Southam

No need to guess about distances. You can use the Directions function on Google Maps to calculate the walking distance from you hotel of choice to any attraction, or the Metro subway. I could open two out of three of your links links; they are within 10 minutes walk or less from each other. And beyond my price range.
A little history on the Bonaventure. It began life as the upper couple of storeys atop a convention centre. Now the lower levels are commercial and business. Pool and other outside amenities will still (I guess) be on the roof. It has a Metro stop named for it and connects into the sprawling underground "city" of basement shopping malls. The St-Martin is closer to the main St-Catharines shopping street, a few blocks from a Metro stop and a little closer to the Beaux-Arts and McCord art and history museums. You can easily walk to a Metro stop from that hotel.
Montreal's attractions are spread out; City Hall and Old Montreal, for instance, are a fair distance from the mercantile area you are looking at. Google Maps will put together a subway route for you. The city's planning guide for rapid transit is at: Métro | Société de transport de Montréal

hopingtotravel

Annhig, I am tagging along reading here--especially hotel choices. Have meant to plan a trip to Montreal (and Quebec City) for years yet never seem to leave myself planning time. Maybe early October.

annhig

Thanks for the tip about the Metro guide, Southam. Actually I do know about the google maps directions functions - funny how throw away remarks on the net can give a wrong impression. The walking distances are exactly why I decided to change my hotel to one closer to the old town and the water front [i think you must have missed that post] - I decided that I wanted to be staying in the area I most wanted to see rather than walking back and forth to it.

And I know that the hotel is a bit of a splurge but due to the kindness of friends, the majority of my trip will not be spent in hotels; also when I am travelling by myself, particularly in a city [and indeed a country] where I am a stranger, I feel happier in a more upmarket place. Wimpish I know, but there it is.

annhig

hopingtotravel - Montreal was never on my radar until I was looking at how it fill a few days in my trip between Toronto and New England, and how to get between them without flying. I looked at various train lines that go between Canada and the US but none of them really looked sensible for what I wanted to do, until someone came up with the Adirondack line which goes from Montreal to NYC, but stops off at Port Kent on Lake Champlain on route, where I can get a ferry across the lake to Burlington, VT. So working backwards, it seemed sensible to look at Montreal as a place to stay for a few days, and I could get there easily from Toronto, again on the train. the more i read the more interested I became so Montreal it is.

It seems that there is plenty of choice of accommodation and some very nice BnBs but as I said above, when I am travelling solo in a strange place I feel happier when I am in a "proper" hotel where I can have a meal, drink at the bar, and generally feel "safe".

As for picking an area, it all depends what you want to do and see. with only 2 ½ days my time is limited and having decided that Old Montreal is definitely my main interest, it makes sense to stay there.

Happy planning!

mcgiraldi

Old Montreal is very pretty and very close to the underground shops, musuems and Notre Dame. There is so much more to see in Montreal aside from Old Montreal. Divers neighborhoods, each with their own personalities. botanical Garden, St.Joseph's oratory. The hop on hop off bus is pretty good, informative and gives you an idea of what to see, if you are alone and would rather be guided. The subway system is safe and easy to get around with so you could venture off.

hopingtotravel

Glad I found this thread. At least gives me some ideas of where to start researching.

Vttraveler

annhig--I am sure you will enjoy the Hotel St. Sulpice. It has always looked inviting when we walked by. We have never stayed in Old Montreal, preferring downtown and the Plateau. You might want to start another thread asking for restaurant recommendations in Old Montreal since the ones that have been listed were for the downtown hotel where you were originally planning to stay.
we haven't eaten much in Old Montreal. I can definitely recommend Olive Et Gourmando for breakfast and lunch. There is another place that we have eaten good lunches but I can't find the name right now. Will let you know if I come up with it. Old Montreal is also close to Chinatown which has a lot of Vietnamese restaurants as well as Chinese. Most of them are stronger on food than ambience.

hopingtotravel--you can get some pretty good hotel deals via the tourist office Sweet Deals promotion. The "summer" offerings run through October 15. There will be even cheaper options after that, usually for a 2-night stay with the second night at 50%.
https://www.mtl.org/en/deals/sweet-deal-summer

mcgiraldi

Arthur's or Sparrow is also good for breakfast. Slaumi e vino is a great Itlaian place, Modavie for Jazz and good food, of course Schwartz for smoked meat and notre dame de grace for a good burger. I think I had posted a few good places close to old montreal in this thread.

Vttraveler

Right, Salumi vino and Bonaparte are in Old Montreal. Possibly others I don't know are too. I thought it might be easier for annhig to know which ones are in that area rather than having to look up addresses. Schwartz's is not although there are other places that sell smoked meat.

mcgiraldi

Modavie is in Old Montreal and so is Pois Penche. I think Campo is as week. But it is very easy to get around from Old Montreal to downtown and the Plateau by subway. Why stay in one area the whole time. Plus, Old Montreal is pretty, I love it, but can be very pricey and there is so much to discover in the surroundings. I do always suggest reading articles on the website Eater. And choose what tickles your fancy. I like your thinking. to be prepared ahead of time.

