MONTREAL

Montreal according to student life of Emily. What I remember most fondly and want to recommend to you (2007 - 2013)

Favorite streets (not in any order)

1.    McGill College Avenue:

a.    Short walk

b.    Has great view of McGill university on the north end of the street

c.    Entrances to all Malls (around like 5… I haven’t counted) that are all connected underground: “Underground City”

d.    Always is decorated…for events

e.    Connects “Ben&Jerry’s” Ice cream shop that gives out free ice cream once in a while to McGill University

2.    St. Catherine Street:

a.    Long street perpendicular to McGill College Ave

b.    All fun stuff connected by this street

                                          i.    Restaurants& Cafes

                                         ii.    Clubs

                                        iii.    Malls & Street Shopping

                                       iv.    Artist’s Street Exhibitions like giant light up swings you can ride… theatres & Concert Halls (GO BY METRO: PLACE DES ARTS)

                                        v.    Festivals & Parades

                                       vi.    Chinatown & OLD MONTREAL (Notre Dame Church) (BY METRO: PLACE D’ARMES)

                                      vii.    *Gang fights at night only very rare to see

c.    Don’t go too far on this street, fun stuff is concentrated From Chinatown to Atwater (that’s still about an hour walk I think).

3.    St. Denis Street, (GO BY METRO: BERRI-UQAM)

a.    Street Parallel to McGill College Av

b.    Street for young entrepreneurs’ boutiques and eateries

c.    Also has clubs

d.    From time to time this street is blocked off and filled with pedestrian shopping

4.    Crescent Street (METRO: GUY CONCORDIA)

a.    Liked it mostly because it had a Karaoke which had 5hrs of fun for $10

b.    But is filled with pretty people and expensive cars at night for some clubs I’ve never been to…

5.    Sherbrooke Street

a.    Longest street in Montreal (I think) Connects from East to West

b.    Only 10 minutes of it is packed with semi fun stuff

                                          i.    Start at McGill University gate (McGill College avenue cross Sherbrooke)

                                         ii.    Walk west and you will see Museums (Art Galleries) and Boutiques and hotels where celebrities stay

                                        iii.    End at Crescent Street

Restaurants (List according to closeness to McGill University) – you will notice these restaurants are fit for Student wallet size… please refer to some other person if looking for high end restaurants… FRENCH cuisine in Montreal is also very good – I hear

Right By McGill

1.    Lola Rosa Café

a.    Really nice food and atmosphere… (according to my preferences)

b.    Vegan-ish place

2.    ATTI: Korean Restaurant on University Street

a.    Nice interior

b.    Good Lunch menu price

3.    Furusato on Bleury street: AMAZING JAPANESE HOME FOOD

a.    Only con is that it only opens for a few hours during lunch

4.    Reuben’s: Steak, Smoked Meat, Pasta

a.    Only good at one location on St. Catherine street by McGill

b.    There are two types a deli and a restaurant you want to go to the restaurant. The deli one on St. Catherine is underground so it’s easy to distinguish

c.    I like their desserts too

To West of McGill

5.    Three Amigos on St. Catherine St.: Mexican Food

a.    69cent tacos on Sundays

b.    $7 Awesome steak Fajita on Sizzling plate and all different sides on Wednesdays

6.    L’Academie on Crescent St.: Mussels and Pasta

a.    Run by Culinary school students

b.    Good environment, good food, good service… most times

c.    Good price from Sunday to Wednesday ($12 for any menu)

7.    Chez Cora’s: Brunch

a.    Other Cora’s restaurants exist all across Canada but Montreal is its origin and must say it’s a little different.

8.    Qing Hua Dumplings METRO Guy Concordia

a.    Dumplings Hand made on the spot…

b.    Good experience but very Asian

9.    Kazu: AMAZING JAPANESE FUSION

a.    Only con is that the line up is really long if going at a wrong time

10.  Seoul Chako on St. Catherine St.: Sushi and Korean BBQ buffet.

a.    Nice Interior

b.    Good Clean Facility and great for lunch or dinner

c.    Sushi is good during dinner

d.    Meat grill in table is amazing because it has its own ventilation… in the table

11.  Jardin de Pekin at Snowdon Metro Station: BEST CHINESE FOOD

a.    If you like Peking duck experience (cooked and thinly sliced at your table for you)

b.    Also has menu catered to Koreans in Korean.

12.  Pho Lien By METRO Cote Des Neige (Near St. Joseph’s Oratory): BEST Vietnamese Place in MTL

a.    Must try their 3 colour dessert drink!!

13.  Restaurant Blanche Neige: $1.99 Breakfast (By METRO Cote Des Neige)

a.    2 Eggs, 2 Toasts, Ham or Sausage, Potato, Tea or Coffee, all for 2$

To East of McGill

14.  SCHWARTZ: FAMOUS MONTREAL SMOKED MEAT on North End of St. Laurent Street Another cool street like St. Denis but Closer to McGill

a.    MUST EAT when visiting Montreal

b.    Countless famous people ate here

c.    Many plays and musicals made on this place

d.    THIS Street is filled with a lot of things to do and eateries

e.    Also Only Con is long line up if at wrong time

15.  Little Sheep Hot Pot in Chinatown: All you can eat Chinese Hot Pot

a.    Fresh vegetables

b.    Healthy Soup Base

c.    Smelly because Soup is boiling all day everyday

16.  La Banquise-Apparently the BEST Poutine in Montreal! (I still like Costco Poutine Best)

a.    Go by METRO Mont-Royal and walk towards an awesome park (Parc La Fontaine)

b.    Hand cut fries (I think)

c.    And all different flavours of Poutine

d.    Good Apricot Beer

Desserts

1.    Cacao 70

a.    There are two, one on Du Parc Street which is closer to McGill University, but one by Atwater has better interior and is the original one.

