By: Bound2explore        August 28, 2016

Road Trip to Montreal is a perfect long weekend getaway if you live in east coast.  Montreal is located next to Up State New York. Finally, on the three days weekend, we decided to do a road trip to Montreal.  It only took us about eight hours to drive to this French speaking city from New Jersey. Driving through the Catskill mountain of Up State New York all the way to Canadian border was an adventure itself. This scenic drive is one of the benefit of doing a road trip to Montreal.

Passing through the border to Canada was a piece of cake but on the way back to USA, passing through the border was a whole different story. Let me tell you, US immigration officers takes their job very seriously.  Apparently staying only a couple of days in Montreal had made us looked suspicious. Of course we didn’t realize it at first. You know, feeling innocent and all.  Finally we got the message after they told us to wait in a room while they conducted a search inside the car and we met other “suspicious” traveler in the waiting room.  When we swapped the story, we found out that Montreal is a hub for illegal drug activity.  Who would have guessed that? Not in a million years. Needless to say, they let us go after more than an hour waiting.

Anyway, lets’ not get distracted by the technicality of crossing the border.  What’s there to see in Montreal? Road trip to Montreal is better be worth it right? I meant, after all the hassle of crossing the border. Luckily, Montreal is a big city and has a lot of things to offer. If you only have 3 days including travel time, here are things you should not miss:

Mount Royal

Mount Royal is a small mountain in Montreal. There are a couple look- out points at Mount Royal where you can get a view of Montreal. The best look – out point is from Montreal Royal Chalet. This is a must see when you do a road trip to Montreal. You can find a parking lot nearby and you only need to walk for about 10 -15 minutes from the parking lot to Montreal Royal Chalet. Tip: go to the Mount Royal look out at night to capture the night view of Montreal

 

Saint Joseph Oratory

This beautiful building is situated on the top of the hill. Some spooky fact: this place contains the heart of Saint Andrew. If you walk a couple block down the road, you will find a delicious Middle Eastern food restaurant. Well, it is more like a hole in the wall. But the food is really good.

 

Olympic Park

The Olympic Park was used to facilitate the Olympic Games back 1976. Now, it is open for public. For a fee, you can explore the stadium, sport facilities, and check out the exhibitions. Click here to buy a ticket.

 

The Montreal Tower

The Montreal Tower is located inside the Olympic Park. It is the tallest inclined tower in the world, rising 165 meters at a 45-degree angle. Visitors can reach the top of the Montréal Tower on a mesmerizing climb in a glass-encased funicular. The cool thing about this funicular that it has a hydraulic system that allows the cabin to remain horizontal during the two-minute ride to the top. You can see the sweeping view of Montréal area and the St. Lawrence Plains when you are at the top.

 

Notre-Dame Basilica

You can’t compare it to the one in Paris, but this is the best you can get in North America. It is beautiful and if you have time you should explore it inside and out. This basilica is located in old Montreal district.

 

The old Montreal

The old Montreal is my favorite district of Montreal. Here you can see old churches and cobble stone road. By far, it is a part of Montreal that you don’t want to miss. It looks so pretty especially in the summer day. Parking can be hard to find, so when you find a parking spot, get out of the car and explore it by foot.

 

Biodome de Montreal

It is a museum, an indoor zoo and an aquarium. A museum where they allow visitors to walk through replica of four different ecosystems. If you like aquarium then you should check out this place. Here, you can also learn about ecosystems of the Americas.

 

Biosphere Montreal

This environmental museum is located on Saint Helene Island.  It is a little bit outside of the city. But, if you are  doing a road trip to Montreal, you can easily drive around a little island of Saint Helene and stop at Biosphere. This unique structure certainly will impress you and the surrounding area is also nice.

Can you visit all of these sites in a short time period? Yes you can. Just start your day really early in the morning. Then allocate the time of the day to visit some sites that are located next to each other. For example, you can visit  Biodome de Montreal, Olympic Park and  Montreal Tower in the same day since they are located in the same complex. While Mount Royal and Saint Joseph Oratory are also located close to each other. Also, you can make a stop at Notre Dame Basilica when exploring old Montreal. And don’t forget to buy the tickets online or expect to queue in the line. Hope you enjoy Montreal to the fullest!