My fiancé and I had each been to Montreal many years before we got together, and we both had fond memories of it, so we were excited to go back again as a couple. Our trip was planned around Fierté Montréal which takes place each August, but like most cities had either been on a hiatus or very toned down over the past couple of years. Luckily, the city was as amazing as we remembered, and the Pride activities made it extra fun.

We stayed at the Humanity Hotel which is Quebec's first Marriott Autograph Collection Hotel and is located in downtown Montreal for easy access to areas like Old Montreal to the Gay Village. It’s a new building (having just opened last summer) with a rooftop pool and bar, a 2-floor fitness centre, a spa, a restaurant, a bakery, and even an organic grocery store.

With that as our base we hopped around the city to check out some of the sites before partaking in Pride events, like the Montréal Botanical Garden and Insectarium where we spent an afternoon among the flowers and butterflies, the McCord Museum where JJ Levine’s "Queer Photographs" portrayed queer friends and family of the transgender photographer, the PHI Foundation for Contemporary Art where Yayoi Kusama’s "Dancing Lights That Flew Up To The Universe" explored the cosmic realm from one of the most popular living contemporary artists in the world, an even Montreal’s amusement park La Ronde for their annual fireworks competition.

Of course, you can’t go to Montreal without enjoying the delicious food and we found plenty of places to do that. Our first dinner was at Beba in the Verdun neighborhood (where Wellington has just been named the coolest street in the world) for sharing plates inspired by the Spanish and Italian cultures that settled in Argentina. The next evening was dinner at H3 inside our hotel for some fine dining that was topped off with having our dessert at a private table in their impressive wine cellar. And the evening after was at a fun little restaurant near the gay village called Red Tiger where we enjoyed way too much of the Vietnamese style food on their sharing menu.

No trip to Montreal is complete though without a visit to the infamous Schwart’z, where people line up along the street for a smoked meat sandwich at the iconic deli. We also had lunch downtown at Le Central, a next-level food court with 25 unique restaurant-kiosks, and Sunday brunch at Roselys Restaurant for a refined bistro experience inside the Fairmont the Queen Elizabeth.

Speaking of which, we also visited the Nacarat terrace bar in that hotel for their "Drama Queen" Pride party where we mixed fancy cocktails with performances from local drag queens like Lady Boom Boom from the current season of Canada’s Drag Race. Our other Pride activities included walking along Sainte-Catherine Street West in the heart of the gay village for Community Days and going to the Closing Festival at the Esplanade of the Olympic Park where DJs kept the crowds moving in front of two outdoor stages.

We managed to fit a lot into our few days in Montreal, but could have done so much more if we had more time. It’s a city that’s rich in history and culture, with a unique vibe of its own that really feels unlike anywhere else in Canada. With direct flights available from cities like Calgary and Edmonton, and of course no need to go through customs, it’s an easy destination to get to with countless things to see and do. We know we’ll be back yet again!

Related Articles

Contributor Josh Rimer |

Locale Montreal | |

Topic Travel | |