PatrickLondon
100+ Posts
Highlights of a home exchange (re-worked from what I previously posted on SlowTrav).
Basics: travel, accommodation, getting about
November might not seem the obvious time to spend two weeks in Montreal, but I got a proposal for a home swap just at the time I realised I had to use up some leave or lose it. I'd spent a few days there on a previous trip to Canada and I have pretty good French, so this seemed a perfect opportunity to find out more and do something rather different at a rather dull time of year. As it happened, I was more than lucky with the weather and had a really good time.
My exchange partners run a property business and offered me one of their vacation rental properties (the "Barcelona"), on rue St Hubert by the junction with rue Ontario. Beautifully decorated and furnished on the upper two floors of a Victorian house, the apartment has three bedrooms and a small study with a sofa bed, an upstairs bathroom and a downstairs shower room off the kitchen, with an attractive outside patio. It's very conveniently situated, about five minutes' walk from the Berri-UQAM metro stop and the long-distance busstation (for buses to the airport and further afield), fifteen minutes' walk from Vieux-Montreal and ten minutes' walk from Square St Louis, rue St. Denis and rue Prince Arthur for lots of restaurants.
The flights, with Air Canada, were fine. Public transport in Montreal is excellent, with the metro using the single-fare system (transfer tickets are available for onward journeys by bus, but you must get it from the machine at the station you start from). There is some saving on buying six tickets, as well as day passes.
The view from Mont Royal
Things I enjoyed
Walking in the excellent parks:
The weather was bright and dry, if cold. On one day, I went to de l'Eglise metro station and walked through the riverside parks all the way to the Pointe aux Rapides nature park, then through the suburban streets to Parc Angrignon, to pick up the metro; on another, I walked from the flat along rue Prince Arthur to Mont Royal and up to the belvedere.
Walking around Vieux-Montreal:
A fair number of seventeenth century houses remain; this is a city determined to ensure you're aware of its history. I'd been to Chateau Ramezay and the Cartier centre (where actors involve you in historical situations) on my previous visit: it was an interesting introduction to a whole history I knew nothing of. This time I went to the Basilica (impressive), the Bonsecours chapel and associated museum (perhaps a little overdone, but I'm not a Catholic), the Marché Bonsecours (expensive art and fashion), the Bank of Montreal (an impressive banking hall, but the free "museum" won't detain you for more than ten minutes or so).
The Stewart Museum:
A thorough and fascinating overview of early Canadian history, and an interesting comparison with the Musée de l'Amérique Française in Quebec City.
The Marché Jean Talon:
It's always interesting to see how differently things like this are done in different countries. Here there's a conscious effort to lay out fruit and vegetables attractively, even in a designerish way, and some great value for the quality.
The Fine Arts Museum:
A good overview of both Western art and some Oriental and Islamic art; and some fun modern stuff as well.
Sitting around in cafés:
There are many chains like van Houtte, Second Cup and La Presse are all fine, and there are many other independent ones around, and many offer Internet access, both by Wifi and from their own terminals.
Although I cooked for myself in the apartment sometimes, I also enjoyed meals out at the Three Brasseurs (micro-brewery pubs at several locations in the city centre, offering good pub-type food) and a creperie on St Denis called Le Triskel.
I went to the Olympic Park, but I'm not sure the view really justifies the price to go up the stadium tower.
Parc Angrignon in Montreal
Quebec City
Being so near to the bus station, I found it easy to get to Quebec City (about three hours by bus for half the price of the train). The journey itself is not very interesting, since the landscape is pretty flat all the way, but it's well worth a stay.
Quebec City seems even more French than Montreal: in the old town, the 17th century buildings and street plan could well be in a country town in France.
The Musée de l'Amérique Française is well worth a visit: an engaging introduction, in both languages, to the different French cultures and different experiences of Francophones across North America.
Another must-do in Quebec City is a walk along the ramparts and the terrace above the river to the Citadel and the park of the 1759 battlefield beyond.
Plenty of places to eat: I had an indifferent pizza at one place, but an excellent breakfast at Tatum's on rue St Jean.
The St Lawrence from the Citadel, Quebec City
Some general comments: costs and language
Overall, the cost of living seemed much less than in the UK, so everything seemed excellent value for money. I wandered around the underground city in Montreal, though I'm not a shopper for shopping's sake (no need for a sales tax refund for me); but I managed to get a pair of gloves and a pocket radio for, well, pocket money.
As for French, well, it helps. I now know a number of Canadian French words (dépanneur = convenience store, rôtie = round of toast, miroir = sunnyside up), but official French is as in France. It took me a while to get used to the accent, which is almost like a Southern US drawl, and can sound very soft and rural to someone brought up on Parisian French. On one occasion, if I'd been doing a French dictée, I'd have written what I was being asked for as "carte chizy" I was being asked for my credit card, which I should have realised from the context. But salespeople switch in and out of English at the first sign of hesitation, so Anglophones who don't have French (and are suitably polite about it) are unlikely to be disadvantaged.
