Planning my first trip to Montreal-Boston-Toronto

[FrenchHabs]

Hey all,

I'm a big Habs fan from France. I plan on realizing my dream to come to Montreal for the first time to see the Habs play at the Bell Centre. I also would like to take that opportunity to travel around and visit Toronto and Boston, and get to see some sports there as well.

After looking at the schedule, the perfect timing seems like an early April trip to go to those games :

05/04 Canadiens – Red Wings
09/04 Red Sox – Rangers
11/04 Raptors – Knicks
12/04 Canadiens – Rangers

I'm a big Knicks fan also, and I love baseball. In ten days, I would go to 4 games, 3 sports, 2 times at the Bell Centre. Seems perfect.

I just wanted to know whether it was easy to travel between Montreal, Boston and Toronto ? Would you take a car, a train or a plane between those cities ?

Also, is early April a good time to visit Montreal, or would there be a better time during the hockey season ? Would it be crazy to add yet an other city and go to Quebec as well ?

Thanks a lot for your help and feedback

Click to read more...

 

[lo striver]

car is the best. forget train.

 

[BLONG7]

Check the sticky up top, Things to do in Montreal...lots of ideas while in the city!!

 

[c3z4r]

Just wanted to say that in North American sports leagues, the home team is usually written second and the away team is written first. It's completely opposite of how football/soccer games are written in Europe.

That's just a head's up because from the schedule you posted none of the games are at the Bell Center, rather the Habs are playing in Detroit and then in New York. I also second the suggestion to look up the sticky thread for things to do in Montreal, it's pretty comprehensive.

 

[attachetatuque]

the drive from MTL to Boston and NYC is great. The train would probably double up your time, although you would probably save money. Forget about flying, $$$$$$$$$$$$.

 

[Pierre Dagenais]

Just wanted to say that in North American sports leagues, the home team is usually written second and the away team is written first. It's completely opposite of how football/soccer games are written in Europe.

That's just a head's up because from the schedule you posted none of the games are at the Bell Center, rather the Habs are playing in Detroit and then in New York. I also second the suggestion to look up the sticky thread for things to do in Montreal, it's pretty comprehensive.

The schedule he posted is correct. I'm sure he did his research on whether or not the game was in Detroit or Montreal.

 

[peate]

If you're going to Boston, might as well visit New-York and forget about Toronto. Nothing worthwhile to see there. Quebec city is also very nice and close to Montreal.

 

[FrenchHabs]

Toronto is not an interesting place to visit ? How about Boston ?

I've been to NYC quit a few times already, so I'm more interested in Montréal, Boston, Toronto, Québec. I plan on spending 10 days over there, so I'd like to know how many days would be best to spend in each city.

Over 10 days, should I spend 5 days in Montréal, 3 in Boston and 2 in Québec ? 4 in Montréal + 2 in Boston/Toronto/Québec ? ...

Also, I'm wondering whether it is easy to go from place to place in those cities (like in Europe where you don't need a car in the main cities). If I can travel by train between each city, that'd be quite good.

 

[fsdev905]

I live in Toronto, and there's nothing to see here, especially if NYC is one of your stops.

There's nothing historic to see in Toronto, arts and culture is virtually non existent, if you're a young person and are into partying / clubbing, Montréal is the place for that.

Skip Toronto, stick with Mtl, NYC and Boston.

 

[lo striver]

there is nothing special to see in QC for someone coming from Europe. you can do a day trip to Ottawa from Montreal instead.

 

[Bob Cole]

Ill add to those that are saying don't waste your time going to Toronto unless you want to check the HHOF. Big detour for not much to see. Toronto is not in the same class as Boston, NYC or Montreal.

 

[WakeUpNHL]

From Montreal i've visited both Toronto and Boston many times... both cities have lots to do and see. All three cities have many good restaurants as well, great if you are a foodie.
Would definitely use a car to both travel between the three cities and also to allow you to get the most out seeing each city. Travel time between tor-mtl and mtl-bos is 5 hrs each.

 

[RealityBytes]

From Toronto its a short trip to southern Ontario for places like Niagara Falls. If its sports you want, Toronto, Boston, and NYC are the places to go since they all have MLB baseball, NFL football (Buffalo from Toronto) and NBA basketball as well as NHL hockey if your timetable is flexible for when they are playing. Montreal doesn't have much beyond hockey, but if you are driving, Montreal is a great test of driving temperament especially if you like traffic jams and potholes. Driving is the way to do it though train schedules are not as frequent here as in Europe except Toronto to Montreal and/or Montreal to Toronto which is about 4+ hours downtown to downtown and runs about four times a day.

In early April, you can catch not only NHL, but MLB and NBA as well. NFL is only later.

