Custom Weekends: Whip Le Ass Into Shape
Montreal, Quebec
- Do the sportif thing ... before dinner. Photo, Tourisme Montreal
STAY
Le Place d’Armes Hotel & Suites, 55 Rue St. Jacques, 514-842-1887, hotelplacedarmes.com. Rooms start at $255.
EAT
For Mediterranean cuisine executed with flair, go to Restaurant Ora, where a funky pink-lit dining room easily turns over into a vibrant nightlife scene (394 Rue St. Jacques, 514-848-0202, restaurantora.com).
DO
Stop for café au lait in the cafés of Rue St. Denis.
TRAVEL TIME
An hour and 45 minutes on US Airways Express.
I knew all the signs in Montreal would be in French, but what was with all the tall, slender, beautiful people? (Am I really in Canada?) And how do they stay so thin in a place where the streets are dotted with patisseries filled with beautiful, buttery carbs?
Turns out, outdoor activities abound amid Montreal’s chic, with the Saint Lawrence River to the south and Mont Royal rising just above downtown. You can kayak while having dinner (yes, dine in your kayak) on the Saint Lawrence River (Club Nautique de Longueuil, 450-646-0197, bougex.com), or learn to trapeze, à la Cirque du Soleil (Trapezium, 514-251-0615, trapezium.qc.ca). But by far the best way to absorb the scope of the city is to zip through on a bicycle (Ça Roule Montréal on Wheels, 514-866-0633, caroulemontreal.com).
My perfect day consisted of gingerly riding my rented Norco through the winding, brick-lined streets of Old Montréal. By the time I reached the edge of the city and coasted along the Concorde Bridge to cross the river, not only was I happy and relaxed — that last croissant felt positively guilt-free.
Turns out, outdoor activities abound amid Montreal’s chic, with the Saint Lawrence River to the south and Mont Royal rising just above downtown. You can kayak while having dinner (yes, dine in your kayak) on the Saint Lawrence River (Club Nautique de Longueuil, 450-646-0197, bougex.com), or learn to trapeze, à la Cirque du Soleil (Trapezium, 514-251-0615, trapezium.qc.ca). But by far the best way to absorb the scope of the city is to zip through on a bicycle (Ça Roule Montréal on Wheels, 514-866-0633, caroulemontreal.com).
My perfect day consisted of gingerly riding my rented Norco through the winding, brick-lined streets of Old Montréal. By the time I reached the edge of the city and coasted along the Concorde Bridge to cross the river, not only was I happy and relaxed — that last croissant felt positively guilt-free.
Originally published in Philadelphia magazine, September 2007
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