Montreal

[leica M2 fan]

Planning a trip to Montreal, Quebec City and Toronto this summer. Need info on the best time to visit, we are open to any time from May to October.
Would it be better to start in QC or Montreal and then go to Toronto? Any input is valuable,TIA.

 

[oltimer]

Quebec is the oldest city in Canada, has booth old and new. Well worth a stop for the old.

 

[rscheffler]

What is your interest in the areas? Do you want to see the cities specifically, and what aspects of them, or are you also interested in the areas around the cities? Hiking, outdoorsy stuff?

I live near Toronto, so below is more relevant to that area, than perhaps the province of Quebec...

Spring/summer comes late up here (Toronto) relative to where you are. It's typical that blossoming trees are only coming out in early May and full tree canopies a bit afterwards. Fall color will be end of September and early October. Summer can be hot and humid. My vote would be for late September into October so you can see the fall color, the temperature is more moderate, the bugs are gone (less of a problem in the cities) and you're not dealing with the full summer tourist crowds.

How do you plan to get around? Travel distance between Quebec City and Toronto is about 8 hours drive.

I had friends from Germany visiting last year and they flew into Toronto, connected to Quebec City, rented a car there, spent a few days in the city area, headed over to Montreal for a few days, to Algonquin Park, then Toronto. Spent a few days with them north of Toronto in the French River area (one hour south of Sudbury) at a lodge, as well as some hiking in Killarney Provincial Park. This seemed like a logical progression. IMO, Toronto is 'just another big city' but of course, like any big city, has its own unique aspects, too. But not quite like the 'old Europe' charm of Quebec City and to some extent, Montreal. I'd start in Quebec City and work west. Or, Montreal and head east via Quebec City to Halifax or Sydney, NS, perhaps making a stop on PEI along the way via the Confederation Bridge. Maybe I'm biased because I live around Toronto, but would be more interested in traveling east from Montreal...

If you're more into city stuff, as mentioned, Quebec City is very old and areas have an old Europe feel. Montreal is bigger and more modern, though also with an old part of town. Toronto is quite spread out but the downtown area is walkable.

Considering the current exchange rate, it's probably a good time to visit Canada.

 

[Vince Lupo]

Based upon your avatar, perhaps you'd like to visit Montreal during the jazz festival?

http://www.montrealjazzfest.com/about-the-festival/default.aspx

And well, there's also the Toronto Jazz Festival: http://torontojazz.com/

 

[VictorM.]

Toronto will be holding the Pan-Am games this summer. Everything related to visitors will be crowded and more expensive. July 10 to Aug. 15:
http://www.toronto2015.org/

 

[Ko.Fe.]

End of August is great time and temperature in Quebec City. And it will be less crowded in Toronto after games.

 

[FrankS]

Let us know when you'll be in Toronto and we can arrange a get together with the Toronto RFF'ers.

 

[Steveh]

Semi thread hijack but I'd love some Montreal tips as well - I'll be there for four days in mid April but for work so will probably only have a day and a half to look around - what are the best (photogenic) things to do if you only have a day? Also any restaurant/bar tips for downtown Montreal? Thanks!

 

[Lauffray]

You're coming to my town !

Weather wise, it really gets much nicer from May onwards, April is still a little cold and depending on the years early May could still be gray. I personally love September and October, in my opinion that's the best time to be in town. There's less of the July crowds and high summer humidity but still lots to do in town.

Like someone else mentioned, if you like jazz you'll be served, even if you miss the (THE) festival, there's still tons of places that play live music at night. Most museums are downtown, some galleries in the Mile End area. If you're here in the summer festivals are all over the place, including Ile-Sainte-Helene.

For interesting neighbourhoods there's the (gentrified) Plateau area, lots of trendy cafes/shops, interesting for photography, I prefer the Mlle End area and Little Italy to the north, interesting with less hipsters. Don't forget the gigantic parc-on-a-mountain, designed by F.L. Olmsted (Central Park). American tourists love the Old Port area which is super touristy, downtown is fun to walk around and shoot. It's a very walkable city, just take the metro a couple of stops and you can spend the day on your feet.

For food/drinks, we're blessed with so many communities you can really try a little of everything, from inexpensive mom-and-pop shops like the ones in my neighbourhood to trendy places. Indian/Pakistani fares in ParkEx, Vietnamese in Cote des Neiges, French/Italian mostly Plateau, Portuguese/Greek near Mile End, Chinese/Korean in Chinatown, Persian/Middle-Eastern along downtown. Great microbreweries in St-Charles and Mile End areas. For Montreal classics: smoked meat at Schwartz's (St-Laurent) or Lester's (Bernard), poutine at Banquise (Rachel) or Poutineville (Ontario), Joe Beef, Au Pied de Cochon, Toqué (personally never been), Bagels at Fairmount (on Fairmount) or St-Viateur (on St-Viateur)

If you're here in summer don't forget the markets, there's so much stuff at Jean-Talon and Atwater and other smaller neighbourhood markets

Sorry for information overload 😀

 

[Lauffray]

Semi thread hijack but I'd love some Montreal tips as well - I'll be there for four days in mid April but for work so will probably only have a day and a half to look around - what are the best (photogenic) things to do if you only have a day? Also any restaurant/bar tips for downtown Montreal? Thanks!

It really depends what you like to do, if you want photographically interesting places and you have just a day I'd say take a walk in and around Plateau/Mile End and finish off the evening somewhere downtown. Lots of bars between Guy and Crescent street downtown, there's new restaurants along Ste-Catherine with fancier options along Maisonneuve or the Old Port.

Upstairs Jazz bar and 3 brasseurs are good options downtown if you want to get away from Irish pubs/student bars

 

[Steveh]

If you go to Montreal and don't eat at Au Pied de Couchon you have made a mistake!

Noted 😀 Looks like a fun place, will add it to the list, thanks.

 

[Steveh]

It really depends what you like to do, if you want photographically interesting places and you have just a day I'd say take a walk in and around Plateau/Mile End and finish off the evening somewhere downtown. Lots of bars between Guy and Crescent street downtown, there's new restaurants along Ste-Catherine with fancier options along Maisonneuve or the Old Port.

Upstairs Jazz bar and 3 brasseurs are good options downtown if you want to get away from Irish pubs/student bars

Thanks Lauffray - will look into those. I'm staying near the cantral station, how far is Plateau/Mile End from there?

 

[Lauffray]

Thanks Lauffray - will look into those. I'm staying near the cantral station, how far is Plateau/Mile End from there?

I assume you mean Bonaventure ? About 10-15min by metro, if the weather's good it's a nice walk

 

[Steveh]

I assume you mean Bonaventure ? About 10-15min by metro, if the weather's good it's a nice walk

No idea! It's marked as "Gare Centrale" on the map....

 

[Lauffray]

No idea! It's marked as "Gare Centrale" on the map....

Yeah that's the one, you're quite close to downtown, walking distance to old port (weather permitting)

 

[leica M2 fan]

Thanks for all the information, there is certainly a lot to digest.
The more I learn the more interesting it becomes, thanks again
to all.