Memorable Montreal!

Advantages: Historical city, lots to see and do, decent prices, fascinating history
Disadvantages: See history

...INTRODUCTION Having been to Vancouver for the first time with Ms Larsbaby on holiday, after a week there we went on to the east coast and Montreal. Montreal is a city I know quite well having been there three times before. I have friends there and so it's an obvious destination for me, perhaps less so for those with no connections there. It was Ms Larsbaby's first trip there, and we headed onwards to some other parts of the province of Quebec surrounding Montreal with my old friend Monsieur Montreal. Here is an account of our adventures. ABOUT MONTREAL Montreal is located on the east coast of Canada in the French speaking province of Quebec. The French speakers are known as Quebecois. With a population of 3.5 million, it's the largest city in Quebec and the second largest city in Canada. For me, it's impossible to...

larsbaby 11.10.2008 · Read review
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Review of Montreal (Canada)

Smoked meat for the Montreal masses

Advantages: Superb smoked meat, genuine Montreal experience
Disadvantages: Not for vegetarians!

...INTRODUCTION This review has been a long time coming. Montreal is one of my favourite North American cities, and on this, my fourth visit there, I finally have the pleasure of reviewing the legendary Schwartz's Deli. Lying to the east of the centre of the city, this place is something of a Montreal institution, and is mentioned in every guidebook I have ever read as THE place to go for smoked meat. I always make a point of going there when in Montreal. The first time I ever went there, following my guidebook and entering on my own, I was a bit worried as to what the meat actually was, as I don't eat pork. I really should have taken note that this was a Hebrew deli, which would have allayed any fears. When I was meekly ordering a takeaway turkey sandwich, the old chap serving me clocked me as a British tourist and said "I bet...

larsbaby 12.11.2008 · Read review
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Review of Schwartz's Deli, Montreal

Montreal's Olympic Park

Advantages: Lots to see, great tower
Disadvantages: Some parts very shabby, tour not long enough

...The olympic stadium was high on our list of priorities when we went to Montreal as it seems to be my boyfriend's ambition to visit every olympic stadium ever built - much to my dismay! But it turned out to be well worth a look. HISTORY: Montreal was awarded the the olympics by the IOC in 1970. Representatives travelled to Munich in 1972 to see how they managed the games. The construction of the site began in 1973 and the games were held 3 years later in 1976. Not all of the complex was finished for the games. The tower was not completely finished until 1987. After the Olympics the stadium became home to the Montreal baseball team (until they moved to Washington D.C.). It now holds various sporting events and trade shows. The swimming pool complex is now used by the public and the velodrome is now home to a biodome which house 4...

tartlette83 30.08.2006 · Read review
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Review of Montreal Olympic Park

Montreal - Notre Dame Basilica

Advantages: Free entry, Interesting, highlt ornate.
Disadvantages: Not central

...Montreal was the first city my wife and I visited on our tour of Eastern Canada. Our impression was of a large city with many very high rise office buildings, many, many shops and quite a lot of things to do. The evenings in Montreal can be spent looking around the hundreds of shops in the underground areas. There are many many miles of these shopping areas which can be explored. Another place to go is the Olympic Stadium which held the games of 1976. One of the most impressive buildings is the Notre Dame Basilica (a large church). From the outside it does not look as good. Once you step inside you become overwhelmed by its aura. There are plenty of gold artefacts. The stain-glass windows on one side of the building depict the history of Canada. Part of the building is known as the Wedding Chapel. This is reached by walking...

ray52 18.08.2001 · Read review
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Review of Montreal (Canada)

HI Montreal!

Advantages: Great location, good facilities
Disadvantages: The lack of any kind of lift

......

hi_nicola 09.09.2008 · Read review
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Review of Hostelling International Montreal

Montreal - A gem of an F1 location

Advantages: Picturesque and accessible
Disadvantages: Some delays in exiting

...Montreal as host to one of the 2 F1 events in Noth America (the other being the new US Grand Prix from Indianapolis) has set an example for other event planners to keep in mind. The track itself is setup on semi-public roads encircling the island site of the 1967 Worlds fair (Expo '67) as well as the location of the Montreal casino. What makes this track different is it's accessibility. It is a stones throw from downtown Montreal and most fans get to the site using the underground subway called the Metro (the fare is approx $2cdn). Once on the island they find themselves in a dilligently landscaped paradise. The city of Montreal goes all out to make sure the green lawns are mowed, the bushes are trimmed and all over there are stands of flowering plants. On the site itself there is a series of tree-lined canals left over from...

