Toronto/Montreal Questions

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

This summer my fiancee and I will be touring Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. The last time I was back east I was around 6, so needless to say I don’t remember much. That said, I was hoping some of you Easterners could answer a few questions for me (I know matt_mcl is in Montreal, and there are some Torontonians in the crowd).

The Questions:
[ul]
Montreal:
[li]We’ll be travelling to Montreal by train. Is there public transportation from the train station? (Metro?)[/li][li]Is the Olympic Stadium on the Metro route (we’re planning on seeing the Expos)?[/li][li]Can you get to the airport from the Metro (we’ll be travelling home from Montreal)[/li][li]We’d like to see McGill. Is it in the city? Is it difficult to get to?[/li][li]Anything else we should see?[/li]
Toronto:
[li]Is there public transportation to the airport? (bus, subway, etc.)[/li][li]What is there to see in Toronto? (we won’t have a car, so we’re relying on public transportation)[/li][/ul]

Anyways, thanks in advance to anyone who cares to answer…

2

Toronto has a wonderfully clean and quiet subway (I grew up near NYC. No comparison)

There’s always the CN Tower and the Royal Ontario Museum, Eaton Center and all the shops on Yonge and Bloor. If you can get or rent a car, go see the Ontario Science Center.

3

Hi! Let me help you with Toronto (I don’t know Montreal well enough, except that I do know that the Olympic Stadium is on the subway line… station Pie IX.). Here’s a map of the Montreal subway system :

http://www.stcum.qc.ca/metro/mapmetro.htm

As for Toronto, the subway does not go to the airport. However, you can use the Airport Express service. It runs from several downtown Toronto hotels, as well as a few subway stops. Personally, I usually take the subway to the Islington station, which is the second last stop on the East-West line, then I take the airport express. It’s the cheapest way to the airport; return fare to the airport is less than $10. The Airport Express also goes to the following subway stations : Yorkdale and Yorkmills. For more info, click on the following link :

http://www.torontoairportexpress.com/

There’s quite a bit to see in Toronto, it all depends on your tastes. Like museums? Check out the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum).

Other attractions :
Ontario Science Centre
Ontario Place
CN Tower
SkyDome
Those butt-ugly Moose on the Loose (our mayor is a jackass!)
Casa Loma - lovely, a must! Pretty much a castle in the middle of the city
The Beaches are lovely as well, especially in the East. Hop on the Queen streetcar and it will drop you right in the neighbourhood.
Harbourfront and the Toronto Islands

Niagara Falls is about 90 minutes away. You can hop on the Greyhound bus and go for a visit. There is also a Casino there if you feel like blowing money.

I’m sure I’m forgetting something.

For more info, click on the following link. It’s updated daily.

Hope that helps! Let me know if you need more info, I’ll be glad to help.

4

Don’t put yourself down, dear. I think you’re quite attractive, for a reindeer :smiley:

5

Thank you, dear. :stuck_out_tongue:

This is what I was talking about :

http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/moose/

(Ok, ok, so it’s Moose in the City and not Moose on the Loose. They’re still godawful.)

6

I’ve spent the first 24 years of my life in Montreal and return occasionally. I’ll try to field some of your questions even though Matt is probably in a better position to do so.

There are street buses outside Central Station on René-Lévesque Boulevard. As far as I know, there aren’t any Metro stations at the train station itself.

Olympic Stadium is on the Metro route, and while you’re in the neighbourhood, you could always try the Biodome and the Montreal Botanical Gardens, just across Sherbrooke Street.

You can’t get to Dorval Airport by Metro from downtown, although there are Shuttle Buses (leaving from Central Station, IIRC – and most probably other points in between. Cab fares would be on the expensive side.

McGill University is located downtown and quite accessible. You could, for example, take a cab from Central Station (around 10 minutes depending on traffic).

Lots of things to do; I’ll leave it to others to fill you in.
You mention Ottawa in passing in your OP. May I suggest that you reserve at least two or three days on your itinerary to visit the city. Lots of parks, waterways, museums and other “touristy” things. Bit more subdued than Toronto or Montreal but WELL worth the trip.

Enjoy.

7

Thanks for the help, guys. Who thought up that brilliant papier-mache moose idea? If there’s one thing I want to see this summer, it’s sweater-wearing wildlife.

Omni-not, we’ll have two full days in Ottawa. We plan on seeing the legislature and all the government stuff. We don’t have anything really specific planned, though.

Another Montreal question, how much French will we be expected to know? We both have high-school French and can read the back of a cereal box, but once we get beyond, mes cahiers des exercises ne sont pas dans la bibliotheque (sorry about the lack of accents) the conversation is probably over.

8

Added bonus: :slight_smile:

http://www.ottawakiosk.com/travel.html

As far as English is concerned while you’re in Montreal, you shouldn’t have any major problems downtown. (Matt: please correct me if I’m wrong). Actually, FRENCH was a problem downtown when I was growing up, but things have changed. Elsewhere, you should be able to manage without any difficulty. Francophone Montrealers are a quite amiable bunch on the whole, and they’ll go out of their way to help you, especially if they see you’re making the effort to speak their language.

