Google Doc | Facebook post | Author: Mati Roy | Created: 2018-07-10 | Published: 2019-04-16 | Updated: 2019-12-05

Tips for people in Montreal

Places to stay

Local groups

Here’s a list of local groups I participate to: https://matiroy.com/communities.html. If you’re interested in giving a presentation to one of them please let me know. Let me know if you want to be added to the Facebook Messenger conversation “Rationalists in Montreal”.

Other groups: There’s also many other events on Meetup and Facebook.

Transport

Metro closes during the night.

There are buses 24 hours a day.

There are Ubers, taxis, Teos.

There are public bikes, called Bixis.

Airport connection

For the airport, you can take the 747 24h / day. You need to buy a day pass to use it (they are 10 CAD, and can be used the whole day for the bus and subway).

During the day, it’s faster to catch it at Lionel-Groulx, and during the night, given that the subway is closed, it’s easier to catch it near the UQAM (reverse if you’re arriving from the airport). To get to the Lionel-Groulx subway station, take the metro from the Sherbrook subway station (vice-versa if you’re arriving from the Macroscope). The bus stops near UQAM is a 18 minutes walk from the Macroscope (it’s also possible to take the bus number 30), and the Sherbrooke subway station is a 10 minutes walk from the Macroscope.

When exiting the airport, the bus in on your right, and the machine for tickets is inside just before the last door.

You can google “Montreal taxi” and put phone numbers in your phone in case you can’t catch the bus, or use the airport WI-FI to get a Uber.

Things I like to do

Let me know if you would like suggestions for things to do in Quebec outside of Montreal.

You might want to check if there are festivals or special events during your stay as those happen frequently. Example:

I also really enjoy the intentional communities around Montreal, check out events on this group and page, as well as St Dom Jamhouse, Collectif Masson, and Studio 13.

Here are other things you can do. I would recommend prioritizing things you can’t do in other city, like walking around Montreal :)

Things I liked to do in Montreal, and might want to do again:

Things I liked to do (in order):

Things I’ve never done, but would like to:

Other:

Training

Gym

Pool

(source: Google Doc — Swimming Montréal)

2019 Jan 3 to June 21

name + hyperlink to schedule (mention if outside pool) Link to Google Map Pool length price # corridors time from Macroscope (2113 rue Favard, Montreal, Qc) schedule
Piscine Saint-Charles map free 11 min Horaire estival (25 juin au 24 août 2018)

Dimanche : fermé

Lundi au vendredi
14 h à 17 h (tous) (camps de jour)
18 h à 19 h 30 (tous) (des fois couloirs)
19 h 30 à 21 h (adultes*)

Samedi
10 h 30 à 15 h (tous)

*Veuillez noter que la pose des câbles peut retarder le début du bain libre de 5 minutes et/ou l’écourter de 5 minutes.

Jours fériés : Du 14 au 17 avril, 22 mai, 24 juin, 1er juillet, 4 septembre, 9 octobre, 24 au 26 décembre, 31 décembre 2017 au 5 janvier 2018

Centre Sportif de la Petite-Bourgogne / Little Burgundy Sports Centre map 25m FREE 26 mins Mon. - Fri. 6:30 AM - 9:30 PM

Sat. - Sun. 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM

Piscine Saint-Henri map 25m 39 mins Mon. - Fri. 11:30 AM - 9:30 PM

Sat. - Sun. 10:30 AM - 6:30 PM

YMCA Centre-ville map 25m 46 mins. Mon. - Fri. 6:00 AM - 10:45 PM

Sat. - Sun. 10:30 AM - 6:30 PM"

Montreal Amateur Athletic Association / Club Sportif MAA map 20m FREE 49 mins 6:00 AM - 8:00 PM
YMCA Guy-Favreau map 19m 52 mins 6:15 AM - 10:00 PM
Piscine Émard map 25m 53 mins 12:00 PM - 9:30 PM
name + schedule address length price # corridors time from 810 Av. Duluth E
Lévesque map ?? Free 8 min walk
Schubert map 20 m Free 2 7 min walk
Centre du Plateau map ?? Free 3 9 min Uber
Centre Père Sablon map 25 m (?) Free 15 min walk
ASCSS map 25 m 15$/year
YMCA Parc map ?? req. proof of residence for free membership 11 min Uber
YMCA Guy-Favreau
Piscine du cégep du Vieux Montréal map 25 m (?) Free 17 min walk
Père-Marquette map ?? Free “Baignade libre pour adultes” 26 min bus
Piscine Rosemont directions Free “Bain libre pour adultes” 12 min Uber
Centre Jean-Claude-Malépart map 25 m Free 4 23 min metro

Badminton court

Montreal Badminton Club Mon. & Wed 6:45 AM - 9:30 PM
Club Atwater Free 6:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Club Sportif MAA Free 6:00 AM - 10:00 PM

Bouldering

Food

Let me know if you want the Vegan or Freegan Montreal map.

