Here's our video covering everything you need to know about language in Montreal, for visitors and future residents: czcams.com/video/tWgXVuovezs/video.html
Montreal is the urbanist crown jewel of North America. I visited in summer 2023 and was blown away, it’s definitely one of my favorite cities, amazing pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, good transit, beautiful architecture, fantastic food and friendly people
We went last summer and loved it. The sheer number of people out on Mont Royal Avenue on a Tuesday evening was shocking. Cars stopped for pedestrians consistently. I (an American) wish I spoke French so that I could even dream of working and living there. It’s difficult to console myself with changing where I live when it’s as backwards as metro Detroit is.
Don't give up on improving American communities towards more walkable and bikable cities. We need you guys (us too) to lower dependency on oil, and our energy consumption, if we want the yougnins to have better options in the future. Maybe the solutions for your community are beyond the horizon, maybe there's a lot iterative change needed before reaching Montreal's status, but car dependency is simply unsustainable, so it's just a matter of time before north-american cities opt for more sustainable solutions. Adoption of electric bikes, with safe bike paths, might incentivise older generations to adopt active transports. The solutions exists, but retrofitting suburban America will take time. Start small, and keep iterating. Bonne chance.
We are very lucky to have you guys as online ambassadors for our city. I think you help those who live in Montreal notice some of the things that make it interesting from an urbanistic point of view, and you definitely make lots of people in the English-speaking world more curious about our city. I am glad you chose to live here!
Just got back from an 11 day visit to Montreal. We drove from Massachusetts, parked our car in the alley behind our Airbnb and didn’t drive our car until left on our trip home. We were in the area between the Rosemont and Beaubien metro stations and walked and took the Metro everywhere. The biking facilities were obviously great and their heavy use confirmed that. We went from the Jean Talon Market/ Little Italy to Atwater Market, Old Town, the Village and of course Miles End and East towards the Olympic area. All very bikeable and walkable except for parts of old town and some of the waterfront. Wish we could have watched this video 3 weeks ago!
This is an excellent quick overview of my favourite city in North America, a fine primer especially for people who are making their first visit. I discovered Montreal for myself decades ago and have returned again and again since. I recommend it for anyone looking for a walkable urban getaway with style, liveliness, and the sort of amenities one should find in every larger city on the continent, but are in fact lacking in most. I like that OhTheUrbanity is frank about winter which is a central and definitive fact for Montreal. I've visited in frigid February as well as sweltering July. But September through early October is when I've found the city to be at its best. People there are welcoming and helpful. Le fait que je sois déjà francophile m'aide, mais ne vous inquiétez pas. Quel que soit l'endroit où la monnaie est échangée, ils parleront probablement anglais! Amusez-vous bien! Have fun!
As someone who has lived either in Montreal or on the "South" shore for the past thirty years, this is a great video for first time visitors to the city. Keep up the great videos!
If you live in Toronto, the bike ride to Montreal is 5 or 6 days of lakeside and riverside riding.....almost no hills, and littered with lovely little towns and beaches
Great video! I lived in Montreal for six months (helping out with the REM project!) and never ran out of places to explore and things to do, despite getting out and about several times a week. I am excited to visit again someday. In addition to all the things noted in this video, the sheer amount of public art is really impressive.
If you are flying in with your bike, It is possible to ride your bike from the airport to downtown, but you must be careful to pick the right route to get the bike path. From the airport, ride along Roméo-Vachon, Niverville and rue Cardinal, enter the Dorval station (not Via) parking lot and then walk your bike through the tunnel to pass under two rail tracks. From train station ride across Dorval circle (very short but tricky) and towards Lakeshore and take a left on Dawson, following bike lane. From that point on, just follow the Lachine canal (East direction) all the way downtown. Bikes are tolerated on the métro during off peak hours and when there are no special events, in the front car of the train. You can also take the commuter train from Dorval station with your bike, but it may not be so easy to lift everything in the train, if you're by yourself. An alternative may be Via rail, which is very close by and better set up for luggage. Bike theft is common, in the city so use Bixi or lock your bike up, if you must be away for a short period.
Being a Montréal resident, I can always recommend riding along the Gouin Boulevard cycle path, all the way to the north east wedge of the island to see the most beautiful sunsets in a wild forested or park setting. There are many parks, places to rest and public fountains to drink from along the way. Bring your picnic and it's a fun family activity with zero hassle. ❤
My first job was at the summer camp in Pointe-aux-Prairies so that park has a very special place in my heart! For people coming from the West, Bois-de-Liesse park is also a very nice bike ride, but it won't take you to the fen and belvedere like the Pointe-aux-Prairies ride does. Beautiful for observing the island's wildlife. 😊
Incredible timing. I'm currently in Montreal and just took part in the Tour de L'Île de Montréal. Thank you for the tips! I have two more days with my bike
as a montrealer, thank you so much for not mentioning the old port in the MUST go, the no1 recommendation i have for anyone is walking either up st-laurent or around mt-royal metro, great stuff!
Awesome video, I wanted to add every year Montreal had the tour de l'île bike ride where they close off the streets and thousands bike around montreal. It's super fun and non-competitive, so you go at your own pace. This year there was a 25km and 50km route. It is honestly one of the best events in Montreal period and if you happen to plan your trip in advance to attend, you won't be disappointed
I’m visiting there this summer because of your channel so cool to get a travel guide a month before absolutely love your content through the years thanks
Good overview and guide. I hadnt thought of visiting Montreal until recently, due in part to.your videos showing the urbanist development. Whenever i travel to a city if I'm just exploring the immediate area I don't use a car, just walk and take transit. For Montreal I'll have to add a bike. Thanks for making this primer.
