Montreal is a city bursting with flavour, one where history seeps from the pores of its ancient stone buildings. Its vibrant cultural life is always in celebration, through festivals, music, dance and theatre. And its food scene is spectacular, whether you hunger for poutine, smoked meat, buttery croissants or a bagel with lox.

With its strong French influence, this sophisticated city is charmingly seductive, and so vastly different from a western Canadian city that it feels like you鈥檙e in an entirely different country. And with new, daily direct flights from Vancouver, it鈥檚 an easy four-and-a-half-hour commute, making it a perfect destination for a long weekend. 

There鈥檚 so much to do in Montreal, it鈥檚 hard to know where to begin. We selected our top highlights for unique ways to experience the city and explore its radiant personality in just three nights.

Bike the Boulevards

Walking tours can get stale pretty quickly, but a bike tour is physically exhilarating and fast-paced and fits in many more sights and landmarks. We joined Fitz Montreal on a 15-kilometre pedal through Montreal鈥檚 green alleyways and busy boulevards and along the Lachine Canal. The three-hour tour delivered a broad overview of Montreal鈥檚 history, with some great views of street murals, residential neighbourhoods and Old Montreal.

We followed the Lachine Canal past factories and warehouses reincarnated into swanky apartments, saw the strong currents of the Saint Lawrence River at the Port, puffed up the hill to the base of Mount Royal and zipped back down past the austere, stone buildings of McGill University.

Don鈥檛 miss: The statue of the The English Pug and the French Poodle, also known as The Two Snobs at Place d鈥橝rmes in Old Montreal. On one side a Francophone woman holds her poodle, looking with contempt at the head office of the Bank of Montreal, a symbol of English power. On the other, an Anglophone holds his pug, looking with similar disdain at the Notre-Dame Basilica, a symbol of the Catholic Church in Quebec. The Two Snobs delivers a comedic stab at the enduring, simmering tensions between English and French in Montreal.

Bagels and more

Montrealers take their bagels seriously and everyone has their preference for one of two classic bagel makers 鈥� St-Viateur or Fairmount. On the Beyond the Bagel tour, you get to try both, along with other gastronomic treats like babka, cheese crowns and smoked meat.

This three-hour walking tour delivers a fascinating glimpse into the Jewish history of Montreal, from its small shop owners to the celebrity singer, songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen, whose grey-stoned house just off Saint-Laurent Boulevard is one of the stops. The grand finale of the tour is Schwartz鈥檚 Deli, a charcuterie that dates back to 1928 and has a well-earned reputation for its unforgettable, bulging, smoked-meat sandwiches.

Museum of Memories

A far cry from a dusty, old-school museum, Museum of Memories (MEM) is dedicated to the recollections and oral histories of living Montrealers from different neighbourhoods and backgrounds.

What makes it truly different is that this museum delivers these stories in the people鈥檚 voices and their words. Visitors listen to stories using headphones and watching screens, and they鈥檙e spoken to directly by Montrealers from a wide range of backgrounds and ethnicities. Some of the stories address racism, abuse and hardship, while others celebrate the diversity of Montreal鈥檚 arts scene, its natural beauty and its athletes.

In one exhibit, titled 鈥淚n My Shoes,鈥� visitors swap their shoes for another pair of the same size on a shelf. Each pair belongs to a different Montrealer, and as you slip your feet into someone else鈥檚 shoes, you hear their voice on an MP3 player, telling the story of their life in all its triumphs and tribulations. All the stories at MEM are deeply personal, striking and meaningful.

Nordic thermotherapy

For a serene break from the bustle of sightseeing, head to Nuns鈥� Island, 20 minutes from downtown. Here, Str酶m Nordic Spa offers thermotherapy in a blissfully peaceful setting on the banks of a large pond.

Visitors strip down to swimsuits and white gowns and move quietly between hot experiences, like the eucalyptus steam bath, the Finnish sauna and the Nordic bath, and brief cold plunges. Each session culminates in a restful period in the spa鈥檚 many relaxation rooms or outdoor spaces, all featuring comfy loungers, beautiful views and a respectful silence.

With just wind and birdsong filling the air, this is a space of pure rest, meditation, comfort and recuperation. The spa also offers a restaurant with heart-stoppingly superb fare. With no time limit to a stay, visitors can take as long as they like to re-energize.

Sleep

Opened in 2021,  is a modern, sexy hotel in the heart of the city, steps from Old Montreal, the Palais des congr猫s and the Quartier des Spectacles. Here, sophisticated but deeply comfortable accommodation meets fastidious environmental standards, with interesting art and sculpture sprinkled throughout the hotel. We loved the hotel鈥檚 clean lines, its abundance of natural light and its gallery-like interior.

, the hotel鈥檚 restaurant, is an exceptional food destination that will humble anyone who thought they knew hotel food.

Dine

For Montreal鈥檚 best salads, head straight to Mandy鈥檚 Salades Gourmandes, the brainchild of two sisters who started with a 鈥渃reate-your-own salad bar鈥� in the back of a women鈥檚 clothing store. Today, they have eight locations in Montreal and three in Toronto, and their salads are nothing short of legendary. Forget boring oldies like Caesar, Greek and garden. At Mandy鈥檚, each salad is a tantalizing mix of innovative vegetables, nuts, seeds and protein toppings that will revolutionize your understanding of the humble salad and leave you craving more.

Arthurs Nosh Bar is a cosy, casual eatery in St-Henri that鈥檚 a neighbourhood hangout and an exceptional place to try Jewish classics like crispy chicken on thick slices of challah, latkes and gravlax. Afterwards, take a walk around this eclectic urban village, or book a tour with  to learn more about St-Henri鈥檚 architecture, its industrial past and its vibrant present.

Foxy, a fine-dining tapas restaurant in Montreal鈥檚 Little Burgundy neighbourhood, shines brightly, especially for its vegetables. Each small plate that emerges from its wood-fired kitchen is a piece of art brimming with sumptuous flavour, and though the menu changes seasonally, this is an eatery where you simply can鈥檛 go wrong. Nothing, but nothing, is ordinary here.

Commute

Porter Airlines launched its daily roundtrip service between Vancouver and Montreal in April, with a super-comfortable 132-seat Embraer E195-E2 aircraft that's entirely devoid of the dreaded middle seat. Onboard service includes free, fast wifi, and its business-class-like PorterReserve comes with fresh, healthy meals and seats with extra legroom. The new route makes the four-and-a-half-hour flight to Montreal an easy, convenient commute.