Montreal Travel Guide

We returned from our trip to Montreal a couple weeks ago, and we had a great time. Our kids had been asking to see snow. We looked at a map and decided that an East coast destination where we were likely to see snow was Montreal. Our group wasn’t interested in skiing, and we were traveling with a large group (14). Therefore, we wanted a larger city destination where our group could be accommodated for dining and group activities. We ended up having a great time in Montreal! We got to see and do a lot of what Montreal has to offer.

Quebec is a French-speaking province, but we found that almost everyone was able to speak to us in English. Even so, we did not have any issues with communication.

Our group was there for New Year’s Eve. It rained all day, and I don’t think there were any big public events going on because of the rain. We didn’t see any fireworks, either. But were in our rooms early (because kids), so we didn’t feel it made much of a difference.

For restaurant recommendations, check out this blog post with where we ate in Montreal.

Where We Stayed in Montreal

We stayed at a Residence Inn by Marriott in Downtown Montreal. We were in walking distance of a lot of things. I really wanted a hotel room with a separate bedroom for Eddie and I, Eddie wanted a hotel with a gym, and we all wanted a place where breakfast was included so we didn’t have to worry about heading out in the mornings for something to eat. Rooms were sparse but clean, our bed was comfortable, there were two closets and a kitchen (no oven, but stove, refrigerator, microwave, toaster, and coffeemaker were all included). Continental breakfast was good and had plenty of variety – cereal for the kids, eggs, fruit, yogurt, etc for the adults.

Overall we had a great stay and I would recommend it as an affordable stay. I also have to say that service was excellent here – friendly and prompt! We all talked about how anytime we called down to the front desk with any kind of need, someone was knocking on our door within minutes.

What We Did in Montreal

We managed to do quite a lot!

• Cirque du Soleil Corteo – This was one of the most beautiful Cirque du Soleil shows I have seen. I’m glad we took the opportunity to watch it while we were there. The kids enjoyed it, too. It is a touring show, so it may not be in Montreal anymore, but I’d definitely recommend watching this one!
• AURA at the Basilique du Notre Dame – This was extraordinary. I don’t really have the words to describe this. It is a light show paired with music in this very ornate basilica. It was absolutely breathtaking, everyone was enthralled. It’s about 20 minutes long. We also went to mass at the basilica on a separate day – mass was in French so it was a little difficult for the kids to follow along, but it was beautiful.
• Bus Tour via Viator – It rained all day long on New Year’s Eve, but we had booked a bus tour for that day. It was about 3 hours long, and it took us off the island of Montreal (no, I did not know Montreal was an island until this tour), and our tour guide was great. We got to drive by the Olympic village and learned a little more about the history and layout of the city.
• Vieux Port Ferris Wheel & Ice Skating – The Ferris wheel was great, you go around a couple times and you can see most of the city from the top. You can see how ice skating went for us here. If ice skating is your jam, we got our skates there, as well as helmets for the kids and the little support, too. There is a cafe there where you can get coffee, drinks, sandwiches, and pizza. We ended up having lunch here.
• Place Jacques Cartier – This is a beautiful plaza near Vieux Port and surrounded by restaurants. It’s a beautiful spot and we all loved walking through here.
• Cabane a Sucre – Maple syrup is a staple in Montreal. Cabane a Sucre is a Sugar Shack – the one we visited is in Place Jacques Cartier. They take maple taffy, pour it over ice, then you roll it up on a popsicle stick and have this gooey, half-frozen maple treat. They also had a very yummy spiced cider that was a nice warming drink.
• Parc du Mont-Royal – This is a mountain(ish?) park in the center of the city. You can walk up steps to get to the top (it’s moderately strenuous, but the kids were able to do it). In the winter they have activities like tubing, sledding, and snowshoeing. We weren’t able to go tubing, but the kids had a great time sliding down the snow anyway!
• Barbie Expo – This was definitely better than I expected. It’s a free exhibits of hundreds of Barbies, arranged in categories – countries, brides, decades, celebrities. It was an absolute hit. I almost wish I had gone without the kids because it was SO good! It is also free, so that’s a bonus!
• Underground City – Many of the shopping centers, malls, performing arts venues, and commercial complexes in Montreal connect via underground passages. Just be careful, we ended up in a government building and people looked at us very strangely.
• Le Grand Marche de Noel – This is only open mid-November – December, but it was the only one we came across. I was a little bummed there weren’t more of these open.

Something we missed that I really wish we had been able to do

• The Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History – we drove by this on a tour and it looks SO amazing.
• Bota Bota Spa – my brother and sister-in-law did this and said it is amazing.
• Go to St. Joseph’s Oratory. It is gorgeous – I was able to visit in high school and I remember it being very impressive. My parents and my brother visited and said it was amazing. They also have a Sunday mass in English, which would have been perfect for us to attend.

Day Trip to Mont-Tremblant

We rented a car and drove to Mont-Tremblant for the day. Mont Tremblant is a ski town located East of Montreal. It was a nice little change from walking around and being in the city. There was an Avis down the street from our hotel, and the day before we wanted to take the drive, we booked the car. It was just about a two hour drive each way.

We parked, walked the village a little bit, watched some of the skiers doing their thing, and grabbed lunch at La Forge (the onion soup was amazing there). We also had a hot chocolate at Chocolato – do not miss this, it was the best hot chocolate I have ever had. There is a playground right behind Chocolato and the kids played here for a little bit, too. This was a very cute ski village, it was very very busy, but I do wish we had been able to spend more time here!

xoxo