I’m sitting on the floor in the Montréal Musée d’Art Contemporain watching a vertiginous video installation when a dozen fifth graders enter the room. The group is flanked by two female teachers and led by a curly-haired male museum guide who looks fresh out of grad school.

The guide stops beside a luminous, surreal installation by Québec artist Catherine Widgery and instructs the kids to sit down. “What do you see?” he asks.... Read more

TAGS: architecture, art, montreal

As the Canadian dollar gains ground against the greenback, budget-conscious Americans may want to say

oui to dining out in Montréal. And, in a town that boasts 5000 restaurants, good values exist. Here are three of my favorites. Prices are in $CAD.

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Rotisserie Romados ... Read more

TAGS: food, montreal

Hanging from a white chain in the corner of Maryline Scaviner’s Montréal atelier are the bones of a work in progress: a silver hook fastened to a fist-sized metal disc, and a slender wand with a knob at the bottom. These meager metal beginnings give no hope of glamour, no indication of the swoop and sparkle that will delight the homeowner who commissioned it. The skeleton will become a one-of-a-kind crystal chandelier, destined for a dining room in Québec.... Read more

TAGS: food, home & garden, montreal

Sitting in Verses Restaurant at the Hotel Nelligan, a block from the Montréal waterfront, I can’t help but be aware of the building’s history. At the front of the room, plate-glass windows look onto rue St-Paul, framing 18th-century buildings with smooth stone facades and old-fashioned street lamps.... Read more

TAGS: food, montreal

For the gastronome on your gift list, think international. Montréal is a city filled with celebrity chefs, up-and-coming terroir, vibrant ethnic enclaves and strong French traditions. From spices to gadgets to glühwein, if you can’t find it in Vermont, grab your passport and head north.

Old Montréal For: epicurean grocery, condiments, wine storage and accessories... Read more

TAGS: food, montreal

“It’s like being inside a cubic zirconium,” I say to my husband, Ken, after the glass door of Montréal’s Winter Bar has shushed closed behind me. Before us, slabs of colored light — yellow, green, red — shudder across faceted white walls that rise 30 feet to a round, ice-white ceiling. At the room’s edges, the sun blasts through tall, arched windows, bringing the frozen winter landscape inside.... Read more

TAGS: food, montreal