Beginners and Beyond

Help! Montreal, what to see and where to stay? (Read 64 times)

skygazer


    I'm planning on a trip to Montreal in August and am booking hotel and deciding if I should rent a car. I googled to see what may be of interest to see. But would rather like to hear what our Canadian friends say about that. What are the must see? And will the metro get me everywhere besides downtown? If I want to book a hotel close to some trail or park for a morning or evening run, where/which area would be the best place?

     

    Many thanks!

    happylily


      Sky, when in August?

       

      You don't need a car if you intend on staying in Montreal. Outside of it it's the burbs and not worth visiting if you're not here long. Public transport is rather good, with buses and subway. It will take you everywhere you want. I will PM you a list of places to see and do later. :-)

      PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013

              Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013

      18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010

      onemile


        I want to know too.  We are visiting Mont Tremblant in August and flying into Montreal.

        skygazer


          Sky, when in August?

           

          You don't need a car if you intend on staying in Montreal. Outside of it it's the burbs and not worth visiting if you're not here long. Public transport is rather good, with buses and subway. It will take you everywhere you want. I will PM you a list of places to see and do later. :-)

          Lily,

          Thanks in advance.

           

          I haven't decided on the dates 100% yet. Likely  16-21 Aug, or 19-24 Aug (it would be unethical if I stay the whole week ).

          That's the information I'm seeking, if there anything outside the city is interesting to see.

          skygazer


            Another question, I don't speak any French. Would that be a problem?

            wcrunner2


            Are we there, yet?

              Another question, I don't speak any French. Would that be a problem?

              I speak very little French, though I read it a little better, and I have had no language problems in Montreal. Besides I didn't think they spoke French there. They speak Québécois.  

               2024 Races:

                    03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles

                    05/11 - D3 50K
                    05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour

                    06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.

               

               

                   

              happylily


                Another question, I don't speak any French. Would that be a problem?

                 

                Definitely not a problem. If people do not speak English, they will at least speak some Frenglish. All the signs will be bilingual. I will be back from vacation by then. If you have any problem or question, you can call me. I'll give you my coordinates.

                 

                onemile, Tremblant is very nice. The village (resort) itself is a bit commercial, but still worth seeing. The area is beautiful and great for hiking, cycling, canoeing, etc... It's about 2 hours from Montreal, I think. You would be better off with a car to get around, though there are buses between the city and Tremblant. But once there, I don't know how local transport outside of the resort is. I can ask my SIL, she's the expert on all things Montreal and the area.

                PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013

                        Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013

                18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010

                happylily


                  I speak very little French, though I read it a little better, and I have had no language problems in Montreal. Besides I didn't think they spoke French there. They speak Québécois.  

                   

                  I would like to voice my outrage at this comment, but I have to agree with George. Our French is special.  We do have a different accent and it takes some getting used to. Much like English spoken in Texas.

                  PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013

                          Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013

                  18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010

                  skygazer


                     

                    I would like to voice my outrage at this comment, but I have to agree with George. Our French is special.  We do have a different accent and it takes some getting used to. Much like English spoken in Texas.

                     

                    Hehehe...

                    The English I speak is far worse. Very special, too

                    skygazer


                       

                      Definitely not a problem. If people do not speak English, they will at least speak some Frenglish. All the signs will be bilingual. I will be back from vacation by then. If you have any problem or question, you can call me. I'll give you my coordinates.

                       

                      onemile, Tremblant is very nice. The village (resort) itself is a bit commercial, but still worth seeing. The area is beautiful and great for hiking, cycling, canoeing, etc... It's about 2 hours from Montreal, I think. You would be better off with a car to get around, though there are buses between the city and Tremblant. But once there, I don't know how local transport outside of the resort is. I can ask my SIL, she's the expert on all things Montreal and the area.

                       

                      Thanks again. I'll put your number on my phone.

                      onemile


                         

                        Definitely not a problem. If people do not speak English, they will at least speak some Frenglish. All the signs will be bilingual. I will be back from vacation by then. If you have any problem or question, you can call me. I'll give you my coordinates.

                         

                        onemile, Tremblant is very nice. The village (resort) itself is a bit commercial, but still worth seeing. The area is beautiful and great for hiking, cycling, canoeing, etc... It's about 2 hours from Montreal, I think. You would be better off with a car to get around, though there are buses between the city and Tremblant. But once there, I don't know how local transport outside of the resort is. I can ask my SIL, she's the expert on all things Montreal and the area.

                         

                        Definitely planning to rent a car.  I just thought we might want to spend a little time in Montreal too since I've never been there.

                        wcrunner2


                        Are we there, yet?

                           

                          I would like to voice my outrage at this comment, but I have to agree with George. Our French is special.  We do have a different accent and it takes some getting used to. Much like English spoken in Texas.

                          According to Prof. Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, there are some places where English has completely disappeared. Why in America they haven't spoken it for years. 

                           2024 Races:

                                03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles

                                05/11 - D3 50K
                                05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour

                                06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.

                           

                           

                               

                          B-Plus


                             

                            I would like to voice my outrage at this comment, but I have to agree with George. Our French is special.  We do have a different accent and it takes some getting used to. Much like English spoken in Texas.

                             

                            I heard that if a guys says, "J'ai deux gosses" in Quebec the standard response is "Tu es normale." 

                            JerryInIL


                            Return To Racing

                              Sky we stayed in a beautiful B&B in the Plateau which is a very nice residential area.  B&B is Auberge de La Fontaine.  It is right across from the Parc La Fontaine and close to restaurants. It is a few miles from downtown and maybe a half mile to the train.  Nice running in the Parc.  It was picture perfect.  That was maybe 5 years ago, so check TripAdvisor for current info.

                               

                              Language was not a problem and we did not need a car.  Took a bus to QC and stayed at Chateau Frontenac...very nice !!!

                                  

                              Cyberic


                                I live and run in Montreal. Some very nice parks to run in for sure. Park Lafontaine has about 2.25 km perimeter, where most runners run. You can also run inside the park as there are many trails. It is the nicest park to run in (around) in plateau Mont Royal, but there are better places to run.

                                 

                                The Mount Royal itself is a great place to run. If you take the "chemin des calèches" it's a wide dirt road where there could be car circulation there, both ways. It is about 5.5 km to the top if you keep on the wide trail. But there are many smaller trails that you can take. Definitely one of the best places to run. BUT it's a mountain, so it's more demanding than to run on the flat.

                                 

                                I like to run near the Olympic Stadium / Botanical Garden in the Maisonneuve Park. It's less crowded by people just sun bathing and stuff but is packed with people doing sports. Tonight there were at least 3 teams of Ultimate Frisbee practicing, and there are bikes, roller blades, runners, of course.

                                 

                                Running in the Botanical Garden can be nice too, but at this time of year you have to pay to get in, and if you're going to pay to get in, might as well enjoy the garden and not run past everything there is to see. It would be a waste IMO.

                                 

                                You can also go run/bike on the circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where the F1 race is held.

                                 

                                I agree with people saying that you can get along just fine without speaking French, especially downtown and in cenetr/west part of the Island. In the center/east there will be some people who don't speak English. But it still isn't a problem. You can just ask the next guy, chances are you wont hit more than two in a row who don't speak English at all.

                                 

                                What is there to see? Depends on what you like. There is some of pretty much everything. It's a rather big town.