Montreal Honeymoon?
 

Hi all!

My fiance and I are getting married in the end of January 2012 here in Orlando. We were originally thinking about going to Europe a couple weeks after our wedding, as I had my heart set on returning to Paris for the first time since I was 16. Lately I've been thinking Montreal would be an almost even trade for a taste of france without the jet lag. Thoughts?

My fiance and I are in our late 20s, early 30s and are looking for good food, wine, architecture, history and romance. I'd love to find a hotel room with a fireplace or even spend a couple nights skiing on a nearby side trip.

Please send some suggestions for hotels (Budget - preferably under $300/night) and restaurants (Mixed meals - casual, with one or two nice dinners of under $100 pp). And if a side trip is a good idea, where to? We are thinking of 6-7 nights, but flexible at this point.

Much thanks!!

I would check the weather for that time of year. I live in Michigan and unless you like to be cold and do outdoor stuff, I would not think going to Canada in January would be a fun honeymoon (although my very short honeymoon was in Toronto LOL!) I am looking into a visit this summer and am finding nice hotels for around $200 a night so I would think the winter you will not have any problem. I just commented on a trip report about 10 animals and a manic time in Montreal. That poster included a lot of restaurant information including what sounded like some very nice dinners for around $100 for two and a lot of other less expensive meals.

I am a little worried about the weather.. We don't mind the cold (hubby from NY), but I would like to be able to enjoy the city by walking aimlessly along the cobblestone streets.

Wedding is January 28th, but we weren't going to do the honeymoon for a couple to a few weeks later.. maybe we will postpone until late April/early May and do a mini-moon somewhere in Florida beforehand.

Thanks for the tips/info.

Hmmmmmmmmmph... (pondering deeply)

While I certainly admit that "Montreal" sounds much more prominent and recognizable when telling your Florida family and friends where you're going, I humbly suggest that much of the rest of Quebec would more deeply immerse you in French-SEEMING culture. (though the Euros would scoff at the thought, I'm sure)

IF you were to go in January (Febrary, or March) you would have to resign yourself to expect the DEEEEEEEEEP FREEZE.

I have a feeling that Quebec City is definitely worth your researching as an alternative to Montreal. Check out the old town there, http://images.travelpod.com/users/tm...own-square.jpg

QC used to be contained within a wall, sitting up high on a bluff overlooking the St. Lawrence River.

Now it has ballooned considerably and long-ago overflowed the wall, which is still there, and the area inside preserved quite nicely.

You can find your cobblestones either within the wall, or in lower QC, on narrow streets in an older part of town.

The finest hotel in town bills itself as "the most photographed hotel in the world". (perhaps if one were inclined to honeymoon there in Jan. or Feb. they might find great deals on rates)

The authenticity of QC is apparent in that english is practiced much less there than is the case in central Montreal.

You'd still have to handle the challenge of your Florida friends hearing "Quebec" (hey, wait, that's it... you tell them you're honeymooning in Quebec... that will sound exotic enough... THEY may think "Montreal", but you would know differently)

Anyway, do consider that slight alternative... and maybe for your mentioned "side trip", you take a SHORT trip to stay at the nearby ice hotel!! (I perceive it to be about 12 minutes from mid-town QC)

http://www.icehotel-canada.com/


Provided you could stand the cold, and get around in the wintery weather, some of the small towns nearby are wonderfully quaint and romantic.

And besides, YOU will always get to go back to Florida... eventually to overcome the chills you shared on such a honeymoon.

Food for thought.


"Hotel de Glace"

Montreal is one of my favorite cities in the world - great food, interesting neighborhoods, funky shops, lots of international culture. That being said, it's not Paris. Paris is certainly more beautiful and interesting. On the other hand for dining, Montreal may be at least as good as Paris due to it's eclectic mix of cultures. As others have said, Montreal will probably be brutally cold. However, we have been to Montreal in the dead of winter and had a great time, and were even able to do some walking around. For shear beauty, Quebec City beats Montreal hands down. However, it will be even colder than Montreal, and it's fairly small. If jetlag is your only concern, I would definitely choose Paris over Montreal, especially in winter. If budget is another factor, you can have a wonderful time in Montreal on a budget. There are dozens of small hotels with lots of European charm, countless good, inexpensive restaurants (many byob), and a few nights in Quebec City would be fun. Go to the bounjourquebec.com website and request their free guidebooks to both cities. There books are great.

Oops! thats bonjourquebec.com. You have to call them to get the guidebooks.

For Montreal also check out the city tourist bureau
http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/
Nice hotels are generally much cheaper in Montreal than they would be in U.S. cities like NYC or Boston.

winter carnival in Quebec city is From January 27 to February 12, 2012. We have never been (would like to) but beware it would be crowded and I believe more expensive than usual in that time period.

a recent thread with inexpensive Montreal restaurants gives some idea of the range there
http://www.fodors.com/community/cana...n-montreal.cfm

Even late April can be pretty cold in Montreal. My husband and I were there over Easter weekend and temperatures were just above freezing so we didn't get snow. January can be REALLY cold, even colder than our home in northern VT where we don't get the winds off the St. Lawrence. I still love the city in the winter but it might be a shock coming from Fla