Going to Toronto or Montreal for Sept. mini-moon...I think

[joshfrommontreal]

Toronto can be a fun city. There are lots of concerts to see, great restaurants.

 

But I would suggest as others are doing to look into coming to Montreal. For a romantic few days it would be much better then Toronto. In Montreal there is absolutely no need to rent a car. I just had friends here from Toronto and they walked everywhere and loved it. Plus the metro is easy to use if things are too far. Don't worry about the french thing either, everyone speaks english. The Old Port really does feel like Europe.

 

Either way you'll have a great time.

[Maura]

thanks everybody for your suggestions - we looked into montreal last night and it is about the same price as going to toronto.

 

my DH is really sad the blue jays wont be in town because he really wants to see a ball game... so he also suggested san diego LOL so he can go see a padres/rockies game. i think i'd prefer canada...

 

can you tell me some more about montreal? i would like to go somewhere kind of romantic since we do live in downtown chicago, we get our fill of city life. the only reason we didnt consider montreal before is that we thought it was going to be much more expensive than toronto, and toronto was within our budget. i definitely am jonesing a european experience though at non-euro prices can you tell me more about things to do in montreal?

 

we were going to make pro/con lists with things to do/see etc for each city so we could decide that way.

[*Heather*]

Hey Maura!

 

Here are some quick thoughts on each.

 

Toronto - since you live in Chicago (which I LOVE), I don't know if you'll find Toronto all that impressive. But if you do decide to come here, you don't need to rent a car. You can take a taxi from the airport to your hotel, and then get all around the city without a car.

Places you should go:

Distillery District - this is a cool unique area with lots of neat little shops and delicious restaurants. One of my favourite pubs is in here.

Beaches - this is another cute area but it's about 15-20 mins from downtown. There is a boardwalk and a nice family atmosphere.

Little Italy - if you love Italian, this is the place to come to eat! There are some really yummy places on College Street...mmmm I love pasta.

Hippo Tour - I always see this tour bus going around town that converts into a boat at some point and takes you in the water too. That might be fun.

Toronto Island - there are ferries that take you over to Toronto island. Not a ton to do on the island but it's a fun ferry ride and you get a great view of the Toronto skyline

Yorkville - this is our "posh" area. Bloor street is our version of Rodeo I guess, and the cute streets of Yorkville behind it are fun to see. There are lots of expensive little shops and yummy restaurants there.

Yonge/Dundas square - this is our version of Times Square and it's right beside the Eaton Centre. It's getting more and more "bright" as time goes on.

Toronto FC - if you want to see a sports team, check to see if the Toronto FC (soccer) are playing that weekend. FC games are SO MUCH FUN! The atmosphere is great.

 

Montreal - if you want a "European" experience, Montreal is definitely your place. Especially Old Montreal. I've only been to Montreal twice so I don't have a ton of recommendations, but Matie has been a lot and he LOVES it there. Besides Old Montreal, you can climb Mont Royal in the middle of the city and get a great view of Montreal. For a restaurant I recommend "L'Academie" - you can bring your own wine in here and the food is delicious! Plus the atmosphere is really cool. Also, you HAVE to have poutine while you're there! My favourite is at a place called Frite Alors! I think it's on St. Laurent. The poutine places are always really busy after people leave the bars and clubs Also we went to a supper club called Buenanotte - I had the best gnocchi there (again with the pasta) and then it turns into a really fun club after.

 

That's all I got! If you have any other specific questions, feel free to email me. I'm sure you'll have fun in either place!

 

H

[*Lo*]

Although I am in no way against Toronto, I love it here, I agree that Montreal may have more of what you are looking for. If I am looking for a fun weekend getaway I tend to go there.

 

I guess I just can't see people actually vacationing in Toronto because I am from here. Toronto is actually very similar to Chicago, so Montreal would be a different environment.

 

Tons of amazing restaurants and great shopping. If you want to check out something more European, you could make the trek to Quebec City if you get a chance while you are in Quebec. It kind of feels like you've gone to a different country there...it is really cool.

 

I last stayed at the W Montreal which was amazing. Could walk or take the subway anywhere from there. There are a lot of other great hotels in the area as well.

[EDYTA]

Toronto is great but it's just a big city great shopping and a lot of great restaurants but like Heather mentioned if you're coming from Chicago you wont be that impressed...I'm sure you two want a more romantic vacation

 

Like I live smack dab in the downtown core right by the rogers centre and he CN tower and it's a lot of fun but I would recommend that you guys go to Montreal also (man I feel like Toronto is getting a bad rep..lol) but if it is in your time line you guys should definately check out Niagara Falls and my fav place Niagara-on-the Lake..such a cute little place to go...my hubby surprised me for our one year to Niagara Falls and then we did a day at Niagara on the Lake, we went on a wine tour so so so much fun but get ready to get hammered, let me know if you want some names of great wine tours

 

Were actually going to Montreal next weekend so I'll take tons of pics for you so you can see what it is like but Montreal definately reminds me of Europe it just has that charm about it and it's fun to sit out on patios all day and drink

 

k that was a lot sorry didn't mean to write a novel but hope that helps

[Chiquita]

Okay well if Montreal is on the table then my vote is for you to go there! I loved it there.. we went to visit friends for a couple of weeks and saw alot. Let me see if I can post a link to my Montreal pics..

 

Montreal, Cambridge, Boston, Salem, Quebec CIty - July 2004

[Alyssa]

Maura,

 

I can't give you that many great recommendations b/c it has been a while since I was there but i LOVED Montreal - it feels like Europe, there are wonderful coffee shops and fantastic restaurants, you can walk everywhere and Mont Royal is (IMO) one of the nicest parks in a city that I have ever been too - I think the same planner/designer designed it that also did Central Park.

 

One day while we where there, we bought some wine, cheese, baguettes and fruit and walked through the city then very far through Mont Royal until we got to a beautiful picnic lookout - it is BEAUTIFUL and super romantic. But there is still nightlife which is nice.

 

I hope you go to Montreal - I really think you will love it!

[Maura]

wow! you guys ROCK!

 

thanks for all the suggestions... i think i am going to push for montreal for this vacation and then go to toronto maybe in the spring if we can swing it. montreal sounds amazing -- edyta i would LOVE if you took tons of pics and sent me a link to them - my wedding is next weekend and ill be back august 17th, but i definitely will follow up with you about montreal when i get back - i am so psyched now!!!!!!!!!!!!

[*Heather*]

Maura I have some pics from our trip last summer I can send you too. Or if you're on Facebook, let me know and I'll add you so you can see the photo album.

 

Yay, I'm glad you're picking Canada for your mini-moon!

[Chiquita]

You'll have a great time in Montreal Maura.. good choice

 

Let me know if you look at my pics and have any questions!