My wife and I try to get to Montreal every summer if we can. Every year we find something new to discover and love about the city. The only reason we don't live there yet is because of the language difficulties for employment in my field. Retirement may be an option though. It's getting more difficult to do every year, but we always try to get an air bnb and get a small "living there" experience for the week or two that we are there, rather than a hotel. We are always astounded by the level of pedestrian streets AND their usage, consistently putting to bed the argument that they are harmful to local businesses that is used here in Halifax. If you have ever been curious about a trip to Montreal, just do it. You won't be disappointed, ESPECIALLY during the summer (although be prepared for the costs of accommodation to skyrocket June to August). There is always some festival to take in, many of them free, and there is a globally acclaimed fireworks show many days throughout the summer every year, with entries from countries around the world, and watchable for free from the Jacques Cartier bridge. Just an awesome time all around.
It’s easy to forget about Canadian cities when looking for places to visit over a long weekend, but this video makes me put Montreal to the top of NE cities!
Standing on the platform of parc x and this popped up. Heading to Brossard for a suburban wander on the REM with an old friend. 18 years here and still my favourite place to spend time - all of it, even the weird bike paths on stroads in the exurbs.
When visiting during the summer, you can also look up which festival is active in the city. There is 55 festivals between May and September and most of them have free shows associated with them. The big ones are Montréal Complèment Cirque for free circus shows, Festival International de Jazz de Montréal for Jazz, Francos for free french music, Nuits d'Afrique for free Africain music and Fierté Montreal for free drag show. All of these shows have big names of the industry that you can see live for free. Usually, we also have Just for Laugh for free comedy shows, but this year is cancelled.
just visited for my third time earlier this summer, and i'll definitely be back soon! i've spent most of my time in a pretty narrow strip just east of the mountain along st. laurent, so i want to get out of that bubble on future trips. i really wish i kept with my french language classes after secondary school since it's a little embarrassing not knowing how to do much more than simple present tense communication.
Important to note that in terms of getting to Montreal by train from the US on Amtrak that once you hit warmer weather they do sometimes close the train route due to track issues and Amtrak not wanting to pay more than one driver so they can go the speed that would be safe (the Americans and Canadians do disagree on whose fault this is)
I visited Montreal several times when I was living in Ottawa in the early 1970's (saw a couple Expos games), and it is clearly changed a lot. Good to see. I'd like to see a video that describes the activism that led to so much urbanist investment there.
Sadly, I haven't been to Montréal since I was in university in Upstate NY in late 90's. My friends and I would go every other weekend, and got to see many parts of the city and met some really nice people. I always said it was my favorite city in the East of the continent, and I would've loved to move there after university. However, I was very self-conscious of the very little French I spoke, so I didn't make it happen. I know I could've taken immersive lessons, but life happens and I ended up going back to the NYC metro area, and then I lived for a few years in California. I live in Chicago now, but I should visit Montréal again now that I'm more adult. It was a great city back then, and it looks like it has gotten better since.
Thanks for releasing this video shortly before I head off to said Formula 1 race! I've now added some potential spots to visit. Shame it's looking like rain all weekend 😕
Great visitor info. I would always start with the downtown and the Old Port. The Plateau neighbourhood is overrate. It was trendy in the past but I think that has been in decline post pandemic.
We usually visit a lot of museums when we vacation in a city. We did very well two years ago with a Montreal Museum pass. The highlight was the Museum of Archeology in old Montreal. The Biodome, Insectarium, and Botanical Gardens were very good too, as well as Chateau Dufresne. The only disappointment was the Biosphere.
Montreal is very famous for its Pride festival which takes place in August, not June. It has a lovely Village centered around Beaudry Metro Station where you can enjoy a patio or dance the night away.
“Lovely”, not so lovely after 9pm as it’s one of the most dangerous areas of the city, controlled by the mafia and its also where biker gangs settle scores
And even during the non pride months, the bars in the quarter are all so friendly and welcoming that it's a fantastic place all the time. Shout out to Le Normandie for awesome karaoke as well
I used to live on Wellington in Verdun near Woodland, using a compass Wellington is truly north-south, I told people that I live culturally west/geographically south of down town.
I'd argue the area around Berri-UQAM, Quartier Latin, and Old Montreal are better in the afternoon and/or during the night. Depends on your perspective, but I made the mistake of walking in Old Montreal in the wee Friday morning hours, when it was kinda dead and the restaurants were closed. Contrast that to eating out at during a Friday or Saturday night on Saint Denis; very lively.
If you're driving into Montreal and can't park at the hotel (or it's super expensive): Parc Olympique has a parking pass for 8 days at $45. You can't take it out again until you're done, but it's close to the metro so you can park it and forget it until you're done.
I’ve only ever been to Toronto and Vancouver but I really want to visit Montreal. The only thing that I’m not too sure about is if I’d need to learn some basic French or if I’d be ok just speaking English
Bonjour ! As a tourist, you can get by in English, especially in the tourist areas (downtown, Old Montréal...). If you can manage "bonjour" and "merci" for politeness, you should be fine. 🙂
just think of the rest of the world who travel to a country where people do not speak their language. Some basic french words and I can please speak in English.
Okay, I just have to ask: what's up with the pronunciations? I wouldn't even mention, but for the comment about Lionel-Groulx, you brought it up. :) Specifically, I'm puzzled by the mixed English/French pronunciation of places with Saint in the name. The Saint is being pronounced as an English word, but the place itself as French (e.g. "Denis"). Is that really the local convention? (I saw your comment elsewhere about "no matter what you do, someone will complain", and I guess that's probably true, but the mixed ones still seem weird).
