land and goes into the water.

 

There is also a bus tour probably quite a full day that will take you as drive by to most of the major sights.

 

There are also some boat "tour/rides" that leave from old montreal. There is also the lachine rapids "ride" if you want adventure.

 

all these boat/bus tours can be obtained right along the docks of Old Montreal if you don't see 'em you can ask at the vistor center there is one in old montreal not to far from where the "large ships dock".

 

Happy healthy safe travels, enjoy your vacation:)

[wwinfl91]

Here's what we did during our visit in Montreal after a cruise ended there a couple of years ago. We stayed in a B&B in old Montreal and either walked or used their excellent public transportation for everything except getting to the airport the last day.

 

We walked down rue St Paul towards the Place Jacquec Cartier, which is large public square, that runs from the port up the hill towards two large public buildings that are there. There is also a column with a statue of Nelson there that is one of the first erected to honor him. The two larges buildings are the Palace of Justice and the Montreal City hall. Right near there is a historic house that was the residence of one of the early governors of French Canada. we split with John and Peggy at this point after visiting the tourist office at the corner of the square. They had some other things to do and we wanted to check out the further end of Old Montreal. We went to the Bonsecours Market, which is currently an upscale shopping area, but previously has been the city hall, a concert hall and an agricultural market. Next to it we visited the Notre Dame de Bon Secours Chapel, which is also known as the sailors chapel. It originally dates from the 1650's but the current church is from the 17th and 18th century. There were models of various ships hanging from the ceiling of the chapel donated by sailors over the years. We visited the museum and decided to purchase a museum pass that would allow us access into 30 different museums and also access to the subway and bus system for 3 days. It cost us $39 each and we got most of that back over the first two days and definitely ended up ahead over the 3 1/2 days of our visit. The museum visit included a visit to the church tower that overlooks the harbor. It was a great place to take pictures of the harbor including the Maasdam, which was still there. The climb up was a little tiring but the pictures were worth it. Next you visited other areas of the museum. It was definitely a place worth visiting if you are going to be visiting Montreal.

 

We planned on visiting several museums today so after getting ready we started out. We went to the Museum of Montreal, excellent in presentation and content, and the Museum of Archeology, which also had excellent and well presented exhibits. We dropped back by our room and then decided to try the subway and go to Mount Royal. The subway system in Montreal all is excellent and we got to our stop with no problems. We walked through a very nice area of Montreal including a pedestrian plaza where we found a sidewalk cafe and we had lunch. We then walked on to McGill University, which is at the foot of Mount Royal. Here we realized the only way to the top seemed to be walking up a lot of stairs. We decided to give it up and we walked back to the subway and went back to the old Montreal area. We took a look at the Basilica of Notre Dame of Montreal's exterior and decided to come back tomorrow and visit it.

 

We had planned on visiting more museums today including two on the island in the St Lawrence. There was a fort there I wanted to visit and the Biosphere from the 1967 World's Fair has been turned into a museum. We went down to breakfast and had another excellent meal to start our day. After that we prepared ourselves as best we could for our walk to the subway that would take us to the island all the way hoping the rain would let up. We had breakfast with John and Peggy and made plans to have dinner with them for our last evening in Montreal. The walk to the subway seemed much longer in the rain and wind but we finally got there. Once there we needed to take one line to a junction point where we would catch another line that would allow us access to the island of St Helene and Stewart Fort and Museum. When we arrived at the correct subway stop it was still raining so we decided to go to the Biosphere first since it was closer to the subway stop and hope the rain would let up. The biosphere was originally built for the 1967 Montreal World's fair but now contains a museum of Water. It had some interesting exhibits and we visited many of them. Unfortunately the rain was still coming down but we put on some ponchos we had with us and started out across the island to go to the fort. After a walk in the rain we finally got to the fort. Not too many people were around but our museum passes got us in and we went up to check out the museum and hoped the rain would quit so we could check out the outside of the fort. We found the exhibits of the museum to be interesting and there was a special exhibit of Chinese pottery that occupied the second floor of the museum. After we had been there about a 1/2 hour they announced a special tour for "Patriots day" and I decided to go. Trisha decided to wait it out in the area of the museum where they had some comfortable chairs. Patriots day is a province of Quebec only holiday that celebrates the fact the people, both French and English who rebelled against England in the 1830's. The tour included information on them and a tour of some of the exterior of the fort. Unfortunately it was still raining when it finished so Trisha and I trekked off in the rain to go across the island and get back to the subway. After another 20 minute or so walk across the island we were back on the subway and heading towards old Montreal. Once we got off the subway it was well into the afternoon and both of us were hungry so we started looking for someplace to eat. It turned out because this was a holiday many places were closed but we finally found a deli where we got a bowl of soup and a sandwich to tide us over. We then went to our last major destination of our visit to Montreal, which included the Place de Arms, the Old Seminary and Basilica of Notre Dame of Montreal. The Basilica was finished in the mid 18th century and is a beautiful example of church architecture. They were working on the lighting for a special show that they were having during the evening while we were there so the pictures we took have some interesting lighting effects. There is also a second chapel, the Sacred Heart Chapel, that is much more modern at the rear of the main chapel. The Seminary next store to the Basilica is the oldest standing building in Montreal having been originally built in the mid 16th century.

