"Where are we now, Ma?" asked Obi while I was busy snapchatting.
"Bienvenue à Montréal, Obi!" I replied.
"What's that mean?' She said back with a frowning face.
"It means welcome to Montréal, Obi," said Bo. "It's French..just like in Québec City, remember? You know how to say 'candy' in French? If you don't know how to say it, Mama won't give it to you" he added teasingly.
My hubby and I were just grinning widely listening to Bo et Obi's conversation in the back, as we saw the cityscape of Montréal in afar.
Our adventures continue....And this time, Montréal is enticingly waiting.
***
Hello, there..
I'm back with more story from our last spring break road trip.
After helplessly being in love with Quebec City, now let's take a closer look of the next city we visited, Montréal.
Anybody has been here before?
I bet many of you have. And again, as expected, we enjoyed Montréal as well, amidst the similar but slightly warmer weather than Québec City.
But enjoying magical Montréal in one day is possible indeed!
And that's exactly what we did when we visited this beautiful city.
Montréal in a big city for sure. Being the second most populous city in Canada and the biggest, busiest one in Québec province. Many of us, including me, might associate Montréal with the Montréal Jazz Festival and Just for Laughs festivals that I keep watching on TV! Founded on May 12, 1642, Montréal was founded with a strong will of a handful of settlers, soldiers, artisans and farmers, led by Paul de Chomeday, Sieur de Moissonneuve, and Lady Jeanne-Mance. We saw their statues at the Places d'Armes.
So, as we continue our spring break road trip, we arrived at Montréal at around 8 PM after 2 hours drive from Québec City. It was still drizzling when we left Québec and so was Montréal. We directly headed to Holiday Inn Montréal Centre Ville down town, which was so close to the China Town in Montréal.
Hungry after driving for 2 hours, we had our dinner at Beijing restaurant, just a block from our hotel. We did order a lot, with noddle soup with roasted duck, fried calamari, veggie spring rolls and fried rice for the four of us :). We slept very well that night and woke up super fresh, ready to explore this beautiful city.
So, what can we see in Montréal if we only have less than one full day?
Indeed Montréal has a lot to offer, but this is what we managed to explore in less than one day. We decided to stroll around Vieux - Montréal or the Old Montreal. Even this historical part of the city is huge. Old Montréal is only 5 minutes walk from our hotel, so we parked the car and explored the old town on foot. It was still cold that day, but not raining anymore, so we had friendlier weather.
Let's take a look at some places we managed to visit and tell me what your favorite spot is.
Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal
For sure, Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal is the gem of the city!
Only with admission of CAD 5 for adults and CAD 4 for kids aged 7 - 17, we were truly amazed by the magnificent Gothic revival church. Built in 1829, all its incredible details are mindblowing!
Place d'Armes
This is a very interesting part of the city, as it has the oldest building in the city, the first parish's church as well as Canada's first skyscraper!
Marché Bonsecours
What we love most from this place is the distinct architecture of the market, in Classical Revival style.
Place Jacques-Cartier
Too bad when we reached this beautiful square, it was drizzling again.
But this marketplace is surely the spots where people love to hang out, as we saw many cozy restaurants and lovely shops around the area.
Of course, again, as I've mentioned earlier, there are soooo many beautiful places that you can explore here in Montréal, but those places I mentioned above can be a good start :).
We had to prematurely wrap our stroll in Old Montréal thanks to the rain. But if I got a chance to go back, we'd love to see more of this wonderful city. I guess we have to stay at least 2 - 3 days here to really enjoy its beauty. But hey, even with our crazy itinerary, exploring magical Montréal in less than one day is possible :).
Next, we have Ottawa, the capital city.
I know I have shared some photos from Ottawa, but the stories are yet to be published.
Stick around, will you?
"Bienvenue à Montréal, Obi!" I replied.
"What's that mean?' She said back with a frowning face.
