The Hitchhacker's Guide to Montréal
First of all, DON'T PANIC. OOPSLA starts in just a few days and we await a lot of famous Lisp hackers so I thought that it would be nice to give them a list of decent things to do in Montreal. One might think that I'm trying to coerce people into beta testing Gazest and he would be right.
Beer
Québecois, the people from Québec, have a strong cultural identity on the French language and on beer. This is ironic since the founders of the great brewing tradition in Montréal were anglophones but nevertheless, you cannot visit Montréal without tasting amazing Beer.
There are numerous brewpubs where you can drink beside the primary fermenters and chat with the master brewers. The most noteworthy are:
- Dieu du Ciel
- Cheval Blanc
- Brutopia
- l'Amer à Boire
- Sergent Recruteur
Beside those, there are many notable Irish Pubs like:
- St-Elisabeth
- Yer-Ma'ad
- Hurley's
- l'Ile Noire
Food
Not as famous as Montréal's beer, there is note worthy food that a traveller should enjoy while visiting.
We can thank the strong jewish community for two important land marks Montréal food scene: Fairmount Bagel and Schwartz. Other than those, a non initiate will want to try poutine.
Where to get the best poutine is the subject of heated debate among Québecois. There is no doubt that if someone can drive to Québec City and go to Ashton, he will enjoy a remarkable one. In Montréal itself, Frite Dorée on St-Laurent will serve a decent on in a typical snack-bar atmosphere. La Banquise on Rachel is famous for its large selection of poutines; it is open 24h a day which makes it a perfect place for after beer snacks or for breakfast.
Fast food chains tend to produce suboptimal poutine and they should be avoided if better options exists. La Belle Province is an exception among those and it should be easy to find one of it's many restaurants scattered all over the island.
There are many sushi bars in Montréal ranging form small counters annexed to convenient stores to four star restaurants. Sushi shop currently has a promotion on maki rolls. Most Montréaler will have more promotion coupons in their mailbox than they can use so don't hesitate to ask them for a few spare ones.
For gourmet restaurants, there's nothing better than:
- Bistro le Porto
- Montee de lait
- Le Pied de Cochon
- La Prunelle
- Toqué!
Montréal is a multicultural city and that means lots of international food. Amir is an extremely popular chain of Lebanese fast food where the shish taouk sandwich must be tried by anyone who doesn't fear garlic. They also serve couscous and falafels. Au Tarot is an alternative for higher range of Mediterranean cuisine.
Walking on St-Denis between St-Catherine and St-Louis square, then on Prince-Arthur up to St-Laurent, one will find Indian, Thai, Greek, and Polish restaurants, among others. All the relevant details can be found restomontreal.ca.
In China Town you will find tasty authentic Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean food at very affordable prices. China Town is roughly bounded by René-Lévesque to the north, Viger to the south, St-Urbain to the west, and St-Laurent to the east. It lies just east and within walking distance of Palais des Congrès where OOPSLA is being held.
Attractions
The traveller should be advised that no matter how interesting the following attractions might seem, it is considered rude in Québec's culture to attend them if that means that you have to skip the beer tasting sessions that have been planed for you to enjoy.
Montréal has four major museums of natural sciences:
The Botanical Garden and the Insectarium are next to each others and
admission to one gives access to the other. The Magic of Lanterns
exhibition at the Botanical Garden is a major event event for Montréalers;
plan your visit for the evening since lanterns are most enjoyable when
lit.
Don't be afraid to use the local subway system, each station is a work of art. The central part of the network is connected through a vast underground city.
Other Resources
Travel informations on Montréal are readily available all over the Internet. Among the most recommendable are: