How French is Montréal?
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 24 дек 2024
- This is my 2nd RUclips channel, if you don't already subscribe to my main channel, you can check it out here: / drewbinsky
I finally made it to Montreal, Quebec, Canada - and it’s my very first time in the French-speaking regions of this country!!! In this video, I take you around town to find out exactly how “French” it is here.
Hint: it’s pretty French
Follow @MoreTravelsWithDrewBinsky for more stories from EVERY country, and join me on / drewbinsky
Follow my travels on Instagram! / drewbinsky
👕 Thank you for making these travel videos possible by supporting my clothing brand, JUST GO 🌎: shopjustgo.com/
------
WHO AM I?
My name is Drew Binsky and I've been to all 197 countries in the world. I make travel videos about people, culture, and anything else I find interesting on the road. My ultimate goal is to inspire you to travel far and wide because our planet is beautiful!
MORE ABOUT ME:
drewbinsky.com...
![POGRADEC, ALBANIA - New Year Decorations 🎄Freezing Cold, Driving Tour Night [4K HDR]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Zrj6XCXktN4/mqdefault.jpg)
Have you ever been to Montreal? Would love to hear your thoughts on the city! Comment below :)
No I haven’t but when I do I go as ruddy as possible
Ff
A long time ago 1986 my second year of college. I'm sure it's quite different now. One memory was seeing a cyclist slam into a pedestrian and the two of them getting into a fight and others breaking it up.
Welcome to my city! Enjoy and I hope it treats you well 🥳 ⚜️
I surely remember that amazing crepe that was all over my face 😂😂
Welcome to Montréal! To answer your question, the vast majority of Québec's population speaks French as their first language, but will be quick to point out that they are not French. They consider themselves as different as the USA would be from Great Britain. Enjoy the city :)
Merci
I'm French with family and friends in the Montréal and Québec City areas. When arriving in Montréal, I'm always surprised that I can communicate in my native language with people around! And it's the same way round for my Québec friends when they visit Paris! Montréal is definitely not France but people there definitely speak French.
Vive le quebec ❤
Holy moly! Great to see you here!!!
@@ahoj7720
They are defenitly interchangeable. It's mostly the accent, and from what points in history it was politically acceptable to add words from various other languages that separate them.
But there are some people, especially in Quebec, who would call them separate languages.
Listening to that background music with French accordeon on images of Montreal because French is the official language is like watching a video of New York with bagpipe background music because the official language in New York is English.
Every American who comes to French Canada always acts like they just went to Paris 😂😂
@@Entername-md1ev frl
J'aurais pas pu mieux dire!
Bagpipes are Scottish
You think Montréal is French but to be honest it’s less and less true try moving further from Montréal you’ll encounter real French speaking communities that will not even be able to answer you any single word in English
English-speaking people always seem a bit confused with this, but French is an international language spoken in different countries and continents.
Not everyone who speaks it is French. The term generally used for French speakers is francophone. People who speak French in Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Congo, Senegal or somewhere else often do not have any particular ties with France other than being colonized or influenced by them.
Historically, many people from Quebec, where Montreal is located descend from French settlers, but they developed their own identity, similar to the US with England.
In short, they are francophone or French speaking, not French.
Very well said, I mean the fact that he puts a stereotypical French (🇫🇷) accordion song, that says it all… should we expect to find fish and chips and tea everywhere in NYC? After all they speak English! And I can’t wait to visit Mexico to taste a delicious paella while watching flamenco.
That's right. Many native English-speakers from Montreal itself still fail to understand this.
@@antonboludo8886 really ? I'm in country so I never talk with english people
@@sussyinternet8048 Explain Concordia Salus to me.
Explique-le moi en français. J'attends...
@@antonboludo8886 qu'est-ce que c'est un salus ?
Are you going to Quebec City? It is amazing and it will really remind you of being in a small town in France. You will hear less English there. Its only 3 hours from Montreal and so worth going. You will be impressed. I have a feeling you will include it on this Canadian tour.
I think Quebec City is the most European feeling city in North America and Chateau Frontenac is incredible!
We were in Quebec City 2 weeks ago! Just so fabulous! ❤️❤️❤️
A unesco world heritage
Am thinking to visit Québec city
@@hahmadhabibu2076 Go!!
Really cool to see you here, Drew! Montreal is a complicated and diverse place. I am Irish-Canadian, born and raised in Montreal. My family has been in Quebec since the 1700s. I was educated in English here and only learned French at 14 but am now completely bilingual to the point you cannot tell I am Anglophone when I speak French. Just thought I'd give another perspective on Montreal. Glad you had a good time here, I wouldn't have expected anything less!
