Tourist Scams in Montreal

Update : there are no horse-drawn carriages in Montreal anymore since a year ago. With all the controversies surrounding the heat, the noise and the bad working conditions for the horses, this tourist trap has been terminated.

Regarding the Metro, you can easily get a 3-day pass for $21 CAD and you get unlimited access to public transportation for those three days. I was there this past weekend and it was totally worth it!

The advice for maple syrup also applies to maple leaf cookies. You'll pay a lot more at a souvenir shop than at the grocery store for the same cookies.

Born and raised Montrealer here! All your tips are totally true! I would add one general "trap" is that tourists always fall into Old Montreal. Don't get me wrong, it's very pretty. But real Montrealers don't hang out there. It's a nice place to see quickly and then branch out to the real Montreal afterwards :)

Montrealer here!! I agree with everything Wolter says! I say stay away from the gift shops in old Montreal! Overpriced and tacky. Plus they sell a lot of “native” stuff that aren’t made by indigenous people nor does it profit the people. Go to Kahnawake, a Mohawk reserve right outside of Montreal if you want to buy and support the local indigenous community

Just a note about the hors-drawn carriages. They have ceased operations by December 31, 2019. The current administration which was first elected in 2017 passed a bylaw prohibiting horse-drawn carriages for entertainment or transportation purposes. The bylaw was upheld by the Superior Court in September 2020 and again by the Court of Appeals in November 2022.

If you use bank machines, make sure that you go to a popular bank and use their machine (because any fees they charge will be a lot cheaper). Some bars and convenience stores have "private" bank machines that don't belong to a famous Canadian bank, and these private bank machines often charge outrageously high banking fees.

Fun fact about Schwartz's : in 2012, it was bought by René Angélil (Céline Dion's husband/manager), so she's now the owner.

Mount Royal Park also has great free views of the city. If your going in summer go in the morning before it gets too hot.

Montreal tour guide here just want to rectify something: horse drawn carriages are now illegal here so no longer a problem ❤️

As a true local... why wait in line at Schwartz for smoked meat?? Walk across the street to The MAIN... less fancy, less rushy and the smoked meat (brisket) is just as good!! Or as an option, head over to REUBEN's (the new downtown location)... shorter line, just as good. If you're travelling to the Western part of the Island... go to Pete's Smoked Meat!  ps: if you really need to bring some Quebec Maple Syrup home with you - forget the over-priced Maple Leaf-shaped bottle in the souvenir shops... walk into any supermarket and pick up a CAN of Maple Syrup (2 for the price of the bottle) and you'll have protection from it breaking in your luggage! Enjoy your travels in Montreal...

The "underground city" is also usefull in summer, when it's very hot - yes, it gets hot in the summer, upwards of 40°C (105°F) with the humudity factor. The shoping malls are air conditionned but the Métro is not. The Métro is well ventilated, so it's not too bad.

Right on Wolter, maple syrup comes in a can for 7-8$. My buddy from NYC forgot his decorative syrup that he'd bought in Old Montreal while he was here (so I sent it to him) and when I saw the price - 20$ - I almost died!

The Underground City is also a life saver when its super hot out in the summer. Was showing some older family members around last summer and they were dying in the direct sunlight, so we used it a lot to stay cool and get around to where we needed to.

One more "tourist trap" in Montréal : going to a Montréal Canadien hockey game at Bell Centre. Tickets cost an arm and expect to pay through the nose for a beer and a hot dog.

Correction - calèches (horse-drawn carriages) were banned for widespread animal abuse back in 2020. They were very cruel.

Mark, the lil maple leaf bottle is for looking cute on my Texas mantle as a souvenir, not for my eggos 😂 no regrets! 🍁

Montreal rocks - we have been going up from Connecticut every summer since 1999, and now go 3-4 times per year. Always fun! A comment on this video - the horse drawn carriages he shows here are now banned, and have been since the beginning of 2020. While part of me misses seeing them, it’s definitely better for the horses.

Montreal is on our bucket list. We hope to get there sometime in the next 2-4 years. Thank you for the tips, they are always helpful. Passe un bon weekend!!

One thing to keep in mind with using public transit while traveling is how good you are at navigating -- I get anxious trying to use public transit in areas I'm not familiar with as I've ended up on buses or trams that head way out of town and then I'm kind of stuck. So yes, you can save a lot of money using public transit, but you have to have some sort of navigational ability so you don't wind up clear across town from where you wanted to be! That is one benefit of taxis or rideshares as you are definitely getting from Point A to Point B without having to really think about it. Then again, with buses in particular, you get a nice leisurely way to see a lot of an area without paying a lot of money for it. All depends on your comfort level with navigation.