When we travel it’s always in style because nothing less will do. One city that is on our must-visit list for summer time travel is Montreal. This grand city is ripe with culture, great shopping, delicious food and beautiful European architecture that makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Whether you’re visiting Montreal for the first time or have been here before, here’s our stylish girl’s guide to all the fashionable places to eat, see and shop in the city.
Eat & Drink
Starting the day out with a proper breakfast sets the tone of any stylish trip. Cafe Vasco da Gama is a Portuguese café© located in Downtown Montreal. This quaint spot makes great omelettes served with a side of fresh fruit and a baguette, which you can substitute for a mouth-watering croissant because you can’t be in Montreal and not have a croissant.
Lunch time is the best time and Taverne Square Dominion is a bistro-style restaurant offering delectable fare that perfectly blends French Canadian culture and food into one harmonious spot. Lunch is offered Monday to Friday, from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and trust us when we tell you the steak and frites, and the sticky toffee pudding will send your stomach to a happy place.
For an afternoon break head over to Café© Myraide, which is on the lower level of Club Monaco on Saint Catherine Street West. This small yet charming café© offers a quite setting where you can recharge and refuel.
Old Montreal will charm the designer shoes off any lady and spending an evening here exploring the area makes the perfect end to any day. There are a ton of places to eat in the vicinity so we sampled the fare at Vieux-Port Steakhouse, a restaurant that makes its home in a century old building. The service is top notch, the drinks are deliciously potent and the AAA Canadian Certified steaks will melt in your mouth.
Shopping
No trip is complete without a little shopping and by that we mean a lot of shopping. Saint Catherine Street is the main strip in Downtown Montreal where you’ll find familiar stores such as Hudson’s Bay, Sephora and Aritzia, along its 15km stretch. However, you’ll want to pop into department stores Simons and Ogilvy, both native to the city.
In Old Montreal online retailer Ssense has setup a non-descript boutique on 90 St-Paul West. Plus, don’t forget to shop the wares of veteran Montreal designer Denis Gagnon and newcomer Travis Taddeo nearby.
See & Do
For a dose of art and culture visit the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The museum recently opened an exhibition on French artist and sculptor Auguste Rodin which showcases more than 300 of his works on loan from the Musé©e Rodin in Paris such as sketches, watercolours and the famed plaster of The Thinker. When you’re done inside navigate the museum’s sculpture garden nearby on Du Musé©e Avenue. This pedestrian street has been turned into a labyrinth where the public can traverse through the painted maze on the road.
Last but certainly not least is Mont Royal. Travelling up the large hill situated in the centre of Montreal makes for a great afternoon outdoor excursion. Several shops, heritage buildings and a café© are found here and the view from the top of the hill is a thing of beauty, by day or night.
For more information visit Tourism Montreal.
Photo credit: © Tourisme Montré©al
