Montréal & Cirque Du Soleil

While planning for this leg of our Canada Trip, the first question that popped in my head was - How do I pronounce Montréal? For the uninitiated, French is the primary language spoken in Montréal, and you will see signs in French before you see them in English. Check out forvo if you are curious how locals actually pronounce “Montréal” in French and English.

Our 5hr train ride from Toronto to Montréal feels as though we left Canada for a different country, even our hotel sounds French - Hotel les Suites Labelle 3❄️. Visiting Montréal was an interesting experience, its long history and blend of cultures is uniquely Montréal.

Here are some activities and attractions we did in our 3 days in Montréal 🥯, you will probably enjoy it too! They are all kid and elderly friendly too!

#1 Old Montréal (Old Town)

We don’t speak French and the best way we know to get ourselves up to speed about a new place is to go for a Free Walking Tour. Darren was a fantastic guide, his knowledge of Montréal’s history and his love for the city was felt throughout our tour in Old Montréal. We were happy to tip him for doing this tour for us.

Darren shared insights into the colonial past of Montréal as we explored Old Port, wandered on cobblestone streets, and admired restored architecture. Many of which we plan to revisit after the walking tour, but alas, the rain limited our plans to explore outside. This is when we realized that Montréal has a PATH equivalent - RÉSO.

RÉSO underground walkways aren’t as obvious as PATH. Unlike PATH, there are parts that are disconnected with no direction signs. Good thing we had our foldable umbrella for the disconnected parts. We had a really hard time trying to find a RÉSO map offline and online. Here are 2 maps that gave us some sense of direction, and I hope you find them useful too:

1. https://montrealvisitorsguide.com/montreals-underground-city-map/

2. https://montrealundergroundcity.com/

Wandering in RÉSO resulted in us discovering Barbie Expo and The Ring! Both are pinned in a google map we created to summarize all the places we actually visited, and short notes/reviews about them. We also included places we visited and would not recommend (their icons are in light grey and the ones you should avoid comes with a ❌).

#2 Kondiaronk Belvedere at Mont Royal

At the meeting point of our Free Walking Tour, we saw a big cross at a distant hill. We didn’t think much about it, and only realised later that it was Mont Royal.

Kondiaronk Belvedere viewpoint is THE place to get a free panoramic view of Downtown Montréal. We took the metro to Peel Station and took Bus 11 up Mont Royal, then it was an easy 10 mins stroll from the bus stop to Kondiaronk Belvedere viewpoint.

If you like to put in some steps for the day, consider walking down Mont Royal via the “Grand Staircase” or hiking up to Mont Royal Cross. We did neither because of impending weather. We barely made it back to the bus stop shelter when the weather turned, and instead of rain, we had what looked like small ice pellets hitting down.

#3 Cirque Du Soleil (ECHO)

This was the highlight of Montréal for us. Cirque Du Soleil’s HQ is at Montréal (it is a Canadian company), and that meant we got to watch their newest Big Top show - ECHO!

ECHO was spectacular and entertaining, definitely a MUST SEE when at Montréal. You will have a good time catching any Cirque Du Soleil’s shows in Montréal.

Montréal Food 🥯

We had high expectations of Montréal food, because we visited France just 7 months before, and French food and culture is magnifique. But we soon realised Montréal food is distinctly different, and attempts to compare them will be pointless.

One thing we noticed about Canada is that restaurants’ opening hours are quite peculiar. Many of them aren’t open on Mondays and Tuesdays (some also Wednesdays), or they only open for dinner service. If you have a place you really like to try, do check their service timings, plan ahead and make a reservation if possible.

We ate at a number of places, all listed on our Montréal Map. Three classic Montréal dishes blew up my taste buds, and I highly recommend you try them too when visiting Montréal. You may want a refresher of how we rate places via this post.

1. Smoke Meat Sandwich at Schwartz’s Deli 5🍉 - This sandwich is jam-packed with juicy smoke meat and nothing else. Sounds simple, but ooooh so delicious. Dress it with mustard and ketchup however you like, take your bite, and see ya at meat heaven. My mouth is salivating just writing about this 🤤.

2. Poutine at La Banquise 5🍉 - We had to order takeaway as there was a long queue waiting for a table and we couldn’t wait. They have an extensive Poutine menu, and the waitress recommended we try The Veggie Reggie. Our takeaway package felt hefty, and when we finally tried it back at the hotel, it was sooooo flavourful. It is a heavy dish of fries, and could easily feed both of us. Definitely worth the trip, opened 24hrs too! Ma Poule Mouillée, another well-known place for poutine, is just across the road from La Banquise. Let us know which you prefer if you have tried them both!

3. Bagels at Fairmount Bagel 4🍉 - The OG of bagels located at the hip and laid-back Mile End neighbourhood. People always compare Fairmount Bagel to St-Viateur Bagel, and we tried both. There are many flavours to choose from, and we bought Poppy, CAD $1.20 each, as the flavour of choice for our informal taste contest. I prefer the bagel at Fairmount a little more, it was more chewy and softer. Let us know which one you prefer in the comments!

Getting Around Montréal

You can pretty much find public transport directions using Google Maps. The information on STM website is pretty useful too. We did not use their stored-value OPUS card and bought 2-trip tickets (cheaper) instead. You have 120 minutes for unlimited transfers between public transportation modes in Zone A. Take note that you cannot make round trips or interrupt your trip once you have left one of the modes of transportation and then resume your trip on the same line.

💡Tip: Are you are flying in or out of Montréal via YUL Aéroport? Get the 24-hr ticket because it includes the travel to the airport via 747 YUL Aéroport / Centre-ville line. This transit fare is valid for 24 hours from the time it is validated (not from the time it is purchased). So if you plan well, you can maximize the ticket!

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