One of the biggest perks of summer is being able to plan vacations and road trips with friends and family. Even though vacationing may be financially challenging for a lot of people, especially college students like us, there's always a way to break the bank. We recently took a trip to Montreal, Canada, where to our surprise we found a great vacation spot that we were able to enjoy on our tight college budget. If you're already excited to be planning your next summer trip like we are, here are some of the reasons why you should choose Montreal as your next vacation destination!
1. Hotels are affordable and conveniently located.
(View of downtown Montreal)
Websites such as Expedia or Travelocity are great ways to find hotel packages that could easily be split amongst a group of people. After exploring our options, we ended up staying in Downtown Montreal, which could not have been more perfect. No matter where you stay in Downtown Montreal, you are within walking distance of some of the best attractions in the area. Whether we were going for dinner in Old Montreal or searching for the nearest Starbucks, we never had to travel far.
2. Architecture and art.
(Art on St. Catherine street)
The Notre-Dame Basilica is one of the most visited attractions in Montreal, and also one of the cheapest. This church is known for its breathtaking Gothic-style architecture and is visited by thousands of people daily. It's also $5 per person, which is perfect is you're looking for something cheap to do during the day. There are also two different art museums and plenty of street art to be enjoyed. 
(Notre Dame Basilica of Montréal)
(Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal)
(Montreal Museum of Fine Arts)
3. Old Port/Old Montreal.
(View from Old Port)
While there are plenty of sights to see around Montreal, we somehow ended up back here every night. From live entertainment to a variety of restaurants and stores, there was always something new to discover in Old Montreal. One of our favorite spots was the view of the city from Old Port. Whether we were cruising on a paddle boat or looking at all the food trucks, the beautiful sunshine and blue water let us experience that pure summer feel.
(Cookie Truck in Old Montréal)
(View from Old Port)
(Henna tattoos in Old Montréal)
(Old Montréal at night)
4. Food, food, and more food.
(The infamous poutine)
The food was absolutely the highlight of our trip. Any time we didn’t spend sight-seeing, we spent eating. Although it would be impossible to taste all the amazing food Montreal has to offer, we tried as much as possible in our time there. Eggspectation, a popular breakfast/brunch chain, was our go to for eggs benedict, pancakes and of course; Canada’s famous maple syrup. An absolute must-have is Poutine, Montreal’s signature guilty pleasure consisting of French fries, cheese curds and brown gravy. To top it off, we indulged in gelato and frozen cappuccino to satisfy our sweet tooth. An added bonus was the $8.50 beer sampler we found in Old Montreal, which allows you to sample the different kinds of beer Canada is known for. Side note: Canadian bars are much cheaper than American bars.
(Eggs Florentine from Eggspectation)
(Chicken Benedict from Eggspectation)
(La Sonia Crêpe from Chez Suzette Crêpes and Fondus)
(Vegetable poutine from La Grande Terrasse)
(Gelato and frozen yogurt from Moozoo)
(Beer sampler from Les 3 Brasseurs)
