I appreciate the kind words and HOLY COW! Props to you for making that leap!! I'll be tuning into your journey -- keep grinding and don't be afraid to reach out if there's anything I can do to help
The Airport bus, conveniently called the 747, is quite fast. They have dedicated lines from the airport to downtown. That thing is flying… bonus: you can use the bus ticket in the subway for the next 24 hours, no limit. Quite a good deal. I live next to Lafontaine Park… pls keep quiet 😅 Marché Jean Talon is much better. Although Atwater market is next to the canal Lachine, which is quite nice. Duluth is a nice pedestrian street. A larger one would be Mont-Royal street nearby, or Wellington street in Verdun. Both closed to cars in the summer. The best local spots are often not well covered by the subway. The Mile End is a good example. This is where you find the best bagels and coffee (Olympic or Club Social). The Hasidic community is huge. Outremont is a little more up mkt. older people I guess, but still a classic. For smoked meat, in the summer Schwartz is way too touristy, then you can try Dunns’ downtown or Snowdown’s Deli, or Levitt’s.
Awesome comment -- tons of value in there. Thanks for taking the time to share (and sorry about promoting the park haha... you live next to a great one). Cheers!
What’s obvious from your video but not mentioned here (unless I missed it!) is that fall is easily the most spectacular time of year to visit Montréal. No need to add anything else - except if you make that 3-hr train trip to Québec City from Montréal in early October, you’ll barely ever put your camera down. It’s just stunning.
@ I love the longer days and the non-stop festivals, but fall is always better for me. I’m not a “hot weather/muggy heat” guy, I like my days sunny and crisp and the mosquitoes in hibernation. I like the fact that the city feels more “local” and less touristy as fall sets in. I like the focus on harvest, on the beautiful, autumnal and hearty meals that the québécois celebrate so well. And then there is that little detail of the dazzling, incandescent glory of the leaves. Canada slapped a fiery-red maple leaf on its flag for a reason. Yes, I think I prefer the fall (and the spring!) to summer in Montréal. But every season there has its selling point.
Great video! I’m from Montréal and the only thing I’d have to point out is that in Old-Montréal, Airbnbs are illegal (for multiple reasons). Not to say you won’t find people who managed to escape the policies, but be careful because a lot of them are not up to regulations when it comes to safety standards. When you book, keep this in mind and make sure to read reviews and spot all the little caveats!
The West Island, you pretty much will always be able to speak to someone in English. We don't get hoards of tourists. In the summer there's a lot of places to go. Pointe claire village is beautiful. Cap St. jacques is a beautiful parc with a beach. You can get a beautiful view of Riviere des Praires. Beaconsfield is beautiful even to just drive around in. Sainte Anne de Bellevue has good food and scenery as well as John Abbot campus to see. I mean beautiful view is in the name. Ecomuseum and Morgan Arboretum are worth a visit. Stewart Hall in Pointe claire is nice. We have a lot of good food here too. Sahib is some of the best Indian in Montreal. Scarolies is good Italian food. Mckibbins is great Irish pub food often having live performances (Guinness nachos are a must). Yagel Bagel is a great Kosher bakery in DDO. Wild Willy's ice cream in the Pointe claire village is a popular local hub in the summer. Honestly there's waaaay more but those are the highlights.
Really great video!! You truly got to experience the wonder of Montreal! A couple of thoughts on places to stay... Mile End and the Plateau are lovely, but I would say they are also VERY touristy. Yes, there are locals, but they will have lost of visitors. For a bit of an alternative, moving one or two Metro stops up (Laurier Ave or Jean Talon) will get a bit more local . As one other commenter said, AirBNBs are very strictly regulated, so it might be tough to find them there. Downtown is good in spots (e.g., closer to Quartier des Spectacles) where you can find more reasonably priced hotels and you're always on a Metro line.
Ahhhhh watching this makes me miss my city so much! I’ve been living in Dublin, Ireland for the past 5 years and was only able to go back home once since 😢 Dublin is great but home is home!
The typical greeting from someone in the hospitality industry will be bonjour-hi (it’s a Montreal thing) just respond in English if that’s your language so you don’t go through the confusing are they francophone or anglophone guessing game. Montreal is almost fully bilingual.
On tipping :15% tipping is the minimum. Their salary are lower , and the tip is taxed. A great service , i tip 20% ! On english: And there's alot of section ( Montreal-Est for exemple) where alot of poeple have difficulties talking english. If you want to go out Montreal (even to neighbour city), it's harder to get english. If you stay in a airbnb , be sure it's a legal one , with the number from the gouvernemental approuval at the bottom... as you don't want to encourage criminals ( it's a thing...)
