<p>Hey everyone...going up to visit this coming weekend...i will dedicate sunday to seeing montreal and monday to seeing mcgill....</p>
<p>what are the must see/eat places around town/campus??
also, i might throw a few back with my old man..any good bars??</p>
<p>Well, I'll get this out of the way. Foodwise (provided you are not vegetarian), you'll have to visit Schwartz's for a smoke meat sandwich (buy some spices before you leave too). Have some poutine somewhere (I'd suggest to go to Chez Ashton but they're aren't any of those in Montreal). And be sure to buy some maple products as it's the season (particularly maple butter for your toasts in the morning). If you can, go to St-Viateur Bagels (or on of its few bagel cafes) and have some fresh bagels there.</p>
<p>As for your old man, he should sample some local beers, such as Boreale (I think they have a contract with McGill, finally some real beer is available on campus), or any of the Unibroue stuff (Maudite, Fin du Monde, Trois Pistole, etc). There's tons of bars and pubs everywhere, but the three main streets for bar hopping are Crescent (for anglos and tourists), St-Laurent (the Main, where Schwartz's is located, BTW) and St-Denis (more francophone locals go there). And the legal drinking age is 18 (though more of a suggestion), so you can probably sample some alcohol if you want to as well. If your old man is into fancy alcohol, he can go to an SAQ (liquor store) and could buy some *cidre de glace<a href="a%20recent%20Quebec%20innovation">/i</a>.</p>
<p>By the way, you have picked an excellent weekend to visit Montreal as this is Saint Patrick's Day weekend including a large parade and an even larger consumption of Irish spirits. Even the French are Irish this weekend. Hurley's Irish Pub on Cresent Street will be an event.</p>
<p>The many restaurants on Prince Arthur, a street closed to traffic and near McGill are fun- but you have to bring your own wine. If you are a veggie, dont miss Le Commensual vegetarian buffet on University/Ste. Catherine. They weigh your plate and charge by the gram. </p>
<p>For fish, try this local favorite...Le Poisson Rouge, 1201, rue Rachel Est
Montreal, QC H2J 2J8
Phone: (514) 522-4876</p>
<p>actually if beer is your thing, the best beer in town (downtown) would be Brutopia in my opinion, which is on Crescent and St. Catherine. They make their own flavoured beer (eg. rasberry, hazel etc) and to top it off, there is live music playing from loads of good local musicians. For food, my personal faviourite would be Trois Amigos (3 Amigos) which serves large servings of mexican food. That's on Guy-Concordia and St. Catherine.</p>
<p>If you're vegetarian, Le Commensal is overrated and overpriced. I suggest Chu Chai on St-Denis instead.</p>
<p>I just have to second the comment on Schwartz's. There is nothing like a Schwartz's smoked meat sandwich anywhere in the world.</p>
<p>One more note on that: you're expected to wait in line, get in, order (no looking at the menu), eat, pay and get out. Don't expect courteous service. But it's all worth it.</p>