Toronto or Montreal- Help me decide?

I'm barging in to ask restaurant recommendations in Montreal. I'll be alone -- if a restaurant is a romantic/date restaurant, please call this out for Skittl :)
 
I agree that Montreal is generally more interesting than Toronto, but since you mentioned zoos, it is an unusually good time to visit the Toronto Zoo, with not only the baby polar bear and giant panda cubs that have been mentioned, but also four white lion cubs and a baby rhino: http://www.torontozoo.com/babies
 
My folks took me to Montreal once, and I remember having crêpes at some restaurant. At the time I rejected all things cultural, but I'd probably be more open minded today. I still wouldn't eat out, unless it was on someone else's dime. :D
 
Perhaps you might like Notre Dame Island in Montreal, if you like nature. You can get a nice view of the city from there. As much as I love New York City, eventually I need a break from concrete everywhere, and would rather go to Liberty Island than to Central Park.
 
OK, you have all convinced me (even though I'm not the OP) to visit Montreal (someday...). :) I'm thinking Old Montreal is a better area to stay in than downtown (i.e. closer to tourist attractions...I'm a history buff ;))?
 
Debbie S said:
I'm thinking Old Montreal is a better area to stay in than downtown (i.e. closer to tourist attractions...I'm a history buff ;))?
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It's been a while, but from what I can recall "Old Montreal" itself is a very small area -- there are indeed hotels within its bounds, but there are many other choices nearby, within 15 minutes walk or less, that will likely cost less and be more convenient for other amenities.
 
Montreal is like Boston, that it's quite walkable and the subway is pretty easy to use. Unlike Boston, hotel accommodation won't break the bank. If you're American, even better due to the strong USD.
 
Debbie S said:
OK, you have all convinced me (even though I'm not the OP) to visit Montreal (someday...). :) I'm thinking Old Montreal is a better area to stay in than downtown (i.e. closer to tourist attractions...I'm a history buff ;))?
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Downtown is reasonably close to Old Montreal. You can stay downtown and very easily get to the old part of the city.
 
kwanfan1818 said:
I'm barging in to ask restaurant recommendations in Montreal. I'll be alone -- if a restaurant is a romantic/date restaurant, please call this out for Skittl :)
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Unless you are vegetarian, you absolutely must go to Schwartz's Deli. There is always a lineup out the door, so be prepared to wait, and if you're going to sit in instead of takeout, expect crammed tables in a very small space. But it is worth it because they make the best smoked meat sandwiches in the world, on amazing rye bread, with kosher pickles and awesome fries. (Heart attack on a plate, but you only live once!)

I am a Toronto girl through and through and I snark at Montreal all the time, and I would argue with anyone who tried to say Montreal had anything to offer that Toronto couldn't match... but the one thing we can't match is real Montreal smoked meat, Schwartz's style.

If you're coming from a place where Middle Eastern/Mediterranean food of the shawarma and falafel variety isn't commonplace, Montreal also has a lot of good places of that type. Even the big chains (Basha and Amir's are two of them) are reliable. However, if you're used to that kind of food and live in a city where shawarma can be had on every block (like in Toronto), there's nothing extraordinary about Montreal's versions.

Oh, and I don't know where the best can be found (and people's likes and dislikes on this dish tend to vary widely), but when you're in Quebec, you have to eat poutine. (For those not in the Canuck know, it's fries with gravy and cheese curds.)
 
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Hope it's ok that I'm hijacking this thread - I thought it might make more sense than starting a new one. I'll be in Toronto 5/26-5/31 and would love some suggestions on what to do while I'm there!
I already have plans to go to a convention on the 27th and the 28th but the rest of my time there is pretty open! I won't have a car, but it looks like I'm a seven minute walk from a Line 2 train. I will be staying with my aunt and uncle but I'm not trying to have them re-work their schedules around me so I assume I'll be on my own for the majority of my time there.
 
The open doors is a great event and a good way to learn about the city. The red path tour is good and the winter garden theatre is a must see. We enjoyed all the buildings we've gone through the past few years
 
I throw my vote in for Montreal - I love it there. If you haven't already booked a hotel, we stayed at the Hotel Roberval - nothing fancy but the price was good, we had a suite with a kitchenette, a block from rue St Catherine and all the restaurants/night life and the subway. It felt very safe and walkable to vieux Montreal at street level or the underground walkways.

