tsaluja

My husband and I are travelling to Montreal next weekend May 12-15 to celebrate our one year anniversary. We have never been to Montreal- can anyone suggest fun things to do doing the day and evening? Doesnt HAVE to be romantic. Love sightseeing, shopping etc.

Also, we are staying in Old Montreal. If anyone has suggestions on specific restaurants to go - or bars/clubs- that would be helpful too.

Thanks!

zootsi

This topic seems to come up every few weeks - do a search back for ideas.
Here are some:

Old City - Notre Dame, lots of old cafes,restaurants, horsedrawn carriage rides. Boatrides on the St Laurent. Street entertainers.

Downtown St. Catherine St. - lots and lots of shopping, both on the street and in the underground malls. Museum of Fine arts on Sherbrooke.

Chinatown -between old city and downtown.

St. Denis/Plateau/St. Laurent area - Very French and ethnic, lots and lots of cafes, restaurants (many byob), stores of every description. Great area for strolling. Prince Arthur St. is a mecca for street entertainers. St Laurent has some trendy dance clubs and restaurants.

Botanical Gardens.
Biodome & Olympic park.

Montreal is not a city noted for world class sights or buildings. However, it's dining, shopping, nightlife and ambiance make it one of the world's great cities.

Jojonana

Hello! My choice of restaurant would be La Brunoise, although it may already be booked http://www.brunoise.ca/
It is close to Parc Lafontaine which is a lovely place to walk hand in hand. It is also close to the Plateau, the French and best place in Montreal! In old Montreal, there is also Cube at Hotel St-Paul, but you must be willing to splurge (it is expensive but delicious)
If weather is nice, be sure on Sunday to go to the Tamtam. Lots of different people gather there, right below the Mountain on avenue du Parc (just follow the drum sounds), and people dance, play percussions, and celebrate the return of nice weather! You are also walking distance from Mont-Royal Street and St-Laurent street. If you need more info, don't hesitate to ask!

mitchdesj

In Old Montreal, there are wonderful art galleries to visit, the stretch on St Paul is particularly nice.

The St. Sulpice hotel has a courtyard restaurant apparently that is very nice, I have not been yet but intend to.
The other hotel restaurant is S, which is on St. Paul st. although the hotel is on St. Sulpice, they are open for breakfast also and I like it there.

The Nelligan hotel has a nice lobby bar to drop in for a drink.

I hope you enjoy your first visit to mtl- explore and have fun.
I'll try to think of other suggestions to add this weekend.

tamjam

My husband and I just returned from our first weekend in Montreal, and loved it. We didn't have any specific sightseeing plans, just wanted to walk, eat, enjoy the city. On our first day we had a great (and inexpensive) Greek lunch in the Prince Arthur/St. Laurent area . Many places are BYOB, and there are nearby places to buy wine. We ate so much lunch, that we couldn't sit for dinner. So, we shopped along St. Catherine, then stopped for cocktails along Crescent St. Many people were out enjoying dinner/cocktails in the beautiful weather. On Saturday, we went to Vieux Montreal. Took a carriage tour for 30 minutes, rented bikes along the canal. Definitely visit the Notre Dame Cathedral. It's beautiful. Had a light lunch outside. We went back to Vieux that night for dinner at Versus in the Hotel Nelligan. It was fabulous. I would highly recommend it. The food was terrific, the staff wonderful, the atmosphere very cool. We had one of the best tables...a small "booth" that allowed us to talk to each other, but see the excitement of the bar, restaurant and street. Very fun and romantic. (see if Gino can arrange a special table for you)

mitchdesj

tamjam, I'm glad you enjoyed your time in
Montreal; I've been meaning to try Verses
restaurant, I will soon......

tsaluja

Thanks everyone!