Everything in downtown Montreal is easy to get to, by foot or by metro. We walked to Chinatown for breakfast.
Chinatown is quite small. This street is lined with bakeries and souvenir shops.
We went to a HK-style cafe called Patisserie La Legende. I loved that everyone here spoke Cantonese.
Food was nothing to rave about, but it was cheap and actually not… horrible. After that, I got egg tarts to go from the bakery across the street. Also pretty okay…
A few blocks down was Quartier des Spectacles, an entertainment district designed as a centre for Montreal’s cultural events and festivals. There was an art installation (limited time, now over) of musical swings titled 21 Balançoires.
There were lots of swings that lined this entire area and made different tones when you swing on them.
After that, we took the metro to St-Viateur Bagel & Cafe.
They have several locations but I picked this because it’s a sit-down cafe.
I still have no clue what the difference is between Montreal and NY bagels. They tasted the same to me. I know, blasphemy. Don’t kill me. I’m not a bagel connoisseur.
We walked along the avenue and saw some street art, which I love to find in every city that I visit.
Banana in front of the Mont Royal station.
Walk down Rue St Denis and you’ll find lots of red. It’s a hip street lined with restaurants and stores (I HAD to stop by Lululemon).
“What is wonderful is that by slowing down we finally manage to best enjoy the scenery and to be interested in something other than ourselves.” – Dany Laferrière
Old Port
From Old Port, you can see Habitat 67. I originally planned on going there to take pictures of this marvelous community of architectural gem up close, but it didn’t work out. This is probably one of my favorite structures in the world.
Of course, Joe Beef. One of the top rated restaurants in Montreal. I made my reservation 3 months in advance.
For this:
Duck for 2 ($90). It came with foie gras (Did I not tell you we ate duck and foie gras every night?)
It’s such a tiny restaurant, dark and homey. I loved our waitress, who talked us through the menu since it was written on the chalkboard behind us and we were turning our necks like owls just to read it. You can get up to look at it, which I found really awkward as people were sitting in front of it similar to tourists in NYC who would look over my head to check the subway map. Just take a picture of the menu with your phone and go sit at your table.
Side of grilled cabbage… it was actually pretty amazing. I don’t even like vegetables.
For dessert I picked a concord grape ice cream… we made friends with the table next to us and they offered to let me taste their cake too. Yes, I accepted their offer.
