Hotel
We have a room block at the hotel where WOWODC East is held, Hotel Gouverneur Place Dupuis. Those special rates are valid from August 26th to August 31th. Please note that we offer an additionnal rebate to people who stay at the Gouverneur and attend the conference. Instructions on how to get the special rate will be available after you buy your WOWODC ticket. The hotel is right next to Station Centrale (main coach bus station), and the Berri-UQAM subway station. If you are on a really tight budget, you can find a couple of 2 stars hotels near the Gouverneur.
Arrival
In the summer, most major airlines stops in Montréal. You can view the list of airlines on the Aéroport de Montréal Web site. If you are coming from Toronto, Boston, NYC, Chicago or Myrtle Beach, you might check Porter (you will have to stop in Toronto, it's the only hub for Porter).
If you are flying into YUL (Pierre-Elliott Trudeau Airport), the easiest way to get downtown is via the bus shuttle. Both way ticket is $25 CAD. The bus stops at Station Centrale, right next to the hotel. You can even go from the bus station to the hotel by the Underground City, but hey it's August so go out and walk!
You can also take a taxi, the ride is $38 USD one way. Check all other options on the ADM Web site.
You can also come by train. Amtrak provide a ride (the Adirondack route) from New-York to Montreal. VIA Rail provide a ride from Ontario and other provinces. Coming by train brings you to Gare Centrale, you just need to take the subway from Bonaventure to Berri-UQAM (5 stations, 10 minutes ride on the Orange line). You can also jump on the train at Windsor (just the other side of Detroit), in Toronto or in Niagara Falls.
Greyhound also provide bus rides from other provinces and from the US East Coast.
You can also come by car, but beware, Montreal is an island so if you come to Montreal at 5pm on a weekday, expect to be stuck on a bridge for 30 minutes. The Jacques-Cartier bridge is the nearest from the hotel. The hotel have a underground parking lot. If you are coming by car and would like to grab other people along the ride, we can make an announcement about it to other attenders.
Montreal
Well, if you are coming to Montreal, why not stay for a couple of days? WOWODC East is held the same week-end as our Nascar Nationwide race, so Crescent Street will be on party all week-end long. Montreal is know for it's nightlife, restaurants (most restaurants are Greek, French or Italian cuisine, and our famous smoked meat and poutine), and we have everything for everybody. Suggestion that we have :
- Schwartz's. THE place for smoked meat. But expect a waiting line even at 9pm... It's like pastrami, but way way better. 15 minutes walk from the hotel.
- Au pied de cochon. Look like it's our famous restaurant. You must love meat (veggie? avoid that place) and make your reservation ASAP. 5 minutes ride by subway, 20 minutes by walk.
- La Binerie Mont-Royal. Want to see what our French-Canadians grandmother cooks? This is the place. 5 minutes ride by subway.
- La Banquise. They have every know version of a poutine. 5 minutes ride by subway, but it's better to take a walk to come back, for digestion purpose.
- La Ronde. Our local Six Flags amusement park, reachable by the subway system.
- Crescent Street: Also know as "Party street". 10 minutes ride by subway, 30 minutes walk.
- Irish pubs. We have a lot of Irish Pubs in Montreal, and we love good beer here. We suggest the Vieux Dublin (1219 University Street, corner of Cathcart, one street south of St-Catherine)
- St-Denis Street. Somewhat like Crescent, but with a French twist. 10 minutes walk from the hotel.
- Olympic Stadium. Yes, the thing that cost us 1.4 billions and took 30 years to pay... You can also visit the Biodome and our famed Botanical Garden. 20 minutes ride by subway from the hotel (Green line, Pie-IX subway station).
- Check out the Tourisme Montréal Web site for other ideas.
Other tips
- We have a large WiFi network on the island, called Ile Sans Fil, you can use it for free at many locations downtown.
- An flagship Apple Store is located on Ste-Catherine Street, it's a 45 minutes walk from the hotel (6 subway stations). If you are an American, don't buy there, Apple don't adjust their currency rate much so it will cost you more than in the US.
- Tip and sale taxes are not included in prices in restaurants (sale taxes are not included in any goods except gas and some exceptions). Sale taxes is 12.75%, tip is 15% (10% if it's a buffet).
- American? You know need a passport to be able to come back to the States, so if you are planning to come, get your passport ASAP.
- Get some Canadian dollars with you. Most restaurants and touristic places will take US dollars, but it always useful to have Canadian dollars with you.
- Visa and MasterCard accepted also everywhere, Amex at most places. Diner's and other credit cards are not really accepted.
- Don't worry about not being able to speak French. In downtown, you have more chance to find someone who is English native than finding someone who only speak French. If you are unlucky and you found someone who don't speak English at all, just try someone else.