Montreal, Quebec

2024 Fall

I had not taken VIA rail before so I was curious how it is. The hall of the station is not huge. A line formed for boarding and tickets were checked. Our train is one of the new trainsets that VIA had ordered. The interiors are bright and modern. The ride was pretty smooth and the on-board display showed we reached a speed of 150kph. After about four hours, we reached Montreal in the evening. After checking-in, we headed to Dunn's for another smoked meat sandwich downtown. This sandwich was better than the one we had in Beaupre. Afterwards, we headed to a bar named Gakudo. It was a nice place to relax after a travel day and enjoy a glass of Japanese whiskey. The next day, we walked through Vieux Montreal to Olive et Gourmando for breakfast. After breakfast, we walked to Notre-Dame Basilica. It was my first time inside and it was quite stunning. In the afternoon, we took an Uber up to Mont Royal as transit would have taken too long. We explored Mont Royal and the iconic view that overlooks the city. After walking around a few viewpoints, we walked down towards McGill University and then through the city towards Schwartz's for more smoked meat sandwiches. Honestly, my expectations were not super high, but it was well worth the walk and lived up to the fame. Before we left Montreal, we visited a bagel shop for some freshly made bagels.