jackz

My adult siblings and spouses (eight total) will be visiting Montreal after a cruise in August this year. First time visit for all of us. Would like to hear from my Fodor friends any recommendations you may have for hotels, sightseeing and restaurants. I expect we'll stay 2 to 3 days. Any boutique type hotel in the city? Could you offer some insight into getting around. Is a rental car needed or is there public transportation?. Could you suggest an itinerary that would give us an overview of the city and culture? Any help would be much appreciated. We are healthy and in our late 60's.
Thanks in advance.

cdnyul

You definitely should not get a car. Montreal roads are atrocious.

I would recommend a 3 day unlimited transit pass for $18.

http://www.stm.info/en/info/advice/visitors

Mark

Southam

Montreal's delights are many and various. They are also spread out, including the hotels. No single area is in the centre of everything so the recommendation to learn how to navigate the subway is a valuable one. The summer calendar is jammed with festivals and you may find one or more during your time period. The city is home to serious art galleries and museums, ranging from colonial history to insects. Bicycles are big. The culture is bilingual (and, now, multicultural.) Dining out is a serious pursuit; www.restomontreal.com is one of several sites that search restaurants by location and cuisine. Some small places allow you to bring your own wine, at substantial savings (they're designated AVV, which is the equivalent of BYOB.) The city loves sports, and Canadian football's season will be running in August as will professional soccer. Jazz is always being played and the midnight dance scene flourishes. Shop till you drop? Sure, in several areas.
With so many choices, no stranger can predict what you personally want to do. Your research can start with the city's tourist authority http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/ Destination guides on sites such as this one are also valuable, not just to one planner but to everyone going along.
I also predict that you cannot keep everybody in your group happy, even after the “togetherness” of a cruise. My experience in these situations is that the ensemble can split up and go their own ways during the day, rather than trying to agree on a one-itinerary-fits-all program. Meet in the evening to compare your experiences over a nice meal. Bon voyage, et bienvenue.

mat54

There are several nice and popular Boutique Hotels in "Old Montreal", a historic district on the edge of the main downtown with cobblestone streets, specialty stores and many restaurants. Hotels to check out include Hotel Nelligan, Le Saint Sulpice and Auberge du Vieux-Port, but there are others you can compare using Google or various review sites and booking agencies. If you are moderately fit and the weather is conducive, you can walk most of the main downtown and Old Montreal areas (my spouse and I always do, as recently as 2013 when in our late 50's to mid 60's) but other suggestions are above. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is very good, and Notre-Dame Basilica is a popular attraction.

Outside of the downtown area, the Montreal Botanical Gardens are quite wonderful for perhaps 1/2 a day.

jackz

Thank you all for your input. I'll check out those boutique hotels you recommended.

cober6711

Those boutique hotels are all nice, but some complain that they can be quite noisy.

When someone asks me where to stay in Montreal, my answer is quite simple: Le Square Phillips.

It is not exactly a boutique hotel, but rather a jazzed-up serviced apartment kind of place.

It is right in the middle of everything. The hotel is absolutely spotless. I also love the fact that they have a full kitchen, and rooms are MASSIVE too. You don't usually need more than the basic room here, but they do have some rooms that are well over 1100 square feet in size, and, surprisingly, these aren't all that expensive.

The Westin Montreal is also very nice, if you like Starwood properties.

Avoid the Queen Elizabeth. A shoebox room at the Queen Elizabeth will set you back as much as a 1100 square foot room at the Square Phillips, and isn't nearly as nice.

M2Eska

You should check out the Hop-On Hop-Off Double-Decker Tour,
its fun way to discover the city! http://www.grayline.com/tours/montre...r-tour-5867_2/

AndrewDavid

hi there, when i was in montreal a year ago, i stayed at the omni mont royal. it's a short walk to the metro and if you ask,as i did you can get a room facing the mont. a few blocking to the art gallery also.

staff are very accomodating and my room was quite large. if you join their free rewards program you get free wifi and hot morning beverage delivered to your door on the house

while i went down to vieux montreal it was pretty , but not well populated. i am not sure i would be interested in styaing down there

mat54

Hi - I'm honestly just wondering about AndrewDavid's comment about Vieux (Old) Montreal not being well populated. Anytime I've been there (at least 6,7 or more), it has been very busy with both tourists and locals, one of the most popular districts and attractions in Montreal for architecture, dining, specialty stores, people strolling the cobblestone streets, patios, bistros including some quite renowned ones, etc. Perhaps AndrewDavid was there during off-season time? I'm really simply curious.......
It's also essentially adjacent to the main more modern "commercial" downtown district, you can stay in one and easily walk to the other.