Alright you Dopers! I need help.
I’m planning a month-long road trip, but I’m still not sure which way I’m going to start. I’m looking to go across the northern US, but I’m going to start by either going to Rochester, NY, then Toronto for a day, or up to Montreal for a day or two. I’m going to reenter the US via the international bridge in Sault Ste Marie, if that helps.
So, convince me. Which city should I visit?
They are both very interesting, but they are very different. They both have their interesting sights to see, their cool clubs, and their good restaurants.
The main thing you want to ask yourself is this: Do I want to visit a city in which I really feel that I’m in a foreign country? Where the vast majority of signs are in a language other than English? Where most people you meet do speak English, it’s true – but with a strong French Canadian accent?
If so, you’ll rather visit Montreal than Toronto.
Ed
Schwartz’s in Montreal for smoked meat.
Pancer’s in Toronto for pastrami.
Nothing else matters. Nothing.
Here’s a quote from a Canadian comedian (I forget his name) trying to explain to an American audience the difference between Montreal and Toronto:
“Imagine two brothers. One is an accountant and the other is a womanizing alcoholic…”
So. You wanna visit the accountant or the alky? For my money, Montreal is more fun.
You got the joke backwards.
Why are you going to Rochester, NY ? After that any other city will be a letdown :eek:
Spelling
Montreal defintely has more personality and color. Toronto is a nice city, but lacks the charm.
And Montreal is one of the best cities I’ve ever been in for food. You know how to find a great restaurant in Montreal? Throw a stone – you’ll hit one.
People who say Toronto lacks character are living in the 70s. Visit Toronto during Caribana and tell me it lacks character.
I’m not sure I understand your itinerary, however. Where are you starting from?
When are you going? Both have festivals all summer (comedy, jazz, theatre), so that might help you pick. And I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for Montreal, or at least its food and lazy Sundays.
I’ve been to both (I’m from Ohio) and while I loved Toronto, Montreal did definitely have that “foreign country” thing going for it. It was really fun to feel like I was in France. Just trying to drive there was an adventure 
Visiting Toronto was like going to Chicago or NYC.
I’d go to Montreal, and make a point of getting out to Toronto some other time.
I vote for Montreal, more fun, better food.
If you visit Montreal, how are you going to get (eventually) to Sault Ste. Marie to re-enter the US? Are you going to go through Ottawa, North Bay and Sudbury? Or are you going to drive the 401 to Toronto and then head north along Georgian Bay? I’ve done both routes, and I’ve lived for over a decade in each of Toronto and Montreal. You really can’t go wrong. The 401’s a bore, but a day in Toronto is great, and then heading north into cottage country is beautiful, especially if you stop off at a beach or some of the small towns in the Georgian Bay area.
I’d be tempted to visit Montreal, drive to Toronto, spend a day, drive up the Bruce Peninsula (stop off at Sauble Beach along the way, preferably on a weekday), take the ferry to Manitoulin Island, and rejoin highway 17 to Sault Ste. Marie.
Anyway, RickJay is correct – Montreal doesn’t have more character. It does have older buildings in some neighborhoods and French is the first language of many people. That doesn’t mean it has more character. As for finding a great restaurant on every corner, gimme a break. There are as many dumps and chains in Montreal as anywhere else.
No, I wasn’t born in Toronto. 
I live in T.O. and feel Montreal is a more interesting city. T.O. has about the same things as any other big city in No. America. Montreal has the feeling of being somewhere different. There are more interesting walking streets - St. Denis, St. Laurent, Old City, Docks, etc. Unless you are black, I cannot imagine wanting to come to Toronto during Caribana - the hotels are full and everything is more expensive. If you do visit Toronto, one of the more interesting areas is the Distillery District - just East of downtown. Many things happening there and always developing.
Visit them all for the cured-meat hat-trick. The best thing about Rochester is that it’s the home of Zweigle’s. Which reminds me I meant to stock up on Thuringer and White Hots the last time I was there but :smack: I forgot.
One summer I went questing for the best pastrami (it started from a funding to attend a tech writing conference, but you know one thing leads to another). I covered: Ontario, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Mexico, Texas, Chihuahua, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, New Brunswick, Quebec. Yes, I gained weight, but what a tasty summer it was.
Seriously, I live with one foot in Toronto and the other in Montreal, and I have to get my panties in a bunch over this whole “Montreal is more charming” song that many people like to chant.
Big steaming pile of sh*t (or should I say “maudit tas d’marde”?), thankyouverymuch.
Montreal has St Laurent, Toronto has Parkdale.
Montreal has Ste Catherine, Toronto has Yonge St (right down to the sleazy strip joints)
Montreal has Crescent St, Toronto has the club district
Montreal has the tamtam on the mountain, Toronto has chillouts at Cherry Beach
Montreal has a jazz fest… guess what, so does Toronto!
Montreal has the Vieux Port, Toronto has the Distillery (and, as a bonus, the Island AND Harbourfront AND Sunnyside)
Montreal has La Ronde, Toronto has Wonderland
Montreal has bagels, Toronto has street meat
Both cities have amazing restaurants, fun nightlife, unique indie music scenes, top-notch museums and art galleries, and non-stop summer activities. Both also have their share of seedy districts, crappy restaurants, and overpriced tourist traps.
Quite honestly, you can’t go wrong with either, but please please PLEASE, can we stop with the nonsense about how much Toronto sucks by comparison to Montreal? I’m starting to wonder if we’re talking about the same city.
As someone who made a choice to live in Toronto, I find it offensive.
I think it’s a holdover from previous decades. Montreal was once THE place in Canada, but with the Anglo exodus starting in the 60s and progressing in the 70s and 80s, Toronto began to catch up, first financially and then culturally, such that today Montreal can no longer claim superiority – just delightful difference.
That’s pretty much what I implied, however the language difference does make the feel of the two cities very different for a visitor.
Ed
Visit the right part of Toronto and you can happily immerse yourself in a plce nobody speaks English. Half of Markham is signed in Chinese.
Hrrrmmm…
You all ain’t making this easier! You were supposed to give me a clear winner, not two places I want to visit!
I am leaving Worcester, Ma area on Monday, July 7th. If I head west on I-90, I really should drop in and visit my family in Rochester, NY before heading to Toronto the next day. They would understand if I don’t, but, well, I was always brought up that, if you’re within an hour or two of family, you stop in and visit for a night/day/week.
If, OTOH, I were to simply head North to Montreal, I could get to Montreal that day, spend that night and the next day, then drive to Sault Ste Marie on the 9th.
As for routes to Sault Ste Marie, I am still very open to suggestion. The last time I think I was in Canada, I would have been in Canada only by accident. (Wrong turn in Derby Line.) So I am really looking for advice.
I should also point out that the main purpose for my travels is photography. So I will be getting on a solar schedule. (Up until just past nightfall, and up again at / before dawn.) I’m not much of a nightlife kinda guy.
The more I think about it, the more I think it makes sense to visit one city for longer. Unless someone can show up with the ultimate reason to head to Toronto, I think I am now leaning towards Montreal.
Thanks, gang.