I am a native french from Montreal and you did a great job showing the city and explaining things! your videos are always so pleasant and educating too watch
c'est que des clichés son yruc
il n' y a rien d'éducatif
THANK YOU for talking about indigenous peoples. We're so rarely discussed. I hope you can dive deeper into the indigenous cultures of this land.
I can't go one day without hearing about how special indigenous people think they are. Sorry, I'm a realist. Pragmatic.
I mean look at all of you. I'm Quebecois, i'm special, protect me. I'm indigenous, I'm special, protect me. Culture is what divides us. Nothing divisive is worthy of protection.
I mean yea it is important to call indigenous peoples but the ones in Montréal left 20 years befor Jackque Quartier
@@trevorchabot864 How fucking disrespectful and disgusting.
@@marie-piergirard6214 That's insulting, but not a video asking how French is Montreal? That question has been asked. Francophones routinely canvas the city searching for establishments that don't speak french. Often resulting in fines, death threats and closures. Vive La Francais!
Nice fact: The reason why the skyscrapers are not taller is because of the law that prohibits buildings from being taller than the Mont Royal height (232 meters) so you can enjoy the view of the city.
Best choice they could have made
As a native Montrealer, I’m so happy that travel vloggers like you and others, are finally showing off Montreal. Vancouver and Toronto are amazing, but Montreal is just so unique. A little bit of France within a vast English country. Merci et bienvenue.
No, Montreal is not like France, except for some of the architecture in the Old City.
it ain't France my friend!
Je ne sais pas ce que tu vois de la France en nous!
I went to McGill and lived in montreal for four years. When I say my college town was a special place I mean something a bit different than when most people talk about campus. Montreal truly is a magical city. Really cool blend of North America and French influences that really exists nowhere else in the same way.
It is as much North American that the U.S and English Canada . it is just the french speaking part of North America as Mexico is the spanish speaking part North America and the U.S is the english speaking part . Your comment is very ethnocentric.
@@act_sion here’s a classic Canadian mad cause we have culture
@@TheNmecod lmao
@@charlolel yep
I Visited Montréal in 2013, Céline Dion was doing a live show in Québec at Plains of Abraham, the concert was huge like more than +40K of attendees I believe, anyway we stayed there for 12 days and it's was a highlighting of my life, I liked Montréal so much from the clean green areas to the fascinating public transportation system.
I can't wait to be there again.
trust me it changed
@@Monkey. 🙁🙁
I was born in Quebec and I lived most of my life in Rural Quebec and 3 years in Montreal. Montreal is the most bilingual part of the province because it's the biggest city, it has big businesses with business people and there are historically anglophones who established there after the conquest in the 1700s. Outside of Montreal, it's very rare to hear English. In the village where I grew up, only a minority are bilingual. Most don't speak any English. I had to learn English through US TV and travel.
Thank you for sharing this. When I tell them I'll be traveling to Québec province, they say, Ah! Everyone speaks English. I correct them all the time. I'm often outside of Montréal -- I speak French in those towns. But even in Montréal, with many taxi drivers, with housekeeping employees and while strolling outside of the downtown core, I've needed to speak French. In Petite Italie, I asked a school crossing guard how far I was from le Marché Jean-Talon. I asked in French first, then in English. The sweet lady didn't understand either language. Then I figured, yes, she's Italian (Italian Canadian). Well, my Italian is limited to a few phrases, but I know Spanish. I asked her my question in Spanish, slowly, and the lady understood me and greatly helped me -- as I had begun walking in the opposite direction that I needed. (Memo to self: next time do not exit the métro at Beaubien.)
I never studied French in school. I picked up basic French while traveling frequently to Québec province, less frequently to France and from distant Créole relatives (but their French was a patois coming out of the American South, with linguistic cousins from the French Caribbean).
We just finished a 17 day trip to Canada: Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec. If you want to blow your (French) mind, go to Quebec City!!!! I loved speaking the limited French I have! Bonne Journée!
Québec is immensely beautiful. One of my favorite places. Very much old world, at least the old city. Just don't go in the winter if you're not a fan of freezing and snow, except for their carnival. Last time I was there it was in a February, but not during festivities. Would not recommend.
Thank you for trying to speak french, even if it's limited, hope you had a great trip in my home town Québec City 😃
It’s funny coz all Québécois knows how different we are here with the rest of the Canada. But not necessarily all Canadian knows the other way. I am a immigrant and I live in Montreal for 43 years now and I witness all the conflicts between Canada and Quebec. You just need to put a feet here to understand that the culture is different and unique from the rest of the North America.
As a québécois that considers myself Canadian I swear!!! Québécois are so different. They are also the most “hated” there’s québécois and then there’s Canadians. It’s so separated it’s crazy
There's actually a Mohawk (Kanienkehaka) reservation on the south shore, right off the island of Montreal. It's literally a 20 minute drive from Downtown Montreal that many people don't know about. Some people live nearly their whole lives in the city and not know how close the reservation is. Great video.
