David Whitley compares his experiences in Canada’s big three metropoles.
A free gig in Montreal
Sidling down past cafés and restaurants that have abandoned their usual premises to sell their wares from temporary grills on the street, I find myself following the noise to a park. Inside, a band is playing a free gig. The singer announces that the next tune is a love song called: “How Do You Like These Deals?”, written by a car to a human being. I find myself bopping along next to a septuagenarian woman with a Last of the Summer Wine blue rinse perm and two screamingly camp men holding up a sign that says: “Marry Me”. Oh, yes, and I’m drinking apricot beer.
Later on, I find Boulevard Saint-Laurent whooping over several impromptu games of Rock Paper Scissors that appear to be breaking out domino-style down the cordoned-off road.
The best city in Canada?
It is perhaps a little bold to categorically state that Montreal is easily the best city in Canada. After all, I’ve only been to the three biggest cities in Canada, so I can’t really speak for the relative charms of Winnipeg, Calgary, Saskatoon and Edmonton. This said, from what I’ve heard, Edmonton isn’t even the best city in Edmonton.
But I know if I could choose just one city to visit on a future trip to Canada, Montreal would be it. And Saturday night’s experience of walking down Boulevard St Laurent and rue Saint-Denis sums up a lot about why. Montreal has an incredible energy, a seemingly permanent state of festival, a terrace bar culture and a spirit that you just want to throw yourself into.
Leaving Montreal and wanting more
It’s just somewhere that doesn’t feel like anywhere else, a mix of European and North American, historic and pioneering. There’s loads to do and see – I felt like I’d barely scratched the surface in four days and wanted to kayak down rapids, see the art galleries, visit the old Olympic stadium and do some serious eating. Part of the charm is down to the language thing. Montreal flits between French and English with ease. It doesn’t have that ludicrous French protectionism and self-importance that the rest of Canada generally criticises Quebec for. In fact, Montreal kinda looks at Quebec as a slightly embarrassing family member.
Canadian cities as bands
If you have to compare the three main Canadian cities to bands, Vancouver would be Coldplay. It’s got all the right ingredients, can be spectacular to look at and occasionally pulls out a cracker. But expose yourself to it in more than short doses and it feels bland, like something has mixed the ingredients into a dull, healthy soup.
Toronto, on the other hand, would be Roxette. It has a desperately uncool reputation, and is hardly setting the world on fire. But give it a go; you’ll find that it produces consistent winners and is hugely likeable whichever track you head down.
Montreal, of course, would be hometown heroes Arcade Fire. It’s big, it’s complex, it’s far from identikit and it has an electrifying energy. Despite everyone and his dog raving about it, the qualities that drew people in originally are still there. And, you could argue, it just keeps improving.
More Montreal travel
Other Montreal travel articles on Planet Whitley include:
- River surfing on the St Lawrence River in Montreal.
- Three great places to stay in Montreal’s Centre-Ville.
- Five great places to stay in Vieux Montreal.
- Why Pointe-a-Calliere is the best museum in Vieux Montreal.
For a selection of Montreal tours, experiences and activities, pick your favourites here.
