Montreal – Old Town – WHERE IS NOODLE

After a quick breakfast in the Airbnb we took the metro northbound to the Little Italy area to visit the Marche Jean Talon.

It is one of the oldest public markets in Montréal. Inaugurated in May 1933, it was first called the Marché du Nord, but in 1983, its name was changed in honor of Jean Talon, the first intendant of New France.

Village-like and family-friendly, it’s a place where generations of both merchants and customers have grown up. Jean Talon Market stands out with its many local fruit and vegetable growers, its diversity of small shopkeepers (butchers, bakers, fishmongers, grocers, etc.).

They had a vegetable called Fiddleheads which we have never seen before. We had the opportunity to try a few days later in a restaurant. It was delicious.

We walked around, but the market is smallish, so didn’t really take a long time to see it all. We bought a couple of delicious freshly made cookies.

We jumped on the metro again to travel straight to old town again. On this day we really didn’t do much but walk around and enjoy this beautiful area.

Founded by French settlers in 1642 as Fort Ville-Marie, Old Montreal is home to many structures dating back to the era of New France.

The 17th-century settlement lends its name to the borough in which the neighbourhood lies, Ville-Marie. In 1964, much of Old Montreal was declared a historic district

We sat down for lunch in a cute small bistro that had a 2 course meal for $29. Eitan got steak and Sarah some vegetarian dish. Sarah’s food was amazing, and Eitan”s steak was so overcooked it might have as well been a shoe sole.

The original plan was to go this café called Olive et Gourmando, which is the most famous place in old Montreal, but the lines were insane and the prices ridiculous. Like $30 for a small sandwich, but maybe we should have gone there.

Right after lunch Ariela woke up from her nap, so we saved her some leftovers that we kept for her and she enjoyed them!

Chasing Ariela everywhere is what kept us busy all day in old Montreal. And of course, some drop-to-the-floor tantrums were part of the day.

We stopped at a few superb art galleries. We noticed that most galleries here showcase the works of just a handful of local artists. Some of the pieces were beautiful.

We continued walking towards the Place Jaques Carier, which is a pedestrian square full of shops. There we got some ice-cream.

We stopped at one of the only breweries in the city. Surprisingly they have very good craft beer here in Montreal from local breweries, but there seems to be a lack of tap rooms to be able to sit down to try them.

We walked to the clock tower.

It marks the entrance to the Old Port of Montreal and its erection was dedicated to the seamen who died in the First World War.

It is a symbol of the port’s economic contribution through grain exportation to the city of Montreal during the era of the Clock Tower’s construction.