General Questions about Montreal??

Travel Info
At the end of Feb., a few of my girlfriends and I are going to Montreal for a week! :) So excited.... Anyways, there were just a few random things I was wondering about and so hopefully someone can help me out a little bit?

First off (and this is probably really stupid), are there fast-food restaurants in Montreal? Like....McDonalds or Pizza Hut or anything like that?

Secondly, how much is gas running these days up there?

Third, none of us know any French whatsoever. Is this something we should maybe look into....like perhaps learn a few key phrases? And if so, which ones???

And lastly, are things (food, clothing, etc) more expensive than in America? We understand the conversion rate of the dollar, but are prices generally the same?

Travel Tips

(1) Re: Fast Food: Read AND ACCEPT Kent_Shak's comment, except there are three fast foods you should do while you are here: (i) a Tim Horton's. World famous Canadian coffee shop icon, 3 times better (with 5 times more varied menu) than Dunkin Donuts, (ii) a famous Montreal bagel place, like Fairmont's. Montreal bagels also world famous, smaller but tastier than New York's, and (iii) one of our great "smoked meat/viande fumee" places. Montreal smoked meat also world famous, like N.Y. pastrami but leaner and more delicate in flavour; a great sandwich is also cheaper (than anything like it in the States) -- but if you like spicy brown mustard be sure to bring your own. For some crazy reason almost all smoked meat places have only sweet yellow; other than that only dijon and occasionally hot English is generally available here (and as noted only sweet yellow at smoked meat places).

The Barbeque here absolutely sucks, and if you wish to become gazillionaires come up here and open an authentic Memphis/K.C./Carolina place!! I am serious!

(2) Gas today is 94.5垄 per litre (a little over $3US per gallon). NOTE: In the Montreal way of things gas usually goes up 10-15% every Wednesday or Thursday, and the price declines the same in steps on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. Almost no competition between gas stations (although there can be a couple of pennies per litre deviation from one area of the metropolitan city to another). Price is 4-8垄 per litre lower on the Mohawk Indian (Indians are called "First Nations" in Canadian English, by the way) reserve, located just over the bridge from Montreal's southwest side. Such price manipulations would be illegal in the States. NOTE: Montreal city has a very good public transportation system.

(3) You will not need to know French but it is always good, and polite, if you are in the French districts, - which by the way are much more interesting and exciting and charming and sexy and I advise you to stay in one and not in the more English west side, which tends to be overrun by noisy American kids over the weekends who come up just to get drunk and get laid (including American women -- there is a certain amount of observable F sex tourism here) to say first in French: "Pardon me. I am American and my French is horrible." ("Pardonnez-mois. Je suis am茅ri莽aine et m fran莽aise, c'est terrible."). Montreal is also an international immigrant city.

(4) Raw foods: most fruits and veggies a bit cheaper, processed foods much more expensive. Dairy and regular chicken much more expensive; other birds (duck, pheasant, quail, etc) about the same or cheaper. Beef can be considerably cheaper (as I write this one chain selling prime rib roasts for equivalent $US 3.50/lb) but US Customs will not allow you to bring home. Nor will they allow you any of the wonderful fresh bison, elk, caribou, etc. Restaurants: Few medium-priced "family" and "American moderate" restaurants" here and what there are a a bit more expensive with unimaginative menus except for some in ethnic areas. On other hand to eat really great restaurant fare is quite a bit cheaper than at most American cities but be careful not to eat French in tourist traps. Retail off-sale alcohol like in most of Canada much more expensive (although Qu茅bec beer prices are the cheapest in Canada by far) but for on-sale most restaurants and bars do not mark up as much as they do in the USA so sometimes the prices there are quite comparable. Clothes more expensive and subject to the 14% sales tax, but several real fashionable clothes places here. Same for most hard goods. But for our high taxes we get our free health care.

OTHER THINGS: As suggested in (3) Montreal is a very, very libertine, tolerant place, much like western central Europe and Scandinavia (our laws are similar), and female "playing" - especially by Francophones - more accepted than in the USA if you are into brief wild hookups (in February it can be very cold otherwise!). Most committed couples in Quebec do not get formally married. And it is Montreal, not San Francisco, that has the largest population percentage in North America of a mainstreamed gay population and all that brings to a great city, but unlike S.F. it is never in one's face. On the other hand Montreal is full of wonderful museums. Source(s): (have been a Montrealer all my life, but much traveled to the States).

Other Travel Tips
there are plenty of fast-food chains, but you do yourself a great disservice if that's all you do. there is amazing ethnic diversity to Montreal restaurants.

I don't recall the exact gas price (it's been a couple months since I was up there), but it's not that much higher than US prices these days (the kilo vs gallo translation always throws me off)

You can get by fine in Montreal without French. They're used to US visitors. Rural Quebec is a different story.

Things are slightly more expensive, but generally not outrageously so.

Montreal is a wonderful city (although Feb isn't the best time to enjoy it). Have a wonderful trip, and dress warmly!
Almost everything that a tourist needs to know about Montreal is here: http://www.montreal.com/tourism/general....
Since you're asking, we have the same fast food restaurants here, except Taco Bell (but you'll find it in Toronto).
Tourists do not need to speak french at all, everybody in sales speaks english.
Prices are about the same as in US, except we use Canadian dollars.
Here is a link for the gas price. Take a look before coming here, prices can change everyday.
http://www.essencemontreal.com/index.asp...
February is a pretty cold month, so don't forget to bring appropriate clothes with you. Well... except if you intend to spend all your time in the hotel room! 鈽?br /> Have a nice trip!