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United States24680 Posts
My friend recently decided he would like to do a road trip to Montreal. I mentioned to him I was off most of the summer and was willing to go. We asked a few other friends but everyone else backed out, so it's looking like it's just the two of us. Since then however we discussed some alternatives for places we could go to.
We will be leaving out of the New York City area (he's in New Jersey, I'm on Long Island, so that's roughly the halfway point in between). We are considering the following destinations:
- Montreal (my dad and his brother and friend did a road trip from NYC to Montreal over 40 years ago... so it would be really interesting 'following in his footsteps' I guess lol)
- Toronto ( a couple hours further)
- Quebec City (also significantly further than Montreal)
- Maine, as an alternative.
If it was convenient we could possibly do Ottawa (I've actually been there before). The only places I've been in Canada are right by Niagara Falls, Ottawa, Vancouver, Victoria, and some small towns in those areas.
One place we were also considering is Bar Harbor, Maine, to see Acadia National Park. Does anyone have any advice on this destination?
We are considering going in early August, over a long weekend (he'd probably take off thur-mon or something like that). We both drive, but my friend doesn't have a car right now (he lives in a town and just walks everywhere lol) and he can't drive mine which has a stick. Our options are... me drive the whole thing... rent a car... borrow an automatic from a family member. Anyone have any advice from being in a similar situation?
If we can decide where the heck we are going... I'll take pictures! :3
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Toronto has great sc scene and is the centre on Ontario. Choose your time wisely so you could visit us when the GSL final happen, we do meet up often.
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United States24680 Posts
On July 11 2011 00:31 NB wrote:
Toronto has great sc scene and is the centre on Ontario. Choose your time wisely so you could visit us when the GSL final happen, we do meet up often.
Lol I'll keep that in mind... however I'm not going on this trip for the sc scene :3 Would be cool to meet up one day regardless though.
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Montreal is awesome man, come check it out  , lots of festivals and happenings during summer too!
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I went to Acadia National Park one summer. It's really beautiful and really nice to go to in the summer. If you like outdoorsy stuff I would recommend it. But I've never been anywhere in Canada besides Niagara Falls so I can't really compare it to your other options.
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United States24680 Posts
On July 11 2011 00:43 Zepish wrote:Montreal is awesome man, come check it out , lots of festivals and happenings during summer too!
Cool. Anything August 5-8?
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Acadia is an amazing experience. I used to spend tons of time in Maine as a kid and Acadia was always one of my favorite places.
Is that really such a road trip though? I never remember the drive up ever taking more than a day lol
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United States24680 Posts
On July 11 2011 00:51 Hakker wrote:Acadia is an amazing experience. I used to spend tons of time in Maine as a kid and Acadia was always one of my favorite places. Is that really such a road trip though? I never remember the drive up ever taking more than a day lol
Nonstop without traffic it would be over 9 hours for us. With a few stops, and traffic (which we will unfortunately hit most likely) it will be significantly more... not really worth trying to do it in one day... we are probably going to leave right after his work one day... get as far as we can, then stop. We'll finish the journey the next day.
It isn't going to be a long road trip though... considering we only have like 5 days to do the whole thing lol.
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On July 11 2011 00:47 micronesia wrote:Show nested quote +On July 11 2011 00:43 Zepish wrote:Montreal is awesome man, come check it out , lots of festivals and happenings during summer too! Cool. Anything August 5-8?
Hum not sure, if youre a Tennis fan, theres the rogers cup at that time I think...
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There's tons of stuff going on during the summer in Toronto. I'm sure you guys can find some interesting things to do while here. :p
http://www.toronto.com/thingstodo
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On July 11 2011 00:54 micronesia wrote:Show nested quote +On July 11 2011 00:51 Hakker wrote:Acadia is an amazing experience. I used to spend tons of time in Maine as a kid and Acadia was always one of my favorite places. Is that really such a road trip though? I never remember the drive up ever taking more than a day lol Nonstop without traffic it would be over 9 hours for us. With a few stops, and traffic (which we will unfortunately hit most likely) it will be significantly more... not really worth trying to do it in one day... we are probably going to leave right after his work one day... get as far as we can, then stop. We'll finish the journey the next day. It isn't going to be a long road trip though... considering we only have like 5 days to do the whole thing lol.
