27 replies to this topic

[dick]

I was hoping that Andy or some other native might be able to help us. We've been going to the GP since '97 and have pretty much stuck with the Crescent St...Peel St...St. Denis areas for resturaunts. Also the Old Port. Any other resturaunt suggestions? Maybe a little off the beaten track. For one thing the 2 hour waits for a table get a little old, plus we want to do something different. We were also thinking about renting bicycles to go to Mont Royal. Is this possible?

[Bogman]

There is a bike rental place in the Old Port (right on the waterfront) ...that's the only one that I know of.

For restaurants...there is a great selection of places on St. Laurent between Sherbrooke and Pins. Very trendy area but it will be very busy also. Other restaurant streets include St. Denis between St. Catherine and Sherbrooke...as well as north of Sherbrooke. That'll be busy too. Perhaps not so busy will be Laurier between St. Laurent and Parc...there are some great restos along there...but I can't think of names right now.

I'm sure Andy will post some more later about restaurants

[Andy]

Originally posted by Bogman
I'm sure Andy will post some more later about restaurants

I'm presuming you'd like something other than my usual haunts of McDonald's, Lafleur's, La Belle Province... Did somebody say 'Poutine'??!!
I would defintately recommend Prince Arthur St., although it can be busy any time but it's a pedestrian mall street lined with great restaurants, many are the "bring your own wine" style which is great. Other than that I'd have to put this question back into Bogman's court as it's been quite a while since I did much dining out downtown (being the suburbanite I am!) and he lives there so is more current on this than I. We'll all be meeting at the Hard Rock Cafe so you could plan 1 meal there!

[jhodges]

I know you're not interested in Crescent St., but I had an amazing meal at Les Halles last year. It;s worth a try.

[dick]

Thanks guys. Now I have orders from my girlfriend. She wants to do something non-race related. I've been dragging her along for the last 6 years and she's not as big an F1 fan as me, so I guess I owe her. Went to an Expos game last year and she enjoyed that, but we arrive Thursday and I think they are out of town then. Hope it's warm enough to rent bikes.

[Andy]

Dick - Here ya go, just found this site and it's looks pretty good...

http://www.homepager...treal/dine.html

or

http://www.menumontreal.com/

Good luck!

[maxpapis]

Originally posted by jhodges
I know you're not interested in Crescent St., but I had an amazing meal at Les Halles last year. It;s worth a try.

See you there John

[dick]

Thanks again guys. Andy, those links will help alot. I got to keep my honey happy or she won't come with me again. She also wants it to be warm and sunny. Rather demanding don't you think. Is it getting any warmer up there? We reached all of 60 degree F in Chicago this afternoon. Actually feels warm.

[Andy]

Hey, keeping your honey warm is YOUR dept. but I'm sure there are many here who would volunteer! Actually it is supposed to start warming up this week so with any luck we'll be all set for GP weekend.

[dick]

Another question. I just noticed on one of the websites Andy suggested that Cirque du Soleil is in town. We went GP weekend a couple years ago and it was great. Unfortunately all dates are sold out. I know here at Wrigley Field many games are listed as sold out, but you can get walk-up tickets on the day of the game. Any chance they do the same type of thing for Cirque du Soleil?

[F1Rulz]

Nice thought Dick. I was looking into the same thing the other day (price is much better in Canada ;) ) I found a single but that doesn't help when there are 2. I went to see them a couple of years ago (though it was a traveling show) and don't recall seeing a Box Office on the premises. I guess you could always take a stroll down to the Pier (I think that's where it's at) and stand in line a hour or 2 before show time. Maybe we'll give it a try Tuesday or WEdnesday night as we arrive Monday afternoon.

[F1Rulz]

I've got a question. Where could we go Karting. I've never been and would like to try it since we'll have a fair amount of time. Note, no car (maybe I can convince Andy to go ;) ). What other things should we consider doing since we will be there a few days before. A friend mentioned we should rent a car and go to Quebec City.