When you live here as an anglophone you just get used to a lot of French pronunciations, and when you hear them more than English pronunciations you naturally incorporate them into your own speech and end up with a mix.
Lol, I didn’t know about the food/drinking rule! That would be hilarious to see someone getting arrested for drinking in public without food. There’d be a whole lineup of public drinkers all sharing one bag of chips and one guy who didn’t eat any and they’d come take him away cuz y’know, the law! 😂
Mobility matters. Bicycles matter. Electric busses matter. Electric trains matter. Safe protected bike and bus lanes are necessary for efficient transport. Children should be able to ride bicycles or take a bus to school safely. Cities need to provide multiple options for transportation. Less cars, more buses, more bicycles. There is a climate crisis. We need to make walking, cycling, using escooters and taking a bus easier and the default option for most people.
0:11 Wow, that Promenade Jean-Brillant looks nice 😮 I haven't been to the neighbourhood since the street was pedestrianized. I was actually hit by a car at that exact spot several years ago, shortly after moving to Montreal, by a driver reversing the wrong way down a one-way. Yes, pretty urbanism is a defining feature of Montreal. But so is the absolute worst driving you've ever seen in the developed world 😅
À 5:50 « Voies barrées » plutôt, non ? Voire même « voie barrée », car il s’agit en l’occurrence d’une voie à deux sens de circulation. Peut-être qu’ils ont fait un mélange dans le doute. Étrange de constater une telle faute sur de la signalétique municipale. Pas étonnant que le français s’y meurt…
11:25 - The Plateau's essence and aesthetics are largely due to the strong Portuguese community's influence in the west of the borough (along Saint-Laurent between Roy and Villeneuve) during the first wave of immigration that arrived in the late 50s up until the 70s, opened shops and businesses. The painted houses and duplexes comes from Portugal, as well as the chicken 😎 🇵🇹 so its no coincidence that Montreal has a chicken passion ! for anyone interested, Romados on Rachel and Rotisserie Coco Rico on Saint-Laurent, have hands down, in my opinion, the best chicken in town !
@@act_sion je ne dit pas qu’ils ont construit, j’explique leur influence sur le caractère et la mise en valeur de leurs propriétés, logements et commerces depuis leurs arrivées dans le quartier, notamment en peinturant les murs de couleurs vives plutôt que la brique.
@@terceira.jornada La mise en valeur. Sachez que peintre la brique est la pire chose à faire . La brique ne respire plus ce qui fait que la brique se détériore encore plus vite . Pour la préservation , je suis pas sûre que de retirer les détails architecturaux , des corniches , des balustrades ouvragées par soucis d'économie et pratique étaient une bonne chose .
@@christofat2704 encore une fois, je ne suis pas professionnel en architecture, je ne fais que relater les faits quant aux dynamiques culturels, urbanistique et socio-économique immigrante portugaise à montréal, que ceux-ci soit de bonne décision ou non !
montreal has a chance to break free from being a car infested city, *IF* push this hard and far enough. being the best in north america is not a impressive result. north america sucks at building a livable cities
You forgot to mention about the Orange construction cones everywhere, road closures ,traffic jams, confusing road signs, bridges and overpasses falling down .😢
Well, these impact cars mostly, walkers and bikers are mostly immune to these problems (unless overpasses or bridges actually fall on them, which has never happened to the best of my knowledge).
Great guide! Just one note I'll be "that guy" for: by saying "Montréal is a french city in north America, pretty cool uh!" is kinda like saying "There's a city south of the US called Cancun where people speak Spanish!" Technically true but also would make mexicans roll their eyes. So if you want to surprise people who don't know about french in north america, you should mention the whole picture IMO otherwise you're perpetuating ignorance about the surrounding region - Montréal is the economic center, and ironically the most english speaking city of the province of Québec, which is a french speaking nation (always has been by UN definition and also finally recognized by Canada in 2006), so it's a lot more than just a city that's speaking french!
@@ehjo4904 Techniquement le français est la langue officielle de la province du Québec. Comme Montréal fait partie de la province du Québec . Toutefois les provinces incluant le Québec font partis de la confédération Canadienne. Le Canada est un pays bilingue anglais et/ou français. Si demain matin Montréal décide de quitter le Québec pour former sa propre province il sera libre de choisir sa ou ses langues officiels comme toutes les province du Canada Toutefois le Québec perdrais sa locomotive économique et la moitiè de sa population. Un Québec appauvri de Montréal aura plus de facilité à acquérir son indépendance du Canada. La ville de Québec deviendrait à la fois la capitale et la métropole d' un Québec indépendant.
Sauf que la seule langue officielle de Montréal est également le français. Ce n'est donc pas que le Québec puisque l'administration de Montréal est aussi d'accord! Et le bilinguisme n'est pas une question de liberté comme vous semblez le suggérer, mais une question politique. Si on veut que le Canada reste bilingue, c'est une bonne chose d'affirmer le caractère français de Montréal. Et si vous prétendez le contraire, ce n'est pas parce que vous êtes pour le bilinguisme, mais parce que vous êtes pour l'anglais.
No one actually calls it a mountain... Locals call it by its name, which is Mont Royal (Mount Royal in english) This is the name given to it since centuries.
