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MONTREAL TRAVEL
INFORMATION
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Weather
in Montreal
Montreal has a notoriously arctic winter (December-March) that makes it great as a base for winter sports, but with the sort of spiteful temperatures that would probably frighten a polar bear. Thankfully, Montreal gets around the problem with its 'Underground City', a unique climate-controlled labyrinthe of 2000 shops and 29km (18mi) of corridors. This makes the city an alluring year-round tourist drawcard - a winter wonderland during the cold season and warm, long, lazy nights in the summer. Late May to early September is peak tourist time and sees a seamless procession of festivals, including the legendary Jazz Festival and the Grand Prix, take over the town. |
| Montreal Event It's no surprise that a city proud of its art and cultural heritage has no shortage of entertainment and celebrations. The Montreal Jazz Festival is perhaps the city's most famous fixture, with jazz legends from far and wide playing for the discerning and appreciative Montrealers from late June until early July. At the other end of the serenity scale, the Canadian Grand Prix, held in early June on Montreal's Île Notre Dame, is a major drawcard for speed freaks. In what has become a hugely popular and all-welcoming event, Montreal's gay scene shakes its booty during the first week of August - Gay & Lesbian Pride Week, where almost anything goes. Gaining increasing reputations worldwide for unearthing new talent are the Fringe Festival, the Just For Laughs Festival and the Montreal International Film Festival. To top it all off with the biggest of bangs, the Montreal International Fireworks Competition from mid-June until late July is a prestigious pyrotechnic pow-wow drawing oohs and aahs from gaping audiences on the banks of St Lawrence River. |
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Banking & Currency
For visitors from many countries including the U.S.A. exchange rates with the Canadian Dollar are very much in their favour, making a trip to Canada particularly good value for money. Travellers cheques and major credit cards are accepted at most commercial establishments. Many stores accept U.S. currency, but for a better rate it is best to exchange these at a bank or currency exchange facility. All banks cash and sell travellers cheques and exchange currency for Canadian Dollars. Most banks are open from Monday to Friday from 10:00am to 4:00pm. A few banks are open on Saturdays. Cash machines or A.T.M.s are widespread and are on one or more of the following networks: Interac, Cirrus or Plus. |
Getting There & Away Montreal's
main airport, Dorval, is 22.5km (14mi) west of dowtown and serves most
domestic, US and overseas flights. Direct flights between major US and
Canadian cities are abundant. Europe's main airports and major carriers
all serve Montreal frequently, while there are also frequent services
from Australia but with fewer carriers. Flights from Asia to Canada are
either eastbound, connecting through Vancouver (or major US gateways),
or westbound, connecting via major European gateway cities. Note that
many visitors to Canada make a side trip to Cuba due to outlawing within
the US of travel to the contraband country. Dorval airport levies a $10
'improvement tax' on all international flights prior to departure.Bus is the cheapest form of long-distance travel to/from Montreal and there are regular services to other major Canadian cities in the west. Services to the US include New York City and Boston. Buses leave from the Station Centrale de l'Autobus in the Quartier Latin, just east of the university. Train is a more comfortable, and more expensive and luxurious means of long-distance travel. VIA Rail Canada operates out of Gare Centrale (Central Station) in downtown and mostly deals with the Quebec City-Windsor route that goes to Niagara Falls. The US run Amtrak connects Montreal with New York City and Chicago via Tonronto and Niagara Falls. |
| Getting Around Dorval airport is conveniently 22.5km (14mi) from the city centre and the best way into downtown is by bus or Metro (subway). From outside arrivals, catch bus No 204 Est to the Dorval Bus Transfer Station and switch to No 211 Est, which takes 20 minutes to get to Metro station Lionel Grouix in downtown. The entire journey takes about an hour, costs a whopping $2 and buses run from 5am until 1am. The Québecois Bus Company runs Aérobus shuttles from Dorval to downtown, stopping at Station Aérobus in Vieux Montreal and the Station Centrale de l'Autobus (Central Bus Station). The 20-minute trip runs every 15-30 minutes on weekdays (7am-1am) and weekends (7am-1pm). It costs $12/22 one way/return and from the Stations Aérobus, a smaller shuttle drops passengers anywhere in central downtown for no extra charge. Taxi's are useful for those with lots of luggage and the fare to downtown Montreal is a flat $28. Montreal has an extremely modern and convenient bus and Metro (subway) system, and the subway 'trains' run quickly and quietly on rubber tires, just like the ones in Paris! It runs until at least 12.30am, some bus routes run even later. A single ticket ($2) gets passengers anywhere in the city with a connecting bus or Metro train. On the buses, get a transfer from the driver, and on the Metro, get one from the machines just past the turnstiles. Go commuter trains serve the suburbs of Montreal. Driving in Montreal is for crazy people, not for those on vacation, but if you must, be warned that prices for gasoline and parking are quite exorbitant. Taxis are an expensive way of getting around with a minimum fare of $12. The best way to get around (by far) is bicycle, Montrealers enjoy a network of over 400km (250mi) bike paths, including over 65km (40mi) of tracks around the Parc des Îles alone. Accordingly, there are bicycle rental shops everywhere, inline skates are also popular but slightly more expensive. Bicycles can be taken on the Metro in the last two carriages and only outside peak hours and on weekends. |
| Attractions in Montreal Place Jacques Cartier  Set
up as a public market space in 1803, the Place Jacques Cartier in Montreal's
romantic Vieux Montreal (Old Montreal) is still the area's focal point.
