tour de montréal, june 4-7, 2010

Join us for four days of active exploration in Montréal with an insider at your side!

At the heart of our itinerary was the Tour de l’Ile, the greatest cycling event in Canada. We joined riders of all ages and fitness levels, as we rode 50 k (about 30 miles) and discovered many areas of the city in this day long event.

We also rode Un Tour  la Nuit - a 12 mile evening ride under the city lights.  What fun!

When we weren’t riding, we delved into the city’s rich history, sampled international cuisine, viewed Canadian art , and enjoyed scenic vistas and streetside cafés.

Travelers’ comments:

Thanks so much for the great trip, Karen!

Perfection: redefined.

We did a week’s worth of activities in only 3 1/2 days.  Yet the visit felt leisurely.

I’m so glad I rode!

The trip was such a great success, that we’re going to do it again next year: June 3-6, 2011!

What’s special about this trip

• Experience Montréal life with an insider at your side. Karen Kane regularly leads tours to Montreal and writes about the city’s food and culture. She’ll introduce you to hidden corners and neighborhood haunts - making it easy to actively engage with Montrealers and their culture.

• Participate in two events of the Montréal Bike Fest, a citywide celebration of the bicycle.  Tour la Nuit is a fun, car-free bike ride along some of the city’s loveliest streets under the lights.  The Tour de l’Ile is a noncompetitive all day ride through the streets of Montreal.

• Walking, we’ll explore several areas of the city in depth - examining Montréal’s Old World roots and its modern joie de vivre as we go.

• Our small group - 2-4 people, each with a single room - gives you your own space, while allowing opportunities for meaningful connections and stimulating conversations.

• Bike Fest registration, bicycle rentals, and meals are included in the price of the trip. All you need to do is arrive and enjoy!

A sample day

9:00-12:00. Arrive Montréal. Check into your cozy room and unpack. Our base is a lovely B&B in the vibrant Plateau quartier. Then we’ll make sure our bikes are ready for the weekend.

12:00 - 1:30. We’ll take the Métro to Old Montréal - the French quarter - for a delicious lunch at a bustling café, and some wonderful views.

1:30 - 5:00. We’ll wander the cobblestoned streets of Old Montréal.  This area of Montréal is the city’s oldest - and we’ll learn about its past at Musée Point-à-Caillère. We’ll also take in 17th century architecture, modern galleries, and explore the walking path that borders the city’s vibrant waterfront.

5:00 - 8:00. Fortified by a light dinner (and with a few snacks for the road), we’ll get ready to see the city by bike.

8:00 - 10:00. We’ll join thousands of Montrealers for the Tour la Nuit, a car-free bike ride along some of the city’s loveliest streets under the lights. The event is about 12 miles long, and is a great family affair.  It starts a short distance from our lodging.

Trip leader
Karen Kane owns Montréal by Design, a travel consulting service that specializes in fantastic trips to Montréal. Her work has been recognized by the NY Times, LA Times, Boston Globe, Montréal Gazette, Houston Chronicle, Delta Sky Magazine, and National Public Radio.

What’s included
• 4 days and 3 nights in Montréal
• Your own room in a delightful three-star B&B
• Daily breakfast, four inspirational lunches, and three fantastic group dinners
• Bike rentals
• Guided walks that get you off the beaten path
• A personalized notebook that puts the city in context historically and culturally
• Montréal museum and métro tickets
• Recommendations for and help arranging optional activities, including jazz clubs, a cooking class, spa appointment and the like

Not included
• Transportation to Montréal, airport transfers
• Personal expenses
• Passports and travel insurance

Cost and registration
Cost is $1560 per person, single occupancy, if registered before May 1, 2010. Cost is $1,690 after May 1.
Registration is on a first come, first served basis, and maximum group size is 4. A deposit of $500 is required to reserve your place in The Tour de Montréal.

Are you interested?
To register, or for a detailed itinerary, contact Karen Kane, at 800 430 5436, or email karen@montrealbydesign.com.

muvbox - a design-friendly, affordable lunch spot

Leave it to design-friendly Montreal to combine green technology with scenic vistas and affordable food.

Muvbox, a new take-out restaurant in Vieux Montreal, is a 20-foot shipping container by night and a solar powered boîte serving clam chowder, pizza, and lobster from the Magdalen Islands by day.

I arrived just before noon on a Wed, at the recommendation of a friend - knowing nothing about the design, but eager to try a lobster roll that cost less than $10.

It was a sunny day with a delicious breeze coming off the water, and the place was hopping: the shaded deck was full, half a dozen people waited in line on the building’s north side, and red-aproned staff moved quickly and efficiently at the heart of the miniscule space.

My lobster roll came in a paper box, in keeping with the box theme. The split hot dog roll was nicely toasted, making a warm shell for chunks of claw meat with slivers of celery and bound by a little mayo. The most popular meal was the special - clam chowder, lobster roll, chips and a drink for $14.95.

My friend pronounced the Margherita Pizza ($5.95) delicious and a good value. (The resto’s founder, Daniel Noiseux, brought the wood-fired oven to Montreal 25 years ago.)

Located on the quai next to La Maison des Eclusiers, the minimalist structure looks onto a gorgeous view. And at night, the restaurant itself adds to the scenery. Painted black, white and red, with giant lobsters on the end, the box has awnings that retract and sides that fold up to enclose kitchen and deck.

If you go:
Muvbox is located at the corner of McGill and rue de la Commune
Open from 11:30 am to 7:30 pm, weather permitting

bixi is easy, affordable, fun

There are times when I want to get from one end of Montreal to the other, and I don’t want to go underground. I don’t want to deal with parking or spend money on a cab - and it would take too long to walk.

