I am staying in Montreal for 2 days. We are looking for a nice place to stay that feels european and historic close and are deciding whether or not to stay near the Notre Dame Basilica or on St Catherine Street. We would like to go out at night but also want the quaint romanitc feel of a historic location. Any recommendations? Should we stay in Old Montreal and cab it to go partying or stay closer to nightlife area?

There are actually 3 desirable areas to stay: 1. The downtown, which is very cosmopolitan, almost like a French speaking Manhattan - lots of big stores, skyscrapers, pubs, restaurants; 2.the Old City which is charming, quaint,and old but a bit isolated - touristy, lots of fun places to eat; 3.the plateau which is very euro-hip with lots of nightlife and dining options. Any one of these areas would be fine since you can easily walk or take the Metro anywhere. My personal preference is the plateau, since it represents the 'real' Montreal to me.

Stay in Vieux Montreal. Ste Catherine is neither quaint nor romantic. From personal experience, I would recommend either the Auberge du Vieux Port or the Auberge les Passants du Sans Soucy. There are also quite a few expensive boutique hotels such as the Nelligan, Saint-Sulpice and Place d'Armes, but I haven't stayed at any of them. The Nelligan's restaurant is quite good.

When are you going? We'll be staying at the Auberge Bonaparte Hotel in Old Montreal in September. It was recommended to me by a local and the reviews are very positive. It is right next to the Notre Dame Basilica.

If you want a historic feel for your surroundings, I would recommend NOT staying on Ste. Catherine... Old Montreal would give you your historic feel, but it's a bit removed from most of your nightlife options... As a Montrealer, while I do enjoy Old Montreal with its charm and "European-ish" look, very few Montrealers actually live there...it really is tourist central.

I'd tend to recommend the McGill Ghetto or Plateau Mont-Royal district as a compromise; not as old as Old Montreal, but charming nevertheless... and close to nightlife and bustling. And take a day trip down to Old Montreal via metro.

Best wishes, Daniel

I like to stay in the Downtown area (Sherbrooke & Peel) b/c of its close proximity to McGill University, shopping, restaurants, nightlife.

Last September we stayed at the hotel Dauphin.Very nice room with computer.Paul

Hotel Saint Sulpice in Vieux Montreal.

I'm a big fan of cities and stay downtown almost everywhere I go but downtown Montreal looks like any other city whereas to me Old Montreal has a unique flavour.

We are also visiting Montreal for two nights and I'm finding it hard to find the right accomodation. I was looking at the Auberge du Vieux Port but the last post on TA is very negative. Some of the hotels listed are too expensive for us as we are in Canada for nearly four weeks.We would like to be near the main 'sights' and good restaurants. Any other suggestions? We like good B&B's
Thanks for your help with this.

joan,
I haven't looked at the TA last post you mention, but unless it was about something that was specifically important to me (AC, location, etc), I wouldn't knock a hotel out of the running based on a single negative post if the rest were good.

Auberge du Vieux Port generally is well-recommended here (though I haven't stayed there myself so I can't give a personal recommendation).

I have stayed several times at the Auberge du Vieux Port and enjoyed the stay. However if you are concerned about the adverse reviews on TripAdvisor, my other recommendation of the Auberge les Passants du Sans Soucy still stands. I don't think you would be disappointed with it.

I'd vote for St Sulpice. While it doesn't look historic, it's really a wonderful place to stay and the location is fabulous - directly behind the Cathedral. Have stayed there twice in recent years and will be there again in August.