Montréal

Canada haѕ several federal ѕtatutory holidаys. Provinces also have their own holidays.

Holidays in 2012:

January 1: New Year\'s Day
January 2: Dаy after New Year\'s Day
April 6: Good Friday (businеssеs in Quebec usually give Good Friday as a holіday although ѕometimeѕ Eaѕter Mondaу is substituted)
May 21: Victoria Day/Journée natiоnale des Patriоtes (observed)
June 24: St-Jean-Baptiste/Fête de la Saint-Jean/Fête Natіonale (Quebec natіonal day, nоt moveable)
July 1: Canada Dаy (also moving day in Montreal) (not moveаble)
September 3: Labоur Day
October 8: Thanksgiving
December 25: Christmas

Some storеs open on holidayѕ, although Christmаs іs аll but universally a closіng day. Boxing Day, Dec. 26, is сommonly givеn as a holidaу (although not іn retаil, where Bоxing Dаy sales are common) аs is January 2. Easter Monday seems to be declining in importancе and is mostly obsеrvеd now only bу government оffices, whіch also close on Remembrance Day, November 11. Businеssеs and schools stay oрen оn November 11, but civic ceremonies are held to honour war veterаns and twо minuteѕ of silenсe are traditionallу obѕerved at 11 a.m.

Montrealerѕ often also observe Valentine\'s Day (February 14), Mothеr\'s Daу (ѕecond Sunday in May), Father\'s Day (third Sundaу in June) аnd Halloween (October 31), although these are not legal holidаys. Depending on their origins, Mоntrealers might alsо celebrate Muslim holidayѕ or Jewish holidaуs, the Asian lunar new year, or other saints\' days or national holidays. A major paradе is held on а Sunday near St. Patrick\'s Day (March 17) whоse connеction with Ireland іs by nоw only a notionаl one. It will be held on March 20 іn 2011.

Montrеal hаs a longstanding tradition of endіng residential leases on June 30. As a result, July 1 is moving day for a significant percentage of tenants in thе city.

The last two full weeks of July are traditionally the Quebec constructіon holidаy, and many othеr unionized workers take thеsе two weeks off as well.

Montreal Nightlife

Montreal Nightlife
If nightlife in Montréal could be distilled into a cocktail, it would be one part sophisticated New York club scene (with the accompanying pretension), one part Parisian joie-de-vivre (and again, a dash of snobbery), and one part Barcelonan stamina, which keeps the clubs booming 'til dawn.

Hot spots are peppered throughout the city. There are compact clusters along rue Crescent, boulevard St-Laurent, boulevard Mont-Royal, and rue St-Denis. Prominent rue Ste-Catherine plows through town, connecting most of these nighttime niches, and farther east, near Beaudry métro station, it becomes the main drag for the Village, also called Gay Village. The streets named after saints contain most of the clubs: rue Ste-Catherine, boulevard St-Laurent, rue St-Paul, and rue St-Denis. The Old Port is Montréal's upcoming neighborhood, with a steady stream of venues opening all the time in this cobblestone district.


Montréal's nightlife swings with a robust passion; from the early evening "5 à 7" after-work cocktail circuit, to the slightly later concerts and supperclubs (restaurant-dance club hybrids), on into the even later dance club scene, all tastes, cultural backgrounds, and legal ages join the melee. Adult clubs abound in this sexually freewheeling city, and are often frequented by mixed groups of people seeking a fun night out on the town. Clubbing is, to say the least, huge in Montréal. Even some restaurants are installing discotheques in their basements.


As for what to wear on a Montréal night out: If you have a daring outfit in your closet that you've hesitated to wear—bring it. Montrealers get absolutely decked to go out on the town to bars and clubs, even if the temperature is below freezing. And remember, most club regulars don't even know where they're going until midnight, so don't go out too

Montreal Hotel Reviews

Montreal Hotel Reviews
Montréal is a city of neighborhoods with distinct personalities, which creates a broad spectrum of options when it comes to deciding on a place to stay. The downtown core provides more of a universal lodging experience with all the big chain hotels you'd find in any city, while Old Montréal, the Plateau, and other surrounding areas have unique auberges and boutique hotels.

Most of the major hotels downtown—the ones with big meeting rooms, swimming pools, and several bars and restaurants—are ideal for those who want all the facilities along with easy access to the big department stores and malls on rue Ste-Catherine, the museums of the Golden Square Mile, and nightlife on rues Crescent and de la Montagne. If you want something a little more historic, consider renting a room in one of the dozen or so boutique hotels that occupy the centuries-old buildings lining the cobbled streets of Old Montréal. Most of them offer all the conveniences along with the added charm of stone walls, casement windows, and period-style furnishings.


If your plans include shopping expeditions to avenue Mont-Royal and rue Laurier with maybe a few late nights at the jazz bars and dance clubs of Main Street and rue St-Denis, then the place to bed down is in one of the Plateau Mont-Royal's small but comfortable hotels. Room rates in the area tend to be quite reasonable, but be careful: the hotels right in the middle of the action—on rue St-Denis for example—can be a little noisy, especially if you get a room fronting the street.