And if you have time, a side trip to Quebec City is not to be missed!
 
personwhoishere said:
Hope it's ok that I'm hijacking this thread - I thought it might make more sense than starting a new one. I'll be in Toronto 5/26-5/31 and would love some suggestions on what to do while I'm there!
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If you're into old beautiful houses, I really liked Casa Loma. Also, Toronto has a great theatre district - I can't access it while I am at work, but mirvish.com would have information about what is playing. A couple of things I haven't done but have always wanted to do are (1) see a show at Second City and (2) take a boat tour on Lake Ontario. Also, if you haven't been to Niagara Falls, I'd highly recommend getting there. Since you don't have a car, a tour is probably the best way to go. The one that I did also stopped along the way at a winery for a tasting, which was an added bonus.
 
personwhoishere said:
Hope it's ok that I'm hijacking this thread - I thought it might make more sense than starting a new one. I'll be in Toronto 5/26-5/31 and would love some suggestions on what to do while I'm there!
I already have plans to go to a convention on the 27th and the 28th but the rest of my time there is pretty open! I won't have a car, but it looks like I'm a seven minute walk from a Line 2 train. I will be staying with my aunt and uncle but I'm not trying to have them re-work their schedules around me so I assume I'll be on my own for the majority of my time there.
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Queen Street is a bustling place with lots of shopping if you're into that (I hate shopping though). Kensington Market is good for daytime shopping in terms of health stores, off-beat boutiques, etc.
 
I think Montreal and Quebec City are unlike any other city in North America, but my heart has a soft spot for Toronto. I've been there four times, and there's so many great things to do. CN Tower, Eaton Centre, Casa Loma, Toronto Zoo, Bloor/Yorkville, Chinatown, Little Italy, the shopping is now second-to-none and getting better with each passing a year, a spectacular Pride festival and the list goes on and on. I really say you can't go wrong with either, but I love Toronto.
 
I was only in Toronto for one day, and my sister took me to Chinatown (like being in another country), and up the CN Tower (awe inspiring). If I'd had a second day I would have loved to go to the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum), because I am a museum junkie.
 
rjblue said:
I was only in Toronto for one day, and my sister took me to Chinatown (like being in another country), and up the CN Tower (awe inspiring). If I'd had a second day I would have loved to go to the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum), because I am a museum junkie.
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Sorry to snark, but Toronto's Chinatown is a joke. At least compared to the Chinatowns in Vancouver, San Francisco, New York ... heck, even Winnipeg and Victoria outdo Toronto in this department. However it's adjacent to Kensington Market which is worth a visit, so you'd be in the neighbourhood anyway.

But the ROM is awesome, if you ignore that hideous glass spider-thing that ate half the outside of the gothic architecture. And the new and improved AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) is phenomenal. Or for something a little different, the Bata Shoe Museum I mentioned upthread.

For something outdoors, I always try to go to Centre Island when I'm in TO. Huge park on an island in Lake Ontario, accessed by a quick ferry ride from the downtown harbour.
 
Artemis@BC said:
Sorry to snark, but Toronto's Chinatown is a joke. At least compared to the Chinatowns in Vancouver, San Francisco, New York ... heck, even Winnipeg and Victoria outdo Toronto in this department. However it's adjacent to Kensington Market which is worth a visit, so you'd be in the neighbourhood anyway.

But the ROM is awesome, if you ignore that hideous glass spider-thing that ate half the outside of the gothic architecture. And the new and improved AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) is phenomenal. Or for something a little different, the Bata Shoe Museum I mentioned upthread.

For something outdoors, I always try to go to Centre Island when I'm in TO. Huge park on an island in Lake Ontario, accessed by a quick ferry ride from the downtown harbour.
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I've heard that Toronto's downtown Chinatown has shrunk over the years. And apparently there's a much bigger Chinatown in Markham (although I've never been to it before).
 
If you were moving I would say Toronto (I live nearby) but to visit I would suggest Montreal .. No contest!!
 
Artemis@BC said:
Sorry to snark, but Toronto's Chinatown is a joke. At least compared to the Chinatowns in Vancouver, San Francisco, New York ... heck, even Winnipeg and Victoria outdo Toronto in this department. However it's adjacent to Kensington Market which is worth a visit, so you'd be in the neighbourhood anyway.
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But Toronto's Chinatown might be fascinating to someone who has never been exposed to Chinese culture.

Chinese culture is so pervasive in Vancouver and the neighboring Richmond that Chinatown itself has become quite insignificant. I live in a largely Chinese/Italian neighborhood and if I want a dose of Chinese culture, there is a grocery store just a five minute drive away that serves the Chinese market. This is one of two grocery stores in the neighborhood, and the other largely serves the white/Italian market. The Chinese store is fascinating - sells stuff life pigs' uteri and blood. It has its own butcher, and when I asked for dog bones one time, the butcher pulled an entire cow's thigh out of the freezer and cut off some pieces for bones. :eek:

And the fish market there is not for the fainthearted.
 
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