Hi All,
Welcome to my very first travel post on this blog! For the last two years, traveling has obviously difficult. As someone who traveled frequently pre-COVID, I was dying to get back to it! However, as a frontline worker during the pandemic, I am currently a bit anxious when getting on a plane, so most of my recent flights have been pretty short.
Recently, I got the opportunity to visit Montreal, Quebec. Luckily, I didn't have to think about the hassle of getting on a plane, and instead my husband and I opted to travel by car. The drive wasn't too bad, but be prepared to spend an hour or more at the border crossing. I also want to warn you that if you are driving in the city, watch out! Montreal drivers are fairly aggressive. I would recommend picking a centrally located hotel so that you can avoid too much stress. For the first two days of our trip, we stayed at a hotel near the airport, and while the hotel itself was fine, it was such a hassle getting around. For the rest of our trip, we stayed at Vogue Hotel and then, one of my favorite hostels, M Montreal.
A note about hostels. I love them overall and I think they get a bad rap (mostly due to that one horror movie...). I generally like to stay in a hostel for part of the trip and then spend part of the trip in a fancier place to pamper myself. I think hostels are great, particularly if you want to meet people and they also often have events and deals on tours. Some cool things I've done in the past at hostels include bike tours, walking tours, making guacamole, and happy hours. M Montreal is the first hostel I've stayed at with my husband (I will convert him!). It has soundproof rooms and we got a fairly large room with a private bathroom for a reasonable price. M Montreal also has on site parking (not free but reasonably priced) events like karaoke, a hot tub, and a bar! The last time I was in Montreal a few years ago, I stayed at M by myself, and spent my first day sleeping. I remember waking up in the middle of the night and wandering downstairs to get water. Imagine my surprise when I found a bar packed full of people who I couldn't hear at all from my room! That trip was pre-COVID however, the bar wasn't as packed this time! The room was very clean. For a small price, you can have breakfast in the morning, and there is always free coffee and tea. 10/10 recommend!
About Vogue Hotel, this is part of the Fine Hotels and Resorts Collection and we receive a hotel credit when we stay there and pay with our American Express Platinum card. Unfortunately due to renovations, the restaurant was not open. However, they did let us apply the credit towards parking and the minibar. They also provided us with complimentary breakfast. The room itself was spacious and comfortable and had a hot tub! They also gifted us bath salts and maple butter, which is delicious!
Montreal is a unique and vibrant city. With a large French speaking population, it doesn't feel like you are in Canada at all! It is also a very happening city. During the time we were there, there was a comedy festival, a huge medical conference, and Pride Montreal was starting! Everywhere I looked, there was something to see or do. As a vegetarian, traveling can sometimes be hard, but I am pleased to report that there were plenty of options for me! Check out the following restaurants: Sushi Momo (fully vegan), Casa Galicia (they have a separate vegan menu and flamenco dancing!), Mai Xiang Yuan Dumpling and Nouilles de Lan Zhou. I honestly spent most of my trip stuffing my face.
During our trip we explored Old Montreal (Vieux-Montreal) and the Port, Gay Village, Chinatown (where we visited an Asian Night Market!), Quartier des Spectacles, and we hiked Mont Royal. We spent five days in Montreal, which was plenty of time to see what we wanted.
Have you been to Montreal? What was the highlight of your trip? Comment below!
Check out some pics here!
-chaitime
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