PY 07.07.2000 · Read review
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Review of Formula 1 Circuit, Montreal, Canada

Cynical exploitation from a greedy hotel chain

Advantages: Decent room and facilities
Disadvantages: Exploited to the full during a workers strike, no room services

...INTRODUCTION After a week in Vancouver, myself and Ms Larsbaby headed east to Montreal, a city I had visited 3 times in the past due to my friends there. Through Trailfinders, we booked the downtown Hyatt Hotel. As we discovered upon check in, this was going to be a very unusual and eventful stay. THE STRIKE When we checked in, we were asked if we were aware of the "situation" they were having and we were not. Apparently every 3 years, the hotel workers union gets all of it's hotel staff together and agrees to picket and strike at certain hotels, to represent everyone, and it so happened that our hotel was the one they were picketing this year. I don't know if this is just Montreal or if it affects more of Quebec. This had been going on for a month or so when we arrived. This meant that most normal services weren...

larsbaby 21.10.2008 · Read review
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Review of Hyatt Regency, Montreal

Earth Intruders!

Advantages: It's a decently entertaining place, and the assistants know what they're doing
Disadvantages: It's a museum. Filled with insects. Work it out for yourself!

...So, one of the many interesting things that happens when you buy a big expensive all-round Montreal ticket which includes wonders such as the "Olympic Park" and the "Biodome", is that you also get free entry to the Insectarium (and as always, I shall mention not one bit of information regarding the pricing of these tickets, because I like to encourage outside reading). Now, I've never been to one of these places before, although I have many fond memories of the fabulous Porteath bee centre in Cornwall, which is where anyone who is anyone goes when they want some bee-related fun. I assumed that the Insectarium would be much the same sort of deal - a gift shop with some insect exhibits tacked on in an attempt to justify the crafty money-grabbing ways of the shop owners. Happily though, that's almost not entirely the case. The Montreal...

Seresecros 21.01.2008 · Read review
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Review of Montreal Insectarium, Montreal

Montreal's Finest

Advantages: Fantastic Lyrics, unique at the moment
Disadvantages: occasionally a little samey

...BACKGROUND The Arcade Fire is an indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Its members are Win Butler, Régine Chassagne, Richard Reed Parry, William Butler, Tim Kingsbury, Sarah Neufeld, and Jeremy Gara. Their first full-length album, Funeral, debuted in September 2004 in the USA and in February 2005 in the UK, and was very highly acclaimed by critics. The inspiration for the title 'Funeral' comes from the death of several band family members at the time of the album recording. These events created an atmosphere which influenced songs such as "Une année sans lumière". Without a major label backing, the success of the band and the album Funeral has been acclaimed as an internet phenomenon, with much of the early push coming from internet reviews. The band are versed in many instruments and often swap during a show...

debz87 27.12.2005 · Read review
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Review of Funeral [Digipak] - Arcade Fire (The)

The Turtle And Shoehorn

Advantages: Impressive design of stadium and tower
Disadvantages: The deterioration of everywhere, a concrete paradise

...There's plenty to do during the day, plenty of fun in the dark, But the best things always happen, in Montreal's Olympic Park! Well alright, I'll keep away from writing poems from now on. Bad idea. Montreal, on the East side of Canada, was awarded the Olympics 31 years ago, and decided, as countries often do, to make them the most impressive yet. A recurring theme at Olympics is to have something which breaks a world record - biggest stadium, largest firework display, Britain is already lined up to have the most rainy Olympics in history, things like that - and Montreal weren't prepared to be any different. They decided, not only would they build an incredibly whopping stadium for their main events, but to give it a roof that could open and close at will. Not it's own will, it's not sentient, but at the will of the man in charge...

Seresecros 20.09.2007 · Read review
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Review of Montreal Olympic Park