Ditto with Kanesatake (near Oka) or Akwesasne (where Quebec, Ontario, and New York State all meet), even though they're more distant from downtown Montreal than Kahnawake, the first reservation in question.
This may be the first place I've seen you do a video on where I've actually been before you! My wife and I visited Montréal in 2013 as part of a larger road trip starting in New York City, going up through Vermont to Montréal and Québec City, then back down through Maine to Acadia National Park and finally Boston. First time on the East Coast of the U.S. for both of us (we live in L.A.), but the third time in Canada (after visiting Vancouver/Victoria and Calgary/Banff on previous trips). Canada's the only country outside of the U.S. that either of us have ever been to, so for us, this was the most European place we'd ever experienced, and the first time traveling somewhere the majority language spoken was not English (though as you observed, you can get by fine in English in places frequented by tourists). We really enjoyed the Pointe-à-Callière museum, which explained Montréal's history and had an underground exhibit showing parts of the old street level from when the city was much younger. The Montréal Botanical Garden was mind-blowing - amazing hedge sculptures, and since we were there in September, their Chinese Garden was all lit up with lanterns for the harvest season, which made it a stunning sight as the sun went down. Walking through the city's Chinatown and hearing folks speak in a mixture of Chinese, Vietnamese, and French was pretty fascinating too - we live in a part of suburban L.A. that has seen a lot of immigration from Asia in recent decades, so aside from the French, that was actually a reminder of home. There's definitely a lot more to do in Montréal, and I'd love to go back someday!
Vous êtes les bienvenu avec votre charmante épouse!
C' est quand vous voulez !!! Vous devriez essayer aussi d' autres régions !!!
Being a native New Englander, you could get to Montréal by lunch time...its kind of surreal to me that Drew is so blown away by the proximity of French speakers. Seems pretty normal to most people in the northeast.
It is pretty normal for us living in the UK 😂🤣😂🤣😂
We are also pretty close to people who speak German, Dutch, Norwegian, French, Spanish ect. .....
We also have our own native languages like Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Irish, Scots ect.....
Another thing that's interesting is that Americans are turned off by songs in different languages... in other countries, they play songs of multiple languages on the radio. The music transcends the spoken language
In UK it's more normal to hear Urdu
, Somalian etc. Seems to be compulsory in some areas .
@@drrd4127 it's actually really weird thst French is just over the channel
As a lifelong Canadian, thank you for showcasing a part of Canada and Canadian history that most ppl don’t think about. You are welcome anytime in Canada with open arms!
I'm watching this from Montréal. How French is Montréal really depends in what neighbourhood you are. If you want French Canadian, go anywhere else in Québec. Most small towns are 95% francophones outside of MTL
You should definitely try to see the Laurentides, Québec City, Charlevoix and Sagueney regions while there.
If he goes to Sagueney/Lac St-Jean he won’t be able to communicate with ANYONE… there’s no English at all up there 😂🤷🏼♂️
Drew if you want to visit unique places in Canada you must visit Newfoundland. The accents there are on a whole different level.
yes but their not many thing to do
Yeah you do mix both languages just right, like a good stew ! 😃
I love how they say, "Get-it in yer."🙂
So cool you visited here, Drew! Although you went to all chain restaurants (besides the bakery). Would definitely be cool to check out some real Montreal gems to properly see the city!
It is very cool to see people enjoying so much french culture, here in Québec. Montréal is home for me and i am very proud of it.
Wow I'm so glad I've found this video. I'm a french native here in Montreal. Hope you enjoyed your trip !
Since it's your first time in Montreal, you should've got a guide to show you the best places of city. Also, Montreal is a touristic city si it would be better if you visit during the high season(summer)
imagine, Montreal is the most English part of Quebec. ad yes, there are english and french parts of the city. I am a English Montrealer, so my primary language is english. Most people who live and work on the Island speak both.
Hello fellow anglophone!
There was a time, before small communities were amalgamated with Montreal, where you could say there were MORE English-speakers than French-speakers. Drew could have checked the English-speaking district called Westmount, or spent a harrowing hour in the very French and poor district of St-Henri...
Great!!
@@Nature_with_Peter_Kane In Rome do as Romans do ! No fake news please !
At least ...but lots we are speaking 3-4 -5 😉
Montreal and New Orleans are probably the two most unique cities in North America and share some similarities.
You are an exemplary tourist who is open to new cultures and experiences. Great video!
Unfortunately the video seems to focus on food instead of Old Montreal...