Ahh Ic, well, if you like the outdoors/hiking theres plenty to do in acadia. Some of the hikes are incredibly difficult, but its worth it imo as the views are once-in-a-lifetime. If you dont like hiking theres always beaches, fishing etc.
I never spent much time in bar harbor but I remember going there for a whale watching trip once, and it was a pretty cool way to spend a day.
I've only ever been to niagra falls in canada lol, so I dont know much about the other places, but If you only have a limited amount of time and want to go north, maine is a pretty good bet.
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Montreal if you want to party. No doubt about it.
I'm from Toronto. I guess some of the more "fun" places to visit would be all of the "Little" towns. Little Italy, the Danforth (Greek town), Chinatown, Little Portugal, etc. The Danforth and Chinatown in particular. Great places to eat.
Walking along the Lakeshore in the evening is kinda nice.
Still, my vote's for Montreal. Do it big, baby.
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I think you should go to Maine, and then head up to New Brunswick, Canada. There are some awesome places up this way, if you do decide or contemplate it, you should send me a PM.
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Oh shit! Micronesia in my town! Awesome!
Come check us out bro!
http://montreal.com/tourism/festivals/index.html
There aren't many festivals during your time (5 to 8), but I know a great gourmet deli you must try (I've been going there every week for 4 years).
There are a lot of great restaurants and you simply must see Mont-Royal which overlooks the city, the Old Port is also a great touristic spot and everything in-between!
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United States24680 Posts
Montreal and Quebec City (friend's preference and I'm ok with it):
So it's looking like we might leave right after work on Wednesday, August 3, get into Montreal late at night... spend 3 nights there... leave Saturday, August 6 in the morning, drive to Quebec City, spend 2 nights there, leave Monday morning, August 11, and spend all day driving back to the NY area.
Bar Harbor seems nice to but I think we'll do that another time. Any more input would be appreciated... we are currently looking up sleep accommodations in those two cities.
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I don't really know much about hotel accomodations. How many are you guys? Two?
I don't really know what your budget is like, but for Montreal, you guys should check out the The Botanical Garden.
There's also many art museums that I always am fascinated by. But uh... it might not be your thing.
Mont-Royal is equally gorgeous and delightful to visit, great view as well.
What are you guys looking to do exactly? What kind of people are you? Wild crazy nights, calm pure enjoyment of the sights, etc.?
If you're looking for great Canadian Quebec food, try La Banquise: http://www.restolabanquise.com/ Their poutine is known as one of the best. There's also Atwater's local fruits and vegetable market which is simply a joy to chat with the locals and of course, as I said before, The Old Port is another great sightseeing spot (you pass by Old Montreal's architecture and structure, another part of Montreal that is just magnificent).
Montreal also has a casino if that's your sort of thing: http://www.casinosduquebec.com/montreal/
I haven't been there yet, I'm going to much later in August, but I hear a lot of good things about it: + Show Spoiler +
Let me know if you guys find or are having trouble finding room accommodations. I might be able to offer you guys something, but I'd have to check a few things first.
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United States24680 Posts
Slight change of plans... looking more like montreal->ottowa.
Anyway, Torte de Lini, we are not looking for wild crazy nights. 'Enjoyment of the sights' can certainly be part of it though. As far as budget goes, we are willing to spend some money to enjoy the trip as long as it isn't... ridiculously expensive XD
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So how many days in Montreal? The problem with Montreal is that it has many facets, cultural mixes and varieties. I would suggest a bunch of Montreal restaurants, but that would mean suggesting other country's foods.
I'm fully exploring it after my summer classes, but I doubt I'll be able to get them all.
