Going to Montréal

[Fookums]

So I'm going to be going to Montreal for a few days with friends next week, and I'm wondering what are good places to go eat, shop, etc.

[Kasper]

what are you looking for?

you might want to try a search also

[hiddi]

st catherines st of course

[nairb49]

^^er yeah, probably want to stay away from that...unless...

give us some specifics, what are you into, etc etc, and we can help you out better

[xiao pangzi]

make sure you eat some poutine - french fries covered in gravy and cheese curds (not your ordinary gravy fries). it's a quebecois staple so they sell them everywhere, but my favorite is the one they sell at st. hubert and kfc, both of which can be found everywhere in montreal.

[yo!]

i think chromeo are doing a dj set at wunderbar this friday, should be nifty.

[evisu 2000]

the greatest bars are on crescent street. (10)

[Kasper]

the greatest bars are on crescent street. (10)

that is not cool dude

real advice : crescent street sucks

st-laurent is much better

[nairb49]

kasper knows whats up

the best bars are over around mont-royal/st. denis area, or up in mile end ish

[evisu 2000]

oh i was just kidding! nobody uses the sarcasm meter anymore?

[Kasper]

oh i was just kidding! nobody uses the sarcasm meter anymore?

i know you are kidding, that's why i said it's not cool. imagine coming to montreal and going clubbing on crescent cause somebody said it was a nice place, but was kidding and you didn't know. i'd be pretty pissed

[evisu 2000]

they would've atleast gotten laid easily

[Fuuma]

There's this even during the weekend, might not be your bag though....

http://www.comanoise.net/

As for getting laid, if you can't do it in Montréal the problem lies with you, I'm pretty positive toothless midgets can bring home ultimate cuties in this marvelous city.

[evisu 2000]

34567890

[nairb49]

well i guess yesterday night had me pegged as a toothless midget but with a limp to boot.

hehehe mass, my sarcasm meter isn't functional with text.....

[Fuuma]

hahaha sorry guys, I just meant that as a general rule, there are a lot of beautiful girls in Montréal and casual sex is usually not frowned upon...

BTW did anyone go to Coma4? The music was pretty interesting (very aggressive techno-industrial) but the crowd looked like they had just robbed a Hot Topic warehouse and decided that the best way to carry the loot was to wear it all at the same time.

[nairb49]

hahhahah

away for the long weekend, didn't get a chance to. did you have a good time at least?

[ddohnggo]

nairb49 and fuuma, where should my girlfriend and i stay in montreal, st. catherine's area? what hotel is the most bang for your buck (clean, modern, close to shit). any other suggestions for things to see? we'll be there at the end of the month.

[nairb49]

oh yeah? definitely give us a shout, we were planning a little get together with 2000db etc. as well

In terms of hotels, there are kind of "areas" for hotels. The west ones (crescent street, rue de la montagne) are usually kind of an older clientele, more upper classish.

There are some in the old port that are quite nice, but a little pricey and not all that close to stuff other than the old port. Hotel Gault and Hotel Le Germain come to mind. The original boutique hotels.

Sherbrooke st (a couple blocks north of st. catherine's) between st. laurent and crescent is probably your best bet, as it has the most options and they're all pretty centrally located.

A really nice boutique hotel at sherbrooke/st. laurent is Hotel Godin. Quite new, modern, and a good central location to most of the sights and sounds.

www.hotelgodin.com

There is also a Sofitel on sherbrooke, a little bigger organization, or Chateau Versailles, a smaller, older style but very nice (so I'm told) hotel.

For more standard choices, there is also a Four Points, Delta, Holiday Inn and Ritz Carlton on Sherbrooke between those streets.

If you have any specific requests as to what you plan on seeing, in terms of location, let me know and I can narrow it down. But general overview, my recommendation would be Hotel Godin.

[Fuuma]

Depending on your budget I'd go for the small hotels on Sherbrooke, East of St-Denis. There's a couple of very small ones, walking distance from a lot of fun stuff like restaurents, bars and shopping, and I do think the prices are lower than what Nairb is suggesting (he's got the typical anglo bias of not knowing there's life on the East side of St-Laurent, just kidding Brian ). BTW How long are you planning to stay?

BTW if you tell me exactly when you'll be there and what interests you I'll suggest some activities. It would of course be fun to meet, although I'm booked next weekend and probably the one after (not 100% sure).

[nairb49]

HAAAAAAAHAHAHAHH

Fuuma is totally right, I don't know of any hotels on the east side. BUT, I do know there's plenty to do there and am often partying on that side

[Platypus]

ddohnggo, hope you enjoy Montreal. I can't help you with clubs and such, but if you need some restaurant recs, I can probably be of some help in that regard. Let me know.

[yo!]

dunno if its too late, but if you ask godin for special rates they'll hook you up. you have to be firm on your dates but they can usually go for as low as 160ish a night. Right now they're bleeding cash because of a lack ability to get a liquer licence at their swank ass bar. (you can still get alcohol room service, no worries)..

[ddohnggo]

Great info. I think my gf is pushing towards the Godin, so we may stay there. I'll look into those smaller hotels in the areas you suggested, Fuuma. We'll be there April 27 - 29.

As far as what we want to do, we want to go see some sights in old Montreal, new Montreal (?), find some good eats (cheap and semi expensive), stop by some shops, etc... Are there things that are musts that we should do?

If people have time, we should definitely meet up and grab a drink!

Depending on your budget I'd go for the small hotels on Sherbrooke, East of St-Denis. There's a couple of very small ones, walking distance from a lot of fun stuff like restaurents, bars and shopping, and I do think the prices are lower than what Nairb is suggesting (he's got the typical anglo bias of not knowing there's life on the East side of St-Laurent, just kidding Brian ). BTW How long are you planning to stay?

BTW if you tell me exactly when you'll be there and what interests you I'll suggest some activities. It would of course be fun to meet, although I'm booked next weekend and probably the one after (not 100% sure).

[garcon core]

If you haven't booked your hotel yet, I'd definitely recommend hotel anne ma soeur anne. Very cool little hotel on St. Denis in the Plateau. Close to Quartier Latin & St. Laurent.

http://www.annemasoeuranne.com/

I don't know what their prices are these days, but it was like $90 CAD when I stayed there 3 years ago.

[ddohnggo]

great suggestions! does anyone know of any good record stores in montreal? ones that specifically cater to experimental music?

[2000dB]

To the best of my knowledge there isn't any that caters to experimental only, but you'll find a few record stores (of varying quality) walking down St-Laurent. Then there's always the big Archambault and HMV, but I doubt those are what you're after.

[Fuuma]

great suggestions! does anyone know of any good record stores in montreal? ones that specifically cater to experimental music?

Atom Heart http://www.atomheart.ca/ is a pretty good one for indie/electronic acts. You might find something to your liking there. Loads of tickets to shows too.

[soyfunk]

if you're on St-Laurent street just ask where Roy street is and there's going to be a place called Kopshop

it's a gallery/venue spot by local graffity crew

http://www.lekopshop.com/

their site isnt quit up and running yet

on your way there, up st-laurent to roy, past and within the vicinity you'll find shops and things that might be of interest

once at the shop there's going to be flyers and whatnot

you gotta walk in this city and talk with locals

i dont know what kind of bars/cubs you're into but Crecent/St-Catherine street is really wack IMO but most people out of town seem to like it

good luck

[ddohnggo]

are french manners/customs the same in montreal? i.e. saying bonjour to people all the time, or making an effort to try and speak french?