Online groceries

Groceries near the Macroscope:

Restaurants:

Other useful locations

Cheap meals

Coworking / board games

Bars / clubs

Giving away objects

Print

Recycling

Health

Radon

-"radon is the number one cause of lung cancer in non-smokers"

-"radon gas can be found in almost all homes in Canada"

-"There are two options for testing a house for radon"

See: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/radon.html

Water quality

Update: I haven’t looked much into it yet, but I’ve heard there was a recent study show lead in Montreal was a worse problem than we thought.

There might be too much lead in your tap water.1

This is caused by lead pipes in some section of the city. Information on which sectors are affected / at risk is also available in the document.

I haven’t research this a lot. But at my place, we’re therefore going to buy the Brita UltraMax Water Filter Dispenser with 1 Long Last Filter, Black, 18 Cup which claims to filter 99% of lead (among other things). (There are also some that can be attached directly to the sink, like the Brita Basic On Tap Faucet Water Filter System, although this one doesn’t say what fraction of lead it filters out. Not all filters are equal.)

Montreal also regularly emits boil-water advisory. Be noticed when it happens by subscribing to the Notices and Alerts.

“Afin de tenir compte également de l’exposition au plomb à l’école, la DRSP a effectué, en juin 2017, un échantillonnage de l’eau d’une fontaine dédiée aux enfants des classes du préscolaire dans 51 écoles de l’île de Montréal. Les concentrations de plomb ainsi mesurées ne sont pas très élevées et diminuent beaucoup après 1 minute d’écoulement. Le tiers des échantillons d’eau au premier jet excédent toutefois la valeur de 5 µg/L proposée par Santé Canada.” (https://santemontreal.qc.ca/fileadmin/fichiers/professionnels/DRSP/sujets-a-z/eau_potable/Plomb-eau_potable_ecoles_RAP_092017.pdf)

STI tests

You can ask your family doctor.

Prelib

https://prelib.ca/fr/comment-ca-marche

Near Berri-UQAM

Convenient private clinic. Online booking and questionnaire. Clinic visit lasts about 20 minutes. Results are received by email in about a week. Cost about 60$ total.

Infectious disease clinic

Walk-in clinic at the JGH

Time: 8:30 to 13:00 every weekday; lineup starts at 7:30 (usually full after 10:00)

Covered by Medicare. You can get results within 2-3 days. They test for syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, HIV and hepatitis.

Sidep

https://santemontreal.qc.ca/sidep/

For males having had sexual relationships with other males.

L’actuel

https://cliniquelactuel.com/

Médecins du Monde (camion de)

https://www.medecinsdumonde.ca/fr/action-mdm/clinique-mobile/

Part of their target audience seems to be sex workers without RAMQ insurance, and I presume they don't check for Canadian residency. It's free.

Stella

Link: http://www.chezstella.org

Email address: info@chezstella.org

Phone number: 514-285-1599 (administration)

2nd phone number: 514-285-8889 (ligne d'aide)

Someone on the Internet: “jeudi au pavillon rosemont c'est réservé à ça si je ne me trompe [...] Cest une infirmiere du secteur au clsc qui se déplace dans les bureaux de stella et fait passer les testes ! ”

Clinique médicale La Licorne

https://www.cliniquemedicalelalicorne.com

Address: 808 rue Ontario Est, Montréal (Québec) H2L 1N9

Autre

Clinique jeunesse du CLSC (30 ans et moins)

L'Alternative (en train de fermer)

Le Quorum (rdv et résultats en ligne via Carnet Santé Québec)

la Clinique du Quartier Latin (15$; fast appointments, 1-2 weeks for results; poly-friendly)

CLSC La petite-patrie

Other

If you want to meet people (or places) with specific interests, you can let me know as I might have more recommendations.

Recommendations from a friend

I'm adding this here for diversity of recommendations -- ze's more "artisty" than me.

Archive

Now close :(

Notes


  1. The city of Montreal writes in Drinking Water that: << In some homes on the Island of Montreal the concentration of lead in tap water may be higher than the Quebec standard of 10 µg/L (micrograms per litre).>>

    It also writes in Does your tap water meet the standards?: << To reduce this very low risk even further, the DRSP recommends that pregnant women and parents of children under six:

    1. Use a NSF-certified filtration device

    2. (filtering pitcher, a filter under the sink or a filter attached to the faucet) to reduce lead in compliance with NSF/ ANSI standard 53.

    3. Drink bottled water. This precaution is especially important for newborns drinking formula made of concentrated or powdered milk. >>