Lisa Plotnick

ms Volendam, pre-cruise: Montreal

June 8, 2026

8:44 pm EDT

We had a fabulous day in Montreal! Technically, it’s been only 9 hours so far—we’re really enjoying it and are already planning to come back.

The reason we’re here is to board our cruise ship, ms Volendam, for an 11-night voyage that starts tomorrow. After we leave Montreal in the early evening, we make 4 more stops in Quebec (Québec City, Saguenay, Sept-Iles, Havre-Saint Pierre), 3 in Newfoundland (Corner Brook, St. Anthony, St. John’s), have a day at sea, and then go on to Halifax Nova Scotia and Eastport Maine before docking in Boston on June 20.

It’s not our first time in Montreal. We seem to love it more with each visit.

We’re staying at the Hilton Garden Inn Montreal Centre-Ville on Rue Sherbrooke at the foot of Rue Hutchinson. It’s a nice location in a mixed-use neighborhood. There’s a variety of home styles, some museums, lots of shops, and it’s within a reasonable walking distance of the Eaton Centre and Montreal Underground City shopping centre.

Two men stand side-by-side on a sunny city sidewalk. The urban backdrop features tall modern and classic office and apartment buildings, mature leafy green trees, and planters filled with red flowers.
My husband and son near our hotel, Hilton Garden Inn Montreal Centre-Ville, June 8, 2026. (c) Lisa Plotnick and NauticalNotebook.com.

This, in turn, is adjacent to my favorite street in Montreal, McGill College Avenue, which runs from the university to the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth (where we’ve stayed before). It’s just got a great vibe, neat and varied architecture, and lots of trees.

We went to Eaton Centre with one mission—to get Marty (our son) a Montreal Canadiens cap he’s been asking for. We found it immediately. We walked around the indoor mall a bit, stopping for some impulse purchases.

I asked at one of the shops if there was a bookstore nearby, and we were directed to Indigo (stylized !ndigo) outside the mall a short walk away. It was amazing. Two huge floors filled with more books than seemed evident from outside. There was live music from a pianist on the top level opposite an open staircase.

An interior shot of a spacious bookstore featuring a curving white balcony with vertical railings overlooking a lower level. Several customers are seated at small tables or browsing near shelves stocked with books, while track lighting illuminates the polished wooden floors and cream-colored walls. A piano is off to the side.
Inside Indigo bookstore, Avenue McGill College, Montreal, June 8, 2026. (c) Lisa Plotnick and NauticalNotebook.com.

Dinner was at the hotel (we were tired from walking 8,000+ steps on a travel day). I had a flank steak that was really good. The menu also included burgers, pizza, pasta, chicken, and salmon ranging from 20 to 40 Canadian dollars ($14 to $28 U.S.).

Up next: Getting to know our ship

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