Things to do and places to see in Montreal….especially, cultural?
Bonjour / Hello,
I will be visiting Montreal in June for 4 to 5 days . Could you tell me what are the BEST places to visit and and BEST things to do in Montreal, within a not-so-high budget ( I am a student ) ?
a) I am interested in the French-Canadian ( folk ? ) culture, music, dancing . Please inform me. Are there any places where I can get something similar to Irish river-dancing or Argentine Tango dancing on streets ? You see my point ! Is there any cultural festival ?
b) I am also interested in Museums and the History of the city Montreal. What are the places to visit ?
c) Where can I get TRADITIONAL food/beer ?
d) What are the other MUST-SEE places and MUST-DO things ?
e) Do they accept US dollars ?
Thank you very much.
In Montreal, it’s always fun to go and see the "Montreal Jazz festival". It’s on each year. Famous musicians come from everywhere to play music. Usually it’s about two weeks long. This year it’s June 30th, 2009, till July 12th, 2009.
Another fun festival is the Just for Laughs Festival of Montreal. This year, it’s from July 16th to 26th, 2008. It’s kind of special this year, considering Bill Cosby will be there.
You can’t go wrong with visiting museums. Some popular museums in Montreal are: Montreal Science center, Holocaust Museum, Musée Des Beaux-Arts de Montreal (Museum of Fine Arts) and many more.
A fun restaurant to visit is called "Antico Martini". It’s a beautiful fancy Italian restaurant. The adress is:
6450 avenue Somerled
Montréal, QC H4V 1S5, Canada
(514) 489-6804
If you want to use US dollars, most major tourist areas do except US money. If they don’t, banks can change your money into canadian dollars. I recommend just changing all of your money into canadian money, to avoid all of the trouble it may cause you.
I really hope I helped!
I just got back from Montreal and they have some great museums!
Pointe-a-Calliere is the Montreal Museum of Archeology and History. Most of the museum is underground since it takes you through the foundation of old Montreal buildings going back to the 1600s. Really cool, loved it. Admission gets you into temporary exhibitions too (which is a Pirate exhibit now). Highly recommend.
A smaller, overlooked one is the Chateau Ramezay, built in 1705. It traces the history of Montreal from its founding to today. Also has demonstrations on how settlers of the 1700s lived. Neat gardens too.
The Museum of Fine Arts is downtown and is another great one. Has a little bit of everything, but mostly European paintings as you might guess. However, they also have a large section for Canadian artists.
I’ve heard the Redpath Museum and the McCord Museum, both near McGill are good, but I didn’t get a chance to see them. Redpath is more natural history, but you might like McCord since it’s more social history.
Also, DO NOT MISS THE BASILIQUE NOTRE DAME. Go inside!! They even have a light show at night to take you through the history if you want ($10 Canadian). So beautiful inside! You have not visited Montreal if you skip this.
As far as traditional food–try poutine. It’s amazing. French fries, gravy and cheese curds. Sounds gross but is awesome. Best is at La Banquise, 994 rue Rachel. Served all over the place though.
And you’re best off with Canadian dollars–they may charge you a conversion fee otherwise (one restaurant charged 15%!!)
Hope you have a great trip!!!!
Check out the Tam Tams if you’re here on a Sunday. It’s at Mount Royal. It’s free.
Also, old Montreal is fun.
Since Montreal is so multicultural, you can find pretty much anything.
Pick up newspapers like the Mirror or the Hour, or nightlife magazine. You’ll find them at pretty much any metro station, a lot of stores have them too. They are great to see what is going on around the city and they are free.