Montreal travel guide

The most sophisticated city of canada...

Canada’s most sophisticated city goes for two languages and two lives – horse-carriage rides clickety-clack past the Notre-Dame in cobblestoned Vieux Montréal by day, and DJ-fueled fashion clubs blare in the Plateau all night. It’s a city of fun that ignores season: in summer the busy 200-mile network of bike trails connects Mont Royal with downtown; in winter, locals put on skates and play open-air hockey all over town. Walk around the cobblestone historic core at Place Jacques-Cartier, then pop into a few downtown museums like the Musée des Beaux Arts or Centre Canadien d’Architecture (with a sculpture garden that is wonderfully illuminated at night). But devote time to seeing Montreal like the locals do – lingering long at cafes or bars or brasseries, particularly in the Plateau, a mile north of downtown. Finding a hotel is fun: century-old French Revival buildings downtown have become hotels, or you can find B&Bs in the Quartier Latin, a short walk to the east. With a day or two to spare, head north, where the Laurentian Mountains loom, offering skiing in winter and hiking trails in summer. It’s all Québécois – a little France, a little Canada, and all without the jet lag.