Montreal is an amazing place to visit anytime of year. I’ll describe a day’s walk around town and some of the things you can see. Let’s start off down in the Old Port. If you live in the States and are thinking about Europe but are concernedabout the budget then you may want to consider Montreal. Montreal’s Old Port part of the city, what used to be the downtown, dates to the cities origins of over 350 years ago. Walking down St. Paul street you get the feeling that you are in Europe. The antique shops, art studios and restaurants that line the street have all been gentrified over the past few decades and now they are just a magnificent place to roam around. If you’re a fan of hearty polish/Ukranian type food then I can recommend the Stash Cafe. I’ve eaten there a few time and love it. Another wonderful restaurant is Garde Manger, featured on Chuck’s Day Off (video featured below). If you are thinking about dropping by make sure you get reservations about two weeks ahead of time. Do your walk in the morning and pick a resto for the evening then head up to Chinatown.

From Chinatown you can walk up to St. Catherine street, Montreal’s most famous street, take a left and head west. There are literally thousands upon thousands of quality shops here in the downtown core. Montreal is quite well know as a worldwide fashion capital, or at least a shopping capital. Look for any of the blue arrow metro signs and follow them underground. If you are visiting in the winter this area will feel like paradise. Due to its extreme winters Montreal has developed a full city underground. You can find anything down there and it stretches out a couple miles. It’s quite impressive. Take a peak into the Les Ailes complex, one of the newer and most beautiful of the half above ground, half below ground malls. From the underground city you can meander all the way back to the corner of St. Jacques and McGill streets and make your way down McGill back to St. Paul. There’s a nice little one day, round trip walk. If you have any questions about Montreal let me know via the Contact page and I’ll try to answer. I have a bit of insider’s knowledge having lived here for 44 years.