Filled with vendors, visitors, performers and horse-drawn carriages in
the summer, it can push the point of rubbing shoulders with the locals
a little too literally during the peak season. Near the austere Hotel
de Ville (City Hall), the Place Jacques Cartier is the perfect spot to
launch a walking assault on Montreal's oldest district. Explore the park-lined
Promenade de Vieux Port (Old Port)
along the waterfront and the narrow, cobblestone streets around Rue St
Paul with its old stone houses and buildings that now house little restaurants,
galleries and clubs.Elsewhere among the charm and character of Old Montreal is the Place d'Armes, the other major square in the area, featuring the magnificent Basilica Notre Dame. Built in 1829 and big enough to hold 5000 people, the Basilica's luscious, richly detailed interior houses the Chapelle du Sacré Couer (Sacred Heart Chapel) and still attracts legions of admirers. In the west end of Vieux Montreal is the Place Royale where Ville Marie, Montreal's first small fort town, was built. It later became a marketplace and is now the forecourt of the Veille Douane (Old Customs House), linked to the Pointe à Callière Museum of Archaeology & History. Built on the exact spot of Montreal's first European settlement, the fascinating museum is mostly underground, in the actual ruins of buildings and an ancient sewage/river system. Downtown  Montreal's downtown center is a forest of skyscrapers, shops, restaurants and spiffy hotels, but it also houses the city's finest museums, several grand churches and the oodles-of-noodles Chinatown district. The Rue Ste Catherine is the main shopping artery and passes the huge performing arts complex, Place des Arts, home to the legendary Montreal Jazz Festival and the impressive Musée d'Art Contemporian. The vast Musée des Beaux Arts (Fine Arts Museum) is Montreal's main art gallery and it too is rich in great works. McGill University in the northern section of downtown is one of Canada's most prestigious universities. It's set splendidly at the foot of 'the mountain', Mont Royal. Within walking distance along the Rue Sherbrooke is the unmissable Cathédrale Basilique Marie Reine du Monde (Cathedral of Mary, Queen of the World), a smaller but still magnificent version of St Peter's Basilica in Rome. Quartier Latin Distinctly French in character, the Quartier Latin is the Paris-style student district along lower Rue St Denis, with the Université du Québec à Montràal (UQAM) at its heart. Here you'll find row upon row of trendy bars, open-air cafes, bistros and clubs - and more of Montreal's beautiful people than you could poke a mirror at. Just to the east of the Latin Quarter is the hub of the gay community, The Village, which centers around Rue Ste Catherine Est. Among the bars, clubs and cafes is a slightly rougher edge and 'anything goes' attitude, especially during the Gay Pride Festival in early August when things get decidedly outrageous. Plateau Mont Royal Ignored not so long ago, the Plateau Mont Royal is a trés hip multi-ethnic district located between Rue Sherbrooke and Blvd St Joseph. Charming visitors with its hopping nightclubs, funky shops and droves of eateries, the chief commerical strips are Blvd St Laurent (referred to as 'The Main' by locals) and Rue St Denis. In between, the shady Carrée St Louis and the restaurant-bulging Rue Prince Arthur and Ave Duluth are alive with activity. Full of ornate 19th-century Victorian style homes, the housing is stylish, ornate, colorful and fantastic to walk around as Montrealers go about their business. To the north, Ave Mont Royal is known for its vintage and offbeat clothing stores as well as a jumping nightlife. Heading east along Ave Mont Royal leads to the masterfully planned Parc Mont Royal. This extinct volcano is Montreal's biggest and best park, simply known as 'the mountain', sprouting with nature lovers throughout the year and with spectacular views of the city, the river and surrounds. Parc des Îles In the midst of Montreal's mighty St Lawrence, the Parc des Îles is made up of the pleasure islands of Île St Hélàne and Île Notre Dame. One of Québec's biggest attractions, the island park was the site of the immensely successful 1967 World's Fair. Within the park you'll find the huge spaceship-like Casino de Montreal, a Grand Prix racetrack cum inline skate park, an Olympic rowing basin that becomes a giant skate rink in the winter, the popular Biosphère and miles of lush, open parkscape, perfect for cycling, strolling or rolling around. If that isn't enough to render the busiest visitor breathless, there is also the Plage des Îles, an artificial sandy beach with room for 5000 sun-worshippers. Replete with chemically treated, filtered water, the beach is safe for swimming, and picnic facilities make it a tip-top summer spot. |
Activities in Montreal Canadians
sure do love their outdoors and in this regard, Montrealers are no different.
The city has fantastic parks and gardens. The huge Parc du Mont Royal
offers outdoor action aplenty: walking, picnicking (it is a pursuit!),
jogging, horseback riding, bicycling and frisbeeing. If that isn't exhausting
enough, in the winter there's ice-skating,
tobogganing and cross-country
skiing.It isn't surprising to discover that Montreal has about 400km (250mi) of bike paths, including one that links Vieux (Old) Montreal with the Parc des Îles and the historic suburb of Lachine along the city's old canal. On the Île Notre Dame, the Grand Prix track becomes a haven for inline skating, while its summer-use rowing basin becomes a monster ice-skating rink in the winter. There is also swimming at the city's Olympic Park Centre Aquatic and amazing boating, canoeing and kayaking to be had at the beautiful Parc Mille Îles in Laval, north of Montreal. |
Hotels in Montreal | Montreal Canada Hotel Reservations