You could say that Michael and I lucked out during our trip to Montréal, Quebec – the 2017 edition of the Montréal en Lumière festival, as well as the one-night-only Nuit Blanche (“White Night”), would be taking place while we were in town.
Our Airbnb host was equally excited about the event and offered suggestions for which of the many, many events to take part in over the course of the night, but because we are terrible people, we didn’t heed any of his suggestions. We still managed to have a pretty alright time despite the well-below-freezing temperatures and our host’s pity as he offered us extra scarves and hats (yes, we are Floridians).
We ambitiously mapped out several sights on our itinerary for the night based on how far we are accustomed to walking during normal temperatures, however, we quickly ended up ditching all but three locations once we made our way out into the cold night. Looking back, I’m impressed we made it to even these: the main events at the Quartier des Spectacles, the Flashlight Tours at the Redpath Museum, and a birthday party (cake and all!) at the Mainline Theatre.
It was brutally cold (far too cold to remove our gloves to take out our phones), so we don’t have many photos from that night. But we still had an amazing time!
The main center of the festival included lots of fun-sounding activities like a Ferris wheel, slide, and curling. The lines were way too long, so we contented ourselves with the light shows projected on many of the buildings and of course, food. There were sausages and other goodies available for purchase in the Quartier des Spectacles, many of which you could roast over an open fire. Yes, please.
After spending time in the Quartier des Spectacles, we headed to the Flashlight Tours at the Redpath Museum. We waited in line for about forty-five minutes outside of the building (I’m not sure how), watching people slip and slide down the icy hill and playing hockey on the rink.
Interestingly enough, no flashlights were provided at the flashlight tour, so we ended up using the ones on our dying cell phones. The tour began with an introduction in the auditorium. It was in French, of course, but we managed to understand pieces here and there. We learned that the Redpath is the oldest museum in Canada, which is a pretty fun fact.
After the lecture, we were released into the museum to wander and look at the collections like ancient Egyptian artifacts and bones from several dinosaurs in darkness. Despite being left out in the cold for so long, we ended up grateful for their limited entry as it was fairly easy to access most of the exhibits. I’d love to return to the museum one day, but maybe when the lights are on!
After the museum, I insisted we get an Uber instead of taking two buses back to our part of town; the difference in fare was well worth it. We arrived at the Mainline Theatre, and Michael turned to me to ask what exactly it was we were going to.
“I don’t really know,” I said. “The website said it was some girl’s birthday and she was inviting everyone to celebrate.”
“Won’t that be awkward?” he asked.
I replied, “Absolutely. Let’s go.”
And up the stairs we went.
Upon entering, we were each given a party hat to wear. The scene was very much like a (tame) college house party. There were sofas and a kitchen area, and beers were being sold out of a standard refrigerator. Music was playing, and the room was filled with laughter and lots of voices (thankfully for us, they were in English!).
The organizers went all-out decorating for the event, with a pin the tail on the donkey game and a Sesame Street birthday backdrop. We bought a delicious cupcake to share from two girls who had clearly spent all day baking – and we even managed to make a new friend:
At some point, someone yelled for us all to gather in the theatre for the piñata, so of course, we obliged. The birthday girl took her first few swings at it before passing the stick to another person (this being Canada, the piñata stick was a hockey stick).
All we ended our evening with was a pair of party hats and some Canadian Smarties from the piñata – and some unforgettable memories, of course.
Would we visit Montreal specifically for Nuit Blanche? Probably not, but would we attend again if we were in the area? Absolutely (but we would stock up on more of those hand-warmer things before heading out!).
—
Have you made it to a Nuit Blanche before? How was it?!
Enjoyed this post? You may also like:
- A Sugar Shack Brunch in Montreal
- Foods of Montreal
- 36 Hours in Albany, New York
- Traveling Light: Albany, New York Packing List
- Tea at the Boston Public Library
- A Review of North Square Oyster in Boston, Massachusetts
- Three Days in Providence, Rhode Island
- Traveling Light: Providence, Rhode Island Packing List
- 36 Hours in NYC: Lower Manhattan
- A Three-Day Weekend in NYC
- Christmas in New York
- Traveling Light: New York City Winter Packing List
- Traveling Light: New York City Fall Packing List
- All Travel Guides by Destination
- Shop My Closet
- Exclusive Promo Codes and Discounts
