Looking for Montreal tourist recommendations including record shops, restaurants, etc

I'm travelling for work to Montréal,, first time ever, at the end of February, 2009 for 1 week. Will be staying at a hotel on Avenue Du President-Kennedy.

Looking for any recommendations to restaurants besides Ben's and of course record shops in the area, or with easy access from the Metro. I will be working from morning to about 5pm each weekday.

I did find a link with about 20 shops, but have any idea where they are.

http://www.laventure.net/tourist/montreal.htm

Was hoping to see some real hockey but unfortunately my fave hockey team the Montréal Canadiens are on the road first week of March. Maybe I can tour their arena if it's close.

Going to be an interesting trip.

 

This list is pretty accurate. I was there two years ago . You should be able to Google map all these stores . Dont make it a vison quest though. In five visits there over the years I found almost no worthwhile records.
Nice city but be prepared for some truly rude receptions in the record stores if you do not speak to them in French.
Ironic of course, because 99% of what they are selling is US and UK music!

 

If your a meat eater, nothing beats Schwartz's Deli. A great little piece of Montreal.

 

For restaurants/bars etc check out "The Main" (Saint Laurent) particularly from about Sherbrooke up to Mont-Royal. Ave Mont-Royal East of the metro is also a great area generally for food, drink and record shops.

 

It's not Kosher, though. So if you want a Kosher experience in Montreal, Schwartz's Deli ain't it.

I didn't have a problem when I was in the city proper speaking English. It's the surrounding area on the way in (I got a tad lost) and if you go outside where English is not really spoken.

 

A colourful phrase you can use: "Excusez-mois, mais mon francais, c'est trop f**ké. C'est inutile. Parlez-vous anglais?".

Anyway, that list you linked is pretty good and most places should be within relatively easy walking distance or close to Metro stops. Cheap Thrills in particular I've always liked; I was in there at least once a week when I lived in Mtl in the mid-'90s; it's not big, but the selection is diverse and there's always something of interest to find there. Staff are (were, anyway) pretty knowledgeable, too. L'Oblique is also very good, if you're into the more alt/indie-rock side of things.

Be advised that Ben's is no more, though; it went under a few years ago as the original owner's kids let the place slide into mediocrity and staffing (union) problems sealed its fate. Schwartz's is great though, if you don't mind the gruff attitude of the staff - but that's just local colour, right?

 

Ben's is gone? Had always heard great things about Sunday mornings at Ben's. Was it replaced with another restaurant?

I'm a bit worried about my lack of French. Even though I'm 3/8s French, I speak very little and read very very little of the language. Mother's maiden name is Carriere. Not a lot of French culture in Calgary.

I hope so Gary.

 

I never had any problems - at least west of St-Denis, where any place you'll want to go will be - and my French is terrible. Heck, it actually got worse when I moved to Montréal, because as soon as I tried to use it with locals, they'd switch to English!

Also, Ben's IMHO was always more of a late night place, someplace to stop for a sandwich after the bars closed. I don't think it's been replaced - haven't been around there in a year - but there are good little cafés all over the place that should be good. Even a lot of the chain coffee joints have good local flavour.

 

I can finally get a "real" Montréal smoked meat sandwich.

Actually there is a good small restaurant in Calgary for year run by ex-Montrealers that has fairly decent sandwiches, called Cafe Metro. The restaurant bosts an original chair from the Blue section of the old Montréal Forum.

 

This place is a favorite when a bunch of friends used to go to the Formula 1 race:

Trattoria Trestevere
1237 Crescent Street
Montreal, QC H3G2B1 Canada

Food is great, service is also great, and cozy little place.

 

1. Ben's is gone and, in my opinion, good riddance. The prices were too high, the food was not great, and the waiter on at least one occasion was very surly.
2. Cheap Thrills is very good, but for retro CDs and lots of vinyl, it's hard to beat Beatnik, at St. Denis corner Pine Avenue (or Avenue des Pins in French). Just a few steps north of Beatnik is another interesting store, Primitive. Worth a check- lots of vinyl.
3. A lot of used stores have closed, including a big one called Marché de Livre on St. Denis. A smaller and not nearly as good version of it is on Mont Royal East, east of St. Denis. There are two other used stores within a few feet, including L'Echange (not bad and good prices). (I forget the name of the other one, but it's just a couple of steps east of Marché de Livre, and the selection is not great.) Two other stores that were in close proximity to those have closed, unfortunately. Also, a large Archambault store on Ste. Catherine Street West has closed, but two other locations, also on Ste. Catherine East and West, remain open.

