Hi friends, welcome back to part two of my Montreal series! In case you missed it, you can check out part one here. The following morning, we slept in and headed to La Finca across the street from our hotel for some delicious iced lattes. This spot was incredibly popular and we were glad we didn’t have to venture far for good coffee. We also got a croissant and it tasted just as good as the ones in Paris.
Fully caffeinated, Jon and I headed towards Old Town and saw the Place d’Armes and Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal, ironically under construction too. I can’t remember why we didn’t go inside, but the pictures online are beautiful! If you’re into pop culture, this is where Celine Dion got married.
This is the interior, this picture is from the Notre Dame website.
We had brunch at Brasserie 701 with two of Jon’s coworkers and I got the waffles and Jon went with the Smoked Salmon Benedict. This seemed like a very trendy spot and the food tasted good, but wasn’t super filling like quite a few brunch spots in NYC.
We avoided some torrential downpours while we were in here, and the skies cleared up for the rest of the afternoon. Jon and I headed to The Old Port and walked along the St. Lawrence River enjoying the scene. There’s plenty to do at the Old Port including zip lining, food trucks, a Ferris wheel, rides, and games. This is also a great place to walk, bike, or roller blade.
Jon and I walked through The Bonsecours Market, originally home to the Canadian Parliament, but didn’t find any souvenirs that sparked joy. We did have luck on Saint-Paul Street, the oldest in the city dating back to 1672.
For dinner we walked into Fiornillo and the Italian restaurant was packed! We enjoyed our meal and I’d highly recommend making a reservation because I saw a few groups get turned away, or told there where would be a long wait and left. We shared the delicious Pappardelle Bolognese and Pepperoni Pizza. We seem to always find ourselves at Italian restaurants when we travel, but you can never go wrong with pizza and pasta! We had planned to get poutine for dinner, but quite a few of the places we wanted to go to were closed on Sundays. It felt like a bit of a faux pas not getting poutine in Canada!
Stay tuned for the conclusion of our time in Montreal!