Restaurants with a waiter at the table or alcohol in a bar, definitely 15% (it's not only expected but almost assumed) or more depending on the quality of the service. Other services like a taxi, ordering food to go, coffee, etc. Just rounding up or a buck or two is fine. Don't get deceived by the 18% or 20% tip recommendation on the machine. Add a custom amount if that's what you want to do.
Ile Sainte-Hélène and Ile Notre-Dame are kinda big to explore by foot, but by bike, it’s a great experience. Between wooded areas, great views of the skyline by the river, the historical buildings and the topography, it can be a nice escapade for a few hours, but it shouldn’t be on the top of things to do. The iles de Boucherville are nice too, but without a car, it is not that accessible, especially for tourists. I would personnaly encourage a tourist to go to parc Jean-Drapeau before iles de Boucherville.
iles de bouchervilles are easily accessible by boat. there's a boats from south shore and from montreal that goes there several time per day. you can also bring your bike on the boat
Great video! Please allow me to contribute 2 corrections: At 2:08. No, not everybody in Montreal speaks English! The native English-speakers are a small minority. But most other people speak at least SOME English. At 6:33. Montreal is gorgeous in the fall, but it is rather depressing in the winter! Do NOT visit Montreal from mid-November to March, unless you enjoy freezing your ars* off and walking on slippery sidewalks covered with dirty sleet. Our winters are as HORRENDOUS as our summers are glorious! -From Montreal with Love
i loved montreal so much last summer and decided to instead of going back right away go to quebec city this summer. would love to know if you enjoyed them both fairly equally or one over the other?
Hmmm, that’s a tough question. Both are awesome but very different. I think Quebec City was a unique spot to see (especially in North America). We loved our time up there but we would choose to base ourselves and spend more time in Montreal again. If you only have a few days and want to see something new, Quebec City is great. But Montreal is much larger and felt more livable. Good news is you can’t go wrong with either 😄
If you want all my Montreal recommendations, you can download the free guide I created here: bit.ly/Montreal-Guide-Camden
The market is not named St Jean, but Jean Talon (pronounced “zhan talon”) who was the royal administrator of New France.
Yeah I caught that mistake while editing (tried to note it on the transition). No idea why my brain added the "Saint" part haha
I love the content David! You inspired me with your Ljubljana video! It helped me see the city so well that I moved here! Cheers 🎉!
I appreciate the kind words and HOLY COW! Props to you for making that leap!! I'll be tuning into your journey -- keep grinding and don't be afraid to reach out if there's anything I can do to help
@@camdendavidthank you Camden! I really appreciate the support and kind words! Cheers to travel 🎉! I’ll shoot you an email!
The Airport bus, conveniently called the 747, is quite fast. They have dedicated lines from the airport to downtown. That thing is flying… bonus: you can use the bus ticket in the subway for the next 24 hours, no limit. Quite a good deal.
I live next to Lafontaine Park… pls keep quiet 😅
Marché Jean Talon is much better. Although Atwater market is next to the canal Lachine, which is quite nice.
Duluth is a nice pedestrian street. A larger one would be Mont-Royal street nearby, or Wellington street in Verdun. Both closed to cars in the summer.
The best local spots are often not well covered by the subway. The Mile End is a good example. This is where you find the best bagels and coffee (Olympic or Club Social). The Hasidic community is huge.
Outremont is a little more up mkt. older people I guess, but still a classic.
For smoked meat, in the summer Schwartz is way too touristy, then you can try Dunns’ downtown or Snowdown’s Deli, or Levitt’s.
Awesome comment -- tons of value in there. Thanks for taking the time to share (and sorry about promoting the park haha... you live next to a great one). Cheers!
What’s obvious from your video but not mentioned here (unless I missed it!) is that fall is easily the most spectacular time of year to visit Montréal. No need to add anything else - except if you make that 3-hr train trip to Québec City from Montréal in early October, you’ll barely ever put your camera down. It’s just stunning.
Both spots were pretty unbelievable in the fall haha! How you rate Montreal summers compared to the fall?
@ I love the longer days and the non-stop festivals, but fall is always better for me. I’m not a “hot weather/muggy heat” guy, I like my days sunny and crisp and the mosquitoes in hibernation. I like the fact that the city feels more “local” and less touristy as fall sets in. I like the focus on harvest, on the beautiful, autumnal and hearty meals that the québécois celebrate so well. And then there is that little detail of the dazzling, incandescent glory of the leaves. Canada slapped a fiery-red maple leaf on its flag for a reason.
Yes, I think I prefer the fall (and the spring!) to summer in Montréal. But every season there has its selling point.
Great video! I’m from Montréal and the only thing I’d have to point out is that in Old-Montréal, Airbnbs are illegal (for multiple reasons). Not to say you won’t find people who managed to escape the policies, but be careful because a lot of them are not up to regulations when it comes to safety standards. When you book, keep this in mind and make sure to read reviews and spot all the little caveats!