 

I must say I never experienced that, at least in the downtown area. They speak to me in French, I respond in English and they continue in English. Actually, in many cases, those I deal with are anglophones who are bilingual. In our east end, I'll make more of an attempt to speak French, but I have a terrible accent.

 

But be prepared for a possible line-up out the door...

 

Is the one on the lower level of the Desjardins complex still open? It wasn't too bad if you're not looking for anything too obscure.

I assume that the HMV on St Catherine W is still open; that's well worth a visit for any CD hunter. It's huge, and consists of two stores across the street from each other connected via an underpass! They occasionally have really good bargain bins, where I've found some real nuggets.

True, that. Guaranteed too that if you're there before the late night dropoff, you'll probably have to share a table.

 

Same with me, and I was born here! I know a fair bit of French, but I start forgetting things when I speak it.

 

Not much left in there though...

The best record store in Montreal for vinyl is this one:

http://www.aux33tours.com/

It means "At 33 RPMs"...

You can ask Pete, the owner, to take a stroll in his private stash if you want some really cool stuff. Jérome, the manager, is also one hep cat. He looks like he could be part of The Beastie Boys...

 

haven't read the whole thread and i'm not sure what's been listed or if any of these have closed, but here goes....

DNA Records
28 ave des Pins
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
H2W 1N3
Phone: 514-284-7434

Atom Heart Records
364-B Sherbrooke Street East
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
H2X 1E6
Phone: 514-843-8484
Web site: www.atomheart.ca

Beatnick
3770 St-Denis
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
H2W 2M1
Phone: 514-842-0664
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: www.beatnickmusic.com

Cheap Thrills
2044 Rue Metcalfe
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
H3A 1X8
Phone: 514-844-8988
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: www.cheapthrills.ca


Inbeat Record Store
3814 St-Laurent
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
H2W 1X6
Phone: 514-499-2063
Store Hours: 12-7 week 12-9 weekends
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: www.inbeatmusic.com

 

1. Actually, that Archambault is in Place des Arts (just a few feet away from Complexe Desjardins), and I remember it was being renovated, but yes, it's still open, thankfully. It's a pricey store for some items, though. The biggest selection, but also very pricey, is the original store at Ste. Catherine and berri.

2. Good news and bad news on HMV. Yes, the main store is still open, but the HMV Annex (which was devoted to budget-priced CDs (and where I found a fair amount of gems) is long gone, to my great dismay. I still kick myself for not buying the Jack Scott Capitol Collectors Series disc for $10 there. For the main HMV, selection is not good right now, but that's the way it usually is at this time of year. Uniquely, they have many Elvis Presley FTDs, but at between $45 and $52 each!

 

Just being nostalgic, there used to be record store called The Record Gold Mine on an upper level of an office building across from the late and lamented Sam the Record man, run by a unique character with a very laconic greeting style. Unfortunately, he died a few years ago. His place was a treasure trove of budget vinyl, with lots of Elvis Camdens, and stuff from the Trip and Springboard labels. There was, or maybe even still is, a record store called Mars (IIRC) that was the first place I bought used records. But in recent years, the prices were too high and the place was a mess- a true fire hazard.

 

I remember both those places, and was trying to remember what they were called. Yeah, Mars - I remember that one, in large part because they owner had a lot of nerve trying to pass that place off as a store! I mean, here's a shop on the second floor of a building on a well-travelled street in the middle of a major urban centre, and it was like stepping into a old barn! Poorly lit; cramped and dingy; magazines, CDs, records, memorabilia just thrown into old bins and stacked up everywhere; everything wildly overpriced as you say. Hard to believe any sales were made. I highly doubt it's still there - the only way I can imagine it's still around is if it's a money laundering operation.

 

They have a takeout place next door now.

 

Ben's is no more thank God, so go to Schwartz' on St-Laurent or the Main across the street. Now for restaurants, you have to go to L'Express on St-Denis, classic bistro. Also Le Continental just up the street on St-Denis is very good as well. Pied de Cochon on St-Hubert is very cool but reserve now. Old Montreal has a few good ones including Caribou on St-Alexis. Check chowhound for a list of great restaurants and whatever type of food you are looking for. My advice is to get out of the downtown core for the restaurants, yes there a few there but really nothing to write home about.

And for God sake DON"T WORRY ABOUT YOUR FRENCH! I always shake my head at the stuff I read. You wanna talk english for the whole week no problem, you'll probably be served in English half the time anyways.

http://chowhound.chow.com/boards/22

 

The campus of McGill University is quite nice ...

I was there some 30 years ago ...

http://images.google.com/images?hl=...&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title

 

Finally, changing with the times! Will have to check that out next time I'm in town.