Any Montrealer can tell you that their city is a great party city, but now that claim has been officially recognized. In the Lonely Planet's new guide, "1000 Ultimate Experiences," Montreal was rated the number two party city in the world, with Belgrade, Serbia coming in first.
Montreal joined nine other international cities, including Buenos Aires, Argentina and Thessaloniki, Greece, on the international guidebook's list of the best places to party. The city's diversity, along with its geographical and fiscal accessibility, were three factors that contributed to the city's impressive ranking. Robert Reid, US travel editor at Lonely Planet, explained what makes Montreal stand out.
"It's a bit of everything," he said. "Montreal has a great sense of humour. Its comedy festival is one of the world's greatest, it isn't scared of the outdoors when temperatures drop, and there are so many neighbourhoods to explore. For Americans, it's near but feels far. It's like cheating to have a nearby classic vacation experience."
Reid also explained that the recent economic troubles have led to more people traveling closer to home, or at least staying on the same continent.
"People will travel closer to home more in 2010 than in 2008 or 2007, as we struggle to overcome the recession," said Reid. "The good side effect of that, though, is renewed interest in what's been missed over the years, or renewing acquaintances with places that have changed. In the U.S., you're seeing a surge of 'Americana' vacations - battlefields, US historical sites, secondary cities, national parks."
Reid also said that this effect will likely be felt in Canada in the upcoming year, especially with the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, where city officials are expectig a large surge in tourism.
Many of Montreal's party events are held on Crescent St. and are organized by the Crescents Street Merchants Association. The CSMA often acts as an intermediary between the bars and the city. Steve Siozios, CSMA vice-president, explained that he felt strongly about Montreal being one of the world's best party cities, if not the best.
"Second best! Why second?" he joked. Siozios believes that Montreal's relaxed and open attitude towards partying has helped make it a preeminent party city.
"Montreal has a very
laissez-faire attitude, and it's still a relatively safe city and I think that plays a role in that rating. Most people can be joyous all night without much fear," he said. "The police force and the city officials are more accepting of the city's night life than perhaps other cities that don't see nightlife as an important or integral part of their society."
It is clear that the many bars, clubs, and restaurants have made Montreal a party destination, but it also seems that the large and lively student populations of McGill, Concordia, Université de Montréal, and Université du Québec à Montréal have also helped to make Montreal a young and happening city.
Mike Ammendolia, U2 management student and vice president of the Our House Music DJ society at McGill, believes that Montreal offers a great environment for partying compared to many other university cities and thinks that this is in large part due to the promotions by multiple local party companies.
"McGill is right in the heart of downtown Montreal so [students] have all these resources of different clubs and party venues," said Ammendolia. "There's bound to be multiple promotion companies that would love to take advantage of that and promote to the large student body."
"Through all these promotion companies and through all these club owners and bar owners, there's always an opportunity to go out and have a good time and you don't really have to look for where the party is every night. There's always something happening."
Other top party cities included Dubai, UAE, La Paz, Bolivia, and Cape Town, South Africa.
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posted 12/08/09 @ 3:24 AM EST
See that black guy hugging that fat white funny looking girl?? That's Kim Kardashian in the near future..lol..
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