What to do in Montreal: My Travel Itinerary

Here's my travel itinerary from a 4-day trip to Montréal, Canada in May 2023. Full of details with what to do and eat if you're also planning on going there.

Disclaimers:

We never felt hungry enough to try poutine as we were very jet lagged, and we didn't have time to try any pastrami from Schwartz' Deli either.
We ended up doing a lot of walking as we were confused by the scale on the map as Europeans.
These are just my suggestions of what to do in Montreal based on our visit last year, there's lots more to explore.

What to do in Montreal - Day 1 (evening only):

Air Canada flight from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.
We took the bus then metro to get to our Airbnb in Jarry. We bought a 1 trip card from a ticket machine at the airport, the journey took less than an hour and was very easy.
Dinner: Taco Trunp - We decided to walk to start exploring the city and to force us to stay awake to fight the jet lag. We tried the Asada and Al Pastor tacos with an Agua de jamaica and mango Jarritos. They were delicious, having 2 tortillas for each taco was a new concept to us, along the trip I realised it was nicest when eaten with only one tortilla and the other underneath to catch any bits that fall out from the first.

What to do in Montreal - Day 2:

€ Breakfast: Boulangerie Jarry - Excellent coffee and pastries at a reasonable price. I had an oat milk coffee and savoury croissant, both delicious. They offer discounted products from the day before too.
Explored Old Montréal on foot, just wandering around from the Champ de Mars métro stop through all the small streets.
€ Breakfast 2: Café Olimpico - I had a much needed long black coffee, the atmosphere and building were very nice.
Walked along the river from the Promenade du Vieux Port all the way to the Atwater Market. It was a lovely walk on a sunny day but very long!
Ambled around Atwater Market looking at the various stalls and stopped for nachos from one of the food stalls.
€ Lunch: Ma Poule Mouillée - we got the métro to Mont Royal, I had the P'tit Talbot with salad for $12 and James had the 1/2 chicken with chips for $17. This was DELICIOUS, I really recommend it. Warning, it did fill us up and we had to go for an hour nap in the park to recover.
Strolled around the Plateau-Mont Royal park and took a nap by the Étang des tourtereaux.
Decided to walk back to Jarry (big mistake, too much for one day!) , first walked up to the Monument to Sir George-Étienne Cartier then across Mile End, Little Italy and Jean Talon Market but we were so tired we didn't really take any of it in.

If I did this day again, I would get to Atwater market in time for lunch and have Lucille's lobster rolls, get the metro back to the flat or Jean Talon Market rather than walking all the way; and then go to Ma Poule Mouillée a different day.

What to do in Montreal - Day 3:

€ Breakfast: Café Nocturne - Oat milk coffee and cinnamon roll, not the best cinnamon roll I've ever had but still delicious and all in all a very nice coffee shop.
McGill University - strolled around campus and visited the natural history museum called RedPath Museum to see their collection of fossils. A lovely collection and building, the entry is a suggested donation of $10.
Walked through Downtown Montréal and the underground city through the Promenades Cathédrale entry.
Explored the vintage shops of Mile End, tried a Saint-Viateur bagel (All Dressed and Blueberry were the favourite although we do prefer NY-style bagels)
€ Lunch: Falafel Yoni - The best falafel I've tried in a long time, a lot of fresh herbs including dill which worked so well. 1/2 pita was plenty for me as they are generously filled, I would highly recommend this place!
€ Dessert: Kem Coba - seasonal soft serve flavours, I'd never had an ice cream and sorbet swirl before and it was so refreshing, the flavour that day was browned butter and pear: delicious!
Walked up to Mont Royal Park through the Jewish Cemetery and Mont Royal Cemetery, very peaceful and beautiful, then up to the Kondiaronk Belvedere and finally down to Beaver Lake.
€€ Dinner: Réservoir - such a lovely atmosphere, especially on a sunny day when you can sit outside. We weren't very hungry so just tried a few beers and had some accras de morue, it was all delicious.

What to do in Montreal - Day 4:

Drove to Sandy Beach for a stroll around the forrest and along the coast, then had a BLT for lunch that we made ourselves in our Airbnb.
€ Coffee: Mikko - I had a maple iced latte and it was a revelation!
Stopped at Jack Layton Park to play cards, drink some beers and eat our new favourite crisps: All Dressed Ruffles, that we picked up from the local supermarket.
€€€ Dinner: Sucrerie de la Montagne - after a stroll around the property to see all the maple trees, we sat down to a festin des sucres (set menu) which allowed us to try all the tradition maple goods. It was a nice experience but it did cost a lot of money and it wasn't the right time of year for it as it was a lot of beans, pies and maple cured meats. We don't regret it though as it was a nice experience and great to see the maple forests.

What to do in Montreal - Day 5:

€ Coffee: Bruno Sport Bar - after a breakfast in the flat, we went for coffee and fresh orange juice and to watch the F1 for a bit of a quiet morning. They made tempting panini which we might have had if we didn't already have eyes on our lunch stop.
€€ Lunch: Lucille's - a food stall at Atwater Market, we had the lobster rolls (guedille de homard) as it is apparently a local speciality so why wouldn't we! They were delicious, a real treat!
€ Dessert: Calem - we didn't enjoy this soft serve...
Nothing to report on the afternoon, we were exhausted from all the walking around we'd done so just had a nap.
Improv night at the Théâtre Sainte Catherine, this was so much fun, it made us feel like locals and the tickets were very affordable.
€€ Dinner: Réservoir - we went back because it was the only place we could see that still served food after the show had finished.