@@PatG-xd8qnI’m not an expert on how tall a hill/mountain has to be in order to officially be considered a mountain. The Mt. Royal might technically be a hill, however people in Montreal absolutely do call it “the mountain”. For example, there’s a non-profit organization called “Les amis de la montagne” that advocates for the preservation of Mt. Royal, and in 2017 the City of Montreal created a walking itinerary called the “Promenade Fleuve-Montagne” which goes from the Saint Lawrence River to the top of Mt. Royal.
you know... there isn't an obligation to pronounce everything in montreal with a french accent. "phillips square" is an anglophone place name. you dont need to say "sQwaar Veectohreeuh" either
also the area where you can get portuguese chicken in the plateau used to be called little portugal. there are 70k portuguese in quebec and this is after their community was hollowed out and many moved to ontario due to language politics
This is a common trait among francophile transplants to Montreal. I count myself among them, but nonetheless revel in old-timey English place names, going so far as to refer to Park Ave, Pine Ave and Mountain St without a bit of shame. In the same way I would never conform to the anglicizing of traditional French place names in my hometown of Winnipeg.
@@OhTheUrbanity Rule number one of language politics: everyone is upset all the time 🙃 But now that I've watched the whole thing, you had an interesting mix of pronunciations, with "Roy" and "Rachel" in English, "Squareuh Philippe" in French, with a cheeky "Nun's Island" thrown in for good measure - kept me on my toes the whole time 😅
@@YoungThos Mountain Street is a fun one. It got officially renamed by a separatist government to 'rue de la Montagne' BUT it was actually named after a person whose last name was Mountain. (for McGillians, it's the same Anglican bishop benefactor after whom Bishop Mountain Hall is named.) The joke at the time was that next were going to rename "Doctor Penfield" to "Docteur Champs-Stylo". If you are a REAL old-time anglo Montrealer, you will still refer to 'rue St-Jacques' by its original name, "Saint James street".
You could have also mentioned about the crime, just to be carefully not to leave anything visible or of value in your car when visiting Montreal. Sadly I have seen it happen far too many times where people get robbed with their car windows smashed and property taken.
Outside of bike theft, I have not experienced crime to be a particular concern in Montreal, and the statistics that I've seen indicate that Montreal has quite low crime, particularly compared to cities in the US. I don't mean to downplay any problems you've had, but this is why we described it the way we did.
It’s not limited to my experience, this is a Montreal fact; if you leave anything visible in the car it will get stolen and just wanted people to be aware. Tourists are often the ones targeted so figured I would share here. I’m not sure where that kind of petty crime falls under the crime stats you referenced, but it’s prevalent and sure can put a damper on a nice trip to Montreal. As someone who has lived here for nearly 50 years, I know better but I do hear of it so often. Thanks for the great work you do on the channel, I’m a big fan.
@@mammouth2727 sorry if my comment was misconstrued. Crime is low, the city is safe. But cars left with valuables, are not. Out of town plates with visible bags…the likelihood of smash and grab is very high.
Here's our video covering everything you need to know about language in Montreal, for visitors and future residents: czcams.com/video/tWgXVuovezs/video.html
Montreal is the urbanist crown jewel of North America. I visited in summer 2023 and was blown away, it’s definitely one of my favorite cities, amazing pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, good transit, beautiful architecture, fantastic food and friendly people
Mexico City is apparently really good too but I've never been there
We went last summer and loved it. The sheer number of people out on Mont Royal Avenue on a Tuesday evening was shocking. Cars stopped for pedestrians consistently. I (an American) wish I spoke French so that I could even dream of working and living there. It’s difficult to console myself with changing where I live when it’s as backwards as metro Detroit is.
Don't give up on improving American communities towards more walkable and bikable cities. We need you guys (us too) to lower dependency on oil, and our energy consumption, if we want the yougnins to have better options in the future. Maybe the solutions for your community are beyond the horizon, maybe there's a lot iterative change needed before reaching Montreal's status, but car dependency is simply unsustainable, so it's just a matter of time before north-american cities opt for more sustainable solutions. Adoption of electric bikes, with safe bike paths, might incentivise older generations to adopt active transports. The solutions exists, but retrofitting suburban America will take time. Start small, and keep iterating. Bonne chance.
We are very lucky to have you guys as online ambassadors for our city. I think you help those who live in Montreal notice some of the things that make it interesting from an urbanistic point of view, and you definitely make lots of people in the English-speaking world more curious about our city. I am glad you chose to live here!
OMG, I’m literally heading to Montreal in less than 24 hours! This video is literally made for me lol
Keep us updated on how it was!
Yeah a timely review would be great.
how was it
Just got back from an 11 day visit to Montreal. We drove from Massachusetts, parked our car in the alley behind our Airbnb and didn’t drive our car until left on our trip home. We were in the area between the Rosemont and Beaubien metro stations and walked and took the Metro everywhere. The biking facilities were obviously great and their heavy use confirmed that. We went from the Jean Talon Market/ Little Italy to Atwater Market, Old Town, the Village and of course Miles End and East towards the Olympic area. All very bikeable and walkable except for parts of old town and some of the waterfront. Wish we could have watched this video 3 weeks ago!
you can take the regular bus. It would be cheaper
I'm literally moving to Montréal tomorrow. Great video timing!
Bienvenue à notre ville.
This is an excellent quick overview of my favourite city in North America, a fine primer especially for people who are making their first visit. I discovered Montreal for myself decades ago and have returned again and again since. I recommend it for anyone looking for a walkable urban getaway with style, liveliness, and the sort of amenities one should find in every larger city on the continent, but are in fact lacking in most. I like that OhTheUrbanity is frank about winter which is a central and definitive fact for Montreal. I've visited in frigid February as well as sweltering July. But September through early October is when I've found the city to be at its best. People there are welcoming and helpful. Le fait que je sois déjà francophile m'aide, mais ne vous inquiétez pas. Quel que soit l'endroit où la monnaie est échangée, ils parleront probablement anglais! Amusez-vous bien! Have fun!
the amount of green space is envious; the parks are absolutely gorgeous
the park are O.K . Not gorgeous if you compare to the once in Europe or East Asia
As someone who has lived either in Montreal or on the "South" shore for the past thirty years, this is a great video for first time visitors to the city. Keep up the great videos!