So far Montreal is my favorite city. It has so much of a vibe there. I love how eccentric people are, and they really embrace their craft. It’s a perfect place for Creatives.
Thank you for showing the World my great city!..Montreal is the most english speaking city in Quebec! A melting pot of cultures in Quebec ..Love my Quebec and Carribbean heritage ..Thank you once again Drew!
Hi Drew! Welcome to my home of Montreal. Bits of info that might interest you: the buildings are not that tall because they are legally not allowed to be any taller. Nothing can be taller than or obstruct the view of the mountain (Montreal is french for Royal mountain). Also to put it simply (cuz its obviously a lot more complicated than this) Montreal is devided in half: the English side and the French side. The closer you are to the center, the more bilingual it is. As many other Quebecers have suggested here, if you want to feel truly emerced in the french culture of North America, go to Quebec city. A BEAUTIFUL city. Feel free to hit me up to see it. I've worked as a tour guide there in the past for several years.
So strange to see a big youtuber like yourself in my hometown!
If you're still in Montreal when you see this check out the lookout point on Mont Royale. You see a big chunk of the city from up there. Also you've got to go get a proper smoked meat sandwich at Shwartz's. Get the taste of Montreal!
Or you can go to The Main across the street from Schwartz's and get a sandwhich that is just as good without waiting in line for a hour. 😉
Go to West of the Island and it’s very English and then you have few Areas of Italian , Latinos , Arabs , Haitian , South Asian and Filipino . Montreal is very diverse
I’ve wanted to move to montreal for a while now, would it be wise to move to an english speaking area since it’s my main language or should I just move to a place where french is spoken often and just learn until im fluent
@@lanxy2398 you can learn French in anywhere in Montreal but I recommend to stay in English part and then move to French part once fluent
@@lanxy2398 Come to the west side. The best side 👍🏾I agree with tony
Places like Cote St. Luc (where I live) and Hampstead are not only mainly English-speaking but also mainly Jewish. Those and Snowdon/Cote des Neiges and Outremont have very Jewish vibes.
Drew and Leanne, I'm glad you guys got to go to my own, lovely city of Montreal, even though we missed each other. Greetings from an English-speaking (and majority Jewish) part of town, Cote St. Luc. You should know that, thanks to the 1970s French language laws, Montreal these days has a much more French vibe to it than it did before the 1960s/1970s when it in effect was an English city with many French-speaking people.
Nobody likes to mention that part 😄
Thanks for visiting my home town Drew! Born and raised here. To an outsider, Montreal is pretty French. The reality is Montreal is actually very bilingual. The only real city in all of North America where just about everybody speaks two languages. The rest of Quebec (including Quebec city) is a LOT more French, with a lot of them not knowing any English. So happy to hear you enjoyed it!
To be a little bit more specific about the indigenous peoples of Montreal, it is not quite true that they were replaced. There used to be an Aboriginal nation called the Hochelaga that lived in Montreal proper, but they were pretty much extinct by the time the Europeans arrived. At that time, the island where Montreal is located was mostly used as a temporary and seasonal trading hub by various Aboriginal nations.
This is awesome. I've been studying French since early August and never, EVER, had any interest in going to France OR Quebec. Now I'm just infatuated with French culture, whether it's France or Quebec or Cote d'Iviore. I'm so lucky I have a cousin in Quebec...
Bruh cote d'ivoire... Actual french stuff is wuenec france and some places in illinois and louisiana but they dont speak french.
Côte d’Ivoire really isn’t filled with french culture…
they just use french as an inter-ethnic language and they use it in the administration as well.
but there’s no french culture in africa, nothing from the architecture, the food, the people, the music etc…
And Québec, apart from a bit of architecture and the language isn’t really “french culture”.
The culture in Québec is québécois ; pretty much like the culture in the US is american and not british.
@@maxrolland3148 Well I guess realistically I wouldn't expect or want French culture to permeate any part of Africa. I'm just interested in the linguistic influence.
Ty so much for your visit Drew ! Mtl has a great vibe and plzz ! Plz ! For all tourist who want to truly experience french immersion trip visit Québec city or Trois-Rivières... those 2 great touristic areas at 98% french and as peaceful as Montréal !
I've been to Montréal four times, it's one of my favourite cities on the planet. I even learnt most of my French there and most of my francophone friends come from quebec, rather than France.
One minor criticism, you should have gone to other restaurants such as Schwartz's for their famous smoked meat and La Banquise for poutine. Other than that, good job!
Thanks for the tips bro! Going soon and will check those places out
La Banquise is so hyped for no reason. In front of it you'll find Ma Poule Mouillée which does a better poutine, for cheaper and without having to wait in a line-up.
There's nothing more Anglais than making a video about Montréal and slapping Parisian accordion music in the back. That got me good.
