Oh, Montréal, ever the cultured temptress: Culture hounds forgoing their Parisian jaunts this summer can get their French art fix in our northernly neighbor. To help them out, Loews Hôtel Vogue is offering a package called “Culture and Nature à la Montréal Style,” which helps guests “experience the beauty of Montreal both indoors and outside.”

In other words, that means overnight lodgings, two museum passes to the renowned Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and an oh-so-French picnic lunch for two packed in a keepsake backpack. (Think sandwiches, baguette with local cheeses, mixed salad, pita chips, fresh fruit, cookies, and bottle water.)

You know you're in Montreal when a newly-opened Westin sticks a "Le" in front of its name. Please welcome to the Canadian hotel scene the Le Westin Montreal, a 454-room property housed in the historical building once belonging to The Montréal Gazette.

In homage to the former tenants, the hotel has named its restaurant "Gazette" and its bar "Le Reporter." As far as the rest of the hotel goes, it's a standard Westin with Heavenly beds in every room, a WestinWORKOUT fitness center, and even an indoor pool. Special attention has however been placed on the work spaces within the rooms, since Montreal is just as popular a destination for business as it is for leisure,

Following the huge success of Paris' Velib bike sharing program, we've been wondering how long it would take for North American to get in on the action. Leave it to Frenchy Montreal to show everyone up by being the first on the continent to put the pedal to the metal.

Launched last week, the Bixi program (a combo of "bike" and "taxi") puts aluminum Montreal-made bicycles on the streets, available for rental with annual memberships of $75, a daily rate of $5, or per-hour pricing following a free first half-hour. By June 7, the city is aiming to place 3,000 of the bikes at 300 hubs around the city, and your rented Bixi may be picked up at and returned to any of them.

And these babies weren't named one of Time's top 50 top inventions of 2008 for no reason; the bike docks are equipped with wireless RFID technology which can immediately signal if one is defective, and the pay station itself is touch-screen with energy support from solar panels. According to the Vancouver Sun, this model of bike sharing in Montreal is what's being studied for the future in other bike-desperate cities like New York and London. Bring it on!

Related Stories:
· Bixi System [Official Site]
· Part bicycle -- part taxi, meet the Bixi [Vancouver Sun]
· Bike Sharing Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: AddictiveDJDesigns]

Lindsay Lohan may have taken one of Jaunted's ideas for a vacation to heal her soul but she's obviously not dedicated to making it work.

Just last week, she headed up to Montreal to host a gig at a nightclub. Remember Lilo, it works if you work it.

However, her trip through customs in Canada didn't go quite as planned. While we usually get admonished for having our cell phones out or for not having our passports ready quick enough, Lindsay Lohan was actually "hauled into a backroom by border staff" at the Montreal Airport.

Can't swing a trip to Paris for the Spring? Jaunted Embed Shira Lazar gives us a tour of her home town of Montreal, a much cheaper but just as authentic French experience.

Yesterday we told you about one of the two treats you must have when visiting Montreal. That was poutine. Today, we are going to teach you about goodness of Montreal bagels.

Montreal bagels are made completely different than any other bagel in the world. They are hand-rolled, thinner, boiled, dipped in honey water and put in a fire oven the old-fashioned way.

They are also addictive! We paid a visit to Mount Royal Bagel Factory on Lucerne to get a sneak (bagel) peek of how their amazing bagels are made. Actually, anyone can see how they are made, as it is done pretty much right in front of you behind the counter.

We might have a bias since we grew up in Montreal, but we've lived in other big cities and we can say these bagels really are the best in the world.

Related Stories:
· Jaunted's Springtime in Montreal [Jaunted]

Can't swing a trip to Paris for the Spring? Jaunted Embed Shira Lazar gives us a tour of her home town of Montreal, a much cheaper but just as authentic French experience.

Don’t come to Montreal on a diet and with a closed mind. Two signature foods you can’t leave the city without trying are Montreal Bagels and Poutine. Today, we're talking Poutine. We'll save the bagels for later.