Depending on how much time you have, and if you are willing to pay a drop off fee, you could start in Toronto, then drive to Montreal, then Boston, (or reverse) but make sure your rental is allowed to cross the border.

 

[AntonCH]

All cities have something to offer
I get to all of them listed above
TOR - NYC - BOS - QUE
They all are interesting in their own way
It all depends what you're looking for and what your interests are
The HHOF is a must see if you are a true fan(best $20 you'll ever spend)
As much as I hate Boston sports fans the city was quite nice and there is a lot to do there
Quebec city is one of my favorite towns in North America if you have the time; go
NYC is NYC you've been i leave it to you
In my humble opinion depending on schedule do a loop MTL-QUE-BOS-NYC-TOR

 

[ZARTONK]

If you have time before or after New-York, and you like historic places, you could swing by Philly, it's about a two hour drive from New-York and it's a really nice place. Just don't wear your Canadiens shirt there...

 

[lo striver]

there is no TGV here, car is the king of North America. you can travel by train between Canadian cities, but going to States is kind of long and there are not too many departures. you can also use bus services between cities, that would be the cheapest way.

 

[RealityBytes]

All cities have something to offer
I get to all of them listed above
TOR - NYC - BOS - QUE
They all are interesting in their own way
It all depends what you're looking for and what your interests are
The HHOF is a must see if you are a true fan(best $20 you'll ever spend)
As much as I hate Boston sports fans the city was quite nice and there is a lot to do there
Quebec city is one of my favorite towns in North America if you have the time; go
NYC is NYC you've been i leave it to you
In my humble opinion depending on schedule do a loop MTL-QUE-BOS-NYC-TOR

Wouldn't that loop be better TOR-MTL-QUE-BOS-NYC? That would be the shortest driving.

 

[TravisF]

If you go to Toronto, be sure to visit the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The R.O.M. (Royal Ontario Museum is also great, and medieval times is fun.

 

[AntonCH]

Wouldn't that loop be better TOR-MTL-QUE-BOS-NYC? That would be the shortest driving.

All depends where you start and finish i suppose

 

[c3z4r]

The schedule he posted is correct. I'm sure he did his research on whether or not the game was in Detroit or Montreal.

I didn't doublecheck, I just went with what he posted here so that's why I wanted to gave him a heads up. This happened to me when I went to London and figured I should watch a Chelsea game but they were playing away. Sorry for being OT.

 

[Big Guy]

Just dropping in to say don't miss out on the food in Boston. Make sure your stomach is empty and your wallet is full (lol) because there is a lot to see and do if you feel like walking around downtown. The food in Montreal is on another level as well! NYC was very disappointing in that regard.

If you like going out and experiencing fun (sometimes strange) culture and nightlife, you have planned a pretty nice trip. Honestly, you can leave out Toronto altogether as others have said.

All my humble opinion of course. Enjoy!

 

[coolasprICE]

Only go to Toronto to check out universities if you are thinking of going to school there, job interview(s), business trip(s), visit family, friend(s), girlfriend(s), etc..

Montreal-Boston-New York

Why not Arrive or go back home from New York, to avoid a 2nd trip back to Montreal? You realize that Montreal- New York is close to 7 hours by car...Forget the train that's like over 12 hours... You can fly, but its not so cheap, I think.

I would skip out on Quebec city in case you're playing with that idea. Dude, you are from France. There won't be anything special to you about Quebec city. Only for North Americans is Quebec is very unique. I personally find the place to be a **** hole, minus 5 small streets (literally).

my 2 cents.

 

[Brainiac]

Yeah, I'd do MTL, BOS, NY.

As for transportation, the most important thing is wether you want to plan everything in advance or not. I know that most europeans usually don't care too much about transportation because train etc. are soooo convenient in Europe! Different story over here!

If you don't want to plan everything in advance, renting a car is probably the best option.

If you can get the schedule to work, bus is the cheap option and still pretty much OK. But plan everything in advance. The schedules are not that convenient. You can't just show up at the bus station and wait for the next departure.

And be careful with the distances. Going from MTL to NY is longer than going from Paris to London.