French as a language tends to drift the same or 'worse' than others with time. Thinking of it like family lineage, what's known as Metropolitan French/International French arose during and after the time France was in control New France (large part of eastern North America), and most of the people living in Québec trace their families to two specific regions in France, which had their own dialect and accent. There was some linguistic mingling since, but nowadays it's true you can think as Metropolitan French and Quebecois French as disparate (or more than) as UK English and American English.
Montreal is considered Canada^s cultural juggernaut. Montreal is a french city with british manners ( same sens of humour, polite and wait in lines , patient and funny ) . I am a french canadian living in Montreal and wherever you go in the province you can talk english . But yes , the respect and pride of our culture and language is part of our identity . thanks for trying to speak french. Montreal is a UNESCO design and creativity city just like Berlin . in 2022, Montreal has been nominated by world wide magazines and research ,one of the best cities in the world and North america to live and to visit . . .As for architecture, Montreal has a rich past of 400 years history . The Old Montreal has an architecture that reminds London ,England . the modern skyscrapers cannot go higher than the Mount Royal mountain ( city regulations ) . Montreal is unique and one of the few wakable city( built on an island ) in North america just like New York with a huge central park ( same architect as Central park, Frederick Law Olmsted ) . After New York , Montreal has the second higest number of restaurants per capita in North America. . more than 100 festivals per year, from the biggest international Jazz festival , to Circus festival, electronic music festival , Multicultural festivals, WInter festival , Grand Prix du Canada F1 , Some well known entertainment compagnies from Montreal are The Cirque du Soleil , les Septs doigts ,Momentum factory etc . Montreal is a sophisticated and the most european city in North america for the quality of life, food, night life , arts and fashion. From the largest museum in Canada , to the magical bottanica garden and Insectarium , The subway is a masterpiece , clean, fast , unique and modern . If you like food, the multiculturism offers the best food and internation chefs with local products and unique cuisine ..Montrteal is the most open minded city in Canada in both official languages and open to all cutures of the world . You can dress and be who you are ( all genders and nationality ) . People are very open minded . Just take the first step to approch someone, Quebeckers are very nice in general . To finist , Montteal isone of the greenest city in canada , parks everywhere( you can drink wine, beers and eat in the park ). it is forbidden in Toronto to drink in the parks) . So Montreal is magical and growing fast with the best quality of life in Canada . 19 different boroughs built for humans and families ( you do not need a car ) . The only city that malkes the Copenhagen index for best biking city in canada ( 1,000 km of path , 600 miles ). Like in Europe and Paris , you should visit the cemeteries on the Mount Royal ( Note dame côté des neiges Nd Mount Royal cemetery . These are national historic site and more than a million and we'll know people are buried . Leonard Cohen , Husband of Céline Dion ( Rene Angélil ) , people from the Titanic , Famous hockey players , prime ministers and soldiers from all wars and more . Cemeteries are located on the mountain surrounded by wild animals
“sens de l’humour, poli, faire la file, patient, drôle”
Il manquait plus que le béret et vous aviez presque complété la liste des clichés débiles.
Alors on va pas se mentir, c’est assez navrant de voir un Québécois répéter les pires clichés anglo-saxons au sujet des Français.
On voit bien que vous ne connaissez rien aux Français, qui sont un peuple charmant et très éloigné de l’image que leur donne la propagande anglaise.
La mentalité anglaise a tellement imprégné les Québécois que ces derniers se mettent à détester leur propore cousins…
You sure know how to sell it!
@@maxrolland3148 aucun stéréotype sur les Français n'a été dit dans ce commentaire, il parlait des Anglais
Merci Drew! As a Quebecer, I can tell you that you've made a great summary of Montréal and thank you for the quick history lesson 😀 if you ever come back and want to discover other part of Montreal ans Quebec city, fire a message and I will show you around. Thank you for visiting us, and don't worry every order is complicated at Tim Hortons's 😂
Bonjour! Many thanks to you for taking an interest in the people who live here. That's what I liked about your video, you came here to meet us. Merci!
