48 Hours In: Montreal, Canada

WHY GO NOW?

Québec's principal city has an amazing joie de vivre even in the depths of winter. The Montréal High Lights Festival takes place from 16 to 26 February. It provides an opportunity for chefs to meet and create fantastic dishes in local restaurants, giving tourists a taste of the province's food. Concerts and light shows add to the entertainment; see www.montrealenlumiere.com.

TOUCH DOWN

You can fly to Montréal from Heathrow on Air Canada (0871 220 1111; www.aircanada.ca) or British Airways (0870 850 9850; www.ba.com); fares start from £300 return. To reduce the impact on the environment of your journey, you can buy an "offset" from Climate Care (01865 207 000; www.climatecare.org); for a return economy flight from Heathrow to Montréal, you pay £10.80.

Montréal's Trudeau airport is 16km west of the centre: a C$35 (£17) cab ride, C$13 (£6.40) by shuttle bus (00 1 514 842 2281; www.admtl.com).

GET YOUR BEARINGS

Montréal is an island, 50km long by 17km wide, in the middle of the St Lawrence River. The city is made up of a historic Old Town (Vieux Montréal) and a busy downtown district, You will probably spend a lot of your time in the Latin Quarter - a distinct neighbourhood clustered with restaurants and bars, renowned for its hectic nightlife - and the Museum Quarter, home to the Museum of Fine Arts and the McCord Museum of Canadian History . The downtown Infotouriste Centre at 1255 Peel (on the corner of Ste-Catherine, 00 1 514 873 2015; www.bonjourquebec.com), offers information on Montréal and the surroundings; it opens daily at 9am (except Wed, 10am) and closes at 7pm (5pm at weekends).

Montréal is about as cold and snowy as Moscow in winter, but the freeze need not spoil your fun. With 32km of shops and restaurants underground, Montréal is two cities in one.

The city is also well-served by a metro system that has four lines and 65 stations, 10 of which connect directly to the underground complex.

CHECK IN

The elegant Queen Elizabeth Fairmont is a five-star hotel situated at 900 Boulevard René-Lévesque (00 1 514 861 3511; www.fairmont.com/queenelizabeth). It has 1,039 rooms, 100 of which are suites.

Clientele can make use of the leather sofas and plush carpeting in the gold lounge on the 19th floor while enjoying panoramic views of the city, courtesy of floor-to-ceiling windows. Prices start at C$272 (£135) for a standard room, including a gourmet breakfast and full use of the fitness centre and spa.

Situated downtown in the trendy Old Montréal district at 355 Rue McGill, Hotel St-Paul (00 1 514 380 2222; www.hotelst paul.com) is a boutique hotel designed in the Beaux Arts style. Rooms are divided into "earth" and "sky" themes and are furnished accordingly.

Prices start at C$229 (£100) including breakfast.

Those on a budget can enjoy a comfortable night's sleep at the Auberge de la Jeunesse - a youth hostel located at 1030 Mackay (00 1 514 843 3317; www.hostellingmontreal.com). Guests can purchase the "Experience Montréal Package", which includes a two-night stay with breakfast, internet access, a three-day transport pass and a tour of the city for C$106 (£52).

TAKE A VIEW

Montréal is named after its mountain, Mont Royal. Walk or drive to the top of Mont Royal Park, just north of the Museum Quarter, for spectacular views of the city.

Alternatively, you can climb the Clock Tower that is situated at the Old Port, three minutes walk from Champ-de-Mars metro station. The tower also houses a free exhibition depicting Montréal's history, but it opens only in summer: 18 May-22 September, 10am-7pm (to 9pm at weekends); 21 June-18 August, 10am-9pm daily.

TAKE A HIKE

For a good, long walk offering a real cross-section of the city, follow Rue Sainte-Catherine from the Berri-UQAM metro in the east, to Vendôme metro in the west; there are metro stations close to this route, so if you get cold or tired you can call it a day whenever you like. This takes in the red-light quarter (really only the corner of Ste-Catherine and St-Laurent), the French university area, the Montréal Symphony Orchestra concert hall and the main retail district, ending in the leafy, English-speaking enclave of Westmount.

