“Apply for a permit to host a parade for your mom’s birthday and the police will escort you down the streets. Within a couple of years, it just might be a full-blown citywide festival” joked Ruby, who guided me and a fellow travel writer around Montréal.

We went on to learn about all of the amazing festivals that take place in Montréal each year. The Jazz Festival, the Grand Mascarade, the International Fireworks Competition, the Gay Pride & Diversity Festival, and the list goes on.

And without these dreamers and art-enablers, Cirque du Soliel might not exist as it is today. In fact, the founders were once street performers in Montréal, but won a sizeable grant from the province of Québec to form what’s now become an international sensation. 

And all this I learned in less than two days. That’s how much Montréal oozes its commitment to the arts and all things self-expression.

WATCH: Poutine being eaten, bagels being baked, tips on navigating Montreal’s public transport, and nighttime snowshoeing on Mount Royal.

THERE ON BUSINESS … AND PLEASURE

I went to speak at a conference this January, alongside Wendy Perrin from Perrin Post and Shannon Lane from Traveling Mamas, to help the Canadian tourism industry connect with bloggers.

Montréal PoutineAnd it was a great time seeing them. But I was also more than delighted that it wasn’t long before I was reunited with my old Canadian friend: Poutine.

This glorious compilation of potato fries, cheese curds and gravy, just can’t be topped. Or so I thought. At Au Pied de Cochon — a restaurant so popular it doesn’t need a sign to mark its presence — they take poutine one step further. Adding a delicate layer foie gras, they managed to make what might be the most delicious and the most sinful version of poutine in all Québec.

Who says one can’t mix business with pleasure?

A ONE-DAY MONTRÉAL BUFFET

Lineup in frigid weather for Schwartz’s world-famous smoked meat in MontréalThe tourism office kindly put us up at adorable Le Petit Hôtel, a family-owned boutique hotel in Old Montréal, which was both hip and quirky (my favorite combination).

Ruby and Tanya from the tourism office also took Shannon and me around for a day of highlights after our panel, to get a taste of the city. It was the dead of winter, but there were tons of things to do.

And we sure packed it in that day … a city tour, Schwartz’s world-famous smoked meat, Fairmount Bagel Bakery, and Les Bains Scandinave.

But we still had the energy to go snowshoeing to the top of Mount Royal, and see the nighttime lights of the cityscape. Hearing the trees crack from within due to being cold, learning about area history, and seeing the twinkling city below was a magical way to experience Montréal in winter. Our trail guide from Les amis de la Montagne was really sweet, and I loved her all the more for bringing up a thermos full of piping hot mulled wine.

A savory delight: juicy smoked meat at Schwartz’s

RE-ENTERING THE US FROM CANADA

After rumors of horror stories about travelers having difficulty coming back to the US from Canada, I expected it would be pretty painful.

Not so.

In fact, the only reason it took me three minutes or so to get through US customs before leaving Montréal’s airport (yes, you read that correctly, you go through customs before leaving Canada), was because the immigration officer and I couldn’t remember the name of the spinoff series hosted by Gomer Pile from the Andy Griffith Show. Don’t ask how we got to that point, because I couldn’t tell you, I’m just reporting the facts.

But really, it was among the smoothest re-entries back into the US I’ve had since 9/11.