Montreal

The Trip
I planned this trip as a birthday gift for Allan back in March (it’s super appropriate to take a birthday trip 4 months after their actual bday right?) and it finally rolled around. I want to be clear that we were cheesy tourists throughout this entire trip — if you’re looking for recommendations that are off the beaten path, I’ve got a couple for you; however we mainly hit the big attractions.
A Botched Flight
It was on this day that I learned to check my emails before heading to the airport. Porter had cancelled our 12:35pm flight and stuck us on the 2:45pm flight later that afternoon. I learned this while standing at the Flight Check In desk at noon. We managed to squeeze onto the 1:45pm flight and I took advantage of the extra hour or so to call and shuffle around our spa appointments and update our AirBnb host. When we arrived in Montreal, our Uber broke down just outside the airport. At this point I was tempted to ask Siri, can a trip be cursed?
Bota Bota
This place is the perfect post-travel destination in Montreal. I am not a hit-the-ground-running type of traveler, I am a hit-the-hammock-snoozing kind of girl (so is Allan I’d say, which might explain why we get along so well).






It turns out Allan was a genius for ordering tacos beforehand, because I was pretty hangry by the end of our 4 hours on-board. The massages were great and the water circuit was serene. When we were comparing our favourite part of the trip, we had to preface that conversation with “Okay, besides visiting Bota Bota…”
Mangiafoco
The hanger had taken over and I was wandering the streets begging the universe to deliver unto me a meatball to scarf down. Allan found Mangiafoco and only a few minutes and 14 dollars later, I had my meatballs.

We had some pizzas as well and headed off to settle into our AirBnb.
Our AirBnb



We can’t recommend this place enough. Our host Tia was helpful and friendly, as was her mother who showed us around. The building is immaculate. The apartment had home-y amenities and was way more cost effective than any comparable hotels. Relaxing by the pool after a long day of ̶s̶w̶e̶a̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶a̶s̶s̶e̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶f̶ exploring the city? A must.
Old Port Montreal
On our second day in the city, we wandered down to Old Montreal and strolled along the St Lawrence River. It was pouring rain (is this going to be a recurring theme in all of my posts? is it just a shitty summer?).
We visited the Clock Tower and climbed to the top. It was nice to look out over Clock Tower Beach, but was relatively anticlimactic. Seeing as this was a free attraction, at least I got my money’s worth. The winding steps were terrifying and the observation area at the top maxed out at about 5 or 6 people. Despite this, I’m glad to have visited it. To my friends with a fear of heights — skip it.





AURA @ Notre-Dame Basilica
We booked our AURA tickets well in advance, after being intrigued by their video. It is exactly what you’d expect (in a good way). The entire experience takes about 40–50 minutes and is split into 2 parts: You are supposed to take a self-guided tour upon entering to get a feel for the space before the show commences. We forfeited the initial tour and took advantage of the opportunity to snatch up some seats front and center, making sure to take a look around after the show. I’ve never tripped out on LSD but I feel that perhaps the experiences are not unalike. It’s hard to do this show justice by describing it, the video captures it best.
This show is only running for the year, wrapping up in March 2018, so if you have even the tiniest desire to see it, it’s well worth the $25.


Parc du Mont-Royal
After a rum-soaked night out on rue Crescent, on day 3 this activity felt deeply masochistic. Unless you’ve been vigilant with your cardio, this 20-ish minute climb to the top is a doozy.
Bring. water. (Not an ice coffee…. like some people) (it was me)



Dunn’s Famous Deli

Much like dangling a carrot in front of a horse, I too can be persuaded to do just about anything with the promise of food. That includes climbing up a damn mountain. In denim.
We loved this place and were so full when we left, I swear we left in a smoked-meat fueled daze. Everything was delicious.
Biodôme and Jardin Botanique
On our final afternoon, we managed to sneak out to these two attractions before rushing to catch our flight. By the grace of god, they had lockers that we could shove our luggage into for just 2 bucks. Between the 2 of us, it was a pretty pricey visit ($75ish) but when you dedicate a full afternoon to your visit, the value is there.




From here, we booked it to the airport and headed home. We left with a few lingering activities that we wish we could have squeezed into our itinerary:
TRH-Bar — I loved this bar when I visited last time, but it was a little out of our way.
Pub Crawl MTL — The Crawl’s host, Bash, is hilarious and friendly. He and his co-hosts will usher you through Montreal’s best bars and nightclubs.
Paddle Boating — We were in the area but the weather was far from ideal
Joe Beef and/or Liverpool House — This place is Justin Trudeau and Barack Obama approved. Need I say more? Next time!
Have you been to Montreal? Did you reflect back to your high-school French classed like I did? Did you kick off your conversations by saying “Bonjour” and regret it immediately when you recall earning mainly C’s in aforementioned French classes?
No? Ok just me.
- Heather