Montreal comes alive in the summer with fine art, fabulous food and a Gay Village brimming with hot Quebecois boys.

by Lawrence Ferber

Located approximately 375 miles north of New York City in the Canadian province of Quebec, Montreal is an island surrounded by outer “boroughs” (including Laval and Bizard Island), unique in its blend of French and North American culture, language and cuisine. The city also has plenty of arts and queer events, and the famed Gay Village.

Montreal and nearby Quebec City have long acknowledged and welcomed gay tourists, with official government resources and campaigns courting and assisting LGBT tourists. And, let’s speak frankly here, the Quebecois are hot—like, there’s-something-magical-in-the-water hot.

The city’s name refers to Mount Royal, the Griffith Park-esque mountain that rubs against and overlooks the city. Public transportation includes an efficient, clean Metro system, while part of downtown is linked via a network of underground shopping centers and walkways—convenient, if not a godsend, during winter’s frozen days.

Sunny and green between spring and early fall, summer sees a major gay Pride festival, Divers/Cite. Every October, the Black & Blue Ball fills the iconic Olympic Stadium with pulsing hotties of all nationalities, while November’s Image+Nation LGBT film festival features a bevy of new movies and parties and attracts international guests.

Begin with a stroll around Old Montreal, a sort of mini Quebec City of cobblestone streets, 18th- and 19th-century buildings, the Notre Dame Basilica and the Old Port Quays. If the weather’s good, take an exhilarating speedboat ride through the Lachine Rapids. Great fun, but do bring a bathing suit—the crashing waves will leave you drenched. Nearby Chinatown is heavily Vietnamese, and one of the city’s best bargains entails tasty Vietnamese sandwiches at the inconspicuous hole-in-the-wall Cao Thang.

Near the Olympic Stadium, you can visit the gorgeous Botanical Garden and Biodome, the latter of which contains all manner of life within four simulated ecosystems. Other areas to explore include Ile Sainte-Helene (especially in summer, when its gigantic pool is open) and, for gamblers, the Casino de Montreal.

The Gay Village runs along main artery Rue St. Catherine East, between Berri Square and Papineau. Plant yourself in a restaurant or café window and absorb the passing eye candy for hours. And take note: Go-gos go full monty here. There are muscular hotties at Campus, Abercrombie & Fitch frat types at Stock, and young—albeit jaded—twinks at L’Adonis. And the gay-everything shop, Priape, includes a custom leather department downstairs.

Le Plateau is another notably gay, and extremely hip, section of town (think Montreal’s Silver Lake), the crux of which is Avenue Du Mont-Royal and Rue St-Denis. Heading south on St-Denis and in either direction on Mont-Royal, you’ll find secondhand CD/DVD stores, funky boutiques and my favorite ice cream shop in North America, Meu-Meu, with its all-natural artisan ice cream flavors like Soy Milk Blueberry. Montreal’s best chocolates shop is also nearby, Les Chocolats de Chloe (375 Rue Roy Est, off St. Denis). Chloe’s salted caramels with pecans and crispy chocolate-dipped honeycomb are spectacular.

Montreal is a foodie’s destination, but not the Village’s main strip: Offerings there fall between borderline palatable and repulsive (one exception: cake at café Le Kilo). However, nearby on Rue Amherst you’ll find Duel, a stunning 2007 addition to the city’s restaurant scene.

Duel’s high concept is that two acclaimed chefs boasting different approaches—chef David Biron’s Asian fusion and chef Laurent Godbout’s Quebecois/French—whip up two separate menus utilizing the same 10 core ingredients and concepts. It’s very Top Chef/Iron Chef, with plenty of theatrical touches. Europea’s five and eight-course menus are also quite wonderful; award-winning Chef Jérôme Ferrer mixes things up style-wise, from traditional to sci-fi molecular, like a Caesar salad presented as a cupful of green-snowy foam topped with a Parma ham crisp.

For a comprehensive taste of Montreal, the first stop is Atwater Market, for a breakfast of paté and bread at the amazing Boulangerie Première Moisson. Swartz’s Deli is a Montreal institution, famed for smoked meat, a Montreal favorite and a cousin to New York pastrami. Even more artery-clogging is poutine—French fries smothered with brown gravy and curd cheese. The 24-hour La Banquise is the place to try poutine, with a whole menu page of variations. The Village’s way-gay Le Club Sandwich is also a poutine paradise.

Regarding bars and clubs, there’s something for everyone, from the barely legal crowd (Unity) to bears (Stud). My personal favorites include Mado’s for drag camp (owned by the namesake queen of comedy, whose Divers/Cite “Mascara” drag extravaganza is a must); multi-level dance club Sky Pub; and Parking, a two-level dance club complex for both circuit boys (top level) and daddies/leather/alternative types (bottom level).

Lodgings-wise, La Conciergerie is one of the oldest gay B&Bs in town, and it’s a little Birdcage-esque, what with flirty proprietors and a shirtless, tight shorts clad “houseboy” on maintenance patrol. Decked out in fresh Scandinavian design, Old Montreal’s four-star boutique property, Hotel Gault, splashed onto the scene in 2003. The W Montreal is stunning, ranking among the chain’s most artful, modern and hip properties. And Montreal’s newest boutique property is the well-located Opus Hotel Montreal, recently anointed one of the world’s hottest new hotels by Condé Nast Traveler. Housed in a 1914 Art Nouveau structure, its lobby and lounge offer free wireless, cool seating and complimentary coffee, while rooms are modern, slick yet cozy, with flat-screen TVs and rain showers.

While a declining U.S. dollar means shopping is no longer the bargain it once was, there are a few spots worth a splurge. For indie music lovers, CD shop Atom Heart, at 364-B rue Sherbrooke Est, is a dream. Notre Dame Street, near Atwater Market, is referred to as “Antique Alley.” And on the mainstream, big-name store-lined St. Catherine West—think Gap, Urban Outfitters and HMV—Simons department store is a gay’s best friend thanks to its juicy men’s section of both Canadian brands and serious fashionista labels like Jean Paul Gaultier.

But if the best things in life are free, make sure to fit in the nearby Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, one of Canada’s largest art museums, housing treasures from antiquities to contemporary art. Entry to its permanent collections doesn’t cost a penny ... unless you count the optional “suggested contribution” box. A no-brainer, non?

The Details

HOTELS
Hotel Gault
49 Rue Sainte-Hélène
www.hotelgault.com

La Conciergerie
1019 Rue Saint-Hubert
www.laconciergerie.ca

Opus Montreal
10 Sherbrooke West
www.opusmontreal.com

W Hotel
901 Square Victoria
www.starwoodhotels.com

RESTAURANTS/CAFES
Cao Thang
1082 Boul St-Laurent
www.sandwichcaothang.com

Duel
1429 Rue Amherst
www.restaurantduel.com

Europea
1227 de la Montagne
www.europea.ca

La Banquise
994 Rachel East
www.labanquise.com

RESOURCES
Gay Tourism Guide
www.tourisme-montreal.org/gay

Divers/Cité Pride Festival
www.diverscite.org

Black & Blue Ball
www.bbcm.org

Image+Nation Film Festival
www.image-nation.org

Montreal/Quebec Tourism
www.bonjourquebec.com
www.tourisme-montreal.org

Jet Boating and Rafting the Lachine Rapids
www.jetboatingmontreal.com