I've just got back from exploring Eastern Canada, and wanted to share my experiences of Montreal and Ottawa Very exciting as it was my first time in North America! (from UK)

We stayed in Montreal, and absolutely LOVED it Montreal was fascinating - so liberal, so much to see, so arty, so laidback and absolutely loved hearing and using the French language,
We found enough things to do to keep us amused for a full week, and were busy every day.

Here are my thoughts on Montreal:

http://www.adventuresofelis.com/2016...for-me-as.html

We also did a day trip to Ottawa. Loved looking around Parliament Hill and Byward Market, but probably would have run out of things to do if we had stayed more than a day. Very glad to have seen the lovely Canadian capital though, and found it very different to the bright lights of Montreal.

http://www.adventuresofelis.com/2016...-capital.html7

Thanks for reading Elis

Hi elis--

Glad you liked it here! I've lived here for almost 20 years and you captured quite a number of reasons why I love Montreal (I'm a US citizen (naturalized Canadian) and I went to high school and part of elementary school in the Washington DC area, also lived in London in the UK for 4 years). I see you arrived when the pink balls arrived in the Village, so you seem to have been here in good weather... The first nice days of spring are when the city is pure magic!

Great report!

Best wishes, Daniel

Sorry for my slow response Daniel! I imagine it would be a great city to live in! Spring was such a lovely time to visit, I packed for cold weather, but ended up getting a sun tan!

Best wishes, Elis

Thanks for this Elis. We are going to Montreal this weekend for four days. Wish I'd seen the pink balls. I'll have to google to see if they're still there. Glad you liked poutine.

Micheline - You're welcome. Hopefully the pink balls are still there, they are fabulous! Poutine was AMAZING - I'd never heard of it before visiting Canada, but I've eaten so much of it ever since!

Hi Micheline,

The pink balls are usually in Montreal until Labour Day.

Daniel

Good!

Nice report' I've always wanted to go to Montreal! I've only gotten as far as Toronto and Niagara on the Lake (and Niagara Falls).

Thanks for this report and your write up. My husband and I are travelling to Canada from Australia for 6 weeks and we are spending 4 days in Montreal as our final destination. Your report and post have convinced me even more that I was right to finish the trip in Montreal - it sounds like it will be a highlight.

SeaF - I found Montreal very different to Toronto, probably because of the language difference but I also think the two cities differ culturally. It's a great place to visit!

Pidge51 - I hope you and your husband have the best time in Canada! I really enjoyed Montreal, and I hope you do too. It differs a lot from English-speaking Canada, it's a fascinating city.

Thanks for this article! It'll be so handy when I visit Montreal.