Montreal Things to Do Tips by BEETLE_VERTE

Ile Notre Dame & ile Ste-Helene
This is my best place! At least once a week, I drive to the St-Lambert lock on the south shore and put my roller blades on. I then cross on the victoria bridge and access the Villeneuve Formula 1 circuit; except on the week of the Grand Prix (in June), we can ride the race circuit! And then others activities on the islands. You can rent rollerblades for a starter! or ride your bicycle. Bring your picnic and try the beautifull Ste-Helene island, or have a lunch at one of the snack bar. This site also accomodate the attraction park La Ronde with its rides, games, restaurants and shows. On the island, there's also a beach with naturally filtered water, green spaces, flowers and boat rental. You'll also find the Montreal Casino, Biosphere (environmental exhibition), Stewart museum (fascinating history of the New World), Governor's feast (public dinner and show with Nouvelle France theme). At the Olympic basin, you can watch canoe, kayak, scull and dragon-boat competition. On wednesday and saturday of june and july, an international fireworks competition will blow your mind for 30 minutes. Peoples in the Montreal area stops on the road or gather in parks or on the Jacques-cartier bridge just to watch. You can buy first row tickets at La Ronde and sit at the Swan lake. In august, les Fetes Gourmandes is a major attraction where culinary discoveries and unique festivities take place! Numerous kiosks offering food from around the world are places under trees and along the shore lines. It's expensive though, since every thing you taste cost between 2 and 5$. In the winter, La Fete des Neiges (snow festival) invade the island and you can ride a dogs sleigh, admire castle of snow and sculpture of ice, see wild animals, slides on the ice or ice skate. But my favorite remain to ride my rollerblades around the paths through the floralies which are numerous flowers gardens. And every so often, I'll rent a kayak and ride the little channel around the island. This is a very nice place!

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Directions: Ile Sainte-helene metro station. Bus 167 and 169 will get you to the Casino, the beach or La ronde. Jacques-cartier bridge to reach La ronde and Sainte-Helene island (parking 8: 10$) or Concorde bridg

It stretches 4.5km from downtown Montreal though lake Saint-Louis to Lachine. It used to be a shipping route that closed in 1970 with the construction of the Saint-Lawrence Seaway. And on the canal banks, there is this great pedestrian and cycling route where countless details evoke the past. The locks and walls of the canalized waterway, the 19th century factories and the downtown skyscrapers will fill your day. It starts at the Old Port and finished at the Lachine rapids (or the other way around!). The paved path shared by cyclists and in-line skaters is completely seperated from car traffic and it is lighted at night and well maintain. Make a round trip in the Lachine canal path (23km) or take the Grand Tour. This circuit goes along the Canal path and follows the Des Berges path along the St-Lawrence river, both of which are linked by the Atwater and Argenson streets cycling link (25km). Once at Lachine, take the path criss-crossing the green spaces along the shores of Lake St-Louis. To the east, near bonnaventure autoroute, the path connects up with the Old Port path which is linked to the wider Montreal network that crosses the east and north of the island. Make a detour by the Cite-du-Havre bicycle link and head for the Parc des Iles. This bicycle leads to the Seaway and south shore network.

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Directions: Subway: square Victoria, lionel Groulx or Charlevoix, the latter station is only 100m from the site. Tou can take your bicycle on the subway from 10h to 15h et after 19h during the week and all day du

During the day in the summer, there are streets musicians that perform and people that sell handmade jewelry on Ste-Catherine across from the Bay store.

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Address: Metro mcGill

Beautifull setting on the top of the mountain who gived its name to the city. You'll a have a great view over Montreal from it's belvedere. 150 species of birds in the park, bicycle and pedestrian paths, Smith house with information, activities, services, boutique and exhibition, Beaver lake with ducks. It also holds the Cote-des-neiges cimetary. Great quiet place.

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Directions: Numerous access by foot: By the Park avenue (corner Rachel), Pines Avenue (via Peel) and by the Cote des Neiges road by the Trafalgar stairs (best picturesque site if you ask me) or the Remembrance ro

