Montreal in July is warm 70’s -80’s, Montreal is a shopping paradise where you can find so many neat shops in one city that are not in the US.   The July Fireworks competition is AMAZING.  Get the calendar of events before you leave if you are considering a July trip.

Montreal Quebec Canada At a Glance

Shopping: 10
Family Friendly Activities: 6
Accommodations: 8
Cost/Value Ratio:8
Dining: 9
Elegance /Upscale appeal: 5

Beautiful gardens at the Bonaventure Hotel

Indoor entry to the outdoor heated pool

The pool is heated year round at the Bonaventure, making it a fun time for kids anytime of year.

A fabulous buffet at the hotel for breakfast

A nice clean gym for the healthy crew!

Although this is a safe city, we choose not to bring our kids to Montreal as we like other destinations better for children under 10.

Montreal         376 Miles from Lake George

We visited Montreal from the Lake George Region. Normally a 3 ½ hour trip,  there was a 1 ½ -2 hour line at the border crossing. This coupled with the near equal dollar exchange left a less satisfied taste in my mouth than our previous trips.

Shopping

What I like best about Montreal is the shopping. Where clothing in the US is a monotonous experience- with each chain having only a slight variation of clothes from the store next door- Montreal is filled with unique boutiques- a shop for everyone! Both St. Catherine and St. Denis overflow with great shops, but not great dining- our worst dining experience happened on St. Catherine Street.

Dining

We headed to Chinatown for lunch to try a Vietnamese restaurant and ordered their signature noodle soup. We tried the salty version and the spicy version, topped with bean sprouts- it was delicious.  Oddly, after lunch we both had canker sores in our mouths which frightened us, but quickly went away. The food was good- but I doubt I would return. Friends who ate there said this never happened to them, so we hope it was unrelated.

At dinnertime, we got dressed up to try Les Remparts. We have visited before and the cuisine is fantastic- this time we decided to sit on top with views of the harbor. We were told by a waiter that it was a different menu- which it actually wasn’t. Mark started with the miniature scallop and I had the lobster. The pig was the absolute winner, a must-have- so tasty.  In the summer, they refrigerate the red wine, so if you don’t like cold red wine, order a bottle from the basement.

The Hotel

We chose the Hilton Montreal Bonaventure as it had a rooftop, open-air heated pool- however, I’m spoiled and like pools with hot tubs and they don’t have a hot tub. With such a short trip we didn’t find time to swim.

The buffet was $18.75 and was fabulous- fresh OJ, and the waiter will have the chef make eggs any style you want if you request it.

Tip- skip breakfast the day of check out and leave very early. We waited 2 ½ hours on the border. According to the border inspection agents, the best time to cross on a Saturday is in the morning.

We go to Montreal for a little alone time. We love it as it’s a safe, clean city with so much going on.  June-July is the fireworks competition and well worth the trip- even for the day – The fireworks competition makes a great trip for older kids.