Montreal!

or two posts ago tbf

i'm glad you all had fun, n/a! :)

i went to the Guy Maddin open filming at the Phi Centre today - it is really great! like, just fun, and he is so nice! the "audience" area is small but really close to the set(s). it's all quite efficient really, since he's filming 12 films in 13 days. Saw Roy Dupuis acting as some kind of caveman character today.

happy you guys had a good time too. what's your last night all about?

Taking the train from Kingston to Montreal today, traveling with the family, staying in a hotel in the old city for 3 nights. Any suggestions for family friendly activities or endroits? We've got a 6 year old and a 3 year old. Any restaurants we should check out?

OK so what are some good neighborhoods in which to stay Montreal for a couple of nights? I am looking at AirBnB.

plateau mont-royal, mile-end, outremont, villeray, little italy

also WHEN~

Probably weekend of August 30th - it's our 10th wedding anniversary. Don't worry - we'll be back! (unless it sucks)

I am enjoying staring at Montrealers apartments on AirBnB to see how you people live. So you all have antique sewing machines, guitars hanging on the walls, vintage furniture, scarves and very high ceilings?

this is the place we stayed when we were there, it was not super-fancy but it was clean and in a great location: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/466550

Thanks Nick!

oops did I blow yr cover

no problem adam

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a9/Spy-vs-spy.png/200px-Spy-vs-spy.png

I am enjoying staring at Montrealers apartments on AirBnB to see how you people live. So you all have antique sewing machines, guitars hanging on the walls, vintage furniture, scarves and very high ceilings?

Probably an old photo. These days it's all about papasans and broken drum machines

i will be there that weekend iirc

Great! Well maybe we see you? What are the things first-time visitors have to do? What things can I buy? Where are the best low and high end dining experiences? Odd museums and nice walks, etc.?

I have eaten poutine at Animal in Los Angeles but I'm sure it doesn't compare.

That was my only poutine, is what I'm saying

honestly the city's croissants and so on are more exceptional than its poutines

that said, the best places for poutine are: Patati Patata, La Banquise, Au Pied de Cochon (just go for the regular one).

Le Petit Alep cannot be enough recommended imo

(not poutine, for must-visit Montreal eating)

Poutine is great but Montreal is really about bagels.

yeah, def bagels.

croissants, i wish there were more great croissants in montreal! i feel like this city kinda coasts on its french pastries...

like how did we not start cronuts

you're high this city is sick with dope crescent rolls

ambiguously described locations of great mtl croissants: some anonymous place on st-denis, probably within two blocks of av mont-royal, east side of the street; that one place that has two locations, one on rachel & one on mont-royal, does kinda banana shaped croissants; & the place on saint-laurent just past beaubien, in little italy, east side of the street. those guys maybe the best. the guy there ... garrulous.

For the one in the little italy is it Plougastel? or something similar?

Pikolo has some really good croissants.

The best of all is Paltoquet.

:)

Paltoquet is the best

pikolo croissants are not so hot imo. i used to really love the place across the street, a couple blocks over, which had a super old fashioned tea room, &c, which just closed after presumably 500 years in operation. it is not a hot neighbourhood for croissants anymore. very sad.

& yes! plougastel! so good.
gonna check out paltoquet, i have not tried.

my fav recent~ish montreal food discovery is getting cheap samosas from the lil dep on fairmount. so good.

You—and everyone else, really—should then try Thanjai. Plamandon metro is really not that far... It's still Van Horne, even! You could bike it if you llive at Parc and Bernard (which I assume most of you do). It's South Indian: dosas, the unparalleled rasam, sambar, idli, vada, and all the gang. I've never spent more than 40 bucks for two. It is a charming, charming little place with great food. It's fuckin' spicy so don't bring your student friends (although I always see at least one table of confused people who are always scared of the menu but they are always accommodated as much as as a South Indian resto can accommodate "no spices, no sauce, just chicken please. I don't want any sauce thank you."

Running by the Lachine canal is one of my favorite activities. After being away for 5 months, it felt so so good.

been actually meaning to try that place

How is public transit in Montreal? It's hard to tell how big of a city it is just looking at a map.

its.. okay. some places (mile-end etc) arent that well served by metro.

tell me where you're gonna be and where you're gonna be going.

If you at all inclined, Bixi is the best way to get around the city. Aside from really long trips anyway.

Well right now I am lucking out on airbnbs and all the hotels are crazy expensive! Maybe I picked the wrong weekend to go?

But I am bike guy so Bixi would be awesome! How does it work? It's like a Boris Bike right?

What about ile des soeurs? Is that too remote for walking/biking?

Mile End—Parc avenue, specifically—is served by frequent and reliable buses 80 and 435. Avoid all other buses on all other routes, particularly the 55 which "serves" the eastern edge of Mile End on St-Laurent blvd. The 55 has an appallingly low frequency, overcrowding.

It isn't that long a walk to Rosemont or Laurier metro depending on what part of Mile End you're coming from.

Bixis are esp. good on the plateau because the whole city points downhill. Coast your Bixi downtown, leave it there, and take a leisurely walk home.

Oh, "how does it work"? They charge you $7 on your credit card. Then you get the bike for 30 minutes. If you return the bike after 30 minutes, they charge you an extra $5. For the 24 hours after the first trip, you can sign out a bike as many times as you like with the same card with no extra charge. They say "$7 = 24 hours" but you can't use the bike for longer than 30 minutes at a time. Bikes are in OK shape. I use them all the time, but Mile End is lousy with Bixi stations.

There's also a 72 hrs for $14 deal.

It's like a Boris Bike right?

The Boris Bikes are built by the same Montreal people who made Bixi! So... yes!

What about ile des soeurs? Is that too remote for walking/biking?

Nun's Island in english... I'd avoid it personally. Its kinda isolated from the city, and dull.

Are these actually good?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cek6rK5F4EA

Nun's Island is a big no if you don't have car. If you are walking and biking, you will have way more fun at the mount royal, lachine canal, and even parc lafontaine.