Music festivals are fun for all ages, and the famous Montreal Jazz Fest is a great centerpiece for a top value family getaway to Canada.
Ten thousand kids a day can’t be wrong! That’s the estimated number the International Festival de Jazz de Montreal attracts daily from the 2.5 million visitors who attend each year. Kids are brought to this family-friendly event to learn, listen, and have fun at more than 150 events over the period June 28 to July 7, 2018. Artists this year range from pop star Seal to jazz great Herbie Hancock to bluesman Boz Scaggs.
There are also special kids’ areas built for each edition. Within an 11,000-square-foot musical play area, there’s a giant piano, a trumpet slide, a guitar ladder, a clarinet tunnel, a drum blackboard and a xylophone. Then there are the talented face-painters and mask-makers who magically transform eager faces. Clowns, jugglers and acrobats stroll through the crowds, while parents and kids ply the numerous arts-and-crafts tables. The twice-daily concerts are informative, inventive and just plain fun!
Worry-Free Adventure
But that’s not all. Parents and children alike will relish the sounds of top-class jazz, blues, gospel, Cajun and world music.
The festival is well-organized and safe. In fact, all of Montreal- very cosmopolitan and very French- is safe and family friendly. There’s plenty of storage for strollers, so taking little ones along is a breeze. Changing tables and children’s toilets are conveniently located, so that’s not an issue. And there are tents for arts and crafts and face-painting.
Families are a common sight at the ticketed indoor concerts as well. For this year’s complete lineup, which changes up till the last minute, check the official Montreal Jazz Fest website. And remember, many of the concerts are even free!
A Continental Experience & Accoutrements
When it’s time for a break, check out the other treasures of Montreal. There are classic midway rides at La Ronde, a lovely amusement park with lots of new family areas. Carnaval en Folie is designed to evoke the colors and sounds of the fairs and carnivals of yesterday. Three new rides are the “Toubillon” carousel, the “Petite Roue” Ferris wheel, and “Tour du Fou,” a high-flying merry-go-round. A 10-minute walk or shuttle ride takes you to a small sandy beach and another artificial lake on Ile St. Helene. Parks are wonderfully sculptured and offer a chance to picnic, bike or take leisurely walks.
Montreal has North America’s only Insectarium at Space for Life, a museum complex, with thousands of insects, some of which are astonishingly beautiful, especially in the butterfly house. Fun and educational — worth a half day — go and take the free shuttle bus that links it to The Biodome. This museum presents a Tropical Forest, Laurentian Forest, St. Lawrence Ecosystem and Polar World under one roof — a discovery for kids and grown-ups alike. Sights, sounds and interpreters bring these colorful ecosystems to life, so we can’t wait to return after the major renovation ends in mid 2019.
A Museum Pass provides entry to nearly 30 sites for one price, but you’ll have to choose one of their three bundles. We love the Museum of Fine Arts, with its interactive children’s displays. Also, be sure your pass includes Pointe-a-Calliere, an archeological museum featuring a tour through an actual dig and a lively multimedia show.
Cross the Jacques Cartier Bridge to Ile St. Helene and use your pass at the Biosphere, a natural-resources museum housed in a geodesic dome. The Biosphere’s child-oriented activities and resources, including a supervised crafts room, are topnotch.
Montreal Trip Planning Details
The Jazz Festival mirrors the excitement, the diversity and the phenomenol spirit of Montreal. Travel north for the quickest and cheapest route to a European experience (with the Canadian dollar near to the U.S. dollar, it’s not the bargain it once was, but it sure beats the Euro!)
Introduce your children to another culture and another language. Walk the cobblestone lanes of Vieux Montreal, sip an espresso in the city’s popular cafes, catch the mimes and street performers, or just enjoy the sounds of the French language. Montreal is, after all, the second largest French-speaking city after Paris. It’s also a gastronomic wonder, a place where smoked meats and bagels — as well as baguettes — are a specialty.
For more information and recommendations for places to stay during the busy festival season, check the Montreal Tourism site.
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Cute. Made me hungry. Have you gone back since?
WOW ITS REAL BEAUTIFUL..
Much better place in Palawan… like El Nido and Club Noah in taytay
Congratulations on your son's upcoming graduation!
For all the information you'll need to plan a houseswap, please search the familytravelforum.com site for "house swapping" or "home exchanges" and you'll find some recommended services that specialize in this.
Let us know how it goes! thanks
Angela, you can read more about the requirements of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative at this link:
http://www.familytravelforum.com/how/vacation_deals/227-News-Families-Have-Cheaper-WHTI-Options-for-Kids-Land-and-Sea-Borders.html
According to the WHTI website, you are required to obtain parents' permission, and we quote from them:
Groups of Children:
Beginning June 1, 2009, U.S. and Canadian citizen children under age 19 arriving by land or sea from contiguous territory and traveling with a school group, religious group, social or cultural organization, or sports team, may also present an original or copy of his or her birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, a Naturalization Certificate, or a Canadian Citizenship Card.
