Montreal - Day 4: Le Plateau-Mont-Royal and Montreal to Chicago
Le Plateau-Mont-Royal
On Sunday, May 14, 2023, I checked out of the hotel around 10am and strolled through Parc La Fontaine, a large, picturesque urban park in the Le Plateau-Mont-Royal neighborhood. The park has tree-lined paths, a pond, open green spaces, playgrounds, and recreational facilities. It was a very peaceful way to start my last day in Montreal.
Next, I grabbed lunch at La Banquise, one of the top spots I had read about for poutine, and opted for La Classique. I couldn’t leave Montreal without trying poutine! It was so good!
Old Montreal
I finished lunch around 12pm, but my flight wasn’t until 6:30pm. With time to spare, I decided to take the orange line to the Place d'Armes stop and walked to Terrasse Place D'Armes to spend the afternoon there. It was a lovely way to end the trip. The restaurant/bar is located on the 8th floor of Hôtel Place d’Armes and provides beautiful views of Montreal. While there, I had the Red Boney and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.
Old Montreal to Chicago
I then walked to René-Lévesque and Saint-Laurent to pick up the 747 bus to the airport… or so I tried. I unfortunately didn't do enough research about public transit in Montreal before my trip, and I didn’t realize the bus would cost me $11 CAD to get to the airport. Since it had cost me $3.50 CAD on the bus ride from St-Viateur Bagel & Café Mont-Royal to Parc Mont-Royal, I saved $4 CAD for the ride to the airport, incorrectly assuming that’s all it would cost. Since I didn’t have enough Canadian dollars, I couldn’t take public transit to the airport.
Luckily, I still had plenty of time before my flight, so I got off the bus and grabbed an Uber instead. It cost $35 CAD from René-Lévesque and Saint-Laurent, which isn’t that bad. In hindsight, Friday morning, before heading out for breakfast, I should have walked to the Saint Laurent Metro stop to get an unlimited weekend pass for $14.75 CAD, as that would have included:
my bus ride from St-Viateur Bagel & Café Mont-Royal to Parc Mont-Royal,
the train ride to and from the Montreal Botanical Gardens,
and the bus to the airport.
Oh well. Now, I know that for next time, and hopefully this helps you be a little more prepared for your own trip to Montreal!
I arrived at the airport around 3pm, with plenty of time to spare before my 6:30pm flight out of Montreal. I hung out at Urban Crave, one of the airport’s restaurants, while waiting for my flight.
I packed a lot into a short span of time, and I’m sure there are plenty of things I missed. Someday, I plan to return to Montreal to explore even more of this beautiful city.