As an ex-Montrealer, this was a good expose of my old city. Thanx
Wow...Montreal has really changed since I left in the early 1990s!
Cool. Don't come back!!
@@jojomojo508LMAOOO
@@jojomojo508 Don't be so rude. The economy was sh*t in the early 90s - you almost *had* to leave to find work.
@@Alex_Plante Good. Don't come back!!
@@jojomojo508 I never left.
If you live in Toronto, the bike ride to Montreal is 5 or 6 days of lakeside and riverside riding.....almost no hills, and littered with lovely little towns and beaches
Great video!
I lived in Montreal for six months (helping out with the REM project!) and never ran out of places to explore and things to do, despite getting out and about several times a week. I am excited to visit again someday. In addition to all the things noted in this video, the sheer amount of public art is really impressive.
If you are flying in with your bike, It is possible to ride your bike from the airport to downtown, but you must be careful to pick the right route to get the bike path. From the airport, ride along Roméo-Vachon, Niverville and rue Cardinal, enter the Dorval station (not Via) parking lot and then walk your bike through the tunnel to pass under two rail tracks. From train station ride across Dorval circle (very short but tricky) and towards Lakeshore and take a left on Dawson, following bike lane. From that point on, just follow the Lachine canal (East direction) all the way downtown.
Bikes are tolerated on the métro during off peak hours and when there are no special events, in the front car of the train. You can also take the commuter train from Dorval station with your bike, but it may not be so easy to lift everything in the train, if you're by yourself. An alternative may be Via rail, which is very close by and better set up for luggage. Bike theft is common, in the city so use Bixi or lock your bike up, if you must be away for a short period.
i love Montreal. i love the foods, cycling and arts cultures...but i love the friendly people above all.
Being a Montréal resident, I can always recommend riding along the Gouin Boulevard cycle path, all the way to the north east wedge of the island to see the most beautiful sunsets in a wild forested or park setting.
There are many parks, places to rest and public fountains to drink from along the way. Bring your picnic and it's a fun family activity with zero hassle. ❤
Was gonna do that soon. There is a crèmerie on the way too!
My first job was at the summer camp in Pointe-aux-Prairies so that park has a very special place in my heart! For people coming from the West, Bois-de-Liesse park is also a very nice bike ride, but it won't take you to the fen and belvedere like the Pointe-aux-Prairies ride does. Beautiful for observing the island's wildlife. 😊
i love how this was posted exactly when my train departed
This gets me hyped up for my move in July. Looking forward to seeing what the city has to offer 👌
Incredible timing. I'm currently in Montreal and just took part in the Tour de L'Île de Montréal. Thank you for the tips! I have two more days with my bike
as a montrealer, thank you so much for not mentioning the old port in the MUST go, the no1 recommendation i have for anyone is walking either up st-laurent or around mt-royal metro, great stuff!
Awesome video, I wanted to add every year Montreal had the tour de l'île bike ride where they close off the streets and thousands bike around montreal. It's super fun and non-competitive, so you go at your own pace. This year there was a 25km and 50km route. It is honestly one of the best events in Montreal period and if you happen to plan your trip in advance to attend, you won't be disappointed
I’m visiting there this summer because of your channel so cool to get a travel guide a month before absolutely love your content through the years thanks
Great video, I’m coming for a visit in October 2024…🎉
I loved 12 yeas in Montreal and your video will be my “go to” video to show my favourite city! Great work!
I'm moving here for uni this year and this channel has gotten me more into urbanism and multiplied my want to live here x10. great vid as usual
Great summary, thanks for this helpful guide!
I watched this last night after a long afternoon of Montreal vacation planning, and found this video extremely helpful!
Good overview and guide. I hadnt thought of visiting Montreal until recently, due in part to.your videos showing the urbanist development. Whenever i travel to a city if I'm just exploring the immediate area I don't use a car, just walk and take transit. For Montreal I'll have to add a bike. Thanks for making this primer.
My wife and I try to get to Montreal every summer if we can. Every year we find something new to discover and love about the city. The only reason we don't live there yet is because of the language difficulties for employment in my field. Retirement may be an option though.
It's getting more difficult to do every year, but we always try to get an air bnb and get a small "living there" experience for the week or two that we are there, rather than a hotel.
We are always astounded by the level of pedestrian streets AND their usage, consistently putting to bed the argument that they are harmful to local businesses that is used here in Halifax.
If you have ever been curious about a trip to Montreal, just do it. You won't be disappointed, ESPECIALLY during the summer (although be prepared for the costs of accommodation to skyrocket June to August). There is always some festival to take in, many of them free, and there is a globally acclaimed fireworks show many days throughout the summer every year, with entries from countries around the world, and watchable for free from the Jacques Cartier bridge.
Just an awesome time all around.
This was quite timely!! I'm planning a trip to Montreal as we speak
Great vlog
It’s easy to forget about Canadian cities when looking for places to visit over a long weekend, but this video makes me put Montreal to the top of NE cities!
Standing on the platform of parc x and this popped up. Heading to Brossard for a suburban wander on the REM with an old friend. 18 years here and still my favourite place to spend time - all of it, even the weird bike paths on stroads in the exurbs.
