[tips & links] Montreal - concerts, eating, transportation, gym, housing, learning French, immigrating, etc

Montreal Newspapers

• McGill News
• Montreal Gazette
• CBC Montreal
• CTV Montreal
• The Montreal Mirror 

In French

• Le Devoir
• Canoë - Le Journal de Montréal
• Montréal | La Presse | Cyberpresse
• Canoë - 24h Montréal

 
Concerts & Going Out
Montreal is very rich culturally, and you will find amply opportunities to enjoy music and art. 

• http://www.pda.qc.ca/index.en.html Place des Arts (ballet, opera, classical music) - same day rush ticket at $30 (any available seat)
• http://www.grandsballets.com/en/ A ballet company called Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal - a discount deal for 30 years or under
• http://www.operademontreal.com/en/ Opera Montreal - discounted subscription for 30 years or under
  
• http://www.osm.ca/en/index.cfm Orchestra Symphony Montreal - discounted subscription for 34 years or under 

Feel free to ask me questions about ballet and classical music concerts in Montreal.

• http://www.montreal-fireworks.com/ Fireworks every week in summer

• http://www.montrealjazzfest.com/ Jazz Festival in late June and early July
• http://www.centrebell.ca/en/ Bell Centre - Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Michael Buble, Figure skating show, etc 
  
• http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/totem/tickets/montreal.aspx Cirque du Soleil 

• http://www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/biodome/site/site.php?langue=en BioDome - a very fun indoors zoo.
• http://www.mcgilloutdoorsclub.ca/about.php McGill outdoors club - membership open to everyone

Eating
Check out this yelp page http://www.yelp.ca/c/montreal/restaurants to read restaurant reviews.
Even if you go to a random restaurant in Montreal, it is likely to be cheaper, healthier and more delicious than average American place.
Red Thai is a fancy and delightful Thai restaurant.

If you are looking into eating or buying fancy chocolates for your friends, http://www.julietteetchocolat.com/ (try their chocolate fondue) and http://suite88.com/ (a beautiful display of ice cream using fruits) will bring you to a chocolate paradise.

In McGill campus, they sell organic vegetables and bread at Organic Campus http://organiccampus.blogspot.com/.

Transportation
Montreal has great public transportation. (very clean!!) McGill University is in downtown, and you can walk to virtually everywhere. 

• http://www.stm.info/English/a-somm.htm Subway and bus system in McGill downtown
• http://www.stm.info/english/info/a-747.htm Clean and convenient bus between downtown and the airport.
• http://www.rtl-longueuil.qc.ca/english/index_ag.asp Bus connecting to Brossard (across the river)
• http://www.bixi.com/home Bicycle rental membership - take a bike from any station and drop it off at any station.

Gym & Working Out & Fitness
These places offer drop-in classes, which you can try even if you are here for a short term.

• http://www.agatsu.com/ KettleBell gym
• http://www.underdoggym.com/ Boxing gym - voted best in Quebec (drop-in classes)
• http://www.balletdivertimento.com/engsplash.html Ballet studio (drop-in classes)

McGill gym (http://www.mcgill.ca/athletics/) has great facilities and offers interesting courses (horse-riding, cross country skiing, ballet, belly dancing, CPR, etc). There are also various athletic clubs you can join at McGill, such as fencing (http://mcgillfencing.com/), sailing (http://www.mcgillsailing.org/), triathlon (http://www.mcgill-triathlon.com/), and snowboarding (http://www.mcgillsnowboardclub.com/ open to everyone to join, weekly bus rides to ski/snowboard) 

These are membership gyms.

• http://www.clubsportifmaa.com/index.php?p=29 Club Sportif MAA with its history, with lots of fun classes. 10 day free pass for McGill employees.  
• http://www.ymcaquebec.org/en YMCA gym with lots of fun fitness classes and an excellent swimming pool. (Had a promotion of $100 for the whole summer of 2010)
• Montreal Mirror (http://www.montrealmirror.com/) publishes the Best of Montreal every year, and it also lists best gyms in Montreal. ( http://www.montrealmirror.com/2009/051409/bom-07.html)

Housing
Rental/sublet advertisements & listings

• http://www.mcgill.ca/classified/housing/ - also lists other sales and jobs (can buy moving service)
• http://www.mcgill.ca/offcampus/
• http://montreal.en.craigslist.ca/apa/
• http://montreal.kijiji.ca/f-immobilier-appartements-a-louer-W0QQCatIdZ37- mostly in French

Essential advice on renting in Montreal

• http://www.mcgill.ca/offcampus/ - McGill offers advice, help, and tips on house hunting. Has informative videos, too.
• http://www.montrealbits.com/ - Rental forum

Popular housing options

• http://en.lacite.com/accueil.aspx La Cite - it contains hotel, grocery stores, medical clinics, post office, movie theatre, and a gym. (Carpet flooring, expensive)
• http://www.plazahutchison.com/ - the whole building is smoke-free. Very clean and quiet (has various regulations about recycling and keeping it quiet)

Learning French

• YMCA of Greater Montreal International Language School: I hear that YMCA classes are better than PGSS classes offered at McGill
• Fall Courses - french test
• Language Learning | learning a new language for free| busuu.com
• 24 heures Montréal - Vidéos

Immigrating to Quebec

• http://www.immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/immigrate-settle/temporary-workers/stay-quebec/application-csq/index.html Applying for CSQ (Certificate .. Selection .. Quebec) which is a pre-cursor to permanent residency in Canada.