Francophone Quebecer here: Basically, you asked the wrong question. Your premise is equal to asking: 'How British is modern USA?' while playing the Queen's bagpipes and showing us a picture of mince pie. Like that French Parisian music is something that we find exotic ourselves! And the thumbnail with a small coffee and baguettes? That is never something I'd use to talk about Québec. Maple syrup (we produce 80% of the world's supply) and poutine (don't trust any other poutine than a Central Québec one) with Céline Dion music, yes that would have worked ;) I don't blame you for your ignorance though. I blame a ton of English media which have songs like 'French Canada' having freaking French mimes with baguettes depicted against Quebec City's background like South Park and so on. We speak Québecois, not French. French are super famous for asking us "What is he saying?" cause they don't understand our dialect lol
Haha way to call someone ignorant for showing people more about your culture. I personally enjoyed it knowing full well what the differences are. I lived in france for 6 years and know full well that Québec and the larger francophone region is different and has its own dialects. I find that to be an amazing thing and i celebrate that the region has made it into a thing of its own rather than to be tied to the image of the french. (Im biased cuz i dont like the french, lol)
That being said, I think we can very well see in the video that its just a vlog and nothing more. Its not meant to educate people. Im sure anyone can quickly google the history and get a good overview of the identity of the larger region and understand the differences. Ultimately though, no outsider will ever be fully able to encompass the intricacies of your culture in a way that you see fit. To know a culture takes time, and learning to be part of the community is the only way to speak about it im the same voice and nuance as the people from the region.
Would love to see more content by french speaking canadians online though. Im sure that would also help with the lack of general knowledge about the region and the culture.
I am so happy you came to visit my city, Montreal! Thank you very much for all the videos you make!
Hello from Québec ! I hope you like your stay. I just want to correct a few things if I may: 1. We speak french, we are not french, lol, 2. We didn't replace the natives, we mixed with them ! Merci !
its crazy watching someone if been watching so long walking through the city that I live in! He actually introed his vid outside the building I grew up in!
According to the French in France, no place outside of France is French 😂
That was a Tongue Twister 😂
Wat you meant 🙄🥴 is there any words to laugh
LOL
Canada has a French speaking part
Lol
Welcome to Montreal! It's a really great city with a lot to discover! :)
You guys know English is spoken in a lot of countries different from each other and not just England, same for Spanish and not just Spain, so why does French being spoken in other countries from France confuses you ?
I've spent a lot of time in Montreal. There are other parts of Canada where you will hear people speaking French as well. You should visit north eastern Ontario! The hockey sticks as door handles are a new thing at Tim Horton's restaurants. Did you know that Tim Horton was an NHL player? Poutine is eaten across Canada and not just limited to the province of Quebec. However, there are some poutine purists that would be offended by there being more than cheese curds and poutine sauce on the fries :p. Much appreciation for acknowledging Indigenous peoples in this video. I love it when travel and geography videos acknowledge the original inhabitants of the land.
Thanks for taking us along, never been there. I’m so envious of people that can eat like that and not gain weight. I would easily gain 5 lbs in a week.
Ask for skim-milk cheese curds in your poutine. :-)
My pleasure! Thanks for watching!
Thanks for sharing. I can’t wait to see how Montreal is France video!
as a montrealer , I really hate when ppl make videos about the city and use the cliché "french" music.
Agreed. By the way, accordion music has not been heard in France for decades... It's just another prejudice about French culture.
Another excellent video Drew!!
Thank you for the hard work you
always put in. Enjoy the rest of your
trip wherever you may be!
Ayyyyy, Drew, great stuff! I spent part of my life in Montréal.
French accordion music is not typical. Our music is traditional fiddling influenced by Scottish and Irish fiddlers, and also local rockers singing in French.
Quebec society is concerned with the preservation of French and requires immigrants to go to Francophone schools even if they want to study in English for business. In restaurants and shops, English can be displayed but the text must be half the font size of French! This is true even for emergency signage, so English-speaking grannies better have good eyesight if there is ever a fire. But in Canadian FEDERAL government offices, both languages can be displayed equally, French first.
4:49 French part of town. We call them _les Français de France_ to make it absolutely clear. They are master bakers and foodies so you will absorb lots more calories than normal, and may not be able to do the calisthenics the France people find necessary to burn them off (such as having lots of sex).
great !! thanks for sharing!
I had the very same thought about the background music. Maybe Drew can find some traditional Québécois fiddling and replace French accordian music with it.
I do not speak french but I have spent a lot of time in downtown montreal, it was always a great experience, easy to use metro systems and the night life is fantastic. As a night owl, it was perfect
Dude, I'm so glad you made it to MTL. It's a great town. Prince liked Montreal; that's an endorsement you can take to the bank!
Yes! pink floyd the wall been made (at)because montreal too, but for opposite reason probably🤣
You went to Montréal and you didn't get a baguel/bagel from one of the competing shops? They are so different from New York or Toronto bagels and I think they are better.
One issue I would advise Anglophone tourists on is to ask permission before speaking English in nearly all places. Learn how to say "Est-ce que je puis vous parler en anglais?" because you will be viewed as polite. And that's a good thing. My French was nearly OK to start a conversation but they often switched to English to better accommodate the rube foreigner - they're very nice about that.
