I went to Montreal for a bachelor party for my friend Mike. The party was arranged by Montreal VIP for about 12 of us. The package included the hotel and help navigating the Montreal underworld. None of us had been to Montreal before so it was nice to get some advice, but having been there now I can't see the need for paying someone else to set stuff up. We did get entrance into some clubs without cover and bottle service at two places, but that's about it. Honestly, the city is pretty small and within a couple hours one can get a good feel for the scene without having to pay a couple grand for the service. Saying that, we had a great time, and the weekend convinced my other friend, Jason, to have his bachelor party in Montreal too. Everything is relatively inexpensive (gotta love that exchange rate), and the people are friendly and relaxed. It is a very good place to go if you want to have a party. The best thing about Montreal VIP was that firm's representative went by the name Agent K, which quickly got changed to Special K by our group.
Since what happens in Montreal stays in Montreal, I don't have any pictures to share from the party itself. However, I did wake up at a reasonable hour one day and walked around the city to take a few photos.
We stayed at the Hotel Le Cantlie near McGill University on Sherbrooke Rd and the famous Crescent St. It was a nice hotel with large suites, which are perfect for the in-room entertainment. I think Montreal VIP puts all of their bachelor party clients (12 parties this particular weekend) in this hotel, because when you register they make you sign a notification stating that you'll get kicked out if things get too rowdy in the wee hours.
The picture on the right shows the largest of the suites with everyone crammed in after our first night of entertainment. Evan, Mike's best man, is sitting on the bed. He did a fantastic job planning the weekend. The party included all of Mike's friends from when he grew up in New York and some of us that he graduated with from the Chicago GSB.
McGill University has a beautiful campus at the foot of Mont-Royal.
The first stop on my walking tour of Montreal was this church, the Cath?rale Marie Reine Du Monde, which is the Catholic Cathedral of Montreal. At this point, the others were actually walking with me, but when they found out I was actually serious about seeing some sights, they left to find other pleasures... Mind you, this was about 1pm and they had no problem finding clubs that were open with some beautiful ladies. On the right you can see the group in front of a statue of Robert Burns, with MJ on the phone, right before they ditched me.
Part of the reason I didn't join the others for the mid-day session at the club was that I was starting work for John Deere two days later as a line supervisor. Don't get me wrong, I had fun, but I tried to moderate it a bit so I was functional for my first day of work. Since I work on the Deere's backhoe line in Dubuque, I thought I'd take this photo of one of the machines tearing up the Montreal streets just outside of the cathedral.
Chinatown was pretty cool. It took up a couple streets that were filled with hundreds of people selling anything a toursit could hope for. However, it looked like there were a few places for the locals off the main street.
Leaving Chinatown I took this photo up the hill toward Old Montreal of the l??el de Ville on the rue Notre-Dame. Once you get up near the hotel, you start getting into some of the more touristy places and the crowds get more dense. However, even on this beautiful weekend day, the crowds never got unbearable. It was a great day to walk around.
There is a little square and pedestrian area in front of the hotel leading down to the waterfront called Place Jacques Cartier. Jacques Cartier is the reason Canada has so many crazy French people. Aside from that fact, this area and the waterfront were probably my favorite places to walk. The photo on the left shows me stading on top of the hill near the hotel looking toward the waterfront. The right photo shows the view back up the hill toward the hotel.
As I just mentioned, I liked the waterfront very much. There appeared to be miles and miles of paths to bike or run on, and a large grassy park along much of it. This photo shows one of the marinas, and it's situated between Jacques Cartier (left) and King Edward (right) piers. These piers had all sorts of activities on them for families and visitors.
On the King Edward pier was the science museum. The Centre Des Sciences De Montreal looked pretty cool, but I didn't go in. I noticed it mostly because the museum operated a food stand called the Caf Arsenik. I don't know everything about arsenic, but I know you don't want to eat any.
Here are just a couple cool photos from my stroll along the waterfront...
One of the other highlights of Old Montreal is the Basilica of Notre-Dame. The photo on the right is a pretty courtyard that services the clergy's quaters that are connected to the main church.
I've been to various parts of Ontario quite often. Erynn used to live there. There are Tim Hortons EVERYWHERE!!! Erynn tried to tell me that the French don't like donuts, and after this trip I finally believed here. By this point in my walk, I was at it for nearly five hours and hadn't seen a single Tim Hortons. This particular one is on the corner of Boulevard Ren?L?esque and Place Du Frere Andr if you're interested. I did ultimately find another one right near the main gate of McGill University.
For me, there is nothing better than Timbits (donut holes) and milk. So after my long walk, I indulged. One of my funniest memories is when Erynn and I were driving from Toronto and crossing the border at Niagara Falls. The customs officer asked the normal questions, and on this occasion, he also asked if we were bringing anything back into the country. I replied, "Yes, some Timbits. Would you like some?" The officer cracked up.
Here's Evan and Mike (right) after the weekend concluded and looking a little worse for wear. It was a good weekend.
If you're interested in our recommendations, you have to try and eat at Buonanotte. Also in terms of "entertainment", stay away from Club Wanda's just off Crescent Street. I think all of us would recommend the clubs along St. Catherine Street, but in particular Gentleman's Choice. Ask for Stephanie...
© 2005 Doug Rathburn