Im going from Boston to Italy with a lay over in Montreal. The layover is real long, 7 hours. Im traveling alone, im a 20 year old female. I was wondering if it is easy and safe enough to venture out into the city or the surrounding area during my layover. I know Montreal is mostly french speaking, I took spanish in high school so I know very very little french. The layover is from 12:30pm - 7:45. I can't bring a lap top with me and my phone will most likely not work in Canada so that leaves me very little to do at the actual airport, I can only read for so long haha.

Any tips or ideas would be great. Even if it has nothing to do with the city, any advice on what to do during a long layover like this would be great! Im use to traveling alone quite a bit but a 5 hour layover is the longest ive ever had. I feel like those extra couple house might me killer!

YUL is very close to downtown. I can't think of many areas in the whole country of Canada is not safe. And most people in Montreal speaks English, even if they're Francophone.

Go browse a guidebook or check out Montreal's tourism websites for ideas. Old Town is the main area you should visit, but other parts of downtown may interest you.

If you think you can handle Italy, you definitely won't have problem with Montreal.

Yes, Old Town ("le vieux Montreal") is a great area for strolling around and enjoying the sights and people-watching. Lots of interesting little galleries there, as well.

If you're a carnivore, an excellent idea would be to stop at Schwartz's Delicatessen on your way back to the airport and pick up a smoked meat sandwich to go. Smoked meat is a Montreal specialty, and Schwartz's is the best. It will be a million times better than any food you'd get on the plane.