My husband and I just returned from 5 lovely nights in Montreal - the first time in Canada for us both. Due to unexpected health issues our European trips are on hold until the fall, but we were able to squeeze in a quick closer-to-home trip in between surgeries for my husband. A 2.5 hour flight felt like a treat after the 8-9 hours we've become used to.
A few photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/LNAMzYTmzRAcGbAU8
Transport
We intended to utilize the metro but ended up mostly walking or taking Uber, which was fairly affordable. It’s a very walkable city.
We took Uber from and to the airport. They have a different system here: When you land at YUL follow the signs for Uber and they have a dedicated and fast moving line where instead of ordering an Uber the usual way, you need to request a PIN and share it with the next driver in the front of the queue. My husband thought it was a great and easy system (dear, your male privilege is showing)...only afterwards did I explain that sure, it was fine because we were together, but as a solo female I’d prefer to be able to use Uber the regular way and see the driver’s name/photo and the make/ model/color before getting in the car. When I tried to give the driver the PIN he mumbled “in the car” and so we and our luggage were already in the car before the driver entered the PIN into his device.
We flew Delta and had no issues
Montréal–Trudeau International Airport (YUL) was probably the easiest, most pleasant airport to fly home from. It has U.S. preclearance, so U.S. border control and customs was done after security in Montreal. From arriving at the airport to sitting at the gate it took maybe 10 minutes (this was on a Friday morning). Lots of good food options and just a really low-key, nice airport experience.
Language
Lack of French fluency was rarely an issue, although like everywhere else we always attempted French first, not always successfully:
On our first morning I attempted Québécois with a cheerful “bon Matisse!” which of course wasn’t right. The guy at reception smiled awkwardly and replied “bon matin.” I stuck to “bonjour” from then on.
My husband kept defaulting to grazie for some reason (“grazie, uh, oh, merci”). I also fell into Spanish and Italian and accidentally said “Si…Oui” a few times.
There was also the time a woman approached me in French and when I asked “parlez-vous anglais?” she switched to German. I still don’t know how I managed to decipher that she was asking me for directions, but Google Maps and pointing did the trick in the end.
Oh, and one morning in the breakfast room a police officer appeared and with a gravelly voice said something to us, which we I think we replied with “um, uhh…” and he went through a door and returned a moment later giving us a conspiratorial wink and a thumbs up before sauntering off. I’ll never solve that mystery.
Hotel
- We stayed at Le Petit Hotel Notre Dame in the Vieux-Montréal (Old Montreal) area https://maps.app.goo.gl/w4R8xbwmC3dPtvyX7 The location was charming and easy to walk to the old port. A good breakfast was included (cheese, ham, smoked salmon, eggs, St. Viateur bagels, cereal, yogurt, fruit, pastries). Coffee made to order 24/7. Friendly staff and good sized room, despite the name.