sollitt

My husband, daughter (16 years old), and I will be visiting Montreal and Quebec City for the first time in August (about 8 days total). I have looked over many of the postings here (they are a great help), but I still have a question. Should we stay in Downtown Montreal or Old Montreal? What are the advantages/disadvantages of each? We like quaint areas, but also like to see the city. We would like to pay $150-190 US, and have breakfast included if possible. Any hotel recommendations would be greatly appreciated. (I hope it's not too late to make reservations.)

traveller69

It really doesn't matter because they are quite close together. We stayed in Old Montreal and loved it. I would say that I would choose Old Montreal as far as more to see while walking around the area. The subway system there is so great you can be in downtown in two minutes. We booked our room on Priceline and I chose a 4 star and got a lovely place for $125. Although my husband was from Montreal originally we took the bus city tour and I think that is a must. You see everything without having to worry about traffic. You can arranage that from any hotel - a shuttle will pick you up and take you to the departure point of the tour. Also I have heard so much about the food I made sure I did my research on restaurants. Fabulous!!!

MikeT

I would argue that with a 16-year old, staying downtown would be more interesting than staying in Old Montreal. While Old Montreal is lovely and quaint and all of that, I can't imagine a teenager would find it that enthralling. Downtown, because of its proximity to McGill and other colleges makes it much more hip and fun.

The hotels there are also more likely to have amenities that would appeal to a 16-year old.

traveller69

I think either place is great. I had a teenage neice with me and she loved the waterfront and the Imax theatre etc as well as some of the unique shops. As I said before you can't go wrong in either area.

faithie

I do not think it makes a diff. , they are really close , actually blend together in an invisible line !!! Old Montreal is downtown to us !!! I live just outside Montreal ....

Doriana

I was there a few weeks ago for the first time and stayed at the Hotel XIXe Siecle, which I believe is described as being in Old Montreal but seemed to be on the brink of downtown. That location is perhaps a good compromise, though next time I would personally choose to stay in Old Montreal.

oneillchris

Having lived in montreal my whole life I will tell you without exception old montreal, moreover if your coming by car you cannot park in old montreal unless you have a hotel, otherwise you must park on St. Laurent st just above Vieux Montreal, There is a really great marriot to super expensive 1k a night hotels in Vieux Montreal. The city nightlife is normally found in Crescent st near Ste Catherine st. or for a more bohemian experience on St. Denis Street. But both are a substantial walk from old Montreal but can easily be reached by metro or a cheap taxi ride for less than $10 cnd, so I would stay in Vieux Montreal. As far as the sixteen year old is concerned I spent my teenage years in old montreal and equally on crescent. If your going to stay in Montreal I recomend the Vogue Hotel on de la montagne.

Fun things to do are the Fireworks festival, Cirque de soleil, Cavallo a horse show, and you should time your visit with the just for laughs or jazz fest.

If you want country then you have a huge choice up north in the laurentians from st. sauveur to esterel and Mont Tremblant as well as the eastern townships where you can get a BB with a winery, Montreal is a very accesible city by car and none of these options are more than an hour away.

Best Regards and remember Montreal is a freer city than any other in NA so sex and alchohol have often sort of thrown my american friends for a loop, your 16 year old could visit any bar or disco probably without reproach, this is a live and let live city so keep a close eye on your daughter.

Last but not least Montreal has the highest concentration of 5-star restaurants per capita so bring your appetites too

Bien A Vous
Christian

DanteInferno

Doriana
How did you like the Hotel XIXe Siecle?

Doriana

DanteInferno -- We liked the Hotel XIXe Siecle fine, though this was a last minute trip so it wasn't among our first choices. They upgraded us to a very large room with a couple of couches and a king size bed. The bathroom was very large and nice. The only bad thing about it was that the room reeked of stale smoke. I don't know whether that's true of all the rooms.

sollitt

Thanks everyone so much for all the information. Your help is invaluable. Sounds like Old Montreal will be a good place to stay. I can't wait to see all the sights and try the various restaurants. Thanks again.

cmcfong

As to the Hotel XIXe Siecle, my room did not reek of smoke (thank goodness) like Doriana's did. I bought it on Luxury Link for around $120. per day including breakfast.

RobynFrance

We went last year and stayed at the Sheraton in the downtown and thought the location was very good. The art museum, which we went to twice (we went to see the Cocteau exhibit) was a few blocks away, we walked to and around the university, there is a church right across from the art museum which has stained glass windows by L. C. Tiffany which are amazing--and all the beautiful shops were nearby.

We walked (albeit we are big walkers--subway system available)to Old Montreal and enjoyed it, but for us, it would have been the wrong location--the buildings are lovely but once you've seen the main street, we did not find as much to do right there.

Montreal is lovely--you will enjoy it no matter what you decide.

Take care,
Robyn France