After a year of trying to learn French with nothing but Duolingo, Busuu, a f*ckboy and a few Youtube channels, I decided to bite the bullet and spend several weeks in Montreal to get an actual immersive experience. While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend anyone follow in my footsteps (unless you’re already familiar with the Quebecois accent), I did have an incredible time exploring the city, eating [way, way too much] poutine, and making a complete ass out of myself every time I gave a blank stare after being asked a simple question like “Avez-vous besoin d’une kwee-yahrr?” Thankfully Montreal is quite popular with French tourists and other language-learners, so I was able to get in that practice in with non-natives.

As an American, I always assumed Canada was just the “good version” of the United States: affordable education and healthcare, stunning national parks, polite strangers, First World amenities (what a ridiculous phrase). I was not ready for the exchange rate, which is so good it’s a miracle I still came in under budget considering how I blew money left and right thinking “It’s so cheap here!!!”

I also didn’t anticipate the societal impact of long waiting periods for mental health care in Canada’s admittedly-far-better-than-American-but-still-far-from-perfect healthcare system, made clear by the numerous times I was accosted by screaming people on the street, who—unlike the people screaming in the street in the U.S.—looked like they had woken up in a clean home, showered, ate a balanced breakfast, and just completely snapped on their way to work.

What really surprised me, though (and yes, I’m outing myself here), was the fact that this huge country, which in some ways looked and felt light years different from life at home, is a mere walk across the border. I felt like Moira in The Handmaid’s Tale when she escapes Gideon and finally sees a Canadian flag. All month, I looked for every justification to stay and never go back to my own dystopia. But the locals told me dystopia comes in winter with the unrelenting shitty weather, so I should come back then and then decide if it’s really where I want to stay. (And as I sit here one year later writing COVID updates for all of my posts, the answer is—obviously—a resounding yes.)

Despite the insane exchange rate (hovering around 75 cents to the Canadian dollar), Canada is still a wealthy nation, and while Montreal isn’t as expensive as larger cities like Toronto and Vancouver, it was still easy to find opportunities to spend money. I arrived mid-August, when the summer festivals were in full swing. I stumbled upon a street food festival, a dessert festival, a taco festival, a fashion and design festival, several music festivals, and a giant festival dedicated to the entire continent of Asia. Just to name a few. Some of these were free, some required a small entrance fee, but all of them provided plenty of food and paraphernalia for purchase.

I typically travel on a much tighter budget than I did in Montreal. This was partially due to it being the first stop on a long backpacking trip with all my savings barely touched, and partially due to a complete F*ck It mentality which I’m sure I’ll regret a few months from now. (COVID Update: I do not.)

Yet, with free housing (thanks to WorldPackers.com and a friendship I made over the course of a single day trip to the Cliffs of Moher a year prior), going out to eat an average of 1-2 times per day, and doing nearly every touristic thing there is to do in the city (minus the ferris wheel), I came out to an average of $32 USD per day. That’s including extra public transportation fees (I lost my Opus metro card shortly after paying for a week’s worth of rides), steep ATM fees, baggage fees for both flights, buying a new sweater and two pairs of expensive hiking socks, a thank-you gift for my host, a two-day trip to Quebec City (thank you Facebook ride-share and couch-surfing groups!), a full-fledged poutine addiction, and several other non-necessities. So, in theory, Quebec can be done on a much, much smaller budget.

The internet is full of Top Things to Do blog posts for sightseeing in Montreal like this one and this one, but here are a few of my highlights, warnings, and other things to note:

Highlights

Botanical Garden

I spent hours here admiring the grounds, especially the First Nations Garden, the huge Chinese Garden (created in partnership with Shanghai), and, my favorite, the Toxic Plants Garden. This is one of the few sights in the city that’s far away from everything else, but if you’re timing is lucky you can make it a day trip and then head over to Parc Olympique for Premiers Vendredis (First Fridays) from June-September, and feast your heart out on local specialties.

Festivals (take your pick)

I have never been to a city that had so much going on in a single summer (okay except for maybe New York). No matter what kind of food, music, or hobby you’re into, you’re likely to stumble across a huge crowd of people celebrating it as you wander the streets any time the weather’s nice. Summer is definitely the most jam-packed with events, but even winter has a number of events such as Igloofest (which is, you know, exactly what it sounds like). Because the weather can be so bleak for much of the year, les Montréalais really make the most of their sunshine.

St Viateur’s rosemary and sea salt bagel

Some people say St Viateur’s competitor Fairmount is just as good if you’re looking for the perfect, fresh-from-the-oven bagel. I disagree. They also say you shouldn’t put anything on it; just get in the to-go line, pay with cash, and eat it straight. I prefer dipping mine in their little cold to-go butter, and then heading down the street to Schwartz’s deli for the real meal. St. Viateur has two locations, each about a half-hour walk from Chez Schwartz. Plenty of time to work back up an appetite.

Automne Boulangerie

I made a friend who works here and I’ve never heard the bread-making process described so beautifully. High quality ingredients, everything made with love, second only to France.

Barbie Expo

Ok, maybe this won’t be everyone’s jam, but the little girl in me was on Cloud 9 as I walked through the world’s largest Barbie exhibition situated conveniently in an upscale mall in downtown Montreal. Sure, fine, yeah definitely, there were things wrong with it that my grown-up brain couldn’t ignore, but to see so much cultural representation in fashion, as well as some downright beautiful expressions of art and history, made it easily worth it. If you’ve met me, you know I much prefer sweatpants to high fashion, but after this expo I stand converted. Plus, I mean, Vampire Barbie? Queen of the Aliens Barbie? Barbie from that notoriously iconic moment in The Birds where Tippi Hedren gets attacked, perfectly encapsulating the glorification of suffering for artistry while simultaneously shedding a light on the pressures of misogyny in the workplace? Who could resist?

