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Montreal, Canada

Train travelers reach Montreal via the Adirondack line, in my opinion one of the most scenic routes on all of Amtrak. The train arrives at the Gare Centrale on Rue de la Gauchetiere. This train station is centrally located and is connected by an underground passage to the Bonaventure Metro station.

If you would like to continue on from Montreal to other locations in Canada, VIA Rail connects to Quebec City, the Maritime Provinces, Toronto and western Canada.

Where to Stay

Staying in Montreal is quite a bargain these days, and this time of year, because it is the off season and the exchange rate is very favorable. Generally, one Canadian dollar will cost about sixty-six cents American, so take that into account when researching hotel prices.

Our favorite place to stay in Montreal is the Auberge Les Passants du Sans Soucy, in the Vieux (Old) Montreal. This inn is the only lodging in the old city, and is a former fur warehouse, dating to 1836. However, the foundation of the building dates back to 1684. The inn has only eight rooms, ranging from doubles to suites. Breakfast is included, and oh! what a breakfast it is. These innkeepers do not serve just croissants and muffins. Guests get their choice of omelets, pancakes, French toast or scrambled eggs, along with a wide variety of juices, and teas and coffee. The diners sit around a big table and this is very much the place to engage in good conversation and meet new friends from throughout the world.

Transportation in Montreal

Public transit is excellent in Montreal. The Metro runs from 5:30 a.m. through 1:00 a.m. and goes just about anywhere a traveler might want to go in Montreal. The Metro is connected to the Underground City (see below), a bizarre, but interesting, commercial oddity in Montreal. The upside of this is that you can get on the Metro, complete all the shopping which you might ever desire, and never emerge above ground. I will leave it up to you to determine whether this is a good thing.

The train stations themselves are an attraction, each one having been designed by a different artist or designer, chosen through a competitive process. The stations are imaginative, interesting and provide a real incentive to travel by subway.

Pointe-à-Callière Museum

Built on the site of the first building in Montreal, this museum of archeology and history is one of the most fascinating museums that I've every visited. Upon entering, a visitor views a short multi-media presentation, complete with holograms, about the founding of Montreal. Then, visitors either tour the museum with a guide or on their own. In the lower level, the visitor is actually down within the archeological site, and able to see the various levels which give clues as to the different uses of this site throughout the centuries. The rest of the museum includes varied, and very interesting, exhibits that illustrate Montreal's history.

Bonaparte

This restaurant, in Old Montreal, is a favorite of ours. The menu is old style French, with a little updating. Very tasty, with good service.

Underground Montreal

Over the last 35 years, Montreal has developed this underground network of almost nineteen miles of tunnel, connecting shopping centers, hotels, the Metro, banks, universities, and the like. I am not particularly a shopper, but last winter, when the temperature was about -10 degrees F., I did spend some time here, simply because the temperature controlled environment was inviting. If you like to shop and are not particularly drawn to the outdoors, this might be just the place for you.

Helpful Web Sites and Other Information

General Information about Montreal:
www.pagemontreal.qc.ca/
http://montreal.cityvu.com (includes a Metro map)

Auberge les Passants du Sans Soucy
171 St. Paul Street West, Montreal
(514) 842-2634.

Bonaparte
443 Rue St. Francois Xavier, Montreal
(514) 844-7368, lunch and dinner, no lunch on weekends.

Find out about city tours in Montreal

For lots of ideas about what to do in Montreal, get Access Montreal, an excellent travel guide to Montreal and Quebec City that I have been using for a number of years. It is a thin book, easier to carry than many other guides, and very simple to negotiate, since it uses different color ink for different categories, such as accommodations, attractions and restaurants.

Access Montreal & Quebec City (2nd Ed)