How to Pack for a Trip to Montreal

Packing the Necessities

Bring your passport. No matter what country you are from, you'll need an official passport from your home country to get across the border into Canada. The border control (at the actual border or at the airport) will ask to see your passport to verify your identity and your ability to legally enter Canada. If you don't have a passport, you'll need to apply for one. Most countries issue passports in six weeks or less. Some even offer expedited services for a fee. Be sure to plan ahead so that you'll definitely have your passport in time for your trip.

Apply for a visa ahead of time. Citizens from many countries are required to apply for a visa before they can legally enter Canada. Check on the Canadian government's website to see if citizens you're your country need a visa to visit Canada. Americans don't need a travel visa to travel to Canada, but citizens of most other countries will need to apply for one before their trip. If you are required to apply for a visa to visit Canada, you won't be allowed to enter the country without showing the visa at the border.

Print all of your travel documents. Print off copies of all the important things you'll need to manage your travel. This includes your travel itinerary, flight schedules, hotel reservations, and even directions to points of interest if you want to be super thorough. You can also save these documents on your smartphone. But it's always smart to have a hard copy just in case your phone dies or in case someone else needs to look at your documents.

Bring your medications. It may be difficult to get access to refills of prescription medications while you are in Montreal. Make sure you bring enough of any medication you take to last you through the duration of your stay in Montreal. Medications should be stored in the original bottle with the prescription label from the pharmacy while you are travelling. You can always go to the doctor while you are on your vacation, but it may be difficult (or costly) to get the tests and/or records needed for a doctor to write you a prescription. At the very least, it will take up a lot of your precious vacation time. So be sure to plan ahead to bring all the medications you'll need.

Pack a French phrasebook. It's important to remember that Montreal is a primarily French-speaking city, even though it is located in Canada. If you don't already know French, you might want to brush up on some French expressions that will help you in your day-to-day travel experience. Some common phrases you may need to know to include: Merci = Thank you S'il vous plaît = Please Bonjour = Hello Je m'appelle = My name is La toilette = The bathroom Je cherche un hôtel = I am looking for a hotel

Be prepared. Consider extra items you might need for travel to Canada. Try to bring extras of things like batteries and chargers that might come in handy. Also, bring guidebooks and maps that will help you out while you are on your holiday. You should also bring some emergency contact phone numbers and keep them written down in your wallet or purse just in case anything happens and you are incapacitated. Be sure to bring a camera with additional memory to capture all of your vacation memories in Montreal.

Packing the Right Clothes

Check the weather before you go. Check the weather forecast for Montreal before you travel to Canada. Unless it's summer, you will definitely need warm clothes. Layers are recommended because it gives you more freedom in choosing how warm you want to be. Except for summer, Montreal's average temperatures range from 16 degrees Fahrenheit (-8.9 degrees Celsius) in winter to 58.1 degrees Fahrenheit (14.5 degrees Celsius) in spring. Summer days are usually humid and mid-July temps hover around 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius). Nights are still cool, so bring a light jacket or sweater. Summer showers happen on occasion, so you might want to bring a rain poncho or umbrella.

Plan for the cold. Don't underestimate the cold weather you will most likely encounter in Montreal. If you are travelling in December, January, February, or March, you will need to bring a warm winter coat and boots. Make sure the jacket's inner layer is thick enough for Canadian winters. A puffer jacket, wool jacket, or thick peacoat should be fine, especially when combined with other layered clothing. You will also need a pair of boots or else your feet will get wet and cold. Sorel has warm reliable boots made especially for Canada's weather. You can always buy a warm jacket in Montreal as there are plenty of them on the market.

Bring a variety of clothing types. Consider packing a mix-and-match wardrobe to cut down on the number of clothes you need to pack. Bring tops that can be dressed up or dressed down, depending on the pants you pair them with. Pack some pants that are comfortable enough for walking around all day, but also nice enough to wear to a concert at night. You'll probably need one nice outfit for attending nice restaurants or evening events. Bring some long-sleeved shirts, sweaters or cardigans, t-shirts, and a lighter jacket (like a hoodie) you can wear under your heavier jacket. You could wear your t-shirt under a sweater on a medium cold day. Then you could wear a long-sleeved shirt under a sweater on a colder day. This gives you the freedom to take off the sweater at any point if you get too hot while you're out visiting the city.

Pack comfortable winter shoes. Be sure to bring some warm winter boots or shoes that will keep your feet warm in the snowy, chilly weather conditions. But make sure the shoes are also comfortable, as Montreal is a city made for walking. Pair your warm shoes with some warm socks to add an extra layer of insulation. Make sure your shoes are broken in so that you don't get blisters while you're on vacation. They should also have decent traction on them so you can avoid slipping on any ice or snow you may encounter. Try to limit yourself to two pairs of shoes: comfortable ones and a pair of dressy shoes. Shoes take up a lot of room in luggage.

Keep your plans in mind while packing. Think about what you're planning to do while you are in Montreal, as this will greatly impact what you'll need to bring with you. If you plan on doing more sporty activities, you'll need to bring some more athletic type clothing. Plan out your activities ahead of time, as best you can, so you can pack accordingly. If you plan on doing a lot of sightseeing or hiking, you should bring comfortable, loose-fitting clothes and reliable walking shoes for most of your outfits. If you plan on spending most of your time going out with friends, you'll want to consider those situations while packing. Bring several nicer outfits for going out to fancy dinners or to a club. And bring some comfortable clothes that will look cute in the photos.

Packing Smartly

Organize your suitcase. Rather than just throwing all of your stuff into the suitcase, spend some time putting the pieces together like a puzzle so that it minimizes the space you use. Try rolling up your clothes instead of folding them. Use smaller items like socks, rolled up t-shirts and underwear to fill in small gaps or to put inside shoes to maximize the space you're using. Packing bulky things like shoes along the edge of a suitcase provides more room.

Leave a bit of room in your luggage. Pack your suitcase so that it's full, but not overly full. This will help you leave room for any souvenirs or gifts you might want to bring back from your trip to Montreal. You also don't want to over-pack your suitcase because a busted zipper can really ruin a trip.

Bring only as much luggage as you can comfortably carry. It's likely that you'll have to haul around whatever luggage you pack, so be mindful of this during the packing process. Don't pack anything that's too heavy for you to pull/carry. And don't bring more bags than you can easily carry in one trip. You'll probably have two bags with you – one smaller bag to bring on the plane, and one larger bag to hold most of the items you pack. Pack as much as you can in the larger suitcase. This includes your clothing and shoes. Valuables, important documents, and medication should all be in your carry-on bag that you will take on the plane with you.

Safely pack your liquids. Pack your toiletries in plastic bags in case they leak. You don't want to arrive in Montreal and discover that all of your clothes have been ruined by a leaky bottle of shampoo. Travel-size toiletries are great. Or consider buying most of your toiletries once you arrive in Montreal. Remember that liquids are restricted for airline travel. You can only bring bottles that are up to 3oz. in your carry-on, and all of your liquids must be put in a clear plastic bag.