National Geographic Traveller (UK) - Food
OLD MONTREAL
The city’s oldest district (no surprise, given the name), Old Montreal was founded by French settlers in the 17th century. Today, it’s a place of cobbled streets and pretty, historic buildings. But being so central, it’s also a hub for business, with tech innovation as easy to find as an exceptional meal.
Start in the Old Port and join the locals to walk, skate or cycle the path that stretches
1.5 miles along the St Lawrence River. Look out for the Clock Tower and, if you’re feeling energetic, climb up it for views over the city and the water.
Lunch means the area’s best steak-frites, steak tartare or bouillabaisse with a glass of French chenin blanc at Monarque. Since opening in 2018, the restaurant has already become a Montreal institution, complete with tuxedo-wearing waiters, vaulted ceilings and a long room divided into a bar, brasserie and dining room.
Walk off your meal with a spot of shopping. Despite the name, nearby Lunch à Porter isn’t a restaurant — it’s a boutique selling Japaneseinspired, eco-friendly lunch accessories, such as wooden bento boxes and tools to make your food look cuter (bear-shaped boiled egg, anyone?). Other boutiques worth visiting include Philippe Dubuc, for Quebec-designed menswear, and
Galerie Images Boréales, for Inuit creations handmade from soapstone and basalt.
Next up, head to PHI Centre, a multidisciplinary art gallery with regularly changing, immersive, virtual-reality exhibits, often including works from local, awardwinning VR company Felix & Paul Studios.
Pass the Notre-dame Basilica, which resembles a smaller version of its Parisian namesake, en route to Délices Érable & Cie, for a blueberry maple sorbet. In addition to maplebased ice creams, the boutique offers free tastings of locally produced syrup, from clear to amber and dark. As the afternoon comes to a close, join the after-work crowd at Italian restaurant Un po di Più, with its list of negronis and spritzes — all of which pair perfectly with an antipasti platter. Stick around for dinner of handmade, light-as-air ricotta gnocchi with squash and crispy chicken skin.