We're thinking we would like to explore Montreal by (easy) bicycling and walking during the Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend. We like to explore (nice, fun, NOT beautiful people type) bars with good indie/blues/folk/punk?/rock music--and good (not gourmet or gourmet priced) food (vegetarian/seafood). Just two 50 something adults who want to get away...we will be coming from upstate NY by car.

Suggestions for a homey (again, not pricey) b&b would also be appreciated. We're thinking of Old Montreal/Port area, but would consider Mont-Royal area; not so much the McGill neighborhood.

Finally--are bars/music clubs likely to be closed Sunday and Monday of Canadian Thanksgiving weekend?

Thank you so much!

We have stayed at Auberge de la Fontaine in the Plateau neighborhood. This is a great part of the city--lots of good restaurants nearby.
The Auberge is a small inn that serves breakfast and also has a room with snacks and a fridge you can use. You might want something a little smaller. There are other B & Bs in the Plateau but we have not tried them. I think if you do an advanced search for Plateau you would come up with some ideas.

For the music scene, checkout the Montreal Hour & Montreal Mirror web sites. There are many small clubs throughout the city. There is a tiny basement jazz club - Diese Onze, on St. Denis between Duluth & Rachael that has live music every night.
Although Old Montreal is very charming, I believe the Plateau area would have more of what you are looking for. There are many inexpensive b&b's on the Plateau. We've stayed at Pierre & Dominiques, Le Rayon Vert, CC Cherrier, Bienvenue are they all good choices, but there are many more.
For fun dining, Duluth, St. Denis & Prince Arthur are lined with interesting byob restaurants of every description. Our favorite is Le Jardin de Panos (Greek), but for veggie & seafood, the Lotus Bleu is very good Asian. Both are on Duluth.
Some of the major bike lanes thru the city are Rue Rachael, Rue Berri, and the walkway at the old port, which leads to the Lachine Canal trail. There are 200 miles of safe bike trails in the city!
If you enjoy food, don't miss visiting Jean Talon Market in Little Itlay, or Atwater Market near the Lachine Canal. Visit them before lunch time.

thank you, Vtraveler & zootsi! We will focus on Plateau...the old port walkway/Lachine Canal sound marvelous. Thanks for helping us focus. And thanks for the websites.

Do you think the Markets are likely to be open on Thanksgiving? How can I find out?

Merci!

Isn't Thanksgiving (Canadian or otherwise) a non-event in Montreal?

hi Robyn..that's what I'm trying to figure out. Official sites say banks, gov't offices, and many malls will be closed, but other places may or may not be. If the Markets zootsi mentioned are closed, that would be rather disappointing as we'd hoped to make something like that the lunch break for our cycling!, so then we'd schedule ourselves differently.

We also like galleries, so if they are closed too...we might pick a different weekend. Hard to figure out from here.

I don't think the markets will be closed. We have visited in the Eastern Townships (area east of Montreal)on Canadian Thanksgiving and found lots of shopping, restaurants open then. Have you checked the tourism website?
http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/

I can't imagine Jean Talon or Atwater being closed. Just some info on cycling to them: Atwater is just across a small footbridge from the Lachine Canal trail. Just look for the clocktower. Jean Talon is also a great bike ride although the last 4 blocks or so are not on an official bike route (lots of bikers do it however). The Montreal tourist map has all the bike routes well marked.

Thanks again...sorry for the delay getting back to you...and THANKS for the cycling advice! This is going to be a wonderful trip!