One final note about safety—you can unclench in Montréal. Crime is nearly a nonissue in tourist areas. Locals and tourists use the métro in the evening without clutching their pocketbooks and praying. If the weather's nice, feel free to stroll back to your hotel from the theater or the bistro. Alternately, consider the new bicycle rental stations, called Bixi, to traipse across town.

Montreal Restaurant Reviews

Montreal Restaurant Reviews
Montréal's restaurant scene is one of Canada's most cosmopolitan, with trendy eateries popping up regularly, their menus heavily influenced by flavors from around the globe, often with an added touch of French flair.


The thing to know is that many can be found in the most unlikely locations. Toqué!, for example, long touted as one of the city's best, is on the ground floor of an office tower in the financial district. Still, there are those certain areas—such as rue St-Denis and boulevard St-Laurent between rues Sherbrooke and Mont-Royal—that have long been the city's hottest dining strips, with everything from sandwich shops to high-price gourmet shrines. The bring-your-own-wine craze started on rue Prince-Arthur and avenue Duluth, two lively pedestrian streets in the Plateau that still specialize in good, relatively low-cost meals. Most downtown restaurants are clustered between rues Guy and Peel on the side streets that run between boulevard René-Lévesque and rue Sherbrooke. Some interesting little cafés and restaurants have begun to spring up in the heart of the antiques district along rue Notre-Dame Ouest near avenue Atwater. Old Montréal, too, has a sizable collection of well-regarded restaurants, most of them clustered on rue St-Paul and Place Jacques-Cartier.

You can usually order à la carte, but make sure to look for the table d'hôte, a two- to four-course package deal. It's often more economical, offers interesting specials, and may also take less time to prepare. For a splurge, consider a menu dégustation, a five- to seven-course tasting menu executed by the chef. It generally includes soup, salad, fish, sherbet (to cleanse the palate), a meat dish, dessert, and coffee or tea. At the city's finest restaurants, such a meal for two, along with a good bottle of wine, can cost more than C$200 and last four hours.


Menus in many restaurants are bilingual, but some are only in French. If you don't understand what a dish is, don't be shy about asking; a good server will be happy to explain. If you feel brave enough to order in French, remember that in French an entrée is an appetizer, and what Americans call an entrée is a plat principal, or main dish.


Dinner reservations are highly recommended for weekend dining.

Montréal Overview

Montréal Overview

Canada's most diverse métropolis, Montréal, is an island city that favors grace and elegance over order and even prosperity, a city where past and present intrude on each other daily. In some ways it resembles Vienna—well beyond its peak of power and glory, perhaps, yet still vibrant and beautiful.

Montréal Places

Montréal Places
Downtown
Rue Ste-Catherine—and the métro line that runs under it—is the main cord that binds together the disparate, sprawling neighborhoods that comprise Montréal's downtown, or centre-ville, just north and west of Old Montréal. It's a long, boisterous, sometimes seedy, and sometimes elegant street that runs from rue Claremont in Westmount to rue d'Iberville in the east end.

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Hochelaga-Maisonneuve
There's more to see and do in the neighborhood of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve than visit the Stade Olympique, which played host to the 1976 Summer Olympics, and the leaning tower that supports the stadium's roof and dominates the skyline. It's one of best spots to go if you're craving green space, plus it has one of Montréal's best markets.

The Islands
The two islands just east of the city in the St. Lawrence River—Île Ste-Hélène, formed by nature, and Île Notre-Dame, created with the stone rubble excavated from the construction of Montréal's métro—are Montréal's indoor-outdoor playground, Parc Jean Drapeau.


ont-Royal and Environs
In geological terms, Mont-Royal is a mere bump of basaltlike rock worn down by several ice ages to a mere 760 feet. But in the affections of Montrealers it's a Matterhorn. Without a trace of irony, they call it simply la Montagne or "the Mountain," and it's easy to see why it's so well loved.


Old Montréal (Vieux-Montréal)
A walk through the cobbled streets of Old Montréal is a lot more than a privileged stroll through history; it's also an encounter with a very lively present—especially in summer, when the restaurants and bistros spill out onto the sidewalks; jugglers, musicians, and magicians jockey for performance space on the public squares and along the riverfront, and things get turned up a notch at the Old Port, which has become one of the city's hottest spots for nightlife.


The Plateau and Environs
Plateau Mont-Royal—or simply the Plateau as it's more commonly called these days—is still home to a vibrant Portuguese community, but much of the housing originally built for factory workers has been bought and renovated by professionals, artists, performers, and academics eager to find a place to live close to all the action. The Plateau is always bustling, even in the dead of winter, but on sunny summer weekends it's packed with Montrealers who come here to shop, dine, and watch each other.