In my many years of living in the US, I have never visited Canada, my northern neighbor. Given my affinity for all things French, coupled with chasing more countries visited, planning a trip to Montreal was a logical choice for Tilly’s spring break.
Montreal is an easy flight from Chicago, and we booked our stay at the centrally located Hyatt Centric Montreal. Even though I know Montreal is a French speaking city, it still surprised me that most people would start off speaking French. That language and a 2.5 hour flight do not match up in my brain.
Similarly, having different currency when so close, and billboards advertising Bell Communications – a company from my youth! – made it feel more foreign than it actually is.
Our first full day, we booked a day trip to Quebec City. They picked us up right in front of our hotel and we stopped at a McDonald’s along the way for food and a bathroom break. I always love trying the local McDonald menu items – their “McCrêpes” were very delicious!
Aside from Quebec City, we spent the day visiting various other stops along the way. First was the waterfall at Parc de la Chute-Montmorency. It was incredibly beautiful but also SO LOUD! Was difficult to even have a conversation near the falls.
It was still too cold to do the cruise, so we visited the aquarium instead. There were some truly mesmerizing exhibits – the colorful fish danced to and fro in the water like magic.
When we finally made it to Quebec City, we had a guided tour describing the history of the city. It felt EXTREMELY French right away. The architecture, smells, language and cobblestones all made me think of various locations I have visited across the Atlantic. And this was a much quicker flight!
A few interesting facts I learned on our walking tour:
- 95% of the city speaks French first
- Quebec means “where the river narrows”, referencing the river between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean
- The blue and white flag of Quebec, known as the Fleurdelisé, references the monarchy (blue), Christianity (the white cross) and France (the fleur de lis)
- Because this area was first occupied by the French, then the British joined the party, you can tell which buildings or roads were built by whom – flat stones were British buildings/roads and cobblestones were French
We finished our tour near the world famous Chateau Frontenac – allegedly one of the world’s most photographed hotels. As someone that works in the hotel industry, I can confirm it is quite breathtaking and my silly photos do not do it justice.
We had a lovely lunch sitting outside in the sunshine and people watching. It was so cool to hear everyone speaking French. I have been studying the language for many years but still could only understand bits and pieces of what was being said.
The next day we planned a walking tour around Montreal. There is so much history here, but after spending the day in Quebec City, it definitely felt less French.
Like in our Quebec City tour, we learned a lot during our walk around Montreal.
- It was founded in 1642 by the French and conquered by the British in 1760
- In 1775, the new “Americans” tried to get the Quebecois to join their revolution against Britain, but the British promised that they could keep their land, their language, and their religion if they declined; that is why this region still speaks French to this day
- Cirque du Soleil is based in Montreal
- The city has a restriction on how tall the buildings can be
- Celine Dion got married at their version of Notre Dame
The gorgeous sunny day made the tour even more enjoyable. We were in the middle of spring and were making the most of it.
The true icing on the cake for this trip, though, lies in the good accident we made. A week before this trip, I had been in Dallas for work and my hotel colleagues spoke about how they were preparing for the upcoming eclipse. The path of this rare occurrence was right over Dallas, so the hotels were preparing for increased guests and eclipse-related events.
Wouldn’t you know that Montreal was also directly in the path of this eclipse, and we just so happened to plan our trip DURING THIS EVENT?? Additionally, the nearby museum was handing out free glasses. BEST ACCIDENT EVER!
As the time of the eclipse neared, downtown Montreal became flooded with people. There were plenty within our own hotel that claimed to have traveling to Montreal just for this event.
It was an incredibly clear day as well, so we parked ourselves on the curb with direct line of sight to the sun and waited.
Watching the progression was truly a sight to behold. Such a wonder and incredibly cool phenomenon to witness. It was also so humbling to recognize how incomprehensibly powerful the sun is. Even when it was 99% covered, it was still as bright as any other point in the day. And then when the sun was fully covered, it was as though night has fallen for the briefest of moments.
Everyone cheered loudly and when over, the crowds dispersed quickly. It was back to reality, but in a re-energized way.
The last day of our trip was rainy, and we visited the very museum that handed out the glasses for the eclipse. It was the perfect way to wrap up my first visit to Canada.
We really had a wonderful visit to our neighbor to the north, and I look forward to exploring more Canadian cities in the future.
J’aime Montreal!
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