Cool, thanks for sharing the city like this! :D
Not sure what this says about myself, but I am very excited to ride the bridges. 😅
Excellent video!
When visiting during the summer, you can also look up which festival is active in the city. There is 55 festivals between May and September and most of them have free shows associated with them. The big ones are Montréal Complèment Cirque for free circus shows, Festival International de Jazz de Montréal for Jazz, Francos for free french music, Nuits d'Afrique for free Africain music and Fierté Montreal for free drag show. All of these shows have big names of the industry that you can see live for free. Usually, we also have Just for Laugh for free comedy shows, but this year is cancelled.
just visited for my third time earlier this summer, and i'll definitely be back soon! i've spent most of my time in a pretty narrow strip just east of the mountain along st. laurent, so i want to get out of that bubble on future trips. i really wish i kept with my french language classes after secondary school since it's a little embarrassing not knowing how to do much more than simple present tense communication.
Pretty good rundown.
Thanks for the first video of Montréal that's not the same old same old ... I visit the city often and I've picked up a couple of to do's. Merci!
i love this channel.
Important to note that in terms of getting to Montreal by train from the US on Amtrak that once you hit warmer weather they do sometimes close the train route due to track issues and Amtrak not wanting to pay more than one driver so they can go the speed that would be safe (the Americans and Canadians do disagree on whose fault this is)
It would be better to have the custom at the train station. But it may cost more money
Fabulous city!!
I visited Montreal several times when I was living in Ottawa in the early 1970's (saw a couple Expos games), and it is clearly changed a lot. Good to see. I'd like to see a video that describes the activism that led to so much urbanist investment there.
Sadly, I haven't been to Montréal since I was in university in Upstate NY in late 90's. My friends and I would go every other weekend, and got to see many parts of the city and met some really nice people. I always said it was my favorite city in the East of the continent, and I would've loved to move there after university. However, I was very self-conscious of the very little French I spoke, so I didn't make it happen. I know I could've taken immersive lessons, but life happens and I ended up going back to the NYC metro area, and then I lived for a few years in California. I live in Chicago now, but I should visit Montréal again now that I'm more adult. It was a great city back then, and it looks like it has gotten better since.
Thanks for releasing this video shortly before I head off to said Formula 1 race! I've now added some potential spots to visit. Shame it's looking like rain all weekend 😕
Might book a trip now!
Great visitor info. I would always start with the downtown and the Old Port. The Plateau neighbourhood is overrate. It was trendy in the past but I think that has been in decline post pandemic.
We usually visit a lot of museums when we vacation in a city. We did very well two years ago with a Montreal Museum pass. The highlight was the Museum of Archeology in old Montreal. The Biodome, Insectarium, and Botanical Gardens were very good too, as well as Chateau Dufresne. The only disappointment was the Biosphere.
A love letter to Canada's best city, would love to be back again soon.
Montreal is very famous for its Pride festival which takes place in August, not June. It has a lovely Village centered around Beaudry Metro Station where you can enjoy a patio or dance the night away.
“Lovely”, not so lovely after 9pm as it’s one of the most dangerous areas of the city, controlled by the mafia and its also where biker gangs settle scores
And even during the non pride months, the bars in the quarter are all so friendly and welcoming that it's a fantastic place all the time. Shout out to Le Normandie for awesome karaoke as well
I used to live on Wellington in Verdun near Woodland, using a compass Wellington is truly north-south, I told people that I live culturally west/geographically south of down town.
Great video. One correction: Place de Castelnau is not in La Petite-Patrie but in Villeray, something all Villerois and Villereins are quite proud of.
Hochelaga-Maisonneuve south of the Olympic stadium is a good neighbourhood to explore - architecturally similar to the Plateau but much quieter.
Faut pas le dire , ça doit rester un secret bien caché.
That hotel with the blue vertical sign is the best for price and location.
I'd argue the area around Berri-UQAM, Quartier Latin, and Old Montreal are better in the afternoon and/or during the night. Depends on your perspective, but I made the mistake of walking in Old Montreal in the wee Friday morning hours, when it was kinda dead and the restaurants were closed. Contrast that to eating out at during a Friday or Saturday night on Saint Denis; very lively.
Yes, you can load different fare zones on the same OPUS card! I have tickets for zone A and for zones A and B on my card.
Ils parlaient des cartes occasionnelles, celles faites en carton
I spotted Tour La Nuit. Did you guys take part in it this year?
Just got a few shots at Tour la Nuit. We did actually participate in Tour de l'Île today though.
Thank you OTU! for keeping up the great work!
If you're driving into Montreal and can't park at the hotel (or it's super expensive): Parc Olympique has a parking pass for 8 days at $45. You can't take it out again until you're done, but it's close to the metro so you can park it and forget it until you're done.
You should have noted the 747 ticket is good for the full transit system for 24-hours from the time of issue, so actually a good deal for C$11/U$8/€7.
This makes me wish I had chosen McGill instead of spending my college days in San Diego!
I’ve only ever been to Toronto and Vancouver but I really want to visit Montreal. The only thing that I’m not too sure about is if I’d need to learn some basic French or if I’d be ok just speaking English
Bonjour ! As a tourist, you can get by in English, especially in the tourist areas (downtown, Old Montréal...). If you can manage "bonjour" and "merci" for politeness, you should be fine. 🙂
just think of the rest of the world who travel to a country where people do not speak their language. Some basic french words and I can please speak in English.
Shoutout to RuPaul on the sainthood!
