Our Montréal Suggestions

What to know about, eat, and do while you're in Montréal

(More to come as we get closer to the big day!)

• • Here's a little French-English dictionary created by Ellie and Louis to help you try out your French skills!

  • Here are some peculiarities about Montreal that you should know about!

  • Here's an awesome way for you to simultaneously learn about Montréal and Québec's fascinating history AND interact with the projections you'll be seeing around the city as you wander around at night!

Activities

• The Montréal Jazz Fest will be going on from June 30 - July 9, and the Hôtel le Dauphin is RIGHT in the fray of it all, so you'll definitely want to find out what's going on with that!

• Cirque du Soleil was born in Québec, and each show starts its run at their Grand Chapiteau in Montréal's Old Port. Cirque du Soleil's newest show, Luzia: a Waking Dream of Mexico, is brilliant! Louis took Ellie for her birthday, and they left stunned. What's cooler than watching Cirque du Soleil in the place where it all began??!

• If you love reading like Ellie and Louis do, you will LOVE this interactive exhibit at Montréal's Great Library, which uses virtual reality to help you discover libraries from across the world, history, and literature. It is absolutely worth your time!

  • Montréal is known as a Food-Lover's Capital! Here are some of our favorite Québécois eats (and a few thoughts on where to get them):

    • Poutine - La Banquise is the most famous, but we LOVE Poutineville, and Montréal Poutine is a good standard right in the Old Port.

    • Smoked meat - Schwartz' Deli is classic, but there's also The Main, Lester's, and Le Roi du Smoked Meat.

    • Bagels - even better than NYC! You have to try St-Viateur or Fairmount (and get your second helping of bagels at our Bagel Brunch on Monday morning after our wedding!)

    • Soupe Tonkinoise (Pho) - it's all over, so try anywhere! But look here for suggestions.

    • Shish Taouk (Chicken Shwarma)/Kebab: it's also all over, but look here for suggestions.

  • And here are some great additional Montréal eateries (some we've tried*, some we've heard about)

    • Low Key:

    • Café Serrano*- best shredded chicken sandwich EVER, with a Peruvian twist

    • Café Olimpico* - 1970 Italian soccer-oriented café with what many consider to be Montréal's best coffee (pick up your bagels next-door and bring them here to go with your coffee)

    • Dinette Triple Crown* - a Southern picnic that you can literally carry across the street in a basket to Little Italy Park

    • ARTbrgr* - specialty burgers and drinks in a modern environment

    • Aux Vivres* - excellent vegan dishes (that even the meat eater will enjoy) plus a juice bar

    • A Little Fancier:

    • Café Parvis* - light and creative dishes and great cocktails tucked into an unassuming building off of Rue St-Catherine

    • Le Comptoir* - farm to table of the highest quality and at its most creative

  • Grumman'78* - inventive street food (that started in one of Montréal's first food trucks) in the up-and-coming neighborhood of St-Henri

  • Au Pied de Cochon - a modern take on classic Québécois food

  • Joe Beef - vintage-themed steak and seafood, and listed as one of the world's top 100 restaurants

  • Alep* - upscale Syrian and Armenian; it's Louis & Ellie's favorite!

  • OR take a Montréal food tour!

  • If you're planning on going out on the town, here are some of our favorite places for Montréal night life (coming soon!).

• Check out this sweet Montréal tourist app (featured at the top as well) that you can download that will give you information on over 60 points of interest around Montréal. You can give yourself your own tour! We highly suggest

  • Visiting Notre Dame Basilica and discovering the Old Port of Montréal (Old Montréal)

  • Walking to the top of Mont-Royal for the best view of the city

  • Wandering through foodie heaven at Jean-Talon Market

  • Checking out the Biodôme and the Olympic Park

  • Renting a bike and riding from the Old Port to Parc Jean-Drapeau

  • Taking a stroll through Le Plateau and the Mile End

  • If you're thinking of heading up to Québec City while you're here, the New York Times just published this 36 Hours in Québec City article that may be of interest to you. We'll post a little more information about Québec City soon!

  • Here's some information on Montréal and Québec's history.

  • Check out this amazing tilt-filming video that makes Montréal look like a toyland and simultaneously puts on display all of its beauty: