There's a version of Old Montreal that exists purely for other people—the lineups outside the Notre-Dame Basilica, the souvenir shops, the restaurants with sandwich boards blocking the sidewalk promising tourists their first taste of poutine. That version is no doubt real, but it's not reason to write off the neighbourhoood. It's also only part of the story.
What gets lost in the tourist-trap reputation is that Old Montreal contains some of the sharpest restaurants, most serious cocktail bars, and most accomplished hotels in the city. Le Club Chasse et Pêche has been one of the most quietly influential dining rooms in Montreal for nearly two decades, The Coldroom helped reshape what a cocktail bar could be in this city. The neighbourhood's rooftop terrasses are genuinely among the best in the country. The spas, particularly Bota Bota's water circuit on a converted Old Port barge and Scandinave Spa's misty and blissfully phone-free environments, belong on any serious shortlist.
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