We recently took a quick trip to Montreal for the Just For Laughs comedy festival and our furry sidekick came along for some urban exploring. What is so great about traveling with a dog is how it opens up planning decisions on what to do with your day. Instead of driving to points of interest we put on our shoes, clip on the leash  and get walking.

After landing on Friday afternoon we launched google maps and planned our route to Griffintown. Destination: a dog friendly brewery  west of the Old Port that we found online through a Montreal Blog. The walk over took us along the Lachine Canal which has a nice wide path for people and bikes. Perfect for a leisurely dog sniffing stroll from tree to tree with no cars to worry about.

After our 30 min walk in the sun we were ready for a cold craft beer and some grub, so we settled into the dog friendly patio at Brasseur de Montreal. Unashamed tourists that we were, we jumped on the poutine and steak frites. Staff were incredibly friendly and brought over a water bowl for Tikka and she made the place her own.

We could have stayed for hours, relaxing in the sun but we had to get back to go out for an evening of comedy. The Just For Laughs festival takes over the city, showcasing the art of comedy and there is something for everyone. It was a late night, but next morning instead of sleeping in we went on a 3 hour urban hike. Destination: Place to purchase and eat a croissant.

First thing Saturday we struck out from our downtown hotel and headed towards Mont-Royal. Our chosen path took us through the downtown streets, through an Urban Forest by McGill University and landed us in a cool dog park called Percy-Walters at the bottom of the hill. After a brief off leash romp and chatting with some locals we headed to Rue Peel to start our climb up to the chalet and lookout.

What’s neat about this park is you can take a gut busting direct route with the stairs or choose winding path that slowly works it’s way up the side of the hill. Guess from the picture and my breathing which one we did…

So great to see everyone enjoying the city park  – young and old, locals and tourists, dogged and dogless – they all come out on a Saturday morning to battle up the hill. For the less in shape (*cough) just take your time and you will soon be rewarded with a break in the trees and the following view.

Took some pics, enjoyed the vista and then we were off for part two of our morning trek. A mini adventure unfolded as we worked our way over the top of Mont Royal and then finding a path to work our way through the woods, hoping we were coming out on the right side and the right road. It took a while tromping through the trees on the spiderweb of trails but we got there!

Now in the home stretch we were just 15 min from our flaky breakfast at Fous Desserts. A croissant,  pain au Chocolat, and a couple of teas in hand we walked over one block to Parc Sir Wilfrid Laurier and watched Tikka eyeing the squirrels while we ate our breakfast on a bench. It felt good to rest our paws and take in the local activity from our corner of the park. Time didn’t allow for a walk back so we jumped in a Uber car that was more than happy to have our dog come along.

Thanks Montreal for a wonderful trip and the hike within a city!