Autumn colours in the Square St Louis, Montreal
Resources
Montreal: all about the city's parks
Montreal: official site for Old Montreal
Montreal: public transport
Montreal: the offical tourist site
Montreal: Museum of Fine Arts
Montreal: Stewart Museum
Quebec City: tourist information
Quebec City: Musée de l'Amérique Francophone
My photos
Basics: travel, accommodation, getting about
November might not seem the obvious time to spend two weeks in Montreal, but I got a proposal for a home swap just at the time I realised I had to use up some leave or lose it. I'd spent a few days there on a previous trip to Canada and I have pretty good French, so this seemed a perfect opportunity to find out more and do something rather different at a rather dull time of year. As it happened, I was more than lucky with the weather and had a really good time.
My exchange partners run a property business and offered me one of their vacation rental properties (the "Barcelona"), on rue St Hubert by the junction with rue Ontario. Beautifully decorated and furnished on the upper two floors of a Victorian house, the apartment has three bedrooms and a small study with a sofa bed, an upstairs bathroom and a downstairs shower room off the kitchen, with an attractive outside patio. It's very conveniently situated, about five minutes' walk from the Berri-UQAM metro stop and the long-distance busstation (for buses to the airport and further afield), fifteen minutes' walk from Vieux-Montreal and ten minutes' walk from Square St Louis, rue St. Denis and rue Prince Arthur for lots of restaurants.
The flights, with Air Canada, were fine. Public transport in Montreal is excellent, with the metro using the single-fare system (transfer tickets are available for onward journeys by bus, but you must get it from the machine at the station you start from). There is some saving on buying six tickets, as well as day passes.
The view from Mont Royal
Things I enjoyed
Walking in the excellent parks:
The weather was bright and dry, if cold. On one day, I went to de l'Eglise metro station and walked through the riverside parks all the way to the Pointe aux Rapides nature park, then through the suburban streets to Parc Angrignon, to pick up the metro; on another, I walked from the flat along rue Prince Arthur to Mont Royal and up to the belvedere.
Walking around Vieux-Montreal:
A fair number of seventeenth century houses remain; this is a city determined to ensure you're aware of its history. I'd been to Chateau Ramezay and the Cartier centre (where actors involve you in historical situations) on my previous visit: it was an interesting introduction to a whole history I knew nothing of. This time I went to the Basilica (impressive), the Bonsecours chapel and associated museum (perhaps a little overdone, but I'm not a Catholic), the Marché Bonsecours (expensive art and fashion), the Bank of Montreal (an impressive banking hall, but the free "museum" won't detain you for more than ten minutes or so).
The Stewart Museum:
A thorough and fascinating overview of early Canadian history, and an interesting comparison with the Musée de l'Amérique Française in Quebec City.
The Marché Jean Talon:
It's always interesting to see how differently things like this are done in different countries. Here there's a conscious effort to lay out fruit and vegetables attractively, even in a designerish way, and some great value for the quality.
The Fine Arts Museum:
A good overview of both Western art and some Oriental and Islamic art; and some fun modern stuff as well.
Sitting around in cafés:
There are many chains like van Houtte, Second Cup and La Presse are all fine, and there are many other independent ones around, and many offer Internet access, both by Wifi and from their own terminals.
Although I cooked for myself in the apartment sometimes, I also enjoyed meals out at the Three Brasseurs (micro-brewery pubs at several locations in the city centre, offering good pub-type food) and a creperie on St Denis called Le Triskel.
I went to the Olympic Park, but I'm not sure the view really justifies the price to go up the stadium tower.
Parc Angrignon in Montreal
Quebec City
Being so near to the bus station, I found it easy to get to Quebec City (about three hours by bus for half the price of the train). The journey itself is not very interesting, since the landscape is pretty flat all the way, but it's well worth a stay.
Quebec City seems even more French than Montreal: in the old town, the 17th century buildings and street plan could well be in a country town in France.
The Musée de l'Amérique Française is well worth a visit: an engaging introduction, in both languages, to the different French cultures and different experiences of Francophones across North America.
Another must-do in Quebec City is a walk along the ramparts and the terrace above the river to the Citadel and the park of the 1759 battlefield beyond.
Plenty of places to eat: I had an indifferent pizza at one place, but an excellent breakfast at Tatum's on rue St Jean.
The St Lawrence from the Citadel, Quebec City
Some general comments: costs and language
Overall, the cost of living seemed much less than in the UK, so everything seemed excellent value for money. I wandered around the underground city in Montreal, though I'm not a shopper for shopping's sake (no need for a sales tax refund for me); but I managed to get a pair of gloves and a pocket radio for, well, pocket money.
As for French, well, it helps. I now know a number of Canadian French words (dépanneur = convenience store, rôtie = round of toast, miroir = sunnyside up), but official French is as in France. It took me a while to get used to the accent, which is almost like a Southern US drawl, and can sound very soft and rural to someone brought up on Parisian French. On one occasion, if I'd been doing a French dictée, I'd have written what I was being asked for as "carte chizy" I was being asked for my credit card, which I should have realised from the context. But salespeople switch in and out of English at the first sign of hesitation, so Anglophones who don't have French (and are suitably polite about it) are unlikely to be disadvantaged.
Autumn colours in the Square St Louis, Montreal
Resources
Montreal: all about the city's parks
Montreal: official site for Old Montreal
Montreal: public transport
Montreal: the offical tourist site
Montreal: Museum of Fine Arts
Montreal: Stewart Museum
Quebec City: tourist information
Quebec City: Musée de l'Amérique Francophone
My photos