I Spent a Romantic Week in Montreal and This Is What It Cost

Day 2 – Monday

Total cost: $143.28
The location of our Airbnb was great (a block and a half from a metro station, a five-minute walk to Old Montreal), and it was clean, but there were some weird oversights. The bedside shelves were slanted downwards, so our phones kept falling onto the concrete floor. The bathroom lacked body wash, hooks or a bar to hang up towels, a garbage can, or a hair dryer. The bed’s central support was broken, so the mattress sagged and we kept sliding to the middle—cozy but not exactly conducive to a good night of sleep. We briefly discussed switching to a hotel, but that was out of our budget so we decided to just make do.

Luckily, the day got better from there, starting with breakfast at a L’Amour du Pain, a nearby bakery where I got a pear-chocolate pastry and cappuccino for 11.90 CA$ ($8.70). It was raining, and most of the museums on our itinerary were closed on Mondays, so we took the metro to the Biodome and I bought an admission ticket for CA$23.25 ($17.01). The Biodome is a combined zoo and conservatory with exhibits that recreate different ecosystems—I was all about the tropical rainforest section because I love sloths and capybaras, and the penguins in the sub-Antarctic section were so much fun to watch. Did I need the capybara earrings at the gift shop? No, but I bought them anyway (CA$13.80, or $10.09).

The Biodome cafe looked lackluster so we walked to the close-ish Maisonneuve Market for lunch, and I got a piece of olive, vegetable, and goat cheese-topped focaccia from a bakery stall for CA$7.48 ($5.47). The rain had cleared up by this point, so we walked to the Jardin Botanique and I bought admission for CA$20.75 ($15.18). The expansive Chinese Garden was the highlight: a tranquil pond surrounded by elegant buildings, a waterfall, and carefully manicured miniature trees.

After the botanical garden, we headed back to our Airbnb via the metro, with a stop at a convenience store to buy soap, lotion, foundation (I forgot to pack some stuff), and a snack-sized bag of all-dressed chips CA$38.01 ($27.85). For dinner, we walked to Pub Saint Pierre, which combines the vibe of a historic pub, hockey bar, and craft cocktail spot. We ordered a couple rounds of cocktails, gyoza, and truffle fries and split the tab for CA$71.75 ($52.47) each. For dessert, we walked to the Old Port so I could get a fancy ice cream sandwich from the Felix & Norton food truck I spotted the night before (CA$8.89, or $6.51).