Southam

A second post, about food. Restaurants Montréal - Trouver des restaurants à Montréal | RestoMontreal is useful because it sorts restaurants by type of cuisine, neighbourhood, and also AVV, which is French for BYO. A minority of restaurants, usually small, allow you to bring your own wine, with no corkage fee. The site doesn't provide its own ratings but offers reader feedback (pun intended.)

Poutine? This is a roadside diner product taken over by foodies and glamour-seeking young chefs. A cheap way to moisten French fries can now be found with premium ingredients, and sky-high prices. A lobster poutine once won an Iron Chef championship. But it's still essentially heart-stopping fries and gravy. For awhile it was served at Canadian KFCs.

basingstoke2

annhig, this is a timely thread as we are also thinking of a last minute August trip to Montreal and Quebec, but earlier in the month than your own trip. If you find yourself traveling further south to the Washington, DC area and would like a guide for the day, please let me know and if it is a time that we are home, we would be happy to show you around

annhig

Thanks so much, Basingstoke; unfortunately there are far more places [and people] that I would like to see than I could manage to fit into twice the time I've got, and sadly I do not see a visit to DC in my immediate future. I hope you enjoy Montreal.

As for restaurants, I have been looking at Eater, and will add your website to my list, Southam. Of course I'll be looking at seeing other parts of Montreal with the botanical gardens high on my list, and thanks all for the new [an old] restaurant recommendations. I'll be looking through them over the next few days.

Vttraveler

annhig-- Le Petit Dep on Rue St-Paul Ouest in Old Montreal is the other place I was thinking of for breakfast or lunch.
This list actually looked pretty good to me with many of the places that have been recommended listed. It also gives you an idea of comparative prices.
https://www.yelp.ca/search?find_loc=...lt=restaurants

annhig

Thanks for the tip about Le Petit Dep, VT - looks just my sort of place.

That restaurant website looks pretty useful too - as you say it lists many of the ones that have already been recommended.

Too many choices, not enough time!

mcgiraldi

Le petit dep is VERY cute. I love to stop by for coffee. But it is very small and when I mean small, it is super tiny. Maybe 10 seats

annhig

Le petit dep is VERY cute. I love to stop by for coffee. But it is very small and when I mean small, it is super tiny. Maybe 10 seats>>

I'll have to get there early then, Mcgiraldi.

or late!

EYWandBTV

Hi annhig,

Two favorites for restos in Montreal: L'Express on Blvd. St. Denis and Au Pied de Cochon on Avenue Duluth Est. The latter serves old fashioned Quebecois food, lots of fun too.

You might do a little web-surfing about Quebecois history and culture, from the so-called Quiet Revolution of the early 1960s to authors such as Michel Tremblay (e.g., The Fat Woman Next Door is Pregnant), their use of the local dialect (or creole?) which is "joual", and other such. It is a fascinating culture.

Your fans in Vermont are eagerly awaiting your arrival on the shores of Lac Champlain! Quebec has played a big role in Vermont's history. Most of what is now Vermont was part of Nouvelle France in the 17th century, but then came the late unpleasantness and Quebec became British and Vermont became Yank. Many Quebecers migrated to Vermont and New Hampshire in the late 19th century to work in the textile mills. Today about one quarter of Vermont's population is of Quebec origin. I worked with two people at the university whose parents were from Quebec; they did not even speak English til they were about five!

Anyway, enjoy your trip, see you soon!

annhig

Hi EYVandBTV, thanks so much for the restaurant tips. So many places, so little time. I had no idea when someone suggested I stay in Montreal that there was so much to do and see there and so many places to eat! How I will fit it all into 2½ days I have no idea but it's probably just as well I won't be staying any longer else I'd be like the side of a house!

Thanks also for the info re Quebecois culture and the links between Quebec and Vermont. That's not something I knew anything about before so it'll be fun finding out more about it. I love your reference to the "late unpleasantness" but you don't need to be quite so tactful; most Brits have just about recovered from the ignominy of losing part of our american colonies. More reading to do.

Looking forward to seeing you too - 12 more sleeps before I set off!

EYWandBTV

Ann, more Quebec culture suggestions (I am not in the pay of their tourist bureau, btw)...two films by Denys Arcand: "Le Declin de l'Empire Americain" and "Les Invasions Barbares", also in subtitled versions. These are a good intro to the successes of the 1960s Quiet Revolution in establishing a secular state in Quebec, decreasing the power of the Church, and increasing the role of the French in the until-then-Anglo-dominated economy. In these films, we see the post-success hangover: "ok gang, now we're secular and rich, what do we do with our lives?" Sort of a Quebec version of "La Dolce Vita".