My first visit to Montréal was in 1967 to see the Expo with lodging provided by associations of college students in the USA and Canada. We stayed in a Hasidic neighborhood. The friend who was with me was so taken with the country that he moved to Canada soon after and has been a Canadian citizen for many decades now. I have been back a few times and was even in a race on Mount Royal. It is truly a great city.
For a person as travelled as you are, I'm a bit disappointed to see you so bewildered that Montreal is a French-speaking city and also your apparent inability to distinguish Quebec from France, as evidenced by the accordion music in the background and the constant references to France (croissants, etc.). Quebecois are just as North American as people from the US, and if anything, French Canada has been separated from France from longer than US and Great Britain.
Downtown is the middle point once you go east from it all you’ll here is French and when you go towards the west side it’s more English speaking people
Welcome to Montreal bro. It's my city. I was actually offended how horrible that very first poutine looked. To be honest it didn't even look anything like a poutine. If you get a chance hit me up. Other then that I hope you have an absolute blast!
He should’ve gone to La Banquise 🤦🏼♂️
Been living there for 21 years, really nice city but the roads are terrible and the winters are rough
Hi Drew. I've been following your awesome videos of your trips around the world. I'm originally from Mexico, but I've become Canadian and I live in Montreal. I've thought that it'd be great to meet you personally one day. But ironically as you traveled to Montreal I am in my home country (in my home city Monterrey) for visiting. Hope you had a great time in my second home and, if you ever come to Monterrey, Mexico, which is not that touristic, please let me know. I'd love to have a chat with you in person and show you my hometown. Peace. Alfonso
Montreal and Monterrey have very similar name etymologies, both essentially meaning "royal mount" or "mount royal", and both are just outside the US over the respective borders.
ive lived in and around Montreal my whole life and never liked it. you make it look so pretty and amazing! I hope you enjoyed your time here!
It's so weird hearing the stereotypical french music while you visit Montreal, lol
The best time to visit Montreal is during the Jazz Festival (end of June into July). Many outdoor stages with free music. Do some research so you know what you want to see and eat! Lots of “bring your own wine” restaurants. Every type of ethic food you can think of is available.
I am a resident of east coast Canada, and although french is spoken as first language in quebec and if you live in quebec it is necessary to speak the language, but here in atlantic Canada french is also spoken vastly along english. French is one of the two official languages in Canada.... and many many people in Nova Scotia are also francophone.
Also, Although quebec is the main origin of poutine, but poutine is one of main dish in all over canada and is available everywhere.
It is great to see how upu could witness the indigenous culture and we really need to talk about the first nations more. Your videos are amazing!
Unfortunately, as René Lévesque said, francophones outside Québec are dead ducks. They are doomed, just a matter of time.
Poutine is Québécois, the ROC just appropriate it.
@@dominiquebeaulieu lmao not in new Brunswick
@@goggleman7211 Matter of time
Partied for a weekend in Montreal back in '97. Fun town. Loved it!
Great video Drew! Always wanted to see more about French speaking Canada....
:)
I'm happy to hear Montreal is so French! That makes it that much more special! Vive le Quebec!
Tim Hortons in the US are only near the Canadian border. It’s like a better version of Dunkin Donuts so I really wished they expanded more.
They just opened up a Tim Hortons in Stratford, NJ earlier this year. It's 14 miles south of Philadelphia and is the first Timmies in the Philly metro area.
@@jimparisho7457 cool... we expanding 🤣👍🏾
@@jimparisho7457Nice😍 I wish they’d open one here in Missouri. I’m a Montreal expat and miss so many of the culinary delights of my fair city, including our famous Montreal bagels from St. Viateur or Fairmount Bakery.
Love love love Montreal. Dude, if you thought Montreal is French, and it certainly is, visit Quebec City. It's even more French. It's hard to remind yourself that you are not in France when there.
Funny fact , the skyscrapers cannot be higher than the mont royal so as not to spoil the view of this site, the architects must respect a certain height the reason why they are small
As an American, this is the only place in my opinion worth visiting in Canada because it’s so different from the rest of Anglo North America.
i guess you have never heard of Newfoundland then, it is even more unique than Quebec in my opinion.
Nice video man. You might also want to visit Quebec City as its story is quite sick and it represents Quebec culture a bit more personally. Montreal is still cool but very anglicized if you compare the two. Enjoy your stay here!
Love that you went to my country, Canada 🇨🇦 visit Ontario!
Love your country!
Next go outside the center :) Beautiful natural region in charlevoix,gaspesie or laurentide ! Go to a cabane à sucre, see those little town who retain some of the ancestry of our culture. Montreal is very cosmopolite, there not much difference with other big city outside the old part ^^
Hope to see you around again ! Nice video//
Fun fact: the reason the skyscrapers in Montréal aren’t too big is because there is a law preventing buildings from being higher than the Mont Royal’s height, which is 234 meters or about 767,7 feet!
