A Winter in Montreal was exactly what I needed! After getting married and having a baby, I finally a trip without either my husband or daughter. My best friend (BB) and I went for a few nights, and it was a great time. This was my first time in Canada so I wanted to share some of my favorite things in this travel guide.
Total Trip Cost: $380 (Round trip flight and lodging for 3 days, 3 nights)
Season of travel: Middle of December (High 30s with strong winds)
Currency: CAD (Debit cards were accepted everywhere however; you must use it as “credit” for transactions)
Language: French (Most people spoke English however, it’s always great to know greetings, and basic phrases)
Transportation: Metro/Bus. The metro system was super easy to use.
We bought (1) day pass and then an unlimited weekend pass.
- Day pass: $10
- Weekend pass: (Friday 4pm until Monday 5am) $14.
We used uber at night when we were going out.
Day 1:
The first day we went to a Haitian restaurant before checking into the Airbnb. The food was amazing! (Please note: All the food we had on this trip was delicious so you may see “The food was amazing!” more than once. Haha!)
Shandmas Restaurant
We both ordered the same thing which was chicken, rice and beans, with macaroni salad and plantains.
Cost: $14-19 CAD
Lodging: Airbnb
I love self-check in Airbnbs. Although there are still check in/out times, being able to check in on your own and head out, is so convenient. After we dropped out things off, we went to the liquor and grocery stores to pick up a few things for the house. (When possible, I love to get whatever I can so that I don’t have to spend as much money eating/drinking out) Apparently they have this in other places but, it was my first time seeing an actual tasting/drinking machine in the liquor store. (I’m pretty sure there’s an official name for this but I think Drinking Machine sounds pretty cool. Lol!) Anywho, you pay $1.35 CAD for a glass to taste any wine or alcohol they had available in the machine. Unfortunately, we never went back to do this but I was able to get a picture of it. Lol!
Bota Bota Spa
The one and only thing we had planned for this trip was to go to the spa. BB visited Montreal a few times before and heard great things about their spas. We made reservations about a week before to Bota Bota Spa.
The location of this spa was wonderful. We went at night, so it was nice to see the view of the city lights and buildings. (I would definitely recommend visiting at night) We were provided with robes, towels, and was able to request to be in the same room for our massages. They also have a water circuit that you can add on after your spa. We wanted to go out so we opted out of this service since our spa appointments were at 7:15pm. You can’t have your phone once you exit the locker room so the pictures below were the only ones I was able to capture. (If you view their website, they have pictures of the inside!)
Cost: $85 USD / $100 after tip
Montreal Nightlife
After the spa, we went back to the Airbnb to find something to do. We are not club people so a chill scene with drinks and food is always a good time. We went to Cafe Hookah Bar for hookah, drinks, and food. The wings and French fries were to die for! We (we = me lol) told the waiter that we would be there “all night” as if I am not a Grandma and can hang. After we finished out food, we were both half sleep at the table and ready to go. Lol!
Safe to say Day 1 was a success!
Day 2 in Montreal:
So, anyone else make plans to be up early and get the day started on vacation but it never happens? We say this on every single trip. Meanwhile, we go to sleep around 3 or 4 in the morning. I’m not sure what kind of college life we think we’re still living buttt, we didn’t make it out the next day until about 2pm? Something like that.
Mandy’s Restaurant
Mandy’s is The. Cutest. Restaurant. EVER in Montreal! Literally all I can say! This place was filled with pink and green everything and I was completely in love! (If you didn’t catch that, yes, I am a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated) Of course, I had on a full pink outfit, so I was basically at home. Lol! In addition to the décor, the food was banging! We both got the Harvest Salad with Guac and chips, and cute pink drinks. There’s honestly not much more I can say about this place so I will let these pictures show for themselves.
Cost: $20 CAD (Salad and Drink)
Library:
We walked down the street to a bookstore to look for French books for Ryann and myself but unfortunately couldn’t find what we were looking for. The bookstore, however, was really cute and I would recommend visiting!
Old Port of Montreal
Not too far from Mandy’s was Old Port of Montreal. It was the touristy and pretty much a must-see area. We walked down and took pictures in front of the Ferris Wheel; found this Coke event and I was able to make a free shirt and then we got souvenirs to bring back home.
There were lots of places to eat and since we went during the holiday season, there were many lights and things to see/take pictures of.
Jean Talon Market
Every time I go on a trip, I love to visit a market. Since the only time I usually eat meat is when traveling, this is where I go to find the things I wouldn’t eat at home. Lol! I usually always end up getting ice cream or gelato.
We bought produce for our dinner and a few other things. This is also were I got my first CAD bills from at the ATM. And now that I think about it, I am a little annoyed that I did not take any pictures. But, there will be next time.
Day 3 in Montreal:
We got a good amount of sleep the night before so this day we were up and out a little earlier. We started our day around 12pm and caught the bus for brunch.
St – Viateur Bagel
Once again, great food! We both ordered bagels and their soup of the day which was lentil soup. BB had their Greek on a rosemary bagel, and I had smoked salmon on a cinnamon bagel. (Because Lox bagels are life!) It was my first time having lentil soup and I just want to say, I’m happy my first time was there. So, my standards are high anywhere else I go! Lol! They had fresh bagels and so much on the menu. The inside was also really cute. We got bagels to go because… they were just that good!
Atwater Market
Okay so, earlier I lied. Aside from the spa being one of the places we looked forward to, this market was also one of them! BB talked about these peanuts that she got the last time she went and her excitement for them had me hype. The first stop we made when we reached the market was the peanut shop. We tried a few different flavors and I ended up buying the almonds pictured below.
After, we walked around the market and bought a few other things until we walked out and ran into a holiday market.
I got my favorite things ever – churros and bought Ryann a homemade apron! Honestly, it was so much stuff out there, I kept buying things that I absolutely did not need. But of course, I had BB there to remind me that “You’re on vacation”. Which meant, I would continue to spend unnecessary money. Lol! One day, I will get better.
Shopping
And off to spending more money I didn’t need to. Sike! We did really well. We walked around downtown Montreal and went into a few stores but I think since we got there so late, it didn’t allow us too much time to shop. Exactly what I needed. I tried on a few pieces from Aritzia and will definitely be online shopping because they had some really cute items! BB bought a new winter coat and we headed out back to the Airbnb to enjoy our last night.
Nightlife
I would just like to start off by saying, we did entirely too much this night. Especially when we had a flight at 6am flight the next morning (that I happened to not make it on, but that’s another story). We ended up going to three different places. The last two were small bars that we found online however, we went to the Milky Way Cocktail bar that we looked up before our trip. BB saw a picture of Eniko (Kevin Hart’s wife) there before we went and it looked really cute. It was a nice bar that I would also recommend! Please don’t be like us. Take pictures in there! I am very annoyed that we did not get any. Lol!
Montreal, Quebec was a success! A lot of people frown at me when I told them I was visiting in December. Yes, I know, it gets cold however, I think it made the experience better. I will be going back in the spring/summer season though.
Take aways from this post:
- Use public transportation: It’s cheap and easy
- Spa Day: Whether it’s Bota Bota or another, add this to your itinerary because there are lots of nice spas in Montreal.
- If visiting in December: Take advantage of the holiday lights/activities. And bundle up!
- Mandy’s: Do not leave without visiting Mandy’s.
- Do Touristy things: Visit the Port, walk around and explore the city, and go to a market!
- Milky Way Cocktail Bar: Get some dranks and take some flicks! (*If you are 21 and older)
- Have fun!
Interested in more travel guides? Visit my travel category!
Until next time,
xo Kenniqua