I plan on visiting for the Quakes game in August and staying for about three days. Never been to Montreal. Was thinking of staying in Old Montreal section of town. Is that the right call? Where should I stay in Old Montreal? http://www.vieux.montreal.qc.ca/heberg/eng/fen_heba.htm Or is there another part of town you would recommend as better for the first-time tourist? Many thanks.
hey.. i dont know your sistuation, but the old port is very very expensive to stay. If you have the funds then yes, that is your best bet, nice scenery, restos, big tourist spot. you can get downtown from the old port in 5 mins. But as a montrealer i wouldn't be able to reccomend too many hotels since i dont stay in many. I have stayed at the Westin and it is a great hotel. Hope you enjoy your stay! **Also if you're into clubs, there isn't too many in the old port. bars yes, clubs you have to go to St. Larence street.
Thanks. Appreciate the input. Don't need anything lavish, but I am willing to pay a premium to be close to lots of things within walking distance. Don't plan to rent a car; will use subway. If you're ever in San Jose to see the Impact, your game tickets are on me.
I would recommend any hotel along or near St Denis street. It's extremely busy, full of tourists and things to do, lots of nightlife and it sits on a metro line for easy access to the rest of the city. It is also has a very diverse variety of hotels, plus most summer festivals occur in this area, not much at the old port usually. Its the area straight north of the old port.
Old port is definitely fine if you have money. But the best place to visit at night is around the corner of st-laurent and ste-catherine. Lots of clubs, bar, strip club, people, etc. St-Denis is also another good one. Old port is more eye savvy though, just more dead late at night. The subway cover all of these areas anyway. Also it's the PI-IX station for the olympic stadium for the game.
http://www.hotelsclick.com/indexc.php?language=en http://www.hotels.com/ Usually could get a decent price. I usually stay at Hilton Embassy across from Palais de Congres. It's pretty expensive at 160-200 a night, but if you work for govt, you get a discount to 150 a night. Good if you are bringing a wife or girlfriend. Each freaking room has a hot tub lol. And it's like two blocks away from Notre Dame cathedral and Old Montreal http://embassysuites1.hilton.com/en...ssy-Suites-by-Hilton-Montreal-Quebec/index.do
Hmmm. Perhaps things have changed since my teenage years. But isn't this the corner where all the hookers hang out? I was there at night time a year ago & not much has changed except all the arcades have closed down. Cops, bums and hookers is all I saw. Perhaps you meant Crescent and St-Catherines? As for the original poster. If you're coming with a significant other, the old port is a good choice. You can take a walk at night and admire the architecture, the cobblestone road, the old classical European ambiance. It truly is charming. If you're coming with friends, then perhaps somewhere closer to the downtown area would be preferable so you can soak up the atmosphere, the bars and the nightlife. As for Hotels, sorry, never stayed in Hotels. I could recommend a lot of quality 4 hour motels though
Just how much of a budget are you on, and what's your style? I stayed in a very chill backpacker hostel right down near the port a couple weekends ago ahead of the Impact-Chicago game. 6 bed dorms (at least that's where I stated, fully equipped kitchen (though you have to supply your own food), nice, easygoing people (not a case of drunken hoolies stumbling in at 4 am) very good free coffee on tap almost 24-7, a 10 minute walk from Ste-Catherine. $85 for three nights. There's plenty of times I'm up for staying in luxury accommodations, but I was a baller on a budget that particular weekend and so that place did the trick.
also comes with a kitchen, minus a stove (but has a big ass fridge), so if you don't want to spend a lot of money, you can eat whatever at your hotel. though montreal has a lot of awesome restaurants. do NOT go away without going to a good poutine shop, Schwartz deli for lunch, and Fairmont bagels for some awesome Montreal bagel goodness
Greetings, I'm gonna piggyback on this thread. I'm a Sounders fan who will be in Montreal late April and early May for work at the Palais De Congres. Got my room at embassy suites for a ridiculous $120 per night. In any case I intend to go root for Impact (Sounders east with Wahl, Neagle, Fucito, Nyassi et al) against the hated Timbers. Basic question on seating...lots of good low level tickets available. Is one side better than other in terms of sun in eyes or sightlines. Are first few rows too low for good view of pitch? Behind the benches or facing them? I'm sorry I won't see the new stadium with Seattle opening it, but excited to visit Montreal for the first time.
The match is indoors in a stadium whose roof opens only in our dreams, so no worries about the weather. Even the lowest seats are about 10 feet above pitch level, so its not the worst, but i'd avoid the closest seats just in case. I can't comment on positioning other than that. Here is a shot from my seat in 226: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7600104/olystadmarch2012field/DSC_2551.JPG and here is a little clip i took during halftime that might give you an idea of the space: [ame="http://vimeo.com/38714171"]Half-Time Stadium Panorama on Vimeo[/ame] I also found this 360 pano from the pitch that may be illuminating: http://www.panoramas.dk/2008/olympics/montreal-olympic-stadium.html
Well I didn't meant the corner itself but near it. Ste-catherine and St-laurent has some very nice place to hang out, although reflecting upon it, St-Denis might be better indeed . As for hookers, I haven't seen any in a few years there but I really don't mind them honestly.
I wouldn't recommend this area because the second game the upper bowl was entirely empty. Everywhere in the stadium except the ultras section(general admission & category 5 tickets) should be good enough to see everything. Personally I'd recommend a category 4 or 6 ticket, that is where all the non-ultras sit. Both are good. Others are more expensive, and not only that, the area are empty.
I appreciate all the info. Not sure why I didn't know the Stadia Olympic had a roof. It's true there are an awful lot of seats available. Is this a function of waiting for the new stadium or the impact's difficult start. Or maybe this is a bad place to watch a game? Whatever, I'm excited to see what should be an interesting game.
The old port is cute to visit, but to stay there for a first time visit? I dunno it doesn't do it for me... people don't actually live there and it's kind of isolated from a pedestrian's stand point. I think the most interesting experience might be at a B&B in the plateau near Mont Royal metro station. It's a really special neighborhood and as close to a European city feel as you'll get. I used to live near there and scouted these out for potential visitors and they seemed pretty cool. The only one I never actually saw a room for was bleu bassin. http://www.aupianoblanc.ca/ http://annemasoeuranne.com http://www.lebleubalcon.com/ http://www.bbassin.com/ http://www.aubergedelafontaine.com If you are looking for downtown, try Hotel de la Montagne. They usually have deals, are in a touristy/party part of town, and have a roof pool. Some friends of mine tried that recently.
I don't know man I would go for anything close to Crescent/Ste-Catherine. Not too far from the old port and in the Center of the City.
If that environment's your boat floater go for it. That's why I mentioned the Hotel de la Montagne, it's right behind all the crescent bars on rue de la Montagne. Maybe we should do like some of the other city subforums have done and create a visiting supporters guide that lists out some of the different hotels and neighborhoods and other things footy tourists might like, like the best "$10 Ballet." (It's Karma Sutra just below Prince Arthur, um, so I've heard)
I at least would be most appreciative. Will be there in June v. Sounders. Never been to Montreal and clueless as to some of the must do's while in Montreal. Small group of us going and we went the vacation condo/apt rental route in the Le Plateau and Villeray area's right off St. Denis. Sounds like that was a good idea.