Poutine is all across Canada but it was created in Quebec.
The restaurent « les 3 brasseurs » is the best restaursnt you can go !! Thats sooo good! (Im from Montréal) Vive le Québec !!!
I'd like to point out that Montreal is BY FAR the least French city in Quebec (language wise, maybe not culturally)
And you at least saying "Bonjour" and "Merci" in French as a tourist is a small attention that is really well seen here, even some English speaking locals don't have the decency to learn a few basic French words, so that's really good on you I liked to see that!
Montreal is pretty billingual (totally anglophone in the western part of the island). If you really want French French, go to Québec City
Quebec City is pretty French but there are still a small minority of Anglophones, if u wanna hear French & ONLY French I’d say go to Saguenay/Lac St-Jean or Gaspesie
Its weird how other people in the US don't have Tim Hortons i never thought about it, love the donuts and timbits
I think there are VERY FEW. There are more in Manila!
Just visited Montreal for the first time too..... lots of Good & Bad.... the Good: yummy affordable French food, service staff were mostly friendly, great Euro vibe, beautiful architecture; the Bad: airport looks really run down, most areas seem very poorly maintained (roads/buildings), driving on highways was always crazy, smokers everywhere out in open, local people are very cold... don't really wanna have eye contact or smile..... But in terms of strictly vacation spot, Quebec City would be a much much better choice!!!!!!
Although I understand the good intention behind this video, the question being asked is somewhat offensive. Montreal is as French as Brussels, Quebec City, Geneva, Marseille, Lyon and Paris. Yes, there is a large English-speaking population in the city+suburbs (after all, Montreal is Canada's 2nd largest city), but everything about the city functions in French, and the majority of the people are French-speaking (c'est-à-dire, English to them is a foreign language, and they would have to learn it in order to speak it, like everyone else in the world).
Montreal is one of the world's great cities. It feels like you are in Europe without having to cross the pond. It's a neat place.
Montreal become more in english city then ever. It’s so sad to see the fast decline. 😢
Thé buildings can ,t be higher than the mountain so it won,t be hidden. We are Brit’s speaking French so we are quite different than the French from france. So when you say it is very French, it,s as if I,d say that the US is very English.
So you went for a walk, heard French spoken, then concluded Montreal is French. There is a culture called Québécois, though, and it's not the same as French culture. Similarly, anglophone Canadians speak English, but their culture is not English. As a Canadian I'm grateful we have both those cultures, especially as, although not identical, they share some important values that have made Canada what it is today. And in the near future I think indigenous cultures are going to have an important influence as people finally learn about them. It also would have helped if you'd understood the sign at 6:50.
Thanks for sharing, John! I love your country!
@@MoreTravelsWithDrewBinsky J't'en prie.
I visited Montreal in 2017 and love the city and the people. They'll respect you If you put the effort learning at least basic French and I plan on visiting Quebec City next year. BTW, Tim Hortons makes excellent pastries. Solid video!!
I love Montréal. 😍
If you want French then a trip to Quebec City is truly a blast and a lovely city
Hey Drew! Montrealer here, while yes more people do speak French rather than English, we have a very large English-speaking community, and so many immigrants with their own languages and cultures! It's great to speak both languages, and especially when downtown or in the west part of town, you can hear both being spoken interchangeably!
I don't think that Quebecois like these migrants.
@@LovzaNo of course we aren’t
@@LovzaNo Why do you bring politics here. Chill, it's a travel vlog channel. Keep the french bashing comments to yourself for 5 seconds.
@@mangedumou511 I think he was bashing immigrants and not the anglos or francophones.
@@zeusvalentine3638 He's saying francophones don't like immigrants I fail to see how that's not french bashing.
For a true Montreal experience I highly recommend going to St-Viateur Bagel for Montreal-style bagels and Schwartz's for Montreal smoked meat. Both places were started by Jewish-Montrealers and haven't really changed since the day they opened.
Just imagine going to Mexico and tell stuff like "So you people are like Spain right 👁👄👁???"
Or Argentina or Colombia or wherever else like that.
The real Montréal is the Plateau next to the Park lafontaine , where you can check the famous spiral staircase .
Hi Drew!
A little note on Aux Merveilleux, it's a French baker from the north of France who opened his first artisanal bakery in Belgium! The first one opened in the Flemish part of Belgium 😁 BTW, I love when you experience cultures in your videos! Nice job as always!
We also have one here in Toronto.
Yes they have one beside the Moulin Rouge in Paris!!
New Brunswick is officially bilingual English and French. Tim Horton was a hockey player.My family and I drove a motorhome across Canada and we visited Montreal. We also loved old Quebec City. Come to Edmonton, the festival city.