 

We ate at three different restaurants, we were there 3 nights. Here is that info. My wife wanted Italian the first night so the people at the B&B suggested Pavarotti on St Francois Xavier. I walked over and checked out the menu and got reservations for 7:30. By the way evidently for the nicer restaurants in Montreal reservations are almost required or at least they are on a holiday weekend. We got dressed and went to dinner. The meal was very good although even by ship's standards it took a little more time than I would have normally spent. We did the meal of the day, which included a soup or salad, an entree and a desert with coffee or tea. We had a nice bottle of wine and the meal finished around 10:30.

 

After getting back to the hotel we asked for recommendations again for a restaurant and one of them they gave us was Les Pyresnees, which was on rue St Paul a couple of blocks from the hotel. It was a northern Spanish French restaurant that was family owned and run so we decided to try it at 8 PM. Once again the food and service were fantastic. One of the owners was our waiter and he suggested at excellent wine to go with our dinners. We did the same as the night before and did the dinner of the day with soup or salad, entree and desert. While neither meal was inexpensive, around $90 Canadian with a bottle of wine included, the food was well presented and tasted delicious. This is definitely a restaurant I would suggest people try if they are staying in Old Montreal. I had a salmon with a lobster sauce that was fantastic and Trisha had a pork dish again with a delicious sauce. Desert was also excellent.

 

we decided to have dinner at a restaurant named Bonaparte's, which is owned by the same people who owed the B&B we were staying in. It was a French restaurant that was relatively close and with the rain continuing we figured that would be a good choice. We had the hotel make dinner reservations for 8. The restaurant was very nice and again the food and service were excellent. We ordered an Australian Riesling that went well with our dinners. We again did the meal with a soup, followed by an entree and a desert. The meal ended a little after 10 PM and we walked back to our hotel.

 

All three restaurants were in Old Montreal. There is a lot to see and do in Montreal. Try to be down in the dock area when your ship is scheduled to dock, if the sun is up, as you will be able to get great pictures of it as it comes up the river and heads to the dock.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[megr1125]

Old montreal is gorgeous....honestly, you may want to check out the gare central/central station....this is the train station.

 

it is beautiful....but the best part is the FOOD. Trust me. If you like pastry, do not miss premiere moison (not sure about spelling of that).

 

i second the carriage ride in old montreal. also, i think there is a place called the eggery or something close to that....good for breakfast....it is a block or two from notre dame cathedral.

 

there is a nice crepe/fondue place just down the street from the springhill suites....i think it is called the creperie. on the corner of st. jean baptiste....great little place.-opposite the keg..another good one

 

i would skip stash's polish place....ick. but there is a japanese place/sushi called tokyo i think.....

 

as for the rest...if you like to shop check out the bay (hudsons bay company..) very nice....st. catherines st. has great shopping and eating as well but we prefer old montreal.

 

have fun....i love canada...we go to montreal at least twice a year...and sometimes more.....

[MrsMoose2001]

Old montreal is gorgeous....honestly, you may want to check out the gare central/central station....this is the train station.

 

it is beautiful....but the best part is the FOOD. Trust me. If you like pastry, do not miss premiere moison (not sure about spelling of that).

 

i second the carriage ride in old montreal. also, i think there is a place called the eggery or something close to that....good for breakfast....it is a block or two from notre dame cathedral.

 

there is a nice crepe/fondue place just down the street from the springhill suites....i think it is called the creperie. on the corner of st. jean baptiste....great little place.-opposite the keg..another good one

 

i would skip stash's polish place....ick. but there is a japanese place/sushi called tokyo i think.....

 

as for the rest...if you like to shop check out the bay (hudsons bay company..) very nice....st. catherines st. has great shopping and eating as well but we prefer old montreal.

 

have fun....i love canada...we go to montreal at least twice a year...and sometimes more.....

 

Hi, ok, the egg place is called Eggspectations it is on St. Jacques St. and there is also one downtown on Mountain (de la Montagne) and de Maisoneuve streets

 

The sushi place is Tokyo Sushi on St. Paul street

 

The fondue place is also on St. Paul close to St. Laurent and across from the Keg and yes, down from the Springhill Suites Hotel. Actually all of the 3 places are pretty much within walking distance of each other.

 

Mikasa Sushi on Peel just north of de Maisoneuve (downtown) is also very very good, my DH loves the saki cake that is a speciality of theirs.

 

The bakery is the Premiere Moisson, they are scattered all over the city.

 

 

 

BTW I live in old montreal. :)