Poutine is not exactly the healthiest choice you can make when visiting Montreal but it's an experience to say the least: French fries, melted cheese and gravy. C'est le Paradis!

The oldest and most famous joint in town is La Banquise, which has been serving up to 26 choices of poutine for nearly 40 years. Sample it during the day or indulge late-night after a long night of drinking. It's open until 3am!

Watch the video as we go back into the kitchen of La Banquise to watch them make our poutine goodness.

Can't swing a trip to Paris for the Spring? Jaunted Embed Shira Lazar gives us a tour of her home town of Montreal, a much cheaper but just as authentic French experience.

We grew up shopping by day and party hopping by night on St. Laurent, known for its fun boutiques and supperclubs. Globe and BuonaNotte might not have five-star chefs, but the American/Italian dinners are pretty good and as the night continues, locals start dancing on chairs and tables until 3AM.

If you’re hungry again after that, there are a ton of late-night pizza and schwarma spots along the street too. For more of the pub/bar scene, walk to the closed cobblestone street of Prince Arthur.

But if you want a foodie experience to remember, then you must continue north on St. Laurent you’ll also find one of Montreal’s most famous deli’s Schwartz’s. Open from 8am to midnight on weekdays and weekends until 2:30am, Schwartz’s is the oldest deli in Canada (it opened in 1928), a true historic landmark. Nothing has changed since the place opened and all the ingredients are fresh and free of preservatives. Plus, their smoked meat is smoked daily. Trust us, your stomach and tastebuds will be eternally grateful.

Watch as Shira's takes a bite out of their famous smoked meat sandwich and interviews a waiter who’s worked there for 7 years.

Can't swing a trip to Paris for the Spring? Jaunted Embed Shira Lazar gives us a tour of her home town of Montreal, a much cheaper but just as authentic French experience.

We stopped by L’Orignal, a “chalet chic” resto on industry night Monday, where they offered $4 vodka and had an oyster chucker right at the bar.

The owners of L’Orignal also have another hot resto/lounge in the area called Garde Manger. It’s a the hip dining destination, where you can order seafood platters and bbq ribs while wining and listening to funky tunes. We’re told the waiting staff are hot too. BTW- that seems to be actually a Montreal norm.
L'Oringal: 479, Saint-Alexis/Garde Manger: 408 St-François-Xavier

Can't swing a trip to Paris for the Spring? Jaunted Embed Shira Lazar gives us a tour of her home town of Montreal, a much cheaper but just as authentic French experience.

Telling people you’re from Montreal can be quite the conversation starter. That’s because whoever has been there tends to love the city, and people that haven’t been there, want to go there. What makes Montreal standout as the most unique city in the province of Quebec and in Canada entirely, is that it contains a melting pot of cultures, both English and French. Visiting or growing up there, is like experiencing a slice of Europe in the middle of North America.

Jaunted's own travel video correspondent, Shira Lazar, took a trip to her hometown of Montreal this week where the celebration of the 40th anniversary of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Bed-In For Peace is now in full swing.

Lennon and Oko famously spent their honeymoon in Amsterdam's Hilton Hotel for one-week allowing the press to come and visit them every day to hear their messages on peace.

That following May, the couple did the same thing at the (now a Fairmont) Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, staying in rooms 1738 and 1742. This stay was historic because its where "Give Peace a Chance was Recorded." Head on over to HotelChatter to see Shira tour the actual suite where Lennon and Oko stayed.

Currently, Montreal's Museum of Fine Arts is hosting an free exhibit from now through June 21 celebrating the bed-in with 140 works on display that includes "drawings, unpublished photographs, videos, films, artworks and interactive materials that convey the famous couple’s message of universal peace." Here, Shira walks us through what to expect from the exhibit. She even tests out the Lennon-Oko Bed-in bed replica. Just watch.

Related Stories:
· Montreal Travel [Jaunted]
· Inside the Famous Bed-In Suite Used by John Lennon and Yoko Ono [HotelChatter]