Am I crazy for planning a trip to Montreal in January?
 

I live in Las Vegas, NV, and have heard wonderful things about Montreal. I've never been to Canada and the purpose of my January vacation is for my friend and I to go somewhere undiscovered, for us. Will we be all right if we brace ourselves for bitter cold and just bundle up?

Not crazy but possibly very brave; so far we've had mild weather and no snow in mtl but who knows what january will bring.

Locals keep living in january and nothing stops us so tourists could do the same and have a good time.

Thanks. I suppose it's not so different than people visiting LV in the middle of the summer when it's 115 degrees.

I suggest warm clothing. You can always put on more clothes, but in LV there is a limit to how much you can take off!
Total bareness excites the conservatives to indulge in hostile behavior, and it also leads to sunburn without slathering on loads of SPF xxx sunscreen, where xxx is some number > 44.

Through Christmas day no temperatures under 20 F are predicted. That is warm for Montreal in Winter.

January can get nippy when the red line drops down under the 0 F mark. Me?
I suggest a May visit; tends to be warmer than January.

Montreal is good in any season. How comfortable are you in sub-freezing temperatures? If you can't cope with the weather you won't be happy but if you view travel as a way of experiencing different things then it will be fun. Some items of winter clothing will be more readily available in Montreal than Las Vegas. January sales can be very good in Montreal. Some high end restaurants take a holiday in early January so if you have particular restaurants in mind I suggest checking that they will be open.

I've spent January in Montreal for the past 2 years because a) I have the time off, and b) I'm there to visit with friends during the New Year. But if this is your first time to Montreal, let alone first time in Canada, I'd say January would be pretty uninspiring time to visit. The city's in hibernation mode. As long as you're planning indoor activities, it would be great. But Montreal's a completely different world in the summer months - much more vibrant and tons of events going on.