There’s never a bad time to visit Montreal, but sojourning to the "City of Festivals" during the Montreal Jazz Fest might just be the best.
Living up to its reputation as Canada’s culture capital, wailing saxophones and world rhythms echo off patinated rooftops, glowing lights hint at intimate venues and packed late-night joints, and wine and music-fuelled revellers spill out along every block of the world-renowned sonic marathon in July.
We spent 72 hours taking in every sight and sound possible last summer and, if you want to make it a weekend of your own between June 28 and July 8 of this year, here’s how to hit the right notes.
Stay: It doesn’t get more central than La Citadelle. A stately bastion of campus life situated in the heart of downtown, the tower actually serves as McGill University housing during the school year, but doubles as an affordable hotel-style residence with private bathrooms and collegiate pillow covers during the summer months. Stepping out the front doors, it’s a short walk down Rue de Bleury (past a way-too-convenient Crêpe 2 Go) to the Places des Festivals and more than a dozen bumping music venues.
Savour: As you head from Centre-Ville to the historic Old Port district, window shop your way to brunch at Le Cartet. Surrounded by cute stores and competing brunch stops, this resto-boutique — featuring classic French fare like brunch des cantons and salmon croquette — was the perfect respite from the crowds and franchisey food stops downtown. Craving coffee or a hit of free WiFi? Pop down the block to the impressive yet unlikely Crew Collective & Café. Filling the entire main floor of a converted heritage bank, you can bask in the soft glow from the cathedral windows and polished brass finishings while savouring a Saint-Henri espresso and pouring over the festival schedule for your next gem of a show.
Do: The jazz festival goes late, so stay up and explore the city after dark surrounded by a cross-section of the event’s two million some-odd visitors. One walk took us from the main corso all the way up Boul St-Laurent to the hazy doors of the legendary Schwartz’s smoked meat. Tip: once you’ve put in your dues in the line, ask to sit at the bar for the colourful full-service experience. Another route saw us enticed into late-night to-go bites from a tiny, neon-lit storefront in nearby Chinatown. And, right in the thick of it, one of the liveliest places to sit and people watch after a show is from the tables of shawarma standout Boustan.
See: For us, the jazz festival was about seeing as many of the 800-plus concerts at as many venues as possible, but what surprised us was the depth and diversity of stages Montreal has to offer. Grungy Club Soda was the place to be Friday night, with a big dance floor and a young, enthusiastic crowd. Le Bleury vinyl bar had a steady stream of lounge lovers flowing in and out. Gesù, located in the bowels of a Roman Catholic church, offered an unexpectedly authentic jazz club atmosphere. And then there was Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier — the largest performance hall in Quebec, the home of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal and the jewel in the jazz festival crown. If we’re being honest, we flew across the country last year in large part to soak in the greatest hits of Canadian music royalty Rufus Wainwright, backed by a full orchestra and the sheer grandeur of the iconic venue.
Don’t miss: Looking for some jazz history? Rent a Bixi bike and ride along the architecturally studded Lachine Canal to Little Burgundy — an industrial hotspot in Montreal’s working-class southwest. Once home to the city’s black Anglophone community, long-lost venues like Rockhead’s Paradise helped earn Montreal the reputation of “Harlem of the North” and the neighbourhood’s roots are steeped in jazz. Legendary pianist Oscar Peterson was born here in 1925, and where you now find trendy shops, darling confectioneries and award-winning food, you could once catch Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday and more.
PS — If that doesn’t convince you, this year’s jazz festival headliners include Bob Dylan (June 30), Buddy Guy (June 30) and Feist (July 4).
Kelsey@westender.com
