We may be crazy but planning very short notice weekend to Montreal (to help 20 year old daughter med a broken heart). Driving from Boston on Friday, leaving Sunday afternoon. A few questions - hotels seem very booked - we made a tolerable reservation but am thinking of trying on Priceline. Any suggestions for area in city to bid on.
Anything you would think might especially appeal to 20 year old. We like shopping, food, museums, historic things (that is why we picked Montreal and not some quiet lake somewhere).
Montreal - short notice (7/29/11) for 2 nights with 20 year old daughter
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Like the Gault or similar in the old town
www.booking.com or www.betterbidding.com cheaper.
virtualtourist.com good tips from locals
most of the bigger hotels are downtown. I would try there or Old Montreal. The Plateau neighborhood is an interesting one to explore for shopping and restaurants but has mostly B & B's and small hotels.
For history buffs I strongly recommend the Archeology and History musuem, Pointe-à-Callière in the port area. The Chateau Ramezay in Old Montreal is also good. Be sure to stop by the gardens at the back even if you don't tour the house
The big markets (Jean talon and Atwater) are fun
It is nice of you to take your daughter on this trip, and I hope you have a good time together
We stayed at the Marriott Chateau Champlain (on points) -- loved it, very European. Metro station located under the hotel. Speaking of the Metro and a great deal...a 3 consecutive day pass is $16 per person and good on both Metro and bus (if you want to head to Mont Royal). The Montreal Metro system is the most easiest system I have ever been on. Of course all of this depends on how full your Friday and Sunday will be.
I highly recommed Cirque Du Soleil - Totem. However, there are a couple of acts that involve couples...don't know how sensitive she'd be to that, but the show is excellent (and there are many funny parts to it). I'm not sure when this run ends...tickets can be easily purchased at the box office by the tents the day of.
There are boat cruises (as short as 60 minutes). Depending on weather, you could rent bicycle carts and take a ride by the piers.
I loved both Jean Talon and Atwater and good for a couple of hours, if you love markets.
I highly recommend Taverne Square Dominion -- great drinks and the food is good too. For crepes head to Jardin Nelson -- sit in the "back" as it is very lovely (they have jazz in the evenings -- gets crowded).
http://www.tavernedominion.com/fr/
Have a nice trip and hope your daughter recovers quickly.
gail, just so you know, this upcoming weekend ( July 29, 30, 31, August 1) is biiiiig holiday weekend in some parts of Canada. Not Quebec but there will be a lot of traffic in & around Quebec from Ontario where "August 1st", the first Monday in August, is a holiday.
I love Omni Hotel in Montreal.....downtown,( Sherbrooke & Peel), close to shops, restaurants, Museum, etc. Right acroos the street from McGill University.
Have a nice trip with your daughetr & I hope she starts to feel better soon. She's lucky to have you for her Mum.
Ocean
Gail...
I want to send you a touching song for your daughter.
so I made up an e-mail addy at Yahoo.
The addy is forgailskid
The p/w is 'perfect'
Go there and find the link to the song.
Oh, and if you don't trust the link, remember you can always type it out into your own address bar, with no concerns. NOT that you shouldn't trust the link, but of course YOU don't 'know' that.
As for Montreal... I found that just walking around with all of the french signage ('slightly bigger' than the english signage, by law, of course) was quite interesting. I don't think you will need to "do" too many particularly touristy things.
Montreal is mostly flat, for it being on an island... and it might have been "Rue St. Denis" that was a street with a plentiful number of shops and curiosities..
Unfortunately it is indeed a big holiday weekend in Canada, so lodging is going to be challenging, but the whole thing should serve the purpose nicely.
Thankfully border traffic shouldn't be particularly aggravating when you are likely to be crossing.
Hope the weekend works wonderfully !!
Gail - I was in Montreal Memorial Day weekend and there is indeed plenty to do. I liked the Jean Talon Market better than Atwater (I thought there was more variety, plus many of the vendors were giving out produce samples!). But Atwater has the bonus of being beside the Lachine Canal, which is very pretty.
At either market, be sure to get ice cream from Havre aux Glaces. They had a 72% cocoa one that was absolutely incredible! They also had one called lulo, made from the tropical fruit of that name (look it up on Wikipedia), that was a nice blend of sweet and tart. The stand inside Jean Talon has more flavor choices than the one at Atwater, which is outside the main building (between it and the canal).