Weekend in Montreal

So, of course, I forgot the battery to my digital camera on our trip to Montreal this past weekend (the pic to the left is from the Official Tourism site of Montreal).

But that didn't stop us from having a good time. After a short one-hour flight from NYC, we arrived in Montreal and set out to explore the city via a Coach Canada three-hour tour of the city. Yes, start singing the theme to Gilligan's Island ("three-hour tour, a three-hour tour..."). As touristy as it was, it was a great way to see the city. Montreal is a very clean, beautiful city with a mix of modernity and cultural heritage. And it certainly felt like we were far from NYC as everyone spoke French and all the signs were in French. We saw lots of sites (mostly short stops) on the tour, including:

-Centreville (or midtown)
-Chinatown
-Bonsecours Market Building (City Hall)
-Biodome
-Olympic Park
-University of Montreal
-St. Joseph's Basilica
-Notre Dame Cathedral
-Botanical Garden
-Old Montreal
-McGill University
-Mount Royal Park (designed by same architect who designed Central Park and Prospect Park!)

The architecture was amazing and our tour bus driver explained how they have universal healthcare and affordable education for its residents. That must explain why I didn't see many homeless people and why the streets were clean - just a better quality of life. Or perhaps that is too simple an answer and maybe I just didn't see the underside of Montreal.

Later that night, we went to a cool, trendy restaurant called Cube for dinner. Located in Old Montreal which (as its name implies) is full of cobblestone streets and charming old buildings, the neighborhood is now full of restaurants and art galleries and feels very European. We had been given a gift certificate to Cube and so indulged a bit with the tasting menu, which included:

-Cold zucchini soup
-Foie gras and cold pea soup
-Salmon and lobster risotto
-Beef filet/pork
-Cheese Plate
-Coffe/Caramel Cream
-Banana creme brulee/white chocolate sorbet and cake

All in all, a delicious meal within a very cool atmosphere. And because it's so cold in Montreal, much of the downtown area is connected with underground passageways, which we used to get to Old Montreal. It was surprising to see how quiet, clean and new the passageways were compared to NYC!

On Saturday, we took advantage of the underground city since it was raining all day and hit some of the different malls and shopping opportunites that Montreal offers, including a stop at Roots. Later that night, we went back to Old Montreal for dinner at Gargote. We had the escargot, my wife had the filet mignon and I had the duck, while topping it off with some creme brulee.

We definitely liked Montreal though would go back when it is warmer!