The group should be prepared to present a letter on organizational letterhead with the following information:
* The name of the group and supervising adult,
* A list of the children on the trip, and the primary address, phone number, date of birth, place of birth, and name of at least one parent or legal guardian for each child,
* A written and signed statement of the supervising adult certifying that he or she has obtained parental or legal guardian consent for each participating child.
Thank you for your post. We are looking for a family vacation in France for my son's senior graduation and this sounds just perfect! I've never thought about house swapping or how that is done. Could you please give me more information on how one would go about doing that. I am very interested. I'm glad your family had so much fun.
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This sounds great! I’ve always wanted to go to New Orleans.
Wow, I didn’t know that the disabled were shunned in Jamaica. This was informative and heartwarming!
“I was served a sublime slice of humble pie.” I liked that a lot. You have a bunch of great one-liners in here. Really well written!
Backpacking’ll do it. Great title!
I highly recommend another excelent option to do bike tours in buenos Aires, Buenos Aires City Tours on Bike | Urban Biking.
Thank you very much,
Regards,
Guille
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Sandesh Sharma
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nepalviewtrek@hotmail.com
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Really a fabulous article……………
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I like the bit about the B- movie vampire. Interesting!
Wow. I can’t imagine doing anything like this! Have you climbed more since?
Funny. Cool story!
good afternoon
wowww beautiful… nice place
thanks for sharing this camp, i think i should visit it with my family.
good read, thanks for this article
We have eaten at the restaurant and had drinks at the bar at this Ritz. Both times we left saying they need better customer service. Not up to Ritz standards in our opinion
Would visiting this resort cost me a lot?
Hi, we have been in Athens last summer with our 2 children. It was great!if you are traveling to Athens, there are many attractions for families e.g> Copa copana Park, Allou fun park,Hellenic Cosmos, the cultural center which is a child-oriented museum with exhibition halls, its really great! and many other things for family, try this> http://www.facebook.com/cityofathens?ref=ts,
our senior group from penn estates would like info on a day trip to your facility as we have in the past. please forward info price etc for us to plan and open dates
We love KBH. We have returned many times and are always treated great and have a wonderful time. Price is great too.
This is definitely the wave of the future and will be a demand for traveling business people. I think it has a great design and works well for its intended purpose.
This is devastating. Well-written and insightful, though. Nicely done.
Wow, amazing. It’s interesting that this stuck out in your mind so well even after travelling to so many different locations. Well done!
This IS really good. You have a very captivating writing style; it brought be in at the very beginning. The rose thing was amazing. Well done!
what a joyful clever piece
i can see myself there
i think i dream when i see this beach
but i live in egypt
i love it so much. it's my dream. but now i dont have any money:-(
Please confirm my reservation for Aug 23 in the name of Hansford and Bortels. My question is: is the dining casual as in shorts and sandals? Thank you, and again please confirm my reservation.
Thanks yahoo.
Sounds like fantastic, chaotic fun! Take us along next time!
Hilarious review. I'm not sure I would go but your honest review makes it almost tempting.
This place sounds just great. We had a similarly cultural and fun weekend at Kutscher's in the Catskills and perhaps some of their guests go to the Doral Arrowwood on alternate weekends!
Thanks for sharing what sounds like a great cheap family vacation.
i hope travel to uroup but i am poor i dont have more money ,
Nice article…I appreciate the effort for posting this…
In my experience, babies usually like the sound and smell of someone they miss, and may stop crying.
maybe your partner can make a tape/phone message of their voice, and leave behind some clothes, like pajamas, that they might feed the baby in. Having that to offer the baby might comfort her.
Another option is giving baby something warm and moving, like the feeling of being rocked in someone's arms. our son loved being wrapped in a blanket and held on top of the clothes dryer (turned on low), which moved a bit, made some sounds, and seemed to help him stop crying.
Otherwise, just wait. It is sure to pass.
wah it is v amazing and wonderful resort
Nepal is a very popular destination for trekking and expedition. The range of treks in Nepal varies from a short gentle hike through terraced foothills to lengthy expeditions to Mount Everest’s summit. Depending on your level of fitness, stamina or experience, you’ll find an adventure of your lifetime. The Himalayan regions of Nepal contain some of the best places in the world to go trekking. You can choose from treks like Everest base camp, Annapurna or Langtang to less popular trekking options including Mustang or Kanchenjunga Base Camp.Trekking is the gift of Nepal to the world in adventure tourism. To be one with Nature, to regenerate one's own confidence, to relive oneself, to appreciate Nepal's exquisiteness, to interact with its generous and responsive peoples are some of the places of interest of trekking in Nepal. Trekking is one long-lasting activities that draws reiterate visitors to the country. Consequently, Nepal is the definitive objective for the trekking supporter. for more information log on to nepal travel information website: http://www.nepalvisitors.com
no!!! the best beach in world is boracay!!!! ^_______________-
thanks n v informative
i'like porto saint georgo in italy why not in your list?
Funny. I enjoyed the bit about Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, etc.
This gave a wonderful picture of Dublin in my mind. I went to Ireland eight years ago; his brought me back.
I am also curious: what writing program were you on?