9

You’re in double luck - I’m a metro junkie.

*We’ll be travelling to Montreal by train. Is there public transportation from the train station? (Metro?) *

Yes. Central Station connects directly to Bonaventure metro (orange line) and McGill metro (green line) via the Underground City.

Is the Olympic Stadium on the Metro route (we’re planning on seeing the Expos)?

Yes, it’s connected directly to Pie-IX metro (on the green line).

Can you get to the airport from the Metro (we’ll be travelling home from Montreal)

Um… kind of.

First you have to get to Dorval train station. There are two ways: 1) go to Lionel-Groulx metro (orange and green lines) and transfer to the 211 bus, and take it to the train station (first stop on the bus route). Alternatively, you can 2) catch the Rigaud line commuter train from Windsor Station (metro Lucien L’Allier) and take it to Dorval station. This costs the same as a metro ticket, or you can use a transfer.

(Note on transfers: get them from the bus driver, or from the transfer machine of the metro station that you START from. Also, you have to give up your bus transfer if you use it to get on the metro, but you can take a metro transfer right away afterwards.)

Once you’re at Dorval, take the 204 bus to the terminal.

Note that the commuter train and the 204 bus run quite infrequently outside of rush hour. It may be wiser to take a taxi if you’re in a hurry, but they cost more than $20 from downtown to the airport. There’s also somewhat less expensive shuttle buses from Central Station, and from Terminus Voyageur (metro Berri-UQAM).

We’d like to see McGill. Is it in the city? Is it difficult to get to?

McGill is right downtown; there’s even a metro stop named for it. Just go to McGill metro, get out, look for McGill College boulevard, walk to that, turn right, and look for the big neoclassical gates. There you are. (Don’t bother with a cab. You could WALK to McGill from Central Station - it’s, like, five or six blocks from there. Montreal is a great walking city.)

Anything else we should see?

Yes - me. I’m very proud of my city and I like to show it off. If you want an amateur but enthusiastic tour guide, please drop me a line! (I’m serious!)

10

As for French: it’s completely impossible to speak English in Montreal so you need me! muhahaha!

Only joking. Actually, all of downtown is fluently bilingual, with the exception of STCUM staff. It helps to understand French, even if you don’t speak it. A very typical Montreal conversation (especially in my apartment) has the Anglo speaking English and the francophone answering in French and both understanding the other fluently.

11

Lordie, while you are in Ottawa time well spent might be the National Gallery (even if you just whip through and take a look at the Group of Seven collection) and the National War Museum. These are both walking distance from the Parliament Buildings.

12

Hmmm…

I think I’ll get a refresher course from Matt. Memory sure isn’t what it used to be! Mind if I join you on this tour?:smiley:

Al: National Gallery sure is a good suggestion. I might add the Musée des civilisations, just across the Ottawa river, in Hull.

13

P.S.: Matt–

I was suggesting shuttle buses and cabs because it might be a hassle if you travel with a couple a suitcases. Walking and Metro are fine as long as you’re not too encumbered. If Lordie travels with a pack-sack on his back, I say go for it.

One final note, Lordie: If you’re a vegetarian (or even if you’re not), I heartily recommend a restaurant called Le Commensal on Ste. Catherine street (Montreal, downtown). Excellent food (buffet-style) at reasonable prices.

14

Sure! the more the merrier?

15

As a tourist, you are required to do the Old Montreal tour. Marvel at the quaint cobblestone streets! Explore what I insist on calling The Toilet Museum! Or what omni-not calls Musée des civilisations!

If either Fiancee Derfel or yourself are into gardening, check out the botanical gardens. They are right near the Big O, (Olympic Staduim), and are stunning.

The Molson Center used to have a three story poster of Celine Dion, that might be fun to throw things at.

oooh, can I get in on the tour too?

16

We’ll be backpacking, definitely. Our preference would be the Metro and/or buses to save money.

That restaurant sounds good - we’re not vegetarian, but eat very little meat normally and are always on the lookout for good food.

Matt, we may take you up on your offer. I’ll let you know. What’s STCUM? CYBORG says it’s “Synthetic Transforming Construct Used for Mathematics”, but I don’t think that’s right.

17

STCUM is Société du transport de la Communauté urbaine de Montréal. It’s the public transit company.

I hope to hear from you! When will you be here? (Montreal has lots of festivals over the summer.)

18

We’ll be there at the end of August - probably the 27th to the 31st. The dates aren’t finalized yet. Not a long stay, but enough to be able to say we’ve been there.

19

I visited there two years ago, having had a year of college French; I found that people universally appreciated my efforts to speak French, and almost as universally understood English. I was definitely able to get through buying stuff, getting change for the parking meters, and getting directions to various things.

20

And if you’re into shrines, Lord (and frankly, who - Lord or otherwise - isn’t?), you could go at the one in the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, which, coincidentally, “sits on top” of Central Station.

It was there circa 1969 that, in a suite on the 17th floor if memory serves me right, John Lennon and Yoko Ono (and friends) immortalized what was to become youth’s anthem for years to come.

I have of course named the monumental “Give Peace a Chance”!

(You’ll probably feel the aura as soon as you set foot on the platform of Central Station)