So uh...
Botanical Garden is good.
The Science Center is pretty silly and usually aimed for those between High-school and below, but I thoroughly enjoy it (it's like Kennedy's Science Center in Jersey). You might like it there if you feel a bit silly and open-minded: http://www.montrealsciencecentre.com/home.html
Biodome equally good: http://www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/biodome/site/site.php?langue=en
Casino of Montreal
Mont-Royal: http://www.lemontroyal.qc.ca/en/learn-about-mount-royal/homepage.sn Beautiful mountain and on the other side, are fields. + Show Spoiler +
Chinatown is a nice little small place, the chinese bakers are absolutely superb (and of course, they price them at a very low price, so delicious snacks for like 1 to 2 dollars).
Schwartz's is a small famous deli for their Jewish smoked meat (I like Reuben's too though, so damn good).
Lucca is a very expensive Italian restaurant in Little Italy that is just great.
There's also the gay village (that's literally what it is called) for homosexuals and the sexually deviant or curious.
There's the Formula 1 race track that you can also see off-season I believe as well.
Planetarium is near my place and there's a contemporary arts museum (I love their Fine Arts museum, they did a whole special event for Miles Davis. That really made my heart sing!), a lot of churches/chapels.
Old Port Montreal: + Show Spoiler +
Old Montreal: + Show Spoiler +
Here are the festivals near or around your days:
Terres En Vue/Land InSights first people’s festival, August 2-9, 2011
Festival Mode & Design August 3-6, 2011
Rogers Cup tennis tournament, August 5-14, 2011
This year: men's tennis
Fierté Montréal Pride August 9-14, 2011
(parade on Sunday, August 14)
FestiBlues August 10-14, 2011
You're kinda going in-between the best festivals D:
There's also St. Joseph's Oratory. It's not Louis' garden or whatever that is (I went to it, that place where they had a huge huge garden, absolutely spectacular), but it's superb and gorgeous: + Show Spoiler +
Oh and our Olympic Stadium of course! + Show Spoiler +
The one thing I haven't explored is the right-side of Montreal. I've seen the left side a lot, but the right-side or "the other side of Mont-Royal" is an unknown place for me. Never got around to it yet.
We also have La Ronde, which is Six Flags in the U.S. I don't really like amusement parks, but it might be up your alley.
You'll love our Metro system and St-Laurent is where all the clubs and bars are at. Crescent street also has the more flair touristic bars, but expect the prices to follow as well.
I hope this helps you out.
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United States24680 Posts
Thanks TDL, I'll share this with my friend. BTW we will most likely be there from ~1pm August 4th to ~8am August 6th.
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Let me know what about hotel accommodations. If all else really fails or money's tight, I have a couch and a possible spare bedroom at my condo. It's 8 minutes from the metro and right next to the Bell Center (Hockey Stadium). It's a downtown Montreal condominium, so it's fairly close to everything or to get into the city.
Though, I think you guys will be fine. I hope Montreal turns out great for you guys, I've been here for several years now and I'm still learning the place.
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United States24680 Posts
My friend likes to stay in nice hotels so he is researching them right now.... so shouldn't need sleep accommodations, but thanks for the offer.
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BTW we are all booked; Getting into Montreal August 4th at ~afternoon; travelling from Montreal to Ottowa on the 6th ~lunch; leaving Ottowa on the morning of the 8th. PM me if you have any suggestions or want to meet up or whatever.
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I tossed you my number, take pics of the hotel room! I've never seen Le Crystal~
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EPT![[image loading]](http://www.cityimage.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/montreal-casino-large.jpg)
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![[image loading]](http://www.digitalapoptosis.com/archives/canada/oldport.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.filmfestivaltourism.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/old_montreal1.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.dam.brown.edu/people/glin/Trip_in_Canada/postcards/montreal/st-joseph-oratory.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.usageorge.com/Wallpapers/Cities-Places/wallpaper/Montreal-Olympic-Stadium.jpg)
