I am traveling to Montreal with my boyfriend for a birthday present. It's my first time in Montreal and I would appreciate any advice and/or answers to the following questions!

1) How are the following hotels (I'm leaning towards the Hotel XIX Siecle):
- Hotel XIX Siecle
- Le St-Martin Hotel and Suites
- Hotel de la Montagne
We would like to be within walking distance of some major (or just really interesting) attractions.

2) We don't have a lot of money to spend, and are saving up. How much money would you recommend for a 5 day trip (not including hotel expenses) including shopping, attractions, dining, etc.?

3) We're planning on driving from Ann Arbor, MI to Montreal, breaking up the drive with a night's stay in Toronto. Any advice on driving in Canada, etc.?

4) Any other important or relevant advice? I would greatly appreciate it, seeing as it is my birthday trip.

Sorry about all the questions, but I'm trying to be as prepared as possible. I'm planning on booking my trip through Expedia.com (just the hotel).

Oh, and what does gas cost (approx. in US $) in Canada?

Thank you all so much and really any bit of info will be greatly appreciated!

Gas is expensive right now - it's over $1 a liter here in Toronto. (This morning it was $1.02 a liter.) Montreal gas prices are always more expensive than Toronto. I think that works out to more than $4 USD a gallon?

Not Le St-Martin. It is in a suburb north of Montreal and does not come close to meeting the "walking" criteria.

Hotel de la Montagne is downtown, close to shopping and Crescent Street nightlife.

Hotel XIX Siecle is in Old Montreal.

I'm going to assume you will be here in a summer month--Old Montreal and the Old Port are fun to walk around in the summer.

It depends on what you like to do before listing off attractions (museums? jetboating? renting bikes? architecture? amusement park?).

Gas this morning in downtown Montreal was CDN$1.084/litre, but was at $1.18 last week. No right turns on red on the Island of Montreal (or I'll yell at you).

It is very possible to blow your budget while shopping. As for food, Montreal has the usual suspects in the fast food categories, as well as fine dining. To save a bit of money, buy some goodies at a market (Jean-Talon or Atwater) or a grocery store and have a picnic. For dinner, buy a bottle of wine and go to one of Montreal's many BYOB restaurants (some cheap, some not so). There is no corkage fee.

And have a Happy Birthday!

JQ

Learn a little French for driving, and relax. If you miss a turn, you can always retrace your steps.

Est is east. That's weasy enough.

Nord is north. East, again.

Sud for south

Nord for North.

That should get you off at the right exits.

No left turns on red lights in Quebec Province.

Pedestrians do not obey trafic lights, but generally, if you keep going,t hey pace themselves so you don't hit them.

$200 a day works well if you don't drink much.

Dining can be very expensive, but there are lots of very good less expensive rttyarants, too. All have menus posted outside, so you won't be surprised.

BAK

driving: get your car insurance company to give you a card indicating that you are covered in Canada. You probably won't need it, but you are required to produce proo of insurance upon demand.
Parking in Montreal is tough. On many long blocks there are 3 or 4 different regulations for different sections o don'tforget to walk in both directions from where you parked to see what the rules are. And if you don't read French well (days of the week, times, etc) you may end up parking illegally.

Spending: like in any big city, Montreal is great for both splurge meals and lots of great cheap ones.YOu can spend whatever you would spend at home. Of course the US dollar is not very strong now, and in Montreal there is 14% tax added to almost everything so consider the US and Canadian dollars just about equal.

Attractions: What are you thinking of Museums, boat rides? As mentioned. Montreal has lots of festivals that have free entertainment.

I am more into museums and art galleries than outdoor activities. Thanks to all of you for your wonderful advice!

Any other advice on planning the trip itself? I believe the Hotel Siecle and maybe the Hotel de la Montagne have valet parking... we'd probably just use the car to get to Montreal, not for driving around. Will that be easier (not having to worry about illegal parking and such)?

I am 19, soon to be 20. My boyfriend is 20. Will we encounter any trouble being younger and American?

Thanks and keep the responses coming please!

I think Brian means no right turns on a red light in Montreal. I can't think of too many places that allow left turns on a red light!

In BC left turns on a red light are legal if the street you are turning onto is a one way street (going left).

Well, that makes sense!

Re being in montreal age 19 and 20: this is a great city for young adults. There are many students, including many American students (my son is one). The percentage of students in the population is roughly the same as in Boston.
I am sure you already know you can drink there legally.
There are many festivals in Montreal during the summer so check out the tourist website to get an idea of what is happening when you are there.

A few other thoughts
Our family uses two books for ideas on inexpensive restaurants: Cheap Thrills and Resto a Go Go. Both recommend good places with meals for around $15. If you don't want to buy the books, you can always browse through them in a bookstore. Chapters is a good English language store in the city.

If you don't speak French, you would probably find a phrase book helpful.

I would definitely recommend parking the car and walking or taking public transit, which is excellent. You can save some money on metro and bus tickets by buying strips (carnets) of six rather than individual tickets.

If you are interested in museums and galleries I would pick Hotel de la Montagne of the possible hotels you mentioned.
Montreal does have some hotel deals called "sweet dreams" where various hotels offer a fairly good deal on the first night and the second night at half price. Check the tourist website:
http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/
I don't think you get an extra deal on nights after the second, but you might be able to get a good overall price by reserving at 2 different hotels if you don't mind moving. You would have to compare this with what you can find on expedia

The tourist office has a very good booklet on the city with maps and descriptions of the different neighborhoods. Much of this material is on the web site for planning before you go (click on the experience Montreal option)

Happy Birthday!