| VITAL INFORMATION | |
| Population | 3,635,700 |
| Languages spoken | French, English |
| Currency | Canadian Dollar (CAD); 1 CAD = .89 USD |
| Average temperature | 21.9°F in December; 66.7°F in June |
| High season | June to early September |
Grand Prix weekend is legendary on the island of Montreal: It’s known as a weekend of drinking, sports and general depravity. But Montrealers themselves don’t wait until Grand Prix weekend to celebrate -- they know how to live all year long. After all, we are talking about a city where red wine is the order of the day, bars are open till 3 a.m. and the average person spends the equivalent of two weeks per year on their balcony.
Tourists have finally caught on to the secret; indeed, Montreal is by far the most popular Canadian urban destination for tourists in search of nightlife. What’s more, for just one weekend every year in June, thousands of racing fans descend upon the city in search of a three-day fête (party).
So where do you go once you cross the bridge onto the island? Take a few minutes to peruse my suggested itinerary below and you’ll be in good shape to participate in all the fêtes that Montreal’s Grand Prix weekend has to offer.
Day 1: Out and about in style
Start by checking into the plush Hotel Le St-James in Old Montreal. This hotel is known for its glamorous clientele, including the Rolling Stones who booked the entire place the last time they were in town. Or if you prefer a hotel in the city center, go for the Sofitel Montreal, located amidst boutiques and restaurants at the foot of Le Parc du Mont-Royal on Sherbrooke Street.Drop your stuff off and hop on the subway toward the Mont-Royal stop; this is the Plateau area of Montreal, where you’ll begin your day. With 605 artists out of a population of 7,560 working people, the Plateau is possibly Canada’s most creative neighborhood. If you’re hungry, have a bite at Café Les Folies (701 av. du Mont-Royal E.), then walk west on Mont-Royal toward Saint-Laurent and make a left. From there, take some time to shop and peruse this historically diverse street.
Next, turn left onto the pedestrian street Prince-Arthur. Listen to the street musicians who usually hang out there as you continue to the end of the street and cross the Square Saint-Louis to Saint-Denis street. Walk south on Saint-Denis toward the famous Quartier Latin. End your afternoon with a beer on one of the city’s largest outdoor patios at St-Sulpice (1680 Saint-Denis).
Saint-Laurent street is the hippest place to be come nightfall. Here, beautiful locals rub elbows with celebrities in town for the festivities. If you can manage to get a table, Buonanotte (3518 Saint-Laurent) has some of the most scrumptious Italian food that Montreal has to offer. And it is known for its celebrity clientele: On a certain Grand Prix weekend, John Travolta, Jim Carrey and Nicolas Cage were spotted dining there.
Alternatively, if seafood’s your thing, try the Maestro Platter at Maestro SVP (3615 Saint-Laurent) -- specifically the very yummy coconut shrimp. Maestro SVP also has an oyster bar with over 15 varieties of oysters to choose from year round.
After dinner, head out to Le Manoir (1445 Bishop) for drinks. Le Manoir’s building is 120 years old and actually used to be a brothel, but it now houses only the most chic of clientele. If you can keep going past the 3 a.m. mark when bars generally close, try after-hours spot Aria (1280 Saint-Denis). They won’t serve alcohol past 3:00, but the music and revelry should go on into the wee hours of the morning.
Day 2: Party in the streets
Start day two by perusing the shops on Montreal’s famous Sainte-Catherine street, one of the city’s busiest shopping areas. Take the green metro line to the McGill stop and walk westward, taking some time to soak in the surroundings. Walk toward Crescent street and make a right; don’t worry about missing it -- you’ll be able to hear the music and chaos from blocks away. It is there that the Grand Prix street festival is held each year; you will find merchandise booths, outdoor concerts and general opportunities for debauchery.You’ll probably be at the street festival for a while, but if you want to pry yourself from the party, you can take a stroll up Crescent to Sherbrooke street, where you’ll find the Musée des beaux-arts (Museum of Fine Arts). Once on Sherbrooke, walk east toward the McGill University campus (you’ll see the big gates at the corner of Sherbrooke and McGill).
