So as many people know, I took a Spring Break trip with a bunch of friends to Montreal, Canada. A lot of people questioned why we would go somewhere cold for Spring Break. Sure the cold sucked, but aside from those few especially bitter days, I had the time of my life. So here are a bunch reasons why I believe people should go see Montreal before they die. Lets begin!
1) The people are beautiful
Holy hell. I swear I fell in love with 10 separate women on this trip. It's unreal how classically beautiful the residents of Montreal are. Anyone who traveled with me this past break would agree, that French Canadians are really nice to look at.
2) The people are also really nice
Canadians are notoriously friendly. I found them to be relatively eager to help tourists as well. When we were looking for more things to do in the city, our local waiters and bartenders were happy to give us ideas. Even the homeless helped us out with directions!
3) They speak French there and that's cool
French is the main language spoken, so all the street signs are in French. Though it's confusing at times, it honestly adds to the excitement factor of visiting another country. Even so, the natives also speak English very well, and their accents are super charming.
4) The night life is amazing
In Downtown Montreal, almost every other establishment is a bar of some kind. Whether you are into simple, chill bars, Irish pubs with live music and dancing, or a night club atmosphere, Montreal seriously has it all, and plenty of it. I didn't even get to visit half of the bars I spotted within a 2 block radius of our hotel. On top of there being plenty of bars, almost all of them were open until 3AM every night. Not to mention that the drinking age in Quebec is 18, and college students can actually have real, legal fun here!
5) Food Food Food Food Food
The restaurants and bars have so much great food to offer. I enjoyed every meal I ate over the course of this trip. My favorite place to eat there was a place called the Warehouse, where every food item on the menu was $4.95. I think went there 4 times. It was heaven.
6) There is plenty else to do
While we were there, we checked out the Museum of Fine Arts, the Church of Notre Dame, hiked Mount Royal, and shopped all over the city. We got to see some pretty crazy views, and we still only made a dent in the activities that we could have done had the weather been a little nicer.
7) (To my New York residents) It's really not that far away
Montreal was about a 5 hour drive from my college town of Oneonta. It's roughly an 8 hour drive from Long Island. In retrospect, that's really not that far of a drive to experience a whole new culture in one of the coolest cities on Earth.
8) It's not expensive!
The current exchange rate gives you 1 Canadian dollar for 75 American cents. Generally things cost about the same in Canada, or a little bit more in touristy areas. But overall, I had a sick 4 day vacation, stayed in a decent, conveniently placed hotel, and spent less than 300 American dollars. Canada for the win!
So yeah. If you haven't been to Montreal before, grab a few friends and start planning your trip! Trust me, it's worth it.