LUNCH ON THE RUN

The one thing Montrealers bicker constantly about is who makes the best smoked meat. It is hard to beat Schwartz's Hebrew Delicatessen (3895 St-Laurent, 00 1 514 842 4813) - more of a statement than a restaurant. They still use same smoker as Reuben Schwartz did in 1930 to make their trademark smoked meat. And you still have to wait in line (often out the door and down the block) at weekends. If you manage to get a seat, they will grab your plate before

you are finished to make room for the next shift. Those with a sweet tooth shouldn't bypass Reuben's, downtown at 888 Rue Ste-Catherine, for a taste of their monstrous signature cheesecake.

CULTURAL AFTERNOON

For a dip into Montréal's past, your best bet is the well-conceived Museum of Archaeology and History at Pointe-à-Callière (00 1 514 872 9150; www.pacmusee.qc.ca). It is located on the site where Montréal was founded in 1642. The museum opens 10am-5pm Tuesday to Friday, 11am-5pm on Saturdays and Sundays, admission C$10 (£5).

WINDOW SHOPPING

For funky, one-off boutiques and second-hand stores, St-Laurent and Mount Royal are the places, while St-Denis has block after block of fashionable stores selling everything from soft furnishings to posh frocks. Bargain hunters could try the Jean-Talon market in Little Italy (7075 Avenue Casgrain). Produce on offer includes freshly baked bread, a large selection of cheeses and imported fruit.

AN APERITIF

Sub Zero is Montreal's first Ice bar (with ice walls, ice tables, ice glasses), on the roof of Hotel Place D'Armes at 55 Rue St-Jacques (00 1 514 842 1887). This is one

of the new, sexy Old Montreal boutique hotels (which also has the city's first hammam).

DINNER WITH THE LOCALS

At Au Pied du Cochon at 536 Rue Duluth (00 1 514 281 1114), the chef takes a range of typical Québécois dishes and does something wild and exciting with them. Vegetarians might want to give it a miss, with a meat-heavy menu featuring anything from stuffed pig's foot (as the name suggests) to foie gras-stuffed ham. Mains cost around C$20 (£10).

SUNDAY MORNING: GO TO CHURCH

Notre-Dame Basilica located at 116 Rue Notre-Dame Ouest, facing Place d'Armes, is a must-see. A deep blue dome ceiling dotted with gold stars is one of the many magnificent features in this 19th-century church.

Red, purple and silver stained-glass windows portray the religious history of Montréal, and abstract carvings frame the interior. A popular wedding location with celebrities (Celine Dion tied the knot here), the church also hosts concerts and light shows all year round.

OUT TO BRUNCH

St-Viateur's Bagels at 263 Rue Viateur Ouest boasts the best bagels in the world; for less than C$10 (£5) you choose from a vast array of fillings and side dishes; the standards are cream cheese and lox (smoked salmon). If you ask politely, the owner will show you around the kitchen, where you can watch bagels being rolled, and baked in wood-burning ovens.

A WALK IN THE PARK

You are spoiled for choice. Montréal's largest green space is Mont Royal Park, and within it Beaver Lake has just had a

major overhaul - and now boasts a refrigerated icerink. To reach the smaller, but beautiful, Lafontaine Park, the nearest metro station is Sherbrooke. This very scenic green space has two ponds, linked with fountains and waterfalls.

WRITE A POSTCARD

Stop for a coffee at the Hotel Nelligan, a boutique hotel near the port at 106 Rue Saint-Paul Ouest (00 1 514 788 2040). The fabulous roof terrace, offering views across the rooftops of Montréal, often with an audio backdrop of live music, should provide plenty of inspiration to write to family and friends.

ICING ON THE CAKE

Montréal hosted the Olympic Games 30 years ago, and the futuristic-looking stadium, designed by Roger Tallibert, still attracts tourists. It is located at 4141 Pierre-de-Coubertin Avenue (00 1 514 252 8687; www.rio.gouv.qc.ca); hours vary according to season but it currently opens 11am-5pm daily (from noon on Mondays); admission C$7.50 (£3.70).

The Biodôme is also situated in the park (00 1 514 868 3000; www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/biodome/bdm). Here, you'll find four of the most striking natural environments of North and South America, presented side by side: the Tropical Forest, the Laurentian Forest, the St Lawrence Marine Ecosystem and the Polar Worlds.

The Biodôme opens 9am-5pm daily except Monday, admission C$11.75 (£5.80).

Additional research by Cleo Paskal