How do you feel about Quebec City from an urbanist perspective? I'm planning a visit to Canada from Philadelphia :)
It has many neighbourhoods like the ones we like in Montreal: Limoilou, Saint-Roch, Saint-Saveur, etc.
Montreal is really about it's people and identity
Okay, I just have to ask: what's up with the pronunciations?
I wouldn't even mention, but for the comment about Lionel-Groulx, you brought it up. :)
Specifically, I'm puzzled by the mixed English/French pronunciation of places with Saint in the name. The Saint is being pronounced as an English word, but the place itself as French (e.g. "Denis").
Is that really the local convention? (I saw your comment elsewhere about "no matter what you do, someone will complain", and I guess that's probably true, but the mixed ones still seem weird).
When you live here as an anglophone you just get used to a lot of French pronunciations, and when you hear them more than English pronunciations you naturally incorporate them into your own speech and end up with a mix.
Do most restaurants have vegan options?
The only city in Canada with a real identity
While YYZ and YVR constantly stand in for other places in media
Nuns' Island is also part of Verdun!
It's part of the borough but the actual neighbourhoods are different.
no time stamps?
Make a vid on African urbanism like Morocco & South Africa
Unfortunately we’ve never been!
that's best . ;)
Lol, I didn’t know about the food/drinking rule! That would be hilarious to see someone getting arrested for drinking in public without food. There’d be a whole lineup of public drinkers all sharing one bag of chips and one guy who didn’t eat any and they’d come take him away cuz y’know, the law! 😂
Haha, I've never seen it enforced. I think you might get in trouble with the police only if you were obviously drunk and were disturbing the peace.
Bonjour, Travellers. Welcome to Montreal
V nice tk u
11 dollars from the airport seems insane to me. Going to Boston, transferring to the subway is literally free
montreal is so cool, i wish it was real
kinda want to brave the icy sidewalks in the dead of February just for the fun of it
Mobility matters. Bicycles matter. Electric busses matter. Electric trains matter.
Safe protected bike and bus lanes are necessary for efficient transport.
Children should be able to ride bicycles or take a bus to school safely.
Cities need to provide multiple options for transportation. Less cars, more buses, more bicycles.
There is a climate crisis. We need to make walking, cycling, using escooters and taking a bus easier and the default option for most people.
0:11 Wow, that Promenade Jean-Brillant looks nice 😮 I haven't been to the neighbourhood since the street was pedestrianized. I was actually hit by a car at that exact spot several years ago, shortly after moving to Montreal, by a driver reversing the wrong way down a one-way.
Yes, pretty urbanism is a defining feature of Montreal. But so is the absolute worst driving you've ever seen in the developed world 😅
I wish I lived in Montreal... unfortunately, I don't know how to speak Canadian.
are you writing in American?
@@act_sion No such thing. Everybody knows the British language was written by the English.
@@chiefenumclaw7960 So why Canadian ?
Planning to move to an inner city downtown mixed use complex with a high rise in Las Vegas with BRT and planned Loop station.
If we did not have the long winter. Montreal would be paradis
À 5:50 « Voies barrées » plutôt, non ? Voire même « voie barrée », car il s’agit en l’occurrence d’une voie à deux sens de circulation. Peut-être qu’ils ont fait un mélange dans le doute. Étrange de constater une telle faute sur de la signalétique municipale. Pas étonnant que le français s’y meurt…
11:25 - The Plateau's essence and aesthetics are largely due to the strong Portuguese community's influence in the west of the borough (along Saint-Laurent between Roy and Villeneuve) during the first wave of immigration that arrived in the late 50s up until the 70s, opened shops and businesses. The painted houses and duplexes comes from Portugal, as well as the chicken 😎 🇵🇹 so its no coincidence that Montreal has a chicken passion ! for anyone interested, Romados on Rachel and Rotisserie Coco Rico on Saint-Laurent, have hands down, in my opinion, the best chicken in town !
La majorité des bâtiments datent de la fin du 19 eme siècles et début vingtième. Bien avant la venue des Portugais.
@@act_sion je ne dit pas qu’ils ont construit, j’explique leur influence sur le caractère et la mise en valeur de leurs propriétés, logements et commerces depuis leurs arrivées dans le quartier, notamment en peinturant les murs de couleurs vives plutôt que la brique.
@@terceira.jornada La mise en valeur. Sachez que peintre la brique est la pire chose à faire . La brique ne respire plus ce qui fait que la brique se détériore encore plus vite . Pour la préservation , je suis pas sûre que de retirer les détails architecturaux , des corniches , des balustrades ouvragées par soucis d'économie et pratique étaient une bonne chose .
@@christofat2704 encore une fois, je ne suis pas professionnel en architecture, je ne fais que relater les faits quant aux dynamiques culturels, urbanistique et socio-économique immigrante portugaise à montréal, que ceux-ci soit de bonne décision ou non !
Was this a belated response video to NJB's 50 minutes Montreal video where only 16 minutes were about the positives?
We know some people visiting the city this summer. This video is for them!
montreal has a chance to break free from being a car infested city, *IF* push this hard and far enough. being the best in north america is not a impressive result. north america sucks at building a livable cities
You forgot to mention about the Orange construction cones everywhere, road closures ,traffic jams, confusing road signs, bridges and overpasses falling down .😢
Well, these impact cars mostly, walkers and bikers are mostly immune to these problems (unless overpasses or bridges actually fall on them, which has never happened to the best of my knowledge).
