Sacré Bleu!!

Anyone who lives in a city can tell you that having access to a good park close by is very important. Having a place to escape the normal routine of city life is a very crucial commodity that not all cities offer their residents. This might seem like an obvious statement, but there are many cities that don’t abide by this credo, tho many cities do it right. New York City has Central Park, San Francisco has Golden Gate Park and the Presidio, Denver is luckily surrounded by unending miles of green space, and a few weekends ago I was introduced to Montreal’s outdoor oasis, Mount Royal Park. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1876, who also designed Central Park, Mount Royal Park sits on over 490 acres of land just west of downtown Montreal. It contains miles of maintained hiking, biking and Cross Country Skiing trails weaving around and up to the top of Mont Royal, the highest point in the city. If you are in town for the weekend, it is definitely worth checking out, the views of the city are unmatched.

Cathedral de Notre Dame.

Though we did enjoy the day hike here, the main purpose for this trip was quite the opposite of the normal active outdoor trips I'm used to. Beer and food, that's why we had come all the way to Montreal on this weekend, and the city didn't disappoint. Generally speaking Canada isn't exactly know for their beer, and that has been pretty evident on all of my past trips into the country, but Montreal was different. There was seemingly endless micro breweries dotted throughout the city and each one had multiple unique beers worth trying. You could spend an entire weekend hopping from Brewery to Brew Pub and still not sample all the city has to offer. While the list of Breweries is long,

Benelux.

I've narrowed down my top 3 not to miss picks if your in the City of Saints:

1. Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel - With a large selection of great beers and a good atmosphere, BDDC is an awesome place to spend an hour or two drinking as you make your way back to downtown Montreal. Try the nachos.
2. L'amère à boire - Good beers, lively atmosphere, awesome bathroom. And they even have a small menu so you can sober up enough to drink more.
3. Le Réservoir - It's a small Brew Pub, but they have a solid selection of beers and great lighting. 

Candle Power.

All and all it was a great trip. Montreal has a lot to offer and at just over 5 hours away from Boston it's worth the drive. Head up this August and catch their Music festival, Osheaga. It's better than Boston calling and within walking distance of the Casino and all of the Downtown bars. Do it, you know you want to.
I just recently got back from Colorado/Utah and there is only 3 weeks until Iceland, so there will be many many many updates to come in the near future. Have you planned your next trip yet? Think about this.

Mileage: 2 Miles

Panoramic of Montreal