Four going to Montreal next week--- what to do? (already searched, etc)

Hello all

I am travelling to Montreal with three of my closest friends next week. We have figured out lodging, food, and transportation--- this was all done quite some time ago (we are doing Air B&B, the listings are quite ubiquitous in MTL). However, we are looking for things to do, as we will be in the city for six days. I looked through the forum for about 10 minutes trying to find things to do, but all of the posts seemed to cater to people travelling alone. I am looking for activities to do in Montreal for four young men, one of which is LGBTQ. So, in essence what are daytime activities in Montreal that work well for groups? We planned on visiting the biodome, the old city, as well as the Museum of Fine Arts already. Is it worth it to plan a day trip to Ottawa or Quebec City? In addition to this, I have heard a whole lot about Montreal's night life. We plan to explore this a little bit. Are there good nightlife options that are not LGBTQ exclusive but provide an environment in which an LGBTQ person would not feel uncomfortable? Any bars y'all would recommend? BTW, we are staying in Plateau Mont Royal. Thanks so much.
-RD

The Festival International de Jazz de Montreal is from Jun 26 to Jul 5; check out their website for more info.

Montreal's well-established "gay village" is centred on rue St-Catherine east, roughly from the Berri Metro station to Papineau. In recent summers part of this street has been closed to vehicle traffic. Businesses and restaurants have gradually moved up-market and there is plenty of relaxed heterosexual mingling, even in the strip bars when they have mixed nights.
Montreal has several history museums, led by the McCord http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/
The Canadian Centre for Architecture is an austerely beautiful building with scholarly shows on architectural topics http://www.cca.qc.ca/en
Montreal is also the headquarters for Cirque du Soleil so there are often circus-related events in the city
http://montrealcirquefest.com/
For foodies, a visit to the markets at Atwater or Jean-Talon will be mouth-watering (lots of artisanal cheeses in Quebec.) In the Plateau particularly a number of small bistros will allow you to bring your own wine; it's called AVV in French for apportez votre vin. http://www.restomontreal.ca/?ref=restomontreal.com&lang=en.com is one of several sites where you can search by area and theme.
Here is the official tourism office site with lots of resources http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/

If you are there for the jazz fest, it is a must. Much more than jazz. A lot of free outdoor stages. If you are there on a Sunday, you might be interested in PIknic Electronik. You can visit CultMTL to learn more about events and bars.

I don't think you'll have too much trouble filling in your time.

We enjoyed trekking up to the Parc du Mont-Royal for a few hours, and around to one or two of the farmers markets for breakfast or brunch ... they are pretty good. I can't provide any advice regarding bars etc - LGBTQ or otherwise.

Personally I think both Québec and Ottawa are a bridge too far in a short stay - Montréal is pretty interesting, and the Old Town is worth an evening of food and wine.

The Point-à-Calliere Museum of Archaeology in Montréal's Old Town is excellent - everything is extremely well-presented and, among other things, you can walk through archaeological excavations of the city from the time of its founding. It's extremely worthwhile. The Biodome is good as well, and I enjoyed the botanical garden (Jardin Botanique) that's right beside it. The McCord Museum is only sort of interesting. Parc Mont-Royale is worthwhile and gives you some nice walking and impressive views.

Whether a day trip to Ottawa or Québec City is worthwhile depends mostly on how much time or money you're willing to spend, but if you've got a particular interest in seeing either of them, I'd recommend picking one and staying a night and two days there; otherwise the travel time is pretty high compared to the time you'd actually have in the other city. Ottawa's best things are Parliament, the museums (especially the Canadian History Museum, formerly called the Museum of Civilization) and cycling along the canal. Québec's best is the old city walls and the old town as a whole. If you weren't in Montréal during Jazz Fest I'd recommend a trip to either Ottawa or Québec City, as I would say four days is about enough for the major Montréal sights, but I've heard excellent things about Montréal's Jazz Fest so you shouldn't have any shortage of ways to spend your time there.

@katherinemw,

I ended up using some of this advice about Ottawa and Quebec city I did this past march with a friend from school.

Thanks!

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