Hellobee Boards

I've never traveled with kids, so these are all from the fond memories of a currently pregnant (and hungry!) foodie:

Dinner at Au Pied de Cochon for foie gras Poutine, duck in a can and/or the pied de Cochon. Not a place for kids, dieters or anyone who isn't swooning at the idea of huge amounts of animal fat, but I thought it was heaven.

Croissants and the namesake pastry at Patisserie Au Kougin-Amann in Plateau Mont-Royal. Best croissants I've ever had, and that includes in Paris.

The Jean Talon market, which I bet would be fun with kids! There's a great ice cream shop there, Havres-Aux-Glaces, with some yummy and creative flavors. Also lots of produce cheese shops and a great kitchen supplies store.

And of course, a dozen bagels from St-Viateur or Fairmount, a container of Liberte cream cheese and a looong walk to work off all the carbs.

We usually stay in the old port area. There are a lot of nice hotels there, and it's a central enough location that you can walk most places. The best place I've stayed in is the Auberge du Vieux Port. We had a beautiful room overlooking the river, and the hotel had all the little touches that differentiate a good hotel from a great one.

As far as things to do, the Musee des Beaux Arts is free and has a strong collection, plus some great travelling exhibits (the Chihouly a couple years ago was amazing). Although most of the time the travelling exhibits have a fee associated. If it's warm enough don't miss the view from Mount Royal Park. If you're bringing kids, one thing I remember from a trip up with my parents was the Christmas store in the old port. I think it's called noel eternal or eternal noel. It's like Christmas exploded. Unless you're bringing a kid who loves animals, skip the biodome. The whole olympic park area is massive, hard to navigate, and seriously showing its age.

I'll second the Pied de Cochon recommendation. It's pricey and crowded, but is the original destination for quebecois cuisine. There are lots of other fresh, local cuisine options, but Montreal has some great ethnic food as well. My most memorable Montreal meal was in a Chinatown hole in the wall that only served dumplings and had 4 women behind a counter folding them non-stop. It was SO good.