07-01-2018, 04:03 AM
I've never been met with any hint of rudeness about language, not even in the fraught Law 101 days of the 1980s. You'll typically be greeted "Bonjour-Hello" and they're happy to respond in whatever language you continue in. French-only is more common as you go east to Trois-Rivières or Québec. In small shops or fast-food places, a struggling young francophone may point to pictures or hand you over to her bilingual colleague.
What to do? I enjoy poking along the lively shopping streets: Ste-Catherine downtown, Boul. St-Laurent, Ave St-Denis, Ave du Mont-Royal in The Plateau, Côte-des-Neiges just north of St. Joseph's Oratory. Plenty of wonderful cafes. It's hard to have a bad meal in Montreal, even in the surprising food courts at Complexe Desjardins or Centre Eaton. Marché Bywater is a working food market that's set up for having meals, especially lunch.
Of course, the Vieux-Port area is worth a look, including people-watching on Place d'Armes, but it's several blocks of shops and restaurants designed to separate tourists from their money. For good food, choose one of the outlying neighborhood strips mentioned above.
What to do? I enjoy poking along the lively shopping streets: Ste-Catherine downtown, Boul. St-Laurent, Ave St-Denis, Ave du Mont-Royal in The Plateau, Côte-des-Neiges just north of St. Joseph's Oratory. Plenty of wonderful cafes. It's hard to have a bad meal in Montreal, even in the surprising food courts at Complexe Desjardins or Centre Eaton. Marché Bywater is a working food market that's set up for having meals, especially lunch.
Of course, the Vieux-Port area is worth a look, including people-watching on Place d'Armes, but it's several blocks of shops and restaurants designed to separate tourists from their money. For good food, choose one of the outlying neighborhood strips mentioned above.