Montreal

Alex said:

So I'm going to be here in fucking January for work. But I've never been. Pretty much sounds like the only thing to do is eat. What about drinking? Good cocktail bars? Spots with live music? Jazz, funk, rock clubs of any sort?

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There's plenty to see/do in Montreal outside, just not so much during the winter.

There is a TON of entertainment and live music though, and bars are everywhere downtown and the surroundings.

I can't name any specific places as I haven't lived there in a decade and bars/clubs really weren't my thing, but anywhere on Crescent St should do you fine for bars. It's a touristy area so the locals raise their nose to it. but it's certainly where all the foreigners go.

For live music, this is a good list:

Where to hear live music in Montréal

Frenzied Wombat said:

There's plenty to see/do in Montreal outside, just not so much during the winter.

There is a TON of entertainment and live music though, and bars are everywhere downtown and the surroundings.

I can't name any specific places as I haven't lived there in a decade and bars/clubs really weren't my thing, but anywhere on Crescent St should do you fine for bars. It's a touristy area so the locals raise their nose to it. but it's certainly where all the foreigners go.

For live music, this is a good list:

Where to hear live music in Montréal

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Thanks. Finally booked my hotel and finalized things. I'm staying at the Omni which is not even a 10 min walk from that area.

Alex said:

Thanks. Finally booked my hotel and finalized things. I'm staying at the Omni which is not even a 10 min walk from that area.

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That's a decent hotel smack in the middle of downtown that I've actually stayed at when going back to visit, so yeah you should be good to go.

You absolutely MUST have a chicken shawarma at Boustan on Crescent St, and a smoked meat sandwich (medium) at Schwartz's on St-Laurent. Both would be within walking distance during the summer, but you'll need to Uber it at this time of year. Also would recommend Chez Paree on Peel for some stripper fun.. Unless you REALLY prepare for the weather (parka, hat, gloves, boots) you won't be able to walk more than a few blocks in any direction without wishing for death.

I'm a California wimp now. I'm going to be very bundled up. But I also used to travel to Calgary often for business so I have an idea of what I'm in for.

Frenzied Wombat said:

That's a decent hotel smack in the middle of downtown that I've actually stayed at when going back to visit, so yeah you should be good to go.

You absolutely MUST have a chicken shawarma at Boustan on Crescent St, and a smoked meat sandwich (medium) at Schwartz's on St-Laurent. Both would be within walking distance during the summer, but you'll need to Uber it at this time of year. Also would recommend Chez Paree on Peel for some stripper fun.. Unless you REALLY prepare for the weather (parka, hat, gloves, boots) you won't be able to walk more than a few blocks in any direction without wishing for death.

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It's actually been incredibly mild all week weather wise to the point where most of the snow is melted and I see grass on my front lawn. I also disagree about Schwartz's as the go to for Smoked Meat and would recommend Lester's instead (albeit that's a bit more of a journey given where he's staying). I also disagree with Chez Parée for the obligatory Montreal strip club run as the possibility of running into a significant inability to interact with anyone in English is a bit too high.

I used to combine trips and go around Winterlude in Ottawa, speaking of not much to do in the winter. The 1st I think it starts. I didn't stay in Montreal, I stayed in Ottawa, but I would take the via rail in between, which used to be inexpensive and fast, and there was multiple trips each day. Plenty of things to do/see there in a short time, and people won't hiss like vampires when you speak english lol. It really depends what kind of time you have to play with though.

Can't compare Calgary cold to Montreal cold though. Calgary can be fairly mild most of the time, especially when you get a good year for chinooks. Montreal and that region in general? It can say -17 out, but once your out in it for a bit it feels like the cold is going all the way to your SOUL. This coming from a guy that has worked way north a lot, and lived in Winnipeg where it literally gets colder than fucking MARS sometimes.