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We awoke to more overnight snow so wrapped up warmly before heading out of our hotel to the nearest metro station.

Maison St. Gabriel

Our plan for the morning was to take the first English tour of the day at Maison St. Gabriel, which is located in the Pointe St. Charles district of Montreal. This historic farmhouse resembled a winter wonderland as it was blanketed in thick snow and after dusting off our boots at the entrance we were welcomed by guides in period costume.

We joined a splendid one hour tour of the ancestral house which demonstrated the finest examples of traditional Quebec architecture. Our guide informed us that the house was purchased in 1668 by Marguerite Bourgeois to house a religious order. Our tour took us to each floor of the house including the attics and cellars. Gazing at the 17th century roof in the attic we admired its intricate beam work which is said to be one of only a few of its kind in North America.

The room furnishings took us back to colonial days when St. Marguerite Bourgeoys and the religious order she founded used this house to train les filles du roy (king’s daughters) in the niceties of home management. Les filles were young women without family or fortune who volunteered to cross the Atlantic to make the long journey from France to Montreal with the intention of becoming the wives and mothers of New France.

As we could see from the spartan living conditions of cramped dormitories with hard, narrow beds and draughty rooms it wasn’t an easy life, but the outcome of a respectable, settled life was worthy of the upheaval.

The house benefitted from state of the art domestic equipment such as the latest designs of looms, butter churns and a labour saving spit for roasting meat. As we passed through each room we viewed the excellent collection of artefacts going back to the 17th and 18th centuries with unusual items including sinks constructed from black stone alongside an ingenious water disposal system ahead of its time. During the summer months walks can be enjoyed in the grounds where refreshments are also served. Our guided tour was so interesting that the time flew by so quickly and we were glad that we had made the effort to trudge through the snow to get there. Maison St. Gabriel

Little Italy

After concluding our visit to Maison St. Gabriel we decided to explore Montreal’s Little Italy. This district is where the first Italian immigrants made a home for themselves in the 19th century. We wandered along the St. Laurent Boulevard and its adjoining side streets on the lookout for an inviting trattoria for a spot of lunch but sadly most places were closed on the weekend of our visit. I’m led to believe that the area comes to life during the summertime with outdoor cafes and terraces offering Italian delicacies.

Jean Talon Market

Not to be deterred, we turned our attention instead to the Jean Talon Market which truly felt like we had been transported to Italy. Inaugurated in May 1933, this market located in the heart of Little Italy is one of the oldest public markets in Montreal. We enjoyed a stroll amongst the many stalls viewing the fresh produce, bakery items and fishmongers.

Cirka Distillery

Next for us was a bus ride across town to take part in a one hour guided tour of the Cirka Distillery. Cirka is Montreal’s newest craft distillery and is located near to the historic Lachine Canal close to the Grffintown district. We joined a group of seven other people on their Saturday afternoon tour which began with a welcome gin cocktail in their cosy bar and a brief introduction about the distillery from our guide Sean.

After finishing our drinks we were then shown around the production area, viewing each part of the distilling process. We learnt that Cirka were the first grain to bottle micro-distillery to open in Quebec utilising homegrown products across the province. As we followed the tour we learnt that Cirka collaborate with local farmers, chefs and bartenders for product development.

Isabel, one of the small team at Cirka was operating a bottle labelling machine as we entered that part of the building so she explained about the bottling and packaging process and that each bottle needed to have a batch date written by hand. I volunteered to write one neatly and wondered where my bottle of gin might end up!

No distillery tour is complete without a tasting and I have to say that the one at Cirka was very generous as not only had we enjoyed a gin mule cocktail on arrival, we were offered four more tastings of both gin and vodka.

It was just as well that we were travelling by public transport and hopefully the other people on the tour had left their cars at home. Participating in this tour was a fun activity and one I’d recommend signing up for if you are planning a few days in Montreal.

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Our visit to Montreal was supported by Tourism Montreal and as always all views and opinions are entirely my own.