{travel guide} Three Days in Montréal

We only had 3 full days in Montréal and it was raining on one of those days so our options for sightseeing were limited. One of the major things on my list, the Biodome, is also closed until Summer 2019 so that was a hit on our itinerary as well. But here's a quick list of what we fit into our 3 days in Montreal.

What to Do

Mount Royal

Our last day in Montréal was spent hiking/climbing stairs up to the Chalet du Mont-Royal. It has a beautiful view of the city and the Chalet has a small cafe and some places to sit and rest inside. I was crazy and wore heeled boots to walk up but you'll want to wear more comfortable shoes for lots of climbing steps and/or sometimes actual hiking trails. There is also a longer route to the top that is paved road, but it snakes all the way up and will take much longer.

The Biosphere Environment Museum

On one of the rainier days (we had multiple) we headed to the Biosphere, an interactive museum dedicated to the environment. The Biosphere was pretty cool, even though the rain made it hard to view one of the cooler parts of the museum. Christian absolutely loved it because he's a sucker for science and being environmentally friendly.

Notre-Dame

Unfortunately I only have photos of the outside of Montreal's Notre-Dame because it was just closing when we arrived in the afternoon on our last day. So I recommend heading there earlier in the day so you can take a tour of the interior.

Where to Eat

We actually only ate out 3 times, and one time was McDonald's because it was rainy and we were too cranky to find a real place to eat after his cousin accidentally led us to a mall food court for lunch. WHOOPS! BUT his cousin did get some tasty poutine at the food court.

Geppetto Pizza

Geppetto Pizza was our first experience dining out in Montreal. We were walking around the area and as we were getting hungry for lunch we happened upon this place! The inside was very fun, and you could see the pizza oven but unfortunately we were on the other side of the restaurant. We shared their chicken pesto pizza while his cousin and his wife had the meatlovers. I tried both and they were both great.

Christian says this was one of the best pizzas he's ever had. I've had a bit more pizza experience (thanks to traveling Italy and other places more well known for pizza) so it isn't my favorite ever, BUT I do agree it was very tasty!

Méchant Boeuf

On our last night we decided to have dinner near Notre-Dame in Old Montreal. We decided on Méchant Boeuf because it was close and the menu appealed to everyone. Christian's cousin got their Brisket beef poutine and said it was the best of the trip (we only tried 3.)  His wife got the Chicken Supreme with sweet potato and asparagus and I just had a Wagyu Burger. I know, I'm boring.

Christian was the winner of the evening. It was restaurant week in Montreal and they were running a 3 course special for $33. So he got Québec Beef Jerky salad, Beef Sirloin with cheddar mashed potatoes, asparagus and for dessert he had Churros with dulce de leche.

Atwater Market

Since we stayed in an airbnb we wanted to take advantage of the kitchen and decided to do some home cooking. Rather than going to a regular grocery store we decided to visit one of Montreal's many public markets. Atwater Market was located near one of our stops so we headed there to buy some fresh veggies and meats. For dinner on our second night we made chicken with peri peri rub (we still have a bunch to use now that we're home, YAY!), potatoes and broccoli. We also picked up some fresh bread, for under $2! Can't beat that.

Cacao 70

My friend Kristen told me we had to visit Cacao 70 while in Montreal for some delicious hot chocolate. They have a ton of locations in the city and we chose one that was near a location we were visiting on our first day. It wasn't as crowded as many others we walked by later in the week, probably because it was in a less dense area. I'm wondering if other places would have had more fun options to choose from.

For our visit we just stuck with plain dark hot chocolate, which was DELICIOUS. I was still a little full from lunch so I didn't try one of the various snacks. But I bought a dark chocolate bar that I have yet to try, I'm sure it will be very tasty. Our two travel partners had cookies and said they were really good. I'll share some photos of the inside in my mini travel guide later this week!

Point G Macarons

Everyone who knows me knows I'm obsessed with french macarons. I first learned how to make them in 2010 but didn't try "real" ones until I went to Paris in July 2011. My mom and I continue to amke them for special occasions including my cousins wedding shower and my wedding. This means I ALWAYS find macarons when I travel. Someone recommended Point G to us and it didn't disappointing! I got mostly chocolate but I also tried Raspberry Litchi, Cherry, Blueberry, Poppy Flower and Raspberry. Christian tried the lemon and chocolate caramel. They were all delicious! And very well priced compared to higher end brands like Ladurée. It was $18 CAD ($13.78 USD) for 12, which worked out to around $1.15 per macaron, a steal!

Poutine

Another must-do for people in Montreal is to have some poutine. Basically fries, gravy and cheese curds. I don't do cheese or gravy (except on my Thanksgiving turkey) so I left this to my travel buddies. They had some at a food court, McDonalds (HAH!) and at a restaurant we ate at. Sadly I only got pictures of the first 2 and not the one from Méchant Boeuf, which was voted the best by the group. I blame last night of travel fatigue.