Neighbourhood with a lot of cafes, bars, restaurant and theater. It could be described as trendy, bohemian or grungy without being wrong. Main streets are St-Denis, St-Laurent (Sherbrooke trhough Rachel), Ste-Catherine (St-Laurent through berri) and Prince Arthur (interesting pedestrian street if not a little too touristy in some sense). Must see: Place des Arts (large terrace great to listen to street musicians and catch some sun; also the site for some special events like Jazz festival, francopholies, ...), St-Denis' cafes, UQAM and its Judith Jasmin pavillion recycled from an old church, St-Louis square and Prince Arthur pedestrian street, cinematheque quebecoise (movies museum) and National Film board on the corner of De Maisonneuve and St-Denis st (sit in a big chair, put yor headphones on and whatch a movie at the touch of the screen!), Bibliotheque Nationale and Just for Laugh museum. To spend the night and so enjoy what this region have best to offers: Bacci for their pool tables, Cafe Campus for the polliwog, Cafe Sarajevo, Dome (mega dance club), Foufounes electriques (punk mecca which means electrics buttocks), L'Ile Noire Pub (great hangout with imported beer and whiskey), Jello bar (this place defines 'lounge'), Cheval Blanc (they brew their own beers), Le Swimming for it's second floor indoor terrace, the Shed Cafe and the St-Sulpice. Note that some prostitutes hang out at night around the corner of St-Laurent and St-Catherine st or near the corner of St-Denis and Rene-Levesque st. There's also some sex-shop and porno theaters around there. It's totally safe at any hour but I wouldn't walk around with the kids...

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Directions: St-Laurent, Berri UQAM and Sherbrooke metro station.

It was made famous in the 70's by writters and artists but is still known to be a hangout of would-be-singers and writers. It's also the most popular neighbourghood in Montreal and a lot of peoples want to live there for the many stores, restaurants and bars like Eggspectations (great breakfast), El Zaziummm (tex-mex and great design), Chez Doval (portugese), Frites Alors (belgium, best fries in town), La Binerie Mont Royal (traditionnal quebecois home cooking), Pizzedelic (designer pizza), Toque (french, considered to be the best restaurant in the city), Balattou club (well known for the african music), Le Belmont (still very popular dance club), Le Passeport, Whisky Cafe, Cherrier cafe... Must see: Tam Tam on MontRoyal on sundays in the summer (spontaneous drum and percussion fest but don't go by car), Fairmount Bagel on Fairmount st (Great Great bagel like you've never tasted! opened 24/7 and the smell from the oven will drag you there!), Lafontaine Park (not to visit at night, but walking around during the day is very soothing!), Mount Royal st (between St-Denis and St-Laurent streets) for it's recycled clothes shop or east of St-Denis st for it's used record, books and CD stores and St-Hubert st (sherbrook and Mont-Royal) for it's great examples of typical old styles Montreal houses.

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Commercial downtown area is full of modern bulding, underground shopping malls (indoor pedestrian network of more than 30km, access to subways, trains and buses, interiors places, shoppings malls, even a skating ring!), victorian houses and of course Ste-Catherine street, the main road in Montreal. It's a commercial street with hundreds of stores usually part of chains, you'll also find a lot of arcades, video peep shows, movies theaters, fast food places, streets performers and homeless people asking for money. But what makes Ste-Catherine street most interesting, is the peoples that always seems to pass trought it. Around the Musee des Beaux Arts, you'll find upscale art galleries, gift shops, antique store and designers clothes and jewelry on Sherbrooke, Crescent and Bishop streets. To eat or spend the evening: Sherlocks bar (in the Dominion sqaure building on the second floor), Thursday (bar, dance, club and restaurant on LaMontagne street), Biddle (Montreal jazz institution on Aylmer street), Carlo's and Pepe's (tex-mex ambiance!). They aren't any good restaurant on Ste-Catherine st between Guy and bleury, it's either greasy fast food or very ordinary deli and steak places (few exception like the Commensal, a vegeterian restaurant). Great ambiance at the McGill University campus and it's ghetto where the students live, eat, party and never leaves! You'll also find there the Molson Center for hockey fans and St patricks cathedral.

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Marche Bonsecours in Old Montreal
bordered by the Old Port, IMAX theater, Interactive Science Center, Bonsecours bassin with numerous shows, Place Jacques Cartier (THE place to go in Old Montreal), Montreal city Hall, Chateau Ramesay museum, Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Secours chapel, Marguerite bourgeoy museum, Pointe-a-Calliere Archaeology and history museum (Great great place to visit), Notre Dsame basilica and so on, it's the center point to start your day trip in Old Montreal. Inside, you'll find boutiques, exhibition and special events.

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Address: 350 St-Paul St east.
Champ de Mars metro station
Other Contact: 872-7730

An oasis of american ecosystems in the middle of the city: Tropical forest, Laurentian forest, St-Lawrence marin and polar world. It's a very fun visit!

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Address: 4777 Pierre de Coubertin
Viau metro station
Other Contact: 514-868-3000

I'm not a big fan, but the site is really incredible, in the middle of the jean Drapeau gardens and surrounded by St-Lawrence river, and the architecture is impressive. At night, it's magical ith all the lights. Otherwise, it's open 24/7, non-alcoholic beverages are given to the players, lounge, free parking, entrance and cloakroom, currency agency, shop. The cabaret presents great shows and the Nuance restaurant is exquisite! 18+

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Directions: Notre-Dame island.
Ile-Ste-Helene metro station or by shuttle from the Old Port.