Bring your appetite and plenty of layers. Montreal is an awesome city to visit, with a fascinating history and enough delicious food to entice you to go outside in sub-freezing temperatures. There are also plenty of activities and attractions to keep you busy in between meals. Enjoy this Québecois treasure.
Where to Eat
Montreal is a big city. Luckily, there are great restaurants in every neighborhood, and public transport offers a fast and affordable way to get from one area to the next. Still, we recommend planning your trip in advance to minimize back and forth from neighborhood to neighborhood. We grouped our favorite restaurants by area below to help you match meals with activities.
- Fairmount Bagel (Mile End): Montreal is known for its bagels. There are two famous spots that locals justifiably swear by: Fairmount and St-Viateur. We tried an assorted collection from both, and we’d give the edge to Fairmount. All of the bagels there were delicious, but our favorites were the onion and blueberry. If you do make it to St-Viateur as well, our favorite there was the sesame. For both of those counter-service spots, bring cash because credit cards are not accepted.
- Leméac (Mile End): For a nicer, traditional French dinner, you can’t go wrong with Leméac. We definitely recommend making a reservation in advance, as bookings can fill up quick. If you don’t mind eating late, you should also take advantage of the heavily discounted late night menu. The food is worth the price regardless, but we’ve heard the delicious steak frites taste even better when half off.
- L’Avenue (Plateau Mont Royal): The brunch at L’Avenue wowed us. Everything about the meal was delicious. The hot chocolate was large and spectacular. The eggs benedict was one of the best we’ve had. And the lemon pancakes with ricotta and a blueberry coulis, Nutella coffee, and baguettes were also perfect. Expect a long wait outdoors (we had to wait 45 minutes on a Tuesday morning), but it is definitely worth it.
- Schwartz’s Deli (Plateau Mont Royal): In addition to bagels, two other Montreal dining staples are smoked meat and poutine. Luckily, Schwartz’s Deli offers both at a very high quality. Schwartz’s attracts a crowd, so you’ll likely have to wait outdoors for a table regardless of when you visit. That said, the service is really quick, so don’t let the line scare you away. We highly recommend getting the Poutine à la Schwartz’s (covered in smoked meat) and smoked meat sandwich to really load up on the diner’s specialty. Wash it all down with a cherry cola for a truly traditional and enjoyable experience.
- Nouilles de Lan Zhou – Noodle Shop (Chinatown): You really should go to Chinatown for at least one meal during your visit to Montreal. The noodle soup we had at Nouilles de Lan Zhou was incredible. Watching the chef hand pull the noodles was unabashedly mesmerizing – we still don’t understand physically how he so quickly transformed the dough into perfectly thin noodles. To top it off, the edamame salad that comes as a side for the noodles was delicious. We will be going back here for sure.
- La Capital Tacos (Chinatown): When we decided to grab dinner at La Capital, we thought we were opting for a quick, casual meal that wouldn’t be anything special. We were very, very pleasantly surprised. The food reminded me of growing up in Texas – it was that good. The campechana quesadilla and shrimp tacos were awesome, and you can appreciate how great the restaurant is after the first bite of the homemade salsas and chips. La Capital was also one of the cheapest meals we had on our entire trip, so it is a great budget-friendly option.
Things to Do
- Old Montreal: To appreciate the unique history of Montreal, we recommend booking a walking tour through the old town. There are a number of options through tour agencies and Airbnb, and each will share some insight on the bi-cultural nature of the city’s history and the interesting architecture you can find around old Montreal. As always, we recommend taking this type of tour on your first day in the city to get a lay of the land and score some local recommendations from your guide.
- Mont Royal: This huge park sitting in the middle of the city also offers some of Montreal’s best views. On Mont Royal you can find hiking, viewpoints, and snow sports / ice skating in the winter. Public transportation will take you almost the entire way to the peak, so you don’t have to hike if you don’t want to. If you exit the park on the southwestern side, you can also visit Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mont Royal for free. The church is huge and offers plenty to see inside and out.
- Jean Talon Market: This famous farmer’s market doubles as a Christmas market select times of year. That said, we still found the highlight to be the collection of year-round stalls indoors. They had some great-looking produce in addition to local specialty goods like various maple products. If your primary interest is visiting the Christmas market, we recommend you consider a day trip to Quebec City, which has a much larger market.
- Breweries: In addition to being a foodie’s paradise, Montreal has some great drinking options. One of our favorite spots we visited was Dieu du Ciel, a cozy brewery with an awesome vibe in Mile End. They have a great beer selection and looked to have good food too, so you can easily make a night of a visit.
Other Tips & Tricks
- Where to Stay: During our visit, we stayed in both Chinatown and downtown. In hindsight, we probably would have chosen to stay in Mile End, as there are a ton of great restaurants there. That said, both Chinatown and downtown had their benefits. Chinatown had delicious, affordable food in a relatively central location. Downtown was close to Old Montreal, so it made it easy to visit that part of town. If you choose to stay in an Airbnb and need luggage storage for a period of time, consider using BagsAway, which offers hourly storage.
- Getting Around: Public transit in Montreal is great. The metro is fast and clean, and bus routes are plentiful for those areas that the metro doesn’t cover. We recommend getting the day pass as you explore the city, as you’ll get your money’s worth after just three one-way trips. In addition, getting to and from the airport via bus is significantly more affordable than using Uber or Lyft. It takes about double the time, though, so plan accordingly.
- Currency Exchange: Almost everywhere in Montreal took credit card, but there were a few places that required cash. We’d recommend keeping a modest amount of CAD on hand. Check with your bank to see if they have a Canadian partner, as partner ATMs typically charge lower fees.
- Language Barrier: You can get by fine speaking just English, but it is definitely helpful to know a little French. It will help with reading signs along the street, and you’re likely to encounter a few folks at restaurants that don’t speak much English.
- Visiting in Winter: Montreal gets cold! If you intend to visit in the winter, pack appropriately so you can enjoy being outdoors and exploring the city. That means layers on layers and warm boots. Merino wool was a lifesaver.
- Overnight Trip to Quebec City: If you have time in your itinerary, we highly recommend an overnight trip to Quebec City. It is about 3 hours away by car, but it feels like stepping back in time. The town is super charming, pedestrian-friendly, and has a beautiful water-side landscape. With winter weather especially, it really feels magical.
Happy traveling!
Kitrina & Jordan