If you've visited both Montreal and Niagra Falls, which location was your favorite and why?

Question

TY

we've never seen either so far. However this summer intend to visit, but haven't decided which one to see 1st.

Kinda wondering exactly which places in Montreal are "must see's" too.

TY

Answer 1

Hi, my favourite place was Niagara Falls, because it is a very beautiful place, the Maid of the Mist is a very cool experience, you must live, and also the view from Skylon Tower is really spectacular.

And Montreal is also a very nice city, the must see places there are a lot, you will need more than a day, if you like churches you must visit the Oratoire Saint-Joseph,  the Notre Dame Basilic and the Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde.

The Olympic Stadium is a icon of the city also.

And of course you must visit "La ville souterraine" (underground city) that is a very cool place and you must visit the Vieux-Montréal and Vieux-Port, that is the old city and port.

Oh and don't forget to try the French Cuisine

Hope you have a great time in both places!

Answer 2

Niagara Falls is an absolute dive!  I have been many times for business and at best it's worth a day trip from Toronto to see the Falls and do the Maid of the Mist boat ride in total a couple of hours, then visit Niagara-on-the-Lake to walk around the gingerbread style houses for an hour or two.  Definitely not worth staying more than a night and filled with embarrassing commercial junk...wax museums, house of horrors, Planet Hollywood etc.  A few years back I went to see Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and the locals kept apologizing for all the commercialism, quite frankly they have nothing on Niagara Falls.

Montreal is beautiful with much to discover.  If your tastes run to theme parks they have those too, but they also have beautiful architecture, some of the best museums in Canada, a great park in Mont Royal, the historic waterfront, beautiful cathedrals, cobblestone streets, a wealth of restaurants, etc.  There is also a great deal to do with kids including the science center, Biodome, etc.  Montreal will take several days to see everything and do the city justice.

Answer 3

I lived in Ontario for 20-odd (very odd!) years and made regular day trips to Niagara Falls during that time, sometimes twice a year.    They are a must see.   I've been there in all seasons and they are always majestic and beautiful!    

If you will be driving, you must drive down the gorge to Queenston, stopping along the way as often as you can to admire the great Niagara gorge!    Make sure you get some information about the geological history of the Falls before your trip so you'll know that you're going backwards in time along the route the Falls took over the last 12,000 years or so!   (Obsessive or what, eh?  LOL!)  Besides, the scenery is beautiful.

Oh yeah - and there are a couple of human historic sites along the way, such as in Queenston.   There are signs that you can read that explain it all.   Something about a failed  U.S. invasion?   heh :-D

Having said all that,  I'm Montreal born and raised and I had to come back after those 20 odd years.    There just something about the place.   It is also one of this country's "must sees."

My compatriot has listed some great places (altho I would have foregone mentioning The Big O - heheh)   and the city is renowned for its food.    Do be sure to try "real" poutine, which you don't get at A&W or Burger King  and seek out an absolutely Quebecois delight - Sugar Pie (or even Maple Sugar Pie if you like to live dangerously!)

My mother is of Irish descent and they lived in a predominently French neighbourhood in the late 1920s.   She was invited to a friend's house for supper one evening.   When she when home she told her mother that the family was even poorer than they were - they couldn't even afford apples to put in the pie    All they had in it was sugar!   My grandmother got a good laugh out of that one.

I hope you have a great vacation!

Answer 4

Blah blah blah...

Big city feel with a Western European flair - Montreal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal

Small town feel with an added splash of water - Niagara Falls

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_Fal...

Which one do you fancy?

Answer 5

Niagara Falls is quite an impressive site, but I have always found that much of the appeal is lost by all the commercial and cheesy attractions.  

Montreal is a beautiful city, with so much to see, it would be hard to pinpoint the best sites without knowing your preferences.

Answer 6

I live in Montreal, and have visited Niagara area (the falls, Welland, Port Colbourne, etc). I'm not really sure you can compare the two against each other, as they each have their onw merits and weaknesses.

For example, I was impressed with the sheer size of the Horseshoe Falls, and it is a sight I would highly recommend. I also went to the nearby Botanical Gardens and Brock Monument, and visited the canal locks in Welland. However, a lot of the places in Niagara Falls are tourist traps, from the souvenir shops to the museums, and the hotels and restaurants in the area tend to overcharge because of the popularity of the falls area.

Montreal has reasonable accomodations, great food at the restaurants, and lots of things to see in the summer. We are the city of festivals, with the Jazz Fest, Just For Laughs Comedy fest, International fireworks competition, Grand Prix, and other events. You will experience a different culture (French) and may feel like you have gone to Europe while you are here. On the negatives, I would not want to drive as a tourist here, because the Quebec drivers are similar to New York taxi drivers, and the taxi drivers are worse! All signs are in French, and so if you need to get around, you may need to learn a few words (not that hard). I would definitely check out St. Joseph's Oratory, the Olympic Stadium, the Biodome, and perhaps take a day trip to Quebec City to see the historic 400 year old walled city and watch whales in the seaway.

If I had to choose only one of the two places to visit, I would choose Montreal, only because there is more to do in the city and you can walk all over downtown and take the reliable and safe subway system to wherever you want. A trip to Niagara would mean having to drive around a bit more, and it seems to be much more of a tourist center than a true metropolitan city. Then again, I am biased since I live here and so know a bit more of the area than Niagara.

Answer 7

I visited Montreal briefly but spent two days in Niagara Falls. If your young (teens, 20's, 30's) than Niagara Falls is definitely better. Besides the waterfall they have a strip that reminds me a little bit like Las Vegas, except without the hi-rise hotels and casinos. It  has sports bars, restaurants (hard rock cafe for example), carnival rides, miniature golf, arcades,and several haunted houses (not real). The haunted houses are those fun make believe places, where you buy a ticket and go in a dark building and they have all kinds of scary stuff. What's cool is you get to choose a level. I chose the scariest one, where they physically touch you.

They also have Marine Land which was just a few miles away I think. It not only has marine life, but they have amusement park rides. Like (Sky Screamer) the one that takes you like 40 stories up with your feet and arms dangling and then drops you over half way real fast and then brings you back up again, and repeats itself again and again. Yep, Niagra Falls is your best bet. And it's also very cool going on the short boat ride out to the big waterfall.

I didn't see a whole lot in Montreal. They did have the Grand Prix why I was there, but that is held like in the end of Aug. or early Sept. It's a good place for pictures of old churches and other architect buildings, but Quebec City is way better for that sort of thing. I been all over the eastern part of Canada, and the best parts I like is Quebec City, Niagra Falls, Ottawa, and Newfoundland. In that order.

Answer 8

I live in Montreal,a nd visited Niagara Falls. They are both very different from one another. They're hard to compare. Montreal has more to do, it's miuch bigger. It has more urban areas, quieter places and just about anything  :)

Being a Montreal native, i prefer Montreal. More to do... and so much to see. It's a smaller-scale New York City in the downtown area, and there are also many country areas too.