"It means welcome to Montréal, Obi," said Bo. "It's French..just like in Québec City, remember? You know how to say 'candy' in French? If you don't know how to say it, Mama won't give it to you" he added teasingly.
My hubby and I were just grinning widely listening to Bo et Obi's conversation in the back, as we saw the cityscape of Montréal in afar.
Our adventures continue....And this time, Montréal is enticingly waiting.
***
Hello, there..
I'm back with more story from our last spring break road trip.
After helplessly being in love with Quebec City, now let's take a closer look of the next city we visited, Montréal.
Anybody has been here before?
I bet many of you have. And again, as expected, we enjoyed Montréal as well, amidst the similar but slightly warmer weather than Québec City.
But enjoying magical Montréal in one day is possible indeed!
And that's exactly what we did when we visited this beautiful city.
Montréal in a big city for sure. Being the second most populous city in Canada and the biggest, busiest one in Québec province. Many of us, including me, might associate Montréal with the Montréal Jazz Festival and Just for Laughs festivals that I keep watching on TV! Founded on May 12, 1642, Montréal was founded with a strong will of a handful of settlers, soldiers, artisans and farmers, led by Paul de Chomeday, Sieur de Moissonneuve, and Lady Jeanne-Mance. We saw their statues at the Places d'Armes.
So, as we continue our spring break road trip, we arrived at Montréal at around 8 PM after 2 hours drive from Québec City. It was still drizzling when we left Québec and so was Montréal. We directly headed to Holiday Inn Montréal Centre Ville down town, which was so close to the China Town in Montréal.
 |
| view from our room terrace :) |
Hungry after driving for 2 hours, we had our dinner at Beijing restaurant, just a block from our hotel. We did order a lot, with noddle soup with roasted duck, fried calamari, veggie spring rolls and fried rice for the four of us :). We slept very well that night and woke up super fresh, ready to explore this beautiful city.
 |
| bon appetit! |
So, what can we see in Montréal if we only have less than one full day?
Indeed Montréal has a lot to offer, but this is what we managed to explore in less than one day. We decided to stroll around Vieux - Montréal or the Old Montreal. Even this historical part of the city is huge. Old Montréal is only 5 minutes walk from our hotel, so we parked the car and explored the old town on foot. It was still cold that day, but not raining anymore, so we had friendlier weather.
Let's take a look at some places we managed to visit and tell me what your favorite spot is.
Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal
For sure, Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal is the gem of the city!
Only with admission of CAD 5 for adults and CAD 4 for kids aged 7 - 17, we were truly amazed by the magnificent Gothic revival church. Built in 1829, all its incredible details are mindblowing!
Place d'Armes
This is a very interesting part of the city, as it has the oldest building in the city, the first parish's church as well as Canada's first skyscraper!
 |
| Bo posing in front of Paul de Chomedey statue at Place d'Armes |
Marché Bonsecours
This beautiful market is packed with cute small boutiques and some local, trendy designers shops. It took us around 10 minutes walking from the Basilica.
What we love most from this place is the distinct architecture of the market, in Classical Revival style.
Place Jacques-Cartier
Too bad when we reached this beautiful square, it was drizzling again.
But this marketplace is surely the spots where people love to hang out, as we saw many cozy restaurants and lovely shops around the area.
 |
| here comes the rain :) |
Of course, again, as I've mentioned earlier, there are soooo many beautiful places that you can explore here in Montréal, but those places I mentioned above can be a good start :).
We had to prematurely wrap our stroll in Old Montréal thanks to the rain. But if I got a chance to go back, we'd love to see more of this wonderful city. I guess we have to stay at least 2 - 3 days here to really enjoy its beauty. But hey, even with our crazy itinerary, exploring magical Montréal in less than one day is possible :).
 |
| Hope to see you soon, Montréal |
Next, we have Ottawa, the capital city.
I know I have shared some photos from Ottawa, but the stories are yet to be published.
Stick around, will you?
