Montreal After The Thaw

The Canadian city of Montreal is a lovely, cosmopolitan city and is surely the most European city in feel in North America. It is the city where the most residents in all of North America speak at least two languages, Quebecoise. You can argue they speak French, but you’re likely wrong in the eyes of most living there.

Despite its brilliant architecture, fantastic museums and lovely people, the city has one major problem as a tourism destination for many — it’s freezing nearly half the year. Beautiful, but certainly not warm and unlike spring (which often comes quite late) and summer, the colder months don’t make it much fun to explore on foot.

When you spend a winter largely holed up inside, you have a tendency to really enjoy outdoor activities when you can. It’s for this reason Montreal is home to an incredible array of festivals and outdoor activities that make a visit beginning in May a truly remarkable experience.

While the city’s annual Montreal Jazz Festival might be the most famous, that’s only the tip of the iceberg and things begin well before that event, which is so regarded in the eyes of many music lovers. The festivals run all spring and summer and you don’t even need one to enjoy a visit to this vibrant outpost in the east of Canada where finding something to do each day is child’s play.

Expect a city bustling with tourists this summer.