Hidden gems of Montreal

When are you visiting? Many of the best things to do in Montreal are the festivals that are held throughout the year, mainly during the summer. In terms of restaurants, I could recommend loads. Ferreira Café for a special meal, Pastaga Restaurant in little Italy is fantastic too and my favourite café is Café Les Entretiens on Laurier. Sunday mornings are best spent at Jean-Talon Market (great for free samples of food and delicious coffee!) Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal is beautiful inside and not always seen on the first trip due to being on the west side of the mountain. 

I used to work for a company based in Montreal and visited a lot. There are many great restaurants in Old Montreal and I could walk those old streets for hours, it's so scenic and cultural to me - like a slice of Europe. The Indian restaurant Restaurant Gandhi sticks out as a place I went to frequently.  

grab a chicken sandwich Restaurant Antep Inc

best 6$ ever spent

Check out L'Auberge Saint-Gabriel after 11:00 PM. It is a high end restaurant that becomes a nightclub after 11:00. Very cool vibe! You may also want to check out Bota Bota Spa. It is a spa on an old boat in Old Montreal. Definitely check out Marché Atwater as well. My wife and I love Montreal. Enjoy!

Try our Little Italy. Naturaly it's the italian "quartier". Visit Jean-Talon Market much bigger than Atwater market mentioned in Rudy Arietta's answer. Make a reservation Bottega for very good italian cuisine, try there pizzas you never had it like these.

How about cave exploring? Yep, that's right, there is small cave that can be visited in the St Leonard neighbourhood. Nothing fancy, the cave is not extremely impressing and you'll get wet and muddy, but it's a cool activity to be doing in a city. I'm not sure they do visits in English, though. And it's only open in the summer (mid-May to mid-August). http://www.speleo.qc.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=158&Itemid=118

You could also bike along the river, either on the north side (start at Parc-nature de l'Île-de-la-Visitation, it's super pretty) or on the south side at Lachine Canal.

When I travel I like to visit the natural history museums mostly because they're always in such great buildings and the Redpath Museum is definitely in that category. I'm not sure if it's truly a natural history museum or a big taxidermy museum, but either way, it's fascinating. If you're in more of a Steampunk kind of mood, check out the McPherson collection there --kind of in the same vein, but with inventions, rather than animals. :)