{"id":3388,"date":"2017-01-09T13:59:07","date_gmt":"2017-01-09T12:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thehappyjetlagger.com\/?p=3388\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T21:10:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T20:10:34","slug":"montreal-canada-in-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/montreal-canada-in-winter\/","title":{"rendered":"How to spend a winter day in Montreal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Somehow I had imagined huge masses of snow in Montreal<\/strong> and Canada<\/strong> in December. Trudging through the snow at minus 20 degrees. Well, yes. While I landed in Tehran in the middle of winter, in Montreal the last snow had just melted due to a small heat wave. So no Canadian Winter Wonderland for me. It’s a shame really, as it would have made Christmas shopping in Montreal<\/strong> even more atmospheric. But the mild winter weather had one good thing: I was able to explore the sights of Montreal in peace and quiet and without the freezing cold.<\/p>\n\n

The underground city in Canada<\/h2>\n\n

Nevertheless, Montreal<\/strong> is the perfect shopping city, even or especially in winter. Most of the malls can be reached underground and almost the entire city center has a labyrinthine underground system<\/strong>. Montreal is like an underground city. Subway stations, office buildings, shopping centers – everything is connected by tunnels. Very practical when it gets really cold outside: you can walk through the entire city without having to set foot on the street even once. It’s a bit surreal how life underground feels like a parallel world. <\/p>\n\n

Places to see in Montreal<\/h2>\n\n

In addition to underground shopping, there are also a few other beautiful sights in Montreal – here are a few tips, unsorted and without any claim to completeness, but tried out for yourself! :)<\/p>\n\n

Food and drinks in Montreal<\/h2>\n\n

Somehow it’s probably the French heritage: caf\u00e9s<\/strong> and restaurants<\/strong> on every corner, one cozier than the next. For example, the Bar A Beurre<\/strong> or the Caf\u00e9 de Mercanti<\/strong> in the old town of Montreal. Good coffee and lots of sweet stuff, such as the filled butter balls in all colors and flavors. <\/p>\n\n

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\"Butterballs<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Montreal<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n

Caf\u00e9 de Mercanti<\/em>350 Notre Dame Est.<\/em>Old Port Montreal, QC H2Y1C7<\/em>Website<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n

Right next door:<\/em>Bar A Beurre<\/em>Website<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n

March\u00e9 Bonsecours<\/h2>\n\n

Looking for a few souvenirs<\/strong>? Available at the March\u00e9 Bonsecours<\/strong>, a covered market hall. There are lots of small craft stores with unusual Montreal and Canadian souvenirs. Not cheap, but nice. I brought an Indian dreamcatcher with me. <\/p>\n

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\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Quai de l’Horloge<\/h2>\n\n

At the old port of Montreal(Vieux-Port de Montr\u00e9al<\/strong>), at the end of the Quai d’horloge<\/strong>, there is a tiny city beach<\/strong> with a rustic harbor atmosphere. It was of course empty, but definitely reserved for sunnier days. (Should I be lucky enough to come back in a few months). And if the weather doesn’t play ball: There’s another great spa in the Vieux-Port, the Bota Bota<\/a> – I would have loved to try it out too, but the pick-up was calling again. Next time. <\/p>\n

\n
\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\"Montreal<\/figure>\n\n
\"old<\/figure>\n\n
\"Montreal<\/figure>\n\n
\"Montreal<\/figure>\n\n
\"railroad<\/figure>\n\n
\"Montreal<\/figure>\n\n

Basilica Notre-Dame de Montr\u00e9al<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Montreal is known for its many churches<\/strong>. There are some really outstandingly beautiful ones, such as the St. Joseph’s Oratory<\/strong> on Mont Royal. Or the Basilica Notre-Dame de Montr\u00e9al <\/strong>(see photos). Also worth seeing for non-churchgoers. <\/p>\n

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\"Basilica<\/figure>\n<\/div>
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\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Where to stay in Montreal<\/h2>\n\n

I stayed at the Delta Hotel by Marriott<\/span><\/a>* I stayed overnight. Very good, but also very dignified. But the location was perfect for exploring the city! If you don’t want to invest quite so much, there’s the nearby Zero 1<\/span><\/a>*, a little cheaper, but more modern and just as comfortable.<\/p>\n\n

Find out more about Canada here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Montr\u00e9al was my first destination in Canada, and in the middle of winter. Although I had expected huge amounts of snow, everything turned out differently in the end! More about the largest city in the province of Qu\u00e9bec: tips and sights in Montreal!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"What do you do in Montreal in winter? The best sightseeing tips for a city trip to Montreal at The Happy Jetlagger!","_seopress_robots_index":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[612,2424],"tags":[4203,4199],"class_list":["post-3388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-canada","category-city-trips","tag-city-trips-north-america","tag-city-trips-usa"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":612,"label":"Canada"},{"value":2424,"label":"City trips"}],"post_tag":[{"value":4203,"label":"City breaks in North America"},{"value":4199,"label":"City breaks in the USA"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/thehappyjetlagger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/montreal-sehenswuerdigkeiten-winter-3-1200x800.jpg",1200,800,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Tatiana","author_link":"https:\/\/thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/author\/tatit\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":612,"name":"Canada","slug":"canada","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":614,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":1144,"count":4,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":612,"category_count":4,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Canada","category_nicename":"canada","category_parent":1144},{"term_id":2424,"name":"City trips","slug":"city-trips","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2426,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":78,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":2424,"category_count":78,"category_description":"","cat_name":"City trips","category_nicename":"city-trips","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":4203,"name":"City breaks in North America","slug":"city-trips-north-america","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3398,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":4199,"name":"City breaks in the USA","slug":"city-trips-usa","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3394,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"With my tips you'll get a good overview for your own sightseeing tour in many American cities.\n\nImpressive skylines and huge streets: Big cities in the U.S. are truly another dimension. Grown up in a bigger city myself, I immediately feel at home!\n\nHere on the blog you will find travel tips, sightseeing itineraries and travel stories for the following cities in the USA:\n\nNew York<\/a> | Chicago<\/a> | Boston<\/a> | Miami<\/a> | Charlotte, NC <\/a> | Washington DC<\/a>","parent":0,"count":15,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3388"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":184720,"href":"https:\/\/thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3388\/revisions\/184720"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}