Thanks for sharing this!
The West Island, you pretty much will always be able to speak to someone in English. We don't get hoards of tourists. In the summer there's a lot of places to go. Pointe claire village is beautiful. Cap St. jacques is a beautiful parc with a beach. You can get a beautiful view of Riviere des Praires. Beaconsfield is beautiful even to just drive around in. Sainte Anne de Bellevue has good food and scenery as well as John Abbot campus to see. I mean beautiful view is in the name. Ecomuseum and Morgan Arboretum are worth a visit. Stewart Hall in Pointe claire is nice. We have a lot of good food here too. Sahib is some of the best Indian in Montreal. Scarolies is good Italian food. Mckibbins is great Irish pub food often having live performances (Guinness nachos are a must). Yagel Bagel is a great Kosher bakery in DDO. Wild Willy's ice cream in the Pointe claire village is a popular local hub in the summer. Honestly there's waaaay more but those are the highlights.
This is an awesome comment! Thanks so much for taking the time to share all this. It’s comments like these that make this rewarding for me 😊
Love that space, very zen!!
VERY
you the man. love your videos
I appreciate you!
if you are looking for some great record stores to go to in Montreal there is this guide video on French Vinyl Addict's channel,
Thanks for sharing!
Really great video!! You truly got to experience the wonder of Montreal! A couple of thoughts on places to stay... Mile End and the Plateau are lovely, but I would say they are also VERY touristy. Yes, there are locals, but they will have lost of visitors. For a bit of an alternative, moving one or two Metro stops up (Laurier Ave or Jean Talon) will get a bit more local . As one other commenter said, AirBNBs are very strictly regulated, so it might be tough to find them there. Downtown is good in spots (e.g., closer to Quartier des Spectacles) where you can find more reasonably priced hotels and you're always on a Metro line.
Appreciate you sharing this!
Ahhhhh watching this makes me miss my city so much! I’ve been living in Dublin, Ireland for the past 5 years and was only able to go back home once since 😢 Dublin is great but home is home!
Hope you get to visit home soon :)
The typical greeting from someone in the hospitality industry will be bonjour-hi (it’s a Montreal thing) just respond in English if that’s your language so you don’t go through the confusing are they francophone or anglophone guessing game. Montreal is almost fully bilingual.
On tipping :15% tipping is the minimum. Their salary are lower , and the tip is taxed. A great service , i tip 20% !
On english:
And there's alot of section ( Montreal-Est for exemple) where alot of poeple have difficulties talking english. If you want to go out Montreal (even to neighbour city), it's harder to get english.
If you stay in a airbnb , be sure it's a legal one , with the number from the gouvernemental approuval at the bottom... as you don't want to encourage criminals ( it's a thing...)
Appreciate you sharing all this
Restaurants with a waiter at the table or alcohol in a bar, definitely 15% (it's not only expected but almost assumed) or more depending on the quality of the service. Other services like a taxi, ordering food to go, coffee, etc. Just rounding up or a buck or two is fine. Don't get deceived by the 18% or 20% tip recommendation on the machine. Add a custom amount if that's what you want to do.
Thanks for sharing this :)
Ile Sainte-Hélène and Ile Notre-Dame are kinda big to explore by foot, but by bike, it’s a great experience. Between wooded areas, great views of the skyline by the river, the historical buildings and the topography, it can be a nice escapade for a few hours, but it shouldn’t be on the top of things to do. The iles de Boucherville are nice too, but without a car, it is not that accessible, especially for tourists. I would personnaly encourage a tourist to go to parc Jean-Drapeau before iles de Boucherville.
iles de bouchervilles are easily accessible by boat. there's a boats from south shore and from montreal that goes there several time per day. you can also bring your bike on the boat
Thanks for sharing all that!
Great tips
I appreciate that
Great video! Please allow me to contribute 2 corrections:
At 2:08. No, not everybody in Montreal speaks English! The native English-speakers are a small minority. But most other people speak at least SOME English.
At 6:33. Montreal is gorgeous in the fall, but it is rather depressing in the winter! Do NOT visit Montreal from mid-November to March, unless you enjoy freezing your ars* off and walking on slippery sidewalks covered with dirty sleet. Our winters are as HORRENDOUS as our summers are glorious!
-From Montreal with Love
I appreciate the corrections! Much love
i loved montreal so much last summer and decided to instead of going back right away go to quebec city this summer. would love to know if you enjoyed them both fairly equally or one over the other?
Hmmm, that’s a tough question. Both are awesome but very different. I think Quebec City was a unique spot to see (especially in North America). We loved our time up there but we would choose to base ourselves and spend more time in Montreal again. If you only have a few days and want to see something new, Quebec City is great. But Montreal is much larger and felt more livable. Good news is you can’t go wrong with either 😄