<p>I have yet to find good poutine in Montreal… Gotta try Ma’am Bolduc at some point, because La Banquise doesn’t deserve its reputation.</p>
<p>You’re never gonna find a truly good poutine, its drunk food. Speaking of which, I could go for some $2 chow mein right now.</p>
<p>Dang! This will be the first summer since I graduated that I won’t be able to visit Montreal.</p>
<p>Yeah, its been a year for me, I can’t hold out much longer, gonna make the trip before summers end for sure.</p>
<p>haha, klmnop were you implying you were drunk?</p>
<p>Would love some suggestions for our summer trip this July – we’re taking our daughter for her first visit to McGill. We’re staying at the Omni near the campus. Any suggestions for places to eat, things to see and do, esp. things connected with student life?? We’ll be in Montreal July 4 - 8 (during the Jazzfest – not sure if this is a good thing or not!). So far, we have a campus tour scheduled for Monday, but no other specific plans. Would like to see the tam-tams on Sunday, do some bike riding, and just explore!</p>
<p>I would just take lots of time to stroll around. In particular, the stretch of Boulevard St-Laurent north of Sherbrooke and south of Avenue Mont-Royal is home to a lot of student hangouts. You can get mini-burgers at Patati Patata (corner Rachel), or try the famous Schwartz’s smoked meat (north of Ave. des Pins). More boutique shopping is on Ave. St-Denis between Sherbrooke & Mont-Royal.</p>
<p>Try going to a Bring Your Own Wine restaurant for dinner on Duluth - Eduardos, Tay Do, or Fondue & Plus are all nice. </p>
<p>Go up the mountain by bus or on foot. If you want to do the touristy thing, go to the old Port (follow Blvd. St-Laurent or St-Urbain south all the way to the bottom). You will pass through Chinatown and get to beautiful cobblestone roads and 17th century buildings at the bottom. </p>
<p>You can explore the McGill Ghetto a little too - see the area around Milton & Parc, where many students live (though many more move a bit further off campus to the Plateau, Mile End, St-Henri). Try eating at Lola Rosa on Milton - big McGill hangout.</p>
<p>Lastly, many students trek up to the Jean-Talon Market or the Atwater Market for fresh groceries. Worth the trip if you have a car, or feel like using the Metro. If you want to get a sense of student life here, use the Metro and bixis for sure.</p>
<p>You will be in Montreal for the tail end of the Jazzfest;
[url=<a href=“Festival international de Jazz de Montréal - Accueil”>Festival international de Jazz de Montréal - Accueil]Home</a> - Festival International de Jazz de Montr</p>
<p>Thanks for all the great suggestions, esp for the restaurants. Big foodies here… </p>
<p>As far as the Bixis go, do they ever run out?? Especially since it will be during the Jazz Festival? We are definitely into biking, and since we are a family of 4, would need 4 bikes at any given time. When we were in Paris the other year, we found the public bike rentals there a bit harder to use than we thought – sometimes there would be no room to return them at the station you intended, so you’d have to find another, etc. </p>
<p>And Tom, we are in fact heading up to Quebec City for 2 days after Montreal! We’ll actually be in Canada for 2 weeks – first in Toronto with family, then to Montreal and Quebec City, and then back to Toronto for another few days with family. </p>
<p>Thanks again for the tips – I will report back!</p>
<p>This is the Montreal BIXI website;
[BIXI</a> - Home page](<a href=“Location de vélo à Montréal”>Location de vélo à Montréal)</p>
<p>Check the “Stations” tab for BIXI locations. They are all over the place. The Jazzfest days may complicate things. My initial post showing the BIXI scenes:
[Montreal</a> Transportation - Metro and Bixi - SkyscraperPage Forum](<a href=“http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=179008&highlight=montreal]Montreal”>http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=179008&highlight=montreal)
shows that they employ trucks to redistribute the bikes among the stations when supply and demand don’t match up.</p>
<p>If you don’t know exactly where you are going or where you are, Montreal is very walkable so the bike service, while very useful, is by no means necessary.</p>
<p>I wanna throw in my 2 cents and say explore Crescent Street for some lively dinner atmosphere. St. Catherine’s street for shopping (via the underground mall hidden within buildings). The view from the observation point on the mountain is worth the hike/bike. And lastly, Tam tam’s is a really cool experience when its warm out, so bring a blanket, some lunch and maybe a frisbee… and if you’re into it, a bongo. (Also, across from Tam tams there is beach volleyball played on the weekends… its fun to watch… beach voleyball in montreal, who’d a thought).</p>
<p>Montreal is the setting for most of Kathy Reichs novels. The TV series “Bones” is based on her character Temperence Brennan but is set in the US.
You might want to read the following novels to get a feel for Montreal:
[Amazon.com:</a> Deja Dead: 10th Anniversary Edition (Temperance Brennan Novels) (9781416570981): Kathy Reichs: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Deja-Dead-Anniversary-Temperance-Brennan/dp/1416570985/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Deja-Dead-Anniversary-Temperance-Brennan/dp/1416570985/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1)
[Amazon.com:</a> 206 Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan) (9780743294393): Kathy Reichs: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/206-Bones-Novel-Temperance-Brennan/dp/0743294394/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_2]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/206-Bones-Novel-Temperance-Brennan/dp/0743294394/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_2)</p>
<p>Also, the novels of Mordecai Richler are set in the Montreal of the 1950’s to 1990’s:
[Amazon.com:</a> The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (9780671028473): Mordecai Richler: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Apprenticeship-Duddy-Kravitz-Mordecai-Richler/dp/0671028472/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272683271&sr=1-2]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Apprenticeship-Duddy-Kravitz-Mordecai-Richler/dp/0671028472/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272683271&sr=1-2)
[Amazon.com:</a> Barney’s Version (Vintage International) (9780307476883): Mordecai Richler: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Barneys-Version-Vintage-International-Mordecai/dp/030747688X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272683152&sr=1-1]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Barneys-Version-Vintage-International-Mordecai/dp/030747688X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272683152&sr=1-1)</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.■■■■■■■■■■/photos/chrisinphilly5448/4446136663/]Montr”>Montréal Metro, McGill Station | chrisinphilly5448 | Flickr]Montr</a></p>
<p>[Magnificent</a> Montreal - Articles - Travel + Leisure](<a href=“http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/magnificent-montreal/1]Magnificent”>http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/magnificent-montreal/1)</p>
<p>Take some time to explore the city before classes begin.</p>
<p>Some really incredible 360 degree photographs of Montreal:</p>
<p>[::</a>. Montreal in 360 panoramic photography - photoJPL.com .:: ](<a href=“http://www.photojpl.com/cities/city-montreal/1/]::”>::. Virtual tours - Montreal in 360 panoramic photography - photoJPL.com .:: )</p>
<p>Click on each photo to see the effect, best viewed with broadband.</p>
<p>I was wondering about having a car in Montreal vs. using public transportation as a college student. Is it worth it to bring a car?</p>
<p>No need to bring a car. The public transportation system is pretty efficient, as are walking and biking. Plus, you’d need to worry about parking spots, which can turn into a hassle.</p>
<p>^I agree, parking on the downtown campus is very limited for students without disabilities. Parking on Macdonald campus is more available. At Macdonald campus a car might be desirable but it would be unnecessary downtown.</p>
<p>I’ll third the “no car necessary” opinion. There’s no parking available downtown (or on campus). Heck, I have a car now and when I visit Montreal once I get there I still use public transit to go around town. Driving (and parking) in Montreal is a real pain.</p>
<p>good luck you guys!</p>