Weekend Visit to Montreal
 

For a future late spring or summer, I'm thinking about a weekend vacation to Montreal:

Get a free bonus 1-2 Free day from referring someone to National's Emerald Club.

Day 1, Friday

Drive one-way JFK to downtown Montreal, $9 NY CDW & pre-pay for gas to avoid the higher prices in Canada. Stay overnight at a hotel with free parking, probably near YUL. I'm thinking of an opaque booking with Hotwire, since retail rates seem to be much more than airport hotels tend to be in the US.

Day 2, Saturday

Drive to National's neighborhood store in downtown Montreal & return the car. Take a guided tour of the city. Possibly switch to a hotel downtown, since the car will be gone and free parking will no longer be an issue. If the cost is too high, take the bus back to the peripheral hotel.

Day 3, Sunday & part of Day 4, Monday

Take more tours.

Late afternoon on Day 4, Monday

Take the bus to YUL, and fly back to the NY area for free using credit card points.

My questions are:

Has anyone done anything like this, and if so, how did it go?

To cross into Canada, I would need a paper rental contract and my US passport. Would I also need anything else for the rental car from National at JFK, such as its registration and/or a Canadian insurance card?

I've done a Hotwire opaque rate in a Boston suburb, and everything was fine. Are there any quirks to the process or outcome in using it for hotels in Canada?

How much French would be appropriate to learn? I don't expect to visit another country and assume that everyone speaks my language. I would respect the dominant culture by attempting to speak to the local people in French.

However, conversational proficiency is obviously easier and faster to learn than real depth. I presume this would be fine for routine social interactions. As in, if someone on the street says hello in French, and I don't answer, the other person might assume it's because I'm rude, rather than because I didn't understand.

But if there are unforeseen issues crossing into Quebec, returning the car, inexplicably getting a receipt different from the total price on my rental confirmation, etc., in other words, things that require thinking about and explaining more complicated things, and in a language I don't know very well, that could be a problem. Would a pocket dictionary, electronic translator, etc. be useful to take?

Is there a list of guided tours offered at Montreal landmarks in English? I don't think Montreal has a Ducks-style tour, or a trolley one.

Other relevant, helpful suggestions are also welcome.

Weekend Visit to Montreal
 

What guided tour? You can easily do Montreal on your own just riding the metro with a guide book. It's my favorite city in the world and I never had any tours. Read about the city and pick the sites yourself. You can do a lot of sight seeing by walking on your own. Stay near St Catherine street and from there take metro. My very first weekend was like that. Just go to places you want to see. It's a lot of fun to do Montreal on your own.

As a Canadian with modest French speaking ability, I never had a need to speak French.

Every time i tried to speak French, I received a reply in English. I'm sure there are lots of montrealers who don't fluently or reasonably speak English, but I've never met one.

You will easily function in Montreal with English. Very basic conversational French would already get you very far, but it would be more of a case of an appreciation rather than a communication necessity. I learned French in Montreal and found that people are only too happy to help. However, it is true that if people detect that you are not fluent, they will often switch to English. For any unforeseen circumstances, English will be more than fine.

As far as tours, I agree with bwidca. Get a city guide and navigate the metro. If you like old architecture with trendy bars, visit the old port. The plateau is great for bistros and restaurants. The parc Mont-Royale is a great stroll and a good view of downtown.

Thanks for all the insight so far. I found that Montreal does indeed have something similar to the Ducks amphibious vehicle tour, Montreal Amphibus. Has anyone done this?

Based on my experience with Duck Tours in other US cities, I'd imagine the same pros and cons exist. Nice outside views and history of landmarks, but a different tour is needed to see them closer up and inside.

Have you booked your one way JFK to Montreal car rental? Hint: It is an out of country one way.

Last time I've ended up around $550+fuel for 1 day one-way mid-size rental from Montreal to Boston and that was the best deal I could get.

Have you booked your one way JFK to Montreal car rental? Hint: It is an out of country one way.

2 years ago, I did a one-way fullsize car with a National 1-2 Free day, from JFK to Portland ME. The retail rate was $243/day + tax for a fullsize car. Cross border one-ways tend to have a similar price. Likewise, the free day will knock it out entirely.

Last time I've ended up around $550+fuel for 1 day one-way mid-size rental from Montreal to Boston and that was the best deal I could get.

A free day for a cross border one-way will be with a fullsize car, with either National or Hertz. While free is free, credit card insurance won't work. But CDW is capped at $9 in NY.

I will win on fuel. There is a very big cost difference in Canada vs the US. Even if I prepay at the NYC airport rate, it will still be much less than refueling at a gas station in Montreal. Most cars have a ~370 mi range, which coincidentally is about the distance from lower NY to Montreal. So the tank should be nearly empty when I arrive.

I'm also a frequent Montreal visitor and try to go there as often as I can for pleasure trips. Agree with other posters who indicate that you should tour the city on your own if possible - a little pre-research will give you all the tools you need to prepare and execute your visit...and after your first visit you'll quickly discover the other things you'll want to do/see on your NEXT visit, you'll see. :)

As for speaking French, like you I don't like to be presumptuous and presume everyone in another nation will speak to me in my language, but the good news about Montreal within the city is that it's pretty much a bilingual place. In respect/deference to the local French preference, though, I've found that learning and using the following 2 phrases as applicable goes a LONG way toward receiving a smile and respect for making the effort to learn the, at which point the person will most often be more than glad to reply to you in English:

"Parlez vous Anglais?" (say "PAR-lay VOOZ Ahn-GLAY?") - Do you speak English?
"Je ne comprend pas" (say "Gzuh nuh com-PRAHND pah") - I don't understand

and then of course "Merci" (say "Mer-SEE") - thank you