Musee des Beaux-Arts and Le Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal

Two museums that my wallet loved as much as I did: The first (which is free!) is a great introduction to Quebec’s history through the lens of various artistic movements, and the second ($5 with student ID. You’ve kept yours, right?) was just incredible (although installations and exhibits vary). Not exactly a “something for everyone” suggestion but if you need a rainy day activity these are a great choice.

Verdun and Parc Monseigneur J-A Richard

I completely lucked out getting to stay with a friend in Verdun (pronounced VerghDUR, comme un canard), a large neighborhood south of the city center (20 mins by metro), with tons of cute shops, bakeries and restaurants far away from all the tourists. As a huge bonus, it’s situated right next to the Fleuve St-Laurent, with paths along the water that transport you far away from the city chaos. Head to the De L’Eglise metro stop on the Orange Line for a look at “real” Montreal outside of Mont Royal and Mile End.

Schwartz’s

(Yes, literally worth every overpriced bite. I couldn’t believe how much it lived up to the hype.) So, look. I’m not usually a meat-eater. I’m what you could call the Worst Vegan Ever. As in, I usually eat vegan or veg at home in the US, where I cook for myself and spend $0 on dining out in order to save money for dining out in foreign countries. I mean, sure, if someone offers me something homemade-with-love that’s delicious and free, I’ll try it. But, when I’m abroad, my moral high ground goes to shit and I eat my way through the country as a local would if a local didn’t eat like a local at all and in fact ate like a tourist. But look…I want to experience every new culture for what it is, and food is often a huge part of that. So, in Montreal, I tried three different meat dishes:

1) Poutine (The gravy is often made with a meat broth but not always.)

2) I can’t believe I’m recounting this but I ate pig face. By accident. My French is worse than I thought.

3) A classic smoked meat sandwich from Schwartz’s. Two thin pieces of rye bread, a little bit of mustard, and…AN ENTIRE COW?????? WAS IT A COW?????? WAS IT A COW, A PIG, AND A BUFFALO? It was, to put it another way, a lot of meat. Tender, melt-in-your-mouth, I-descended-from-cave-people meat. And worth every bite.

Yes, of course, the view at Mont Royal.

Give yourself time to explore the area, including the short hiking trails and the lively Mont Royal neighborhood. On my third time up to the top, I found a big lake and—you guessed it—an international folk dance festival.

A note for those of you wanting to work on your French…

I say all of this with love for the wonderful Quebecois friends I made during my time in Montreal, but be warned that you will have a much easier time practicing French if you’re familiar with the accent or are already an advanced speaker. The people I met who were visiting from France said even they have a hard time understanding the locals. For example:

Un, deux, trois becomes

Urrn, durr, trwah

Or in other words:

Ouais, je veux le beurre de là-bas becomes

Quacking noise, je vurr le barrrrr (like a pirate) duh luh buh

Another example: Loud, a famous Quebecois rapper who often switches between French and English, rhymes the French word main with the English word brain. For an English-speaker, that may seem perfectly natural. You’re wrong.

Accent aside, Montreal is a great place to work on your language skills. You get the comfort of nearly everyone being bilingual or close to it, while still having the option to jump outside your comfort zone in a place where it is literally written into law that the French language comes first.

$$$-saving Tips

Depending on the length of your stay, you may want to get the unlimited metro card. You have to pay an initial fee for the Opus Card itself ($6 CAD or ~$4.58 USD), but even a weekly pass saves you a lot of money unless you plan on doing Montreal by foot (which, to be fair, is actually doable if you’re a hardcore city explorer, except maybe for places like the Botanical Garden and Biosphere).

If you’re from the US, the exchange rate is amazing. When poutine and crêpes get old, there are plenty of high-quality supermarkets throughout the city (sometimes it takes a bit of searching, though), so if you’re looking for ways to save, food is a great option. Another way to save a ton of cash is by joining the Facebook groups listed below, which I used for travel to/from Quebec City (trains and busses are shockingly expensive if you’re used to European prices) and for couch-surfing when I arrived:

Host A Sister - A phenomenal resource, this group is for non-male travelers to find others who are happy to host them anywhere in the world, with nearly 50,000 members. While I don’t always find their rhetoric particularly inclusive, many hosts specify “LGBTQ+ friendly”.

Covoiturage Québec / Montréal - If you read/write enough French to get by with “je cherche MTL-QC demain n’importe quand”, you can save a ton of money by finding carpools for $15-20 CAD per way. Sometimes if I was in a rush I’d even send a message in English to the person offering a ride in French and it was never an issue.

Canada Backpackers Ride-Share  - An English-speaking group for backpackers traveling all over Canada. Most drives offered are long-distance and simply ask for gas money and company.

So, with all of this in mind, coming in under $1000 for an entire month abroaD doesn’t actually seem that miraculous.

Hopefully one day soon you’ll be able to use all these tips for a low-cost adventure to one of Canada’s most backpacker-friendly cities! For now, wear a mask, keep an eye on your dreams, and enjoy all the outdoor beauty the U.S. has to offer.