Thanks

[dick]

F1,
I can highly recommend Quebec City. We went there for a few days after the race last year. Very beautiful. I've been to Paris and this has got to be as close to it in North America. Brush up on your French however. They are not as bi-lingual as Montreal. We took the train up.

[F1Rulz]

Thanks for the info. We've been brushing up but what's enough Times getting short I know how to say "I don't understand" "I speak french a little", "I would like something to eat", etc... Haven't gotten to probably what is important like... "What #$%#, blah, blah #$#, you *@#!..." though the finger is universal everywhere

[MarkWill]

Hi,

I live in Montreal as well, so here are a few suggestions for places to eat (note, some can be expensive but they are tried and trusted)

Try Laurier Street for a few nice shops,some good restaurants (Spaghettata is a good italian, Chez L'Évesque is really good french food in a bistro atmosphere). Nearby there's Outremont, which has a nice park, some old houses, and quite a visible Hassidic Jewish community. Bagels and Lox on Fairview are pretty good. Try Rachel street as well - there's a good spanish resto called Casa Tapas, and a german resto called Checkpoint Charlie (not too expensive either of them). Preferred Greek resto is on St. Denis, and its called Ouzeri, otherwise go to the BYOB places on Dulith - the best one ebing Jardin de Panos, which always has a packed terrace out back (get ther early, or go for lunch). If you like Thai food, there's a great value (but looks quite dingy) one on Ste. Catherine Street called Souveniers of Bankok - another BYOB place thats popular with students (its quite near Guy street).

Just beyond the Old Port there's China town - food is cheap and good. Just after the race there's the International Firework dispaly in the harbour - some people take a boat ride and watch it from the river. There's La Ronde Attraction Park, which has a few mental rides - this year's roller-coaster pulling something like 2.5 g's inverted (which is fun for some, I suppose).


You could also drive, or cycle around the south side of the island, but make sure you head West, not East. At the end of the Western part of the island of Montreal os a quaint village called Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue. The best fish and chips on the island are there - at Peter's Cape Cod (it doesn't look like much, but I eat there quite often).


A nice place to visit outside Montreal is called the Eastern Townships - a region in which you find all sorts of little villages with a mainly anglo character. The main places to visit there are North Hatley, Knowlton, and Magog, all of which offer scenery, a nice lake, and some nice places to eat or while away the time. There's also an interesting museum there.

If you can stand two hours in the car, go to Ottawa, which has the Canadian Parliament (some say that this is where most of the Cirque du Soleil clowns are recruited, but I happen to know this is not true), and some decent museums. There's also a casino nearby (make sure you finish the night on the Quebec side of the river, beause Ontario closes down really early). Oh yes, you should try Montreal Casino, and the shows there are actually quite entertaining, if you can get in.

If you can get Cirque du Soleil tickets, you really have to go - its amaziong. Sometimes I see tickets offered in the papers - no idea what the price is though.

In terms of downtown food, you may also want to try L'Éntrecote St. Jean, which is a french steak and fries place (i.e. with a butter/mustard sauce) on upper Peel Street, or there's Benns smoked meat nearby.

Thats it from me. Hope its helped

[jhodges]

Originally posted by maxpapis

See you there John

Can't wait!

[dick]

Thanks Mark, more "food for thought". I really hope we can find Cirque du Soleil tickets. I think I've seen 3 different shows and they were all great.

[Bogman]

If you can't get Cirque du Soleil tickets, then try to get tickets for the Ecole Nationale du Cirque end of year show. This is the National Circus School, and is a feeder for Cirque du Soleil. Their school (and the site for the shows) is on Berri about 500 m from the Cirque du Soleil tent. I go to the Ecole show every year, it is fantsatic, and much cheaper!

try www.admission.ca for tickets.

[Andy]

Originally posted by F1Rulz
I've got a question. Where could we go Karting. I've never been and would like to try it since we'll have a fair amount of time. Note, no car (maybe I can convince Andy to go ;) ).