You don’t have to go much further than the Crescent area for dinner. Crescent is home to the very trendy restaurant/nightclub Newtown. And Newtown is the perfect place to celebrate the Grand Prix festivities, as one of the owners is Formula One legend Jacques Villeneuve.
A trip to this city would not be complete without a visit to Old Montreal. Take the orange line of the subway to the Place d'Armes stop. Take a gander at the square, specifically at the Notre-Dame Basilica -- a neogothic church dating back to the 19th century.
Continue east on Notre-Dame Street, pass the Palais de Justice (courthouse) on your left, and continue on until you hit Place Jacques-Cartier, where you’ll see entertainers and artists trying to peddle their wares to locals and tourists alike. Have a look at the statue of Nelson, an English admiral who helped defeat the French in the battle of Trafalgar (admittedly, this statue takes a lot of heat from locals around referendum time). After your visit to the square, turn right on Saint-Paul and window shop in some of Old Montreal’s exclusive boutiques and art galleries.
Once in Old Montreal, try a martini at the lounge-bar Suite 701 (701 Côte de la Place d'Armes). Later, if you can manage a second night of after-hours partying, make your way back to town to Stereo Nightclub, where you can drain yourself of that last bit of energy.
Day 3: Race day
It’s race day, so make your way out to Ile Sainte-Hélène early to fight the crowds. Ile Sainte-Hélène, where the race is held, is an island to the southeast of the main island of Montreal. Hop on the metro’s yellow line to Parc Jean-Drapeau; from there you can walk to the site of the Gilles Villeneuve circuit (just follow the signs and the hordes of fans heading in the same direction).After the race, head to the Montreal Casino (also on Ile Sainte-Hélène). The casino is a multi-floor building complete with bars and restaurants, in addition to its slot machines, gaming tables and exclusive high-limit lounge.
After you’ve blown a sufficient amount of cash at the casino, head to the nearby amusement park, La Ronde, for their annual fireworks competition. You can purchase tickets online. Alternatively, if you’d prefer not to dish out the entrance fee to La Ronde, head back into town and join the crowds of locals who watch the fireworks from the Old Port in Old Montreal.
If you have any energy left for your last night in the city, then make your way over to Barmacie Baldwin (115 Laurier W.) -- a trendy bar where beautiful people are in abundance. Barmacie Baldwin has a reputation for its clientele’s late-night antics, like dancing on tables, and indeed, the occasional patron has been known to whip off a piece of clothing or two in the midst of the festivities. Not a bad ending to a weekend of debauchery, eh?
Of course, your Grand Prix weekend in Montreal wouldn’t be complete without a homegrown gueule de bois (hangover). And truth be told, if you follow the above three-day itinerary of festivities and celebrations, it’ll be hard to get away without one.
tips for the trip
- Leave your car at the hotel and take the subway, called the "metro" in French. This is one of Montreal’s busiest weekends and parking around town will be scarce.
- Tipping in restaurants should be at least 15%. An easy way of calculating this is to add the two sales taxes -- the TPS and TVQ -- as they amount to 15% of the bill.
- In case of rain, head to Les Cours Mont-Royal, an upscale underground shopping center that connects to Montreal’s famous underground city -- a group of connected underground malls in the downtown area.
- The standard way of greeting people in Quebec is to kiss them on both cheeks (starting with the right) -- unlike in the rest of Canada where you shake hands.
http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/
http://quote.yahoo.com/m5?a=1&s=CAD&t=USD&c=0
http://www.hotellestjames.com/
http://www.sofitel.com/
http://www.maestrosvp.com/EN/menu.html
http://www.buonanotte.com/
http://www.crescentmontreal.com/en_crescent_events_grand_prix.htm
http://www.internationaldesfeuxloto-quebec.com/en/programmation/
http://www.baldwinbarmacie.com/
http://www.montrealvip.com/
Montreal Travel Guide
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