 

[tinyzombies]

Boston and Toronto are boring. I would stick to NYC and Montreal. The old buildings in Quebec City probably won't impress you at all. Philadelphia sucks. Don't do any of those things. You will have your hands full with just Montreal and NYC anyway. And if you are going to see baseball, make it the Yankees. Yankee fans are hilarious. I found Fenway Park scenic, but NYC is definitely the home of baseball and most everything else (music, theatre, you know the story...). NYC and Montreal crowds are the best. Do NOT buy from scalpers in NYC. There are probably Francophonie groups in NY too that do group activities. You probably have Yelp.com in France, but if not, that's the way to go to find restaurants, bars, anything. Craigslist.com is good in NY for cheap tickets, or Stubhub.com. The Village Voice, you probably know about. If you tell them you are a foreign exchange student and ask to pay $1, they will let you in at the Met for $1. Times Square sucks, I'd skip it if I were you and spend most of your time in the East Village or Greenwich Village. The other boroughs suck, unless you are a hipster. There are three hockey teams in NY and you can get to all three by subway (tho it's harder to go to Islander games, long train ride). I would pick up a cheap bike on Craigslist if it's nice out and then just sell it when you leave, there are bike paths everywhere.

I would spend the extra money and fly (set up a price watcher thing on kayak or travelocity or orbitz or whichever one has it so you get the best price - and buy three weeks in advance). Flying is just over an hour, plus about an hour and a half total getting to and from airports, so about three hours from your Montreal hotel to your NYC hotel. Driving takes 6-7-8 hours from Montreal, depending on how long you are at the border (and since you are not from Canada... they will probably not wave you through), and how fast you drive. And you really don't want to have a car in NY, it's burdensome. The train or bus is just too long, you will lose a day (although you can take the overnight bus and arrive early in the morning in NY, but you probably wont sleep well and will be exhausted, and you don't want to be tired in NY because you will do lots of walking). There is no overnight train, and the train takes 10-12 hours. Just take a plane into JFK (do not do Newark, takes forever to get into the city, and it's not that easy). Laguardia is ok too, but JFK is the way to go. You can take a city bus or subway into the city from there (tho it's a bit tricky - ask lots of questions, because the schedule varies). If you insist on taking the train, it's only $120 roundtrip, taxes included and it brings you right into Manhattan.

If you want to get adventurous, I'd recommend Chicago. The people there are very friendly and fun. That is also the home of baseball (Cubs). The city is a bit dangerous though, so again you need to ask a lot of questions wherever you are to be sure there are no sketchy streets. Hockey games in Chicago are great, the crowds are very loud and the team is great fun to watch as you probably know.

Nothing else in flying range that would be of interest I don't think. Pretty ugly country all the way across until you get near the Rocky Mountains, then it's stunning.

 

[coolasprICE]

Boston and Toronto are boring. I would stick to NYC and Montreal. The old buildings in Quebec City probably won't impress you at all. Philadelphia sucks. Don't do any of those things. You will have your hands full with just Montreal and NYC anyway. And if you are going to see baseball, make it the Yankees. Yankee fans are hilarious. I found Fenway Park scenic, but NYC is definitely the home of baseball and most everything else (music, theatre, you know the story...). NYC and Montreal crowds are the best. Do NOT buy from scalpers in NYC.

I would spend the extra money and fly (set up a price watcher thing on kayak or travelocity or orbitz or whichever one has it so you get the best price - and buy three weeks in advance). Flying is just over an hour. Driving takes 6-7-8 hours from Montreal, depending on how long you are at the border (and since you are not from Canada... they will probably not waive you through), and how fast you drive. The train or bus is just too long, you will lose a day (although you can take the overnight bus and arrive early in the morning in NY, but you probably wont sleep well and will be exhausted). There is no overnight train, and the train takes 10-12 hours. Just take a plane into JFK (do not do Newark, takes forever to get into the city, and it's not that easy). Laguardia is ok too, but JFK is the way to go. You can take a city bus or subway into the city from there (tho it's a bit tricky - ask lots of questions, because the schedule varies).

If you want to get adventurous, I'd recommend Chicago. The people there are very friendly and fun. That is also the home of baseball (Cubs). The city is a bit dangerous though, so again you need to ask a lot of questions wherever you are to be sure there are no sketchy streets. Hockey games in Chicago are great, the crowds are very loud and the team is great fun to watch as you probably know.

Nothing else in flying range that would be of interest I don't think. Pretty ugly country all the way across until you get near the Rocky Mountains, then it's stunning.

Good post, but I disagree with Boston / chicago.

Boston is worth seeing, especially if he's going to fenway. Chicago is also worth seeing, but like NY it's a big city and if he's going to NY I think he'll be drained.

Stay longer in Montreal/ NYC and spend 1 or 2 nights max in Boston.

Montreal 4-5 days - Boston 1-2 days - NYC 4-5 days

If you can get a ride to Boston from Montreal, it's closer than driving to NYC... 5 hours vs 7 hours. I don't find it that rough of a drive.

And then once in Boston, accessing NY is cheap and relatively easy.

He could also do Montreal fly to NYC and then go back home from Boston.

OP - don't do 2 trips to Montreal!