Great guide! Just one note I'll be "that guy" for: by saying "Montréal is a french city in north America, pretty cool uh!" is kinda like saying "There's a city south of the US called Cancun where people speak Spanish!" Technically true but also would make mexicans roll their eyes. So if you want to surprise people who don't know about french in north america, you should mention the whole picture IMO otherwise you're perpetuating ignorance about the surrounding region - Montréal is the economic center, and ironically the most english speaking city of the province of Québec, which is a french speaking nation (always has been by UN definition and also finally recognized by Canada in 2006), so it's a lot more than just a city that's speaking french!
Le Français est la seule langue officielle de Montréal . Il est où l'ignorance???
it is also the most multilingual city of Quebec. Guess what french and English are not the only languages spoken in Montreal.
Except Quebec is a French-speaking province in an otherwise English-speaking country.
@@ehjo4904 Techniquement le français est la langue officielle de la province du Québec. Comme Montréal fait partie de la province du Québec . Toutefois les provinces incluant le Québec font partis de la confédération Canadienne. Le Canada est un pays bilingue anglais et/ou français.
Si demain matin Montréal décide de quitter le Québec pour former sa propre province il sera libre de choisir sa ou ses langues officiels comme toutes les province du Canada Toutefois le Québec perdrais sa locomotive économique et la moitiè de sa population. Un Québec appauvri de Montréal aura plus de facilité à acquérir son indépendance du Canada. La ville de Québec deviendrait à la fois la capitale et la métropole d' un Québec indépendant.
Sauf que la seule langue officielle de Montréal est également le français. Ce n'est donc pas que le Québec puisque l'administration de Montréal est aussi d'accord! Et le bilinguisme n'est pas une question de liberté comme vous semblez le suggérer, mais une question politique. Si on veut que le Canada reste bilingue, c'est une bonne chose d'affirmer le caractère français de Montréal. Et si vous prétendez le contraire, ce n'est pas parce que vous êtes pour le bilinguisme, mais parce que vous êtes pour l'anglais.
Un salam à mes ienclis et avocats
I am sorry but that's a hill, it's 230m tall that's nothing.
Yeah well blame that on Jacques Cartier. If you want to be technical then the city would be called Collinereal and that would suck.😛
No one actually calls it a mountain...
Locals call it by its name, which is Mont Royal (Mount Royal in english)
This is the name given to it since centuries.
@@m.e.3862 Mont does mean Mountain or hill in french . Montmartre in Paris is also a hill
@@ehjo4904 same as " Mont Ste Geneviève' in Paris .
@@PatG-xd8qnI’m not an expert on how tall a hill/mountain has to be in order to officially be considered a mountain. The Mt. Royal might technically be a hill, however people in Montreal absolutely do call it “the mountain”. For example, there’s a non-profit organization called “Les amis de la montagne” that advocates for the preservation of Mt. Royal, and in 2017 the City of Montreal created a walking itinerary called the “Promenade Fleuve-Montagne” which goes from the Saint Lawrence River to the top of Mt. Royal.
you know... there isn't an obligation to pronounce everything in montreal with a french accent. "phillips square" is an anglophone place name. you dont need to say "sQwaar Veectohreeuh" either
also the area where you can get portuguese chicken in the plateau used to be called little portugal. there are 70k portuguese in quebec and this is after their community was hollowed out and many moved to ontario due to language politics
This is a common trait among francophile transplants to Montreal. I count myself among them, but nonetheless revel in old-timey English place names, going so far as to refer to Park Ave, Pine Ave and Mountain St without a bit of shame. In the same way I would never conform to the anglicizing of traditional French place names in my hometown of Winnipeg.
People will complain regardless of which pronunciation we choose, I promise you.
@@OhTheUrbanity Rule number one of language politics: everyone is upset all the time 🙃 But now that I've watched the whole thing, you had an interesting mix of pronunciations, with "Roy" and "Rachel" in English, "Squareuh Philippe" in French, with a cheeky "Nun's Island" thrown in for good measure - kept me on my toes the whole time 😅
@@YoungThos Mountain Street is a fun one. It got officially renamed by a separatist government to 'rue de la Montagne' BUT it was actually named after a person whose last name was Mountain. (for McGillians, it's the same Anglican bishop benefactor after whom Bishop Mountain Hall is named.) The joke at the time was that next were going to rename "Doctor Penfield" to "Docteur Champs-Stylo". If you are a REAL old-time anglo Montrealer, you will still refer to 'rue St-Jacques' by its original name, "Saint James street".
You could have also mentioned about the crime, just to be carefully not to leave anything visible or of value in your car when visiting Montreal. Sadly I have seen it happen far too many times where people get robbed with their car windows smashed and property taken.
Outside of bike theft, I have not experienced crime to be a particular concern in Montreal, and the statistics that I've seen indicate that Montreal has quite low crime, particularly compared to cities in the US. I don't mean to downplay any problems you've had, but this is why we described it the way we did.
It’s not limited to my experience, this is a Montreal fact; if you leave anything visible in the car it will get stolen and just wanted people to be aware. Tourists are often the ones targeted so figured I would share here. I’m not sure where that kind of petty crime falls under the crime stats you referenced, but it’s prevalent and sure can put a damper on a nice trip to Montreal. As someone who has lived here for nearly 50 years, I know better but I do hear of it so often. Thanks for the great work you do on the channel, I’m a big fan.
The same way you see bike theft is rampant, so is the breaking and entering of vehicles for petty theft.
@@adamzguynah. Not at all. Bike theft is rampant for sure but the city is super safe.
@@mammouth2727 sorry if my comment was misconstrued. Crime is low, the city is safe. But cars left with valuables, are not. Out of town plates with visible bags…the likelihood of smash and grab is very high.