b.    Has Chocolate menu from all around the world

c.    Fondues, Crepes, Waffles

2.    Juliet et Chocolat

a.    Do you like Chocolate?

b.    This is a must visit if you like chocolate and are visiting Montreal

c.    I like it less than Cacao 70 but still a very popular and famous around town

3.    CoCo Bun

a.    Best Chinese Bakery!

b.    Delicious and very economic to the wallet

c.    There are three that I know of: One in Chinatown, One in Guy Concordia Metro Station, One in Atwater Metro Station’s Mall entrance

d.    Don’t pay tax if you pay cash

4.    Premiere Moisson

a.    Epic Best Awesome French Patisserie

b.    Do you like French Desserts? What more can I say

5.    Rockaberry

a.    Big Pies

b.    Best Apple Crumble

6.    Orange Julep

a.    It is that Giant Orang Ball Building near Metro Station Namur

b.    You can see this Giant Orange Ball at viewpoints atop Mont Royal. Especially overlooking away from Montreal downtown like a top of St. Joseph’s Oratory

c.    Everyone you ask in Montreal will know of it but no one knows what is going on inside the Orange ball or what exactly Orange Julep is.

d.    It is a Drink made from whole Orange Fresh that morning and comes down to kiosks at the bottom of the Orange ball at 7AM through tubes it’s cool and magical

7.    A very famous Bagel place that sells only a certain number of bagels fresh in the morning… can not remember the name…

Also try walking along St. Catherine, St. Denis and St. Laurent Streets to Find So Many others… Montreal’s Fire Oven Italian foods are great too, Many Brunch Cafes are reknown and of course French and Fondue places are well known…

If tired of city scene... Go by Chinatown and down towards the Harbour where OLD MONTREAL is it has lots of eateries too and great place to stroll/bike by the water.

Places to Visit:

1.    St. Joseph’s Oratory

a.    A sight to see inside as it is the biggest

b.    A sight to see outside as you can see all of Montreal

c.    This place is famous because many people with disability of walking climbed the stairs while kneeling on each step and at the end of the stairs they were cured of it. You can see walls full of canes and crutches left by people who were cured at top.

d.    Go on a Sunday and you can hear the Organ play… (TOP FLOOR!)Organ pipes run along the whole wall up to the ceiling of this massive building and it is amazing

2.    Climb up Mont. Royal

a.    Short Hike up but lots to see (can drive around it too)

b.    You can see the view of Montreal (Opposite direction from St. Joseph) if you take the hiking trail from the top of Peel Street (only about 30 minute hike up) then take a different route down to see ponds

c.    Said to be designed by the man who did Central Park in New York. Don’t know where I heard this from…

3.    Chinatown & Old Montreal

a.    Cobblestone bricks line this old fashioned town with grand architecture

b.    Tour de l'Horloge: Clock Tower on the beach (You can climb inside!)

c.    Light show at Notre Dame Cathedral… which is said to be exact replica of the French Notre Dame but I haven’t researched on the truth of this statement it is very magical inside but you have to pay to get in…$2/ person

d.    Poutineries

e.    Cupcakes

f.     Beaver Tails

4.    McGill University

a.    That building on Sherbrooke street to the East of McGill College Entrance and After University Street is the Music Building. If you walk in to the Glass building at the East end of Music Building some times they have free concerts by the graduating class or Embassies

b.    Go up Mcgill College Street from Sherbrooke through the Archway You will walk by the statue of James McGill all the way to James McGill’s Urn. He was buried there… but I don’t think he is there anymore. I think they moved him some place else some while back.

c.    At this point you are in the middle of campus to the west is Arts and to the right is Science and Engineering including nursing and architecture too

d.    There are hourly tours… just ask someone or go online

SHOPPING

1.    Downtown’s Underground City

a.    It is very confusing, grab a map. Some malls are fancy, Some malls are average

2.    Street Shopping

a.    St. Denis Street

b.    St. Laurent Street

c.    Mont Royal Metro Station (Farmer’s market type cool hippy stuff)

d.    St. Catherine (Good recognizable name brands)

3.    BIG MALLS-a little bit of distance away

a.    Carrefour Laval

                                                  i.    Best place for me because all the store fronts are decorated so nicely and has amazing flour garden in the centre

b.    Galeries d’Anjou

                                                  i.    Very Modern, Calm and Large

c.    Premiere Outlets

                                                  i.    Just opened… haven’t been

If going for more than a few days

1.    I suggest you also book a day’s trip on a tour to Quebec City for one day. Very different culture. (Can rent a car for a day or book a bus tour-many going)

2.    Also visit Mont. Tremblant or Gatineau Park! Amazing view of Autumn colours! Romantic!!

3.    Also Capital of Canada, Ottawa is only 2 hour drive away!

4.    Also IF you like biking? Rent a bike at the BIXI stations and Ride awesome scenic Bike trails which I can’t quite remember exactly but if you search online it’s there