Enter Bixi, the city’s new bike rental program. It’s easy, affordable (especially if you’re doing lots of short to’s and fro’s), and fun.

The bikes themselves are sturdy beasts, with lightweight aluminum frames, and wide tires that make cobblestones navigable and take the sting out of stormwater grates. Seats are wide, and the padded handlebars upright - making balance easy.

Shifting is easy, too - flick your wrist to turn a ring and change the gears. Unless you’re climbing Mont Royal, you don’t need any more than the three gears provided.

And the simple system leaves your left hand free to work the bell. This comes in handy near the Science Center, where cyclists and pedestrians mix liberally, and at intersections throughout the city, where the added twist to the mix is turning cars.

The sloping down tube and chain guard make the bikes rideable in just about any attire, and thanks to a taut bungee cord incorporated into the basket, knapsacks, shopping bags and maps are securely contained.

I can’t say enough about the bike path. Over 500 km of gently sloping, paved paths connect the main areas of the city, making it a cinch to get where you need to go - and beyond.

We took two bikes from Parc de la Fontaine one sunny Tuesday morning, jumped on the bike path, and sailed down to Ateliers et Saveurs in Old Montreal for a noon-time class.

We wandered the tiny streets in the Old City, then explored Ile de Notre Dame and Parc Jean Drapeau, saw Habitat 67 up close, and got great views of La Ronde. Later, we ambled through Hochelaga Maisonneuve and saw the Olympic stadium from the sidewalk.

In most cases, we moved more quickly than we would have in a car. And knowing that we could get places under our own steam, while helping ease smog and congestion, made the experience downright exhilarating.

Our only snafus came when we tried to return the bikes - and in the end the fault was mine. If I had read the 20+ pages of info on the touch screen before renting the bikes, we would have known that if there are no empty parking spaces for a return, you can get 15 additional minutes free, while you try another station. Push the symbol with the clock and the + sign.

There is also a map at most stations, so you don’t have to memorize their locations, as we attempted. And the docks don’t all work: if you try to slide a bike into an an empty spot and it won’t lock, you’ll need to find another dock that does.

We used the bike as both taxi (short hop) and tour bus (two hours at a time). Pricing favors the former. The first 30 minutes of use is free, so our credit card was billed for each additional half hour of the longer trips.

A hardy commuter advised us to avoid the charges by returning the bikes to a new station every 25 minutes, then taking new wheels. But we figured it would probably have cost us as much to rent a bike for the day, and we wouldn’t have had the flexibility that Bixi offers.

Do you cycle in Montreal?  Do you use the Bixi system?  Share your experience!

cooking classes and more at ateliers et saveurs

Experience is the best teacher - it also makes a great gift. At least that was my thinking when I treated my husband Ken to a cooking class at Ateliers et Saveurs in Old Montreal on his birthday last week.

I chose the hour-long midday class, called Gourmet Pressé, based on the year-old company’s website description. Poached shrimp with summer squash, pear, and citrus mayo on basmati rice sounded light yet substantial, and the timing - noon til 1pm for class and lunch - fit our schedule.

The classes are designed to be hands-on for the average cook - combining professional demonstration with succinct directions, bits of theory, and lots of class participation.

We arrived at noon on the dot (after visiting three Bixi stations to return our bikes) and were ushered into a spotless, high-ceilinged kitchen with an induction cook top in the heart of Old Montreal. Philip, our Montreal-trained chef, passed out aprons, and introduced the dish.

Philip had already made the rice, cleaned the shrimp, and prepared an aromatic broth with ginger and coriander. (The compressed Gourmet Pressé time frame necessitates more pre-prep than a longer class.)

The first task for our group of four - class size varies and is limited to 20 - was the citrus mayo. Philip separated the eggs, juiced and zested an orange, and handed a whisk and bottle of canola oil to the birthday boy. After a few minutes, I tasted for seasonings, and proclaimed it a masterpiece.

Next we sliced red onion, chives, summer squash and pears at individual work stations. A classmate stepped up to sauté the veggies, impressing me with her savoir faire as she put the wooden spoon to the side and shook the pan to keep the ingredients moving.

The class had a nice flow, as Philip outlined the tasks, demonstrated, and put us to work. His directions were concise as he shifted easily back and forth between French and English.

The organization was flawless, the spirit playful. Decorating our white plate rims with dots and swoops of reduced balsamic vinegar was a nice “cooking school” touch, without pressure - it truly seemed like something we could do at home.

Minutes later, we arranged warmed rice and golden veggies in deep, wide bowls, topped this with the pink shrimp Philip had poached in the broth (40 seconds, max, he cautioned), spooned on the fragrant mayo, and adjourned to the adjacent dining room to eat.

The dish was light and full of flavor, with the pear and summer squash combining nicely, the shrimp tender and juicy, and the mayo a luscious treat. The five of us sat at one end of the gorgeous, oblong table, and toasted our culinary success.

A glass of delicious Chilean sauvignon blanc wine was offered - though not in the French sense of “offert.” Wine, dessert and coffee are all available at an additional cost.

We couldn’t resist a sommelier-chosen wine, Bretton crêpes cooked at the other end of the table by Philip, or espresso to give us energy for our afternoon bike ride.

Ken loved the experience, and we talk of re-creating the meal at home. Or maybe we’ll just return with friends for a dinner class.

Ateliers et Saveurs also offers wine tastings, cocktail mixing classes, multi-course dinner classes, and corporate team building.

Have you done any of these? How was it? Can you recommend any other Montreal cooking classes? Let us know!

If you go: Ateliers & Saveurs, 444, St-François-Xavier