TM_MONTRÉAL ON A SHOESTRING.indd
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TM_MONTRÉAL ON A SHOESTRING.indd
MONTRÉAL ON A SHOESTRING Have a student card? Want to travel? Then it’s off to Montréal! With so much to see and do – a lot of it for free –, Montréal is by far one of the most affordable travel destinations for students itching to discover. From sightseeing to clubbing to shopping to eating and beyond, there are tons of incredibly diverse things to see and do all year round in Montréal, and you don’t need an excellent credit rating to do it. For example, Montréal is a city of festivals, which means accessible year-round fun of all kinds. The summer Jazz Fest alone offers hundreds – notice the plural – of free shows each year, and the wintry Montreal HIGH LIGHTS Festival promotes all sorts of free, free-spirited fun – notice how many times “free” is popping up here? – What’s greater still, this is not the exception, but the rule in Montréal. All year long, festivals of all kinds showcase different talents and tastes with affordable activities and events. Feel like a little culture? Head out to the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts on half-price Wednesdays, starting from 5:30 pm. Or, if you’ve got a gang of twenty or more together, enjoy group rates for temporary exhibitions or a free guided tour of the permanent collection. The MMFA also offers many cultural activities – most of which are free – such as workshops, lectures and symposia, as well as films on art and films by artists. If one museum is simply not enough, the Montréal Museum Pass will get you into the city’s many museums at a fraction of the price. Choose from one of three cards: free admission to each museum for three days (one visit per museum - $60); free admission to each museum PLUS unlimited use of public transportation for three days (one visit per museum - $65); and free admission to all museums for an entire year (two admissions per museum - $200). What’s more, the Pass is full of reduced prices to many of Montréal’s tourist attractions, so not only do you save on some culture, you save on lots of other fun things, too. Mount Royal is a four-season playground with lots of room for hiking, biking, picnicking, skiing, sledding, snowshoeing and skating, among other things (like our summer Sunday TM_MONTRÉAL ON A SHOESTRING.indd 1 Tam-Tam ritual). Skating outdoors on Beaver Lake or even in the Old Port is a fav winter pastime in the city, but if the weather isn’t on your side, the indoor skating rink at 1000 De La Gauchetière will do the trick nicely. The ice quality is great and the building is incredible: a 51-storey jewel in the Montréal skyline, it exemplifies a new architectural philosophy through its artful use of materials. Once you’ve finished gawking at the construction, you can rent skates on-site and practice your figure-eights in a rink bathed in natural light. Not far from the rink is Montréal’s Chinatown –just look for the dragons – where you’ll find inexpensive meals and deals. With a thriving Chinese community, this flourishing area is home to shops selling exotic foods, traditional crafts, martial arts accessories, herbs and natural medicines… basically, all things Asian. It’s the place to be for traditional holidays and festivals; a wander through the narrow streets will have you feeling like you just stepped into the Hangzhou market. You can even run away to the circus! Montréal is rapidly becoming THE circus arts capital on the planet, thanks in large part to Montréal’s Circus City, La TOHU. Prestigious circus school, training centre, environmental complex and Big Top all in one, La TOHU brings you exhilarating circus talent from around the world while doing its best to save the planet. Be entertained and amazed by circus artistry in TOHU’s “green” circular performance hall at reduced student rates. Or, check out Montréal Complètement Cirque, their new international summer circus festival that offers performances, demonstrations, and hands-on workshops at prices that are easy on the pocketbook. La Vitrine is your window to cheap tickets and last-minute deals on pretty much anything and everything that you want to see. You can even score passes to free events: reserve online or check out their downtown information centre conveniently located in the Quartier des spectacles (Entertainment district) on Sainte-Catherine Street. If you want to put your finger on the cultural pulse in the Greater Montréal region, La Vitrine is the place to do it. 12-03-13 10:54 TRANSPORTATION The 747 Express Bus is the best way to get to and from the airport, with multiple stops downtown at a mere cost of $8. Once you’re on-island, you can zip about the city thanks to our efficient public transit system (STM). For only $8, the Tourist Card gives you unlimited access to the bus and metro (subway) network for an entire day. Or, if you will be hanging with us a little longer, there is a 3-day card for only $16. Another cool thing about our metro: an art gallery in itself, each station was designed by a different architect and some even showcase original works by Québécois artists. In Montréal, even public transit is interesting! If you prefer to get about by your own volition, then you have two great options: BIXI, Montréal’s award-winning pay-as-yougo public bike rental service that lets you pick up and drop off at any bike station on the island, and your feet. Compact and safe, the downtown core alone is a pedestrian’s paradise, while each neighbourhood in itself offers its own special appeal. Montréal boasts several pedestrian-only streets (some seasonal, some permanent) and the metropolitan bike path network includes over 540 km (approx. 335 ½ miles) across the island. Basically, this city was made for moving! DINING Montréal’s international reputation for gastronomy isn’t limited to high-falutin’ gourmet gnosh – in fact, Montréal is a hotspot for delicious cheap eats, too. You just have to know where to go. Here’s a list of places to eat big for little in Montreal: RESTAURANTS LESS than $20 BENELUX brewpub and café 245 Sherbrooke Street West 514 543-9750 www.brasseriebenelux.com Café Vasco da Gama 1472 Peel Street 514 286-2688 www.vascodagama.ca Chez Cora 1240 Drummond Street 514 286-6171 www.chezcora.com Jardin Nelson 407 Place Jacques-Cartier 514 861-5731 www.jardinnelson.com Le Bourlingueur 363 Saint-François-Xavier 514 845-3646 www.lebourlingueur.ca Pica Pica 1310 de Maisonneuve East 514 658-2874 Restaurant Le Taj 2077 Stanley Street 514 845-9015 www.restaurantletaj.com Sir Winston Churchill Pub Complex 1455-59 Crescent Street 514 288-3814 www.swcpc.com Brisket Montréal & Salon Krausmann 1093 Beaver Hall Hill 514 878-3641 www.briskets.ca Canadian Maple Delights 84 Saint-Paul Street East 514 765-3456 www.mapledelights.com L’Assommoir 112 Bernard Street West 514 272-0777 www.assommoir.ca Marché du Vieux 217 Saint-Laurent Blvd 514 393-2772 www.marcheduvieux.com Schwartz’s 3895 Saint-Laurent Blvd. 514 842-4813 www.schwartzsdeli.com St-Viateur Bagel & Café 1127 du Mont-Royal Avenue East 514 528-6361 www.stviateurbagel.com TM_MONTRÉAL ON A SHOESTRING.indd 2 Tasso, mezze bar 3829 Saint-Denis Street 514 842-0867 www.tassobaramezze.com Europea Espace Boutique 33 Notre-Dame Street West 514 844-1572 www.europea.ca Pub St-Paul 124 Saint-Paul Street East 514 874-0485 www.pubstpaul.com So much to see, so much to do, so little in the wallet… such is the plight of any student wishing to get out there and experience the big, wide world. Montréal makes it happen. À bientôt! 12-03-13 10:54