Au Revoir, Montréal
We flew out of Monréal early on Wednesday, April 10. We would make a connection in Vancouver, B.C. back to Portland.
We enjoyed our trip to Montréal. Our hotel was centrally located In Old Town, and most of the places we went were within a two-mile radius. In better weather, it would be very walkable.
You don't have to speak French in Montréal, but it is polite to greet people with the French "bonjour" (good day) or "bon soir" (good evening), before going into English. Merci (thank you ) also comes in handy. Sometimes people will speak to you in French, and you can say "En Anglais, s'il vous plaît" (In English, please).
Montréal is easy to navigate, with the Metro providing easy access throughout the city. The trains and the stations were clean and well-lit. We never waited more than five minutes for a train, even late at night. Bus service to Québec and Sherbrooke was trouble-free.
Stephanie at the Ste-Victoria Metro stop, the starting place for many of our travels
We noticed a lot of people smoking. There is none of it indoors, but on the street you see it. That's one aspect of "old-world" charm that we could do without.
We did not see any homeless encampments, but we did see a number of unfortunate people asleep in the Metro concourse and on the street.
The Metro
Although it was cold sometimes, it was tolerable, but a return visit would be better later in the spring, or early autumn. Ten days in Montréal was a good introduction, but we felt that there was so much more to see. So maybe not "au revoir," but "à bientôt."
Approaching Vancouver, B.C. for our connection to Portland