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Ah, Montreal. Never in a million years as a young girl based in France and traveling the world in search of a place she would finally call home, had I ever imagined deciding to settle in Montreal. Being born in Africa, I always thought I would end up living somewhere tropical, in Latin America, or as I thought after my life-changing five-month stay in Barcelona in 2014, Spain seemed like a tempting place to spend a couple years in. Either way, Canada sounded cold and unattractive and I was a girl from the sunshine that looked for warm-hearted people and sunny weather. What brought me to Canada were my studies. I completed a year at a Canadian University as part of an exchange program with my French University and, my initial plan was to live the life in Toronto. I wanted to do my exchange program with a University in Toronto, stay in Toronto for a year maybe more – because firstly, I was tired of traveling and wanted to settle for a couple years (in three years I had spent a year in London (UK), 8 months in France, 5 months in Barcelona returned to France for four days and moved to Canada straight away), secondly, as I quickly found, Torontonians were really respectful and friendly which was really important to me, and thirdly, Toronto felt like a good place to start living my American Dream before taking over New York. – and basically extend all the fun I had in Barcelona in Toronto, but my University made a mistake and sent me to boring Hamilton instead. I’ll skip the epic depression of moving from lively Barcelona straight to dead boring Hamilton, but all of this to say, my boo lived in Montreal so I spent almost every weekend here and finally decided to settle in Montreal. I fell so in love with Montreal, that I don’t even mind its extremely cold Winters. You can catch walking with a huge smile on my face under -21 degrees Celsius, as happy as I would be by the beach. Actually, I feel like Winter only has a true reason to exist in countries like Canada, because there are real traditions that take place around wintertime such as lighting a fire, going to a cottage, snowshoeing in the forest, skiing.
I fell in love with Montreal for its open-mindedness, its liveliness, its beautiful architecture, its people that love their city so much they always find ways to make the town more enjoyable for its inhabitants. I love how kind but straight-forward people are. I love the buoyant artistic energy. And I want to make you discover my favorite places in town, so you too, can enjoy Montreal like a local next time you come by.
Where to stay:
Montreal is home to some truly outstanding hotels. One of my favorite hotel experiences here has been at Le Crystal. I have written about this hotel here, if you want to read more about it. Fantastic service, amazing rooms, great gym, fantastic restaurant, indoor heated pool and outdoor spa open year round.
Where to eat:
Italian: Il Focolaio
I don’t care what anybody says, this is the best pizza in town and one of my all time favorite restaurants period.
French Gastronomy: Europea
Read my review of our dinner experience at Europea here. It has been voted one of the best restaurants in Canada and will guarantee an exceptional dinner experience of several hours. It is the best restaurant for a date night.
Vegetarian (but not only) Gastronomy: Les 2 Singes De Montarvie
I am absolutely in love with this restaurant. It is super intimate, the food is delicious and the food art is on point. The menu changes every 6 month and the atmosphere at the restaurant is amazing. Read my review of the restaurant here.
Brunch:
Fabergé: An all time favorite, Fabergé is actually one of the best brunch spots in town. Its famous chicken waffle is succulent and their mimosas are SO good! Read my review of our brunch experience at Fabergé here.
L’Avenue: Don’t get me started on how divine they brunch is. Not to mention that the portions are generous.
What to do:
First things first, make sure you have a healthy snack in your bag for your day of exploring! I personally love the new Krispy Kernels nuts Wellness which is a mix of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, dried cranberries and raisins. Delicious!
Attend a Ballet show from Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal (one of my all-time favorite things to do in Montreal. The last show I went to was The Nutcracker for my birthday in December and it was mind-blowing!)
Visit the Museum Of Fine Arts
I could spend hours there. One, because art gives me life, as you know, I used to draw and paint a lot. But also because it always reminds me of one of my French teachers when I was a teen in France, who liked to take us to museums to analyze paintings from eras we were studying at school such as the Age Of Enlightenment for instance, and the spatiotemporal context of a painting, which techniques did painters use to convey a message or denounce social, political, or economic realities. Never fails to bring a smile on my face.
Visit Mount Royal to have a panoramic view of the city!
Take a fitness class at Report Fitness!
Whenever I’m away from home, I love knowing where I can train, especially in the wintertime, where we can’t really exercise outdoors. There are so many options whoever we visit big cities that it can be hard choose. So here is my suggestion for your visit in Montreal: a 30-minute HIIT class at Report Fitness. You’ll find there amazing trainers, a great atmosphere and your entire body will be sore the next day! And while we’re at it, let me share with you my gym bag essentials! If you try these Krispy Kernels nuts, let me know how you like them!