Bribery often works...!!;)

What other things should we consider doing since we will be there a few days before. A friend mentioned we should rent a car and go to Quebec City.

Thanks

Quebec City is beautiful and you can get there by car, bus or train. (By car is about a 3hr drive) Once there you won't have much use for the car so the bus & train are a good option. (For train check out www.via.ca) As for the "French" thing, yes Quebec City is 90% French speaking population however they are very well geared towards the tourist industry and speaking English is rarely a problem. A few years back I went there with a GF and spent 3 days, I wanted to try something so I spoke no French what-so-ever to see if I would have a hard time. Granted they thought I was American but not once did we encounter any language related problems. Quebec is the only remaining Walled city in North America and, although that's not a novelty to Europeans, it is to us North Americans and the history there will just amaze you!

[dick]

Andy,
While I agree for the most part about the non-French speaking thing in Quebec City we did have one major problem. My girlfriend got food poisoning and we ended up in the emergency room of a local hospital. I was very surprised that almost no one there spoke English. We had one hell of a time trying to communicate. I do agree that most places tourists would go would be no problem. I think the bad food was on the train, so no worries about the resturaunts.

[Andy]

O.K. folks, here ya go, Canadian GP Info is in this thread: http://www.atlasf1.c...&threadid=42494

[MarkWill]

Bogman's idea for the Ecole du Cirque is a good one - a friend of ours invited us there once and it was entertaining. One thing I DONT recommend is the "Musee Festival du Rire" which is a good idea (the history of comedy) which has been badly developed. The Musee des Beaux Arts is nice to visit as well.

If I remember, I'll post the local weather conditions on this thread starting at the beginning of the race week (or rather, my impressions of the weather).

[F1Rulz]

OK, we booked some train tickets for a trip up to Quebec (in at 10 out at 5:30). Any tips on how to get around? Maybe a tour we could take for say 2 - 3 hrs. and see most of the really cool stuff.

Thanks.

[dick]

I'm no expert, F1, but I really don't think you need a tour group. You'll do alot of fast walking, but most of the sights are fairly concentrated in a relatively small area. Just head toward Chateau Frontenac(sp?). Bring a camera, the area around the Chateau is just beautiful. Get ready for a long steep climb up to the old fort area. I should warn you that I'm no fan of tour groups so someone else may have a different opinion.

[Andy]

F1Rulz - If you are only there for a limited time, I would definately recommend a tour to get a full appreciation for the city, it's history and importance within North America. Your best bet is to head to the Chateau Frontenac which has a big square in front of it. From there you will be able to hook up for a tour as that is the central place for tourist info, etc. I recommend you take the tour of the old city by horse-drawn calêche (sp?). The drivers are your guide and it's a nice, "personal" way to take a tour. Last time I did it I think it was about $60 for a 1 hour tour but well worth the money. Your other half will find it nice and romantic as you tour around the cobble-stone streets in a horse-drawn carriage.;) The tours are offered in both French or English so no need to worry there. Have fun!

See: www.bonjourquebec.com (When you get to this site, look at the picture in the top right corner of the front page, that's chateau frontenac, you can't miss it!)

[F1Rulz]

Thanks for the info Andy. Do you know how far from the train station the Chateau is? I did a bit of search and did come up w/ the site you recommend. I also found this tour operator http://www.quebeccitytours.com/ though the only tour we can possibly make is #1. #3 could be possible but the train gets there at 10am plus the return at 5 and having to be on the train at 5:30 departure would be pushing it. Actually I just hit another site I was looking at and found this http://www.quebecreg...ure/e/tours.asp

Thanks again.

[Andy]

Sorry F1, no idea where the train station is : As for the calleche tours, the last time I did it you just walked up to the row of waiting calleches and hopped on to the next one, kinda like getting a taxi at the airport!

[dick]

F1,
If I remember correctly the train station is in lower town and the Chateau is in upper town. The town isn't that big so I would think you could taxi it in well less than 30 minutes.