Top Reader Tips About Montreal
In this column, we always get great recommendations for bars, restaurants and attractions. But this week, Montreal residents and frequent visitors also gave us great tips for communicating with the locals, navigating the city, and even getting to the country from the United States. You can read all 89 comments on the original post or just a few highlights below.
We had to plead with Lifehacker Senior Video Producer Joel Kahn to reveal the secret of crossing the border :
If you are driving from the south on I-87, the border crossing can be very crowded and time-consuming. The secret is that there is another border crossing about 3 miles east of I-87.
Judy Judy explains the east and west sides :
The city is divided by the Rue Saint Laurent. Everything east of Saint Laurent is “east” and everything west is – you guessed it – “west.” It is very likely that everything in the West will be English; anything in the East is likely to be French.
“ Drink crafting a beer” , – says sammmmm00:
There are tons of great places to enjoy craft beer: Broue Pub Brouhaha, Station Host, MaBrasserie, BIRRA Bière Maison, Vice & Versa, Alexandraplatz (in summer), St-Houblon, L’Amère à boire, Brasserie Etoh, Snack & Versa. Blues, Le Boswell, L’Isle de Garde, Pit Caribou and many others …
Visit the Notre Dame Basilica with its special style:
Like a European city, Montreal dines late , says Woundup_Penguin:
If you are an elderly person or from a city where the last call is at 2 am, then going out for dinner at the usual time, etc. Has both positive and negative sides. It will be very easy to get a table, but you can feel like the last ones alive after the apocalypse.
Examine your trip on Instagram , says Wittyname:
Montreal is not so much a place to go to visit x, y, z, but a place that is just fun to visit. It’s fun to walk, eat, have fun. Such a place.
Montreal confirms my belief that Instagram is one of the best travel tools out there. Start following Montreal’s Instagram accounts and you’ll quickly find loads of great food, beautiful sights, and fun activities you’ll want to check out when you get there.
Like many northern cities, Montreal has a network of underground tunnels and shops:
“Look at the classic cars at Orange Julep,” says Moonblossom:
If you are into cars, every Wednesday night from late May until Labor Day, the Orange Julep hosts a car collectors’ meeting. This eatery literally resembles a giant orange, just off one of the highways that run through the city. The food is a typical fatty diner.
Everyone recommends Montreal Putin. In the middle of a long list of top scores, RealGeneticSin lists the top Putin spots :
Putin: Frites Alors or La Banquise. If Frites Alors, go to the one near Cote des Neiges metro station. If you want to be really trendy, head to Pied de Cochon for delicious food and foie gras for putin.
RealGeneticSin also advises taking the bus from the airport:
Don’t take a taxi from the airport, take a bus pass. There is an express bus that takes you from the airport to the city center on the cheap, and the fare can be included if you buy a multi-day bus pass.
Try some more creative alternatives to bowling or darts:
Take advantage of the bike rental and go to the insect museum, says Gina S.
Using Bixi (I call them rent bikes) to get around town and even up to Biodom and Insectarium. There are so many stations from which to take one and also return when you want to walk or take the metro. Dedicated bike lanes made me feel more secure and I took my own helmet and stylish backpack with me. I recommend the insectarium to stare and gaze at the adorable creatures, both live and pinned up. My highlight was the mantis orchid.
Maybe SmoothieKing was fed at the roulette table, or maybe you really should avoid visiting the casino :
I would skip the casino. The last time I went, there was no drink at the tables, and any emotion was frowned upon.
- For fans of street art and its influences, Bbr recommends Freshpaint Gallery and Station 16.
- Although you can speak English well, Bbr and ihatekinja999 say people will appreciate it if you say your finer points in French : Bonjour, merci, s’il vous plait.
- A little more in French via JudgyJudy: “When people say ‘dep’ they mean ‘depanneur’ which means corner store (as opposed to ‘tabergie’ which means ‘smoke shop / newsstand’).”
- Go to the summer Montreal Jazz Fest, says the bitter fruit . Or the Just for Laughs festival, says TDK . And the edible mathematician lists more annual events .
- Smulrus says the Old Port shopping area is overpriced and cheap.
- Fairmont Bagel: The best bagel in town. Run for a hot fresh bagel from the oven late at night, ”says Xero44 .
- “Montreal is my smoked place,” says Danny Garant . Look for Lester or the famous Dunn.
- Personanon recommends the Planetarium, the Montreal Science Center, the blacksmiths at Les Forges de Montreal, and the Arcade MTL arcade bar.
- And play pinball at North Star Machines à Piastres, says Todd B.
- “There are tons of used book stores in Montreal,” says sammmmm00 .
- Add some travel time on snowy days, says Luisjab : ” In winter, the sidewalks can get very slippery and buses can linger for quite a long time on heavy snowy days.”