Where to stay in Montreal: the best neighbourhoods and hotels

Vieux-Montréal is where the city began in the 17th century, and its narrow streets of grey limestone still look the part. The Notre-Dame Basilica, with its extraordinary blue-and-gold interior, faces Place d'Armes; Place Jacques-Cartier slopes down past café terraces and street performers to the Old Port, where a riverside promenade, a big wheel and a clock tower line the St Lawrence. It is busy with visitors in summer and wonderfully atmospheric under snow.

This is the neighbourhood for boutique hotels. Hotel William Gray, built into a pair of 18th-century houses just off Place Jacques-Cartier, is the stylish favourite. Place d'Armes Hotel & Suites faces the basilica and has a spa with a steam room. The Embassy Suites, on the edge of the old town opposite the convention centre, offers studios and two-room suites that suit families.

Downtown Montreal is built around Sainte-Catherine Street, a long, lively shopping artery, and around what lies beneath it: the underground city, more than 30 km of passages linking malls, Metro stations, hotels and offices, a blessing in January. The Bell Centre, where the Canadiens play ice hockey to something close to religious devotion, is here, as are the main railway station and McGill University's handsome campus at the foot of the mountain.

Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth is the grand address, a few steps from Sainte-Catherine Street and famous as the place where John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged their 1969 bed-in. Hôtel Birks occupies the 1894 building of a celebrated jeweller, and Hotel Monville is a sleek, modern choice near the Bell Centre. Le Square Phillips has apartment-style rooms with kitchens and an indoor pool.

In the late 19th century the families who lived on these slopes below Mount Royal were said to control most of Canada's wealth, and their mansions still line Sherbrooke Street. Today the Golden Square Mile is Downtown's polished western quarter: the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, designer boutiques, private galleries and the bars and terraces of Crescent Street.

The city's top hotels are gathered here. The Ritz-Carlton, a 10-minute walk from McGill, has an indoor pool, a spa and Maison Boulud for dinner. The Four Seasons is all contemporary glamour, with a Guerlain spa. Le Mount Stephen pairs a neoclassical mansion with a modern tower of rooms and loft suites, and the Sofitel brings freshly renovated French elegance to Sherbrooke Street.

East of the shopping streets, the Quartier des Spectacles is Montreal's entertainment district, built around Place des Arts and the open-air Place des Festivals. In summer the jazz festival, Just for Laughs and a string of other events close the streets and fill them with free stages. Next door, the Latin Quarter along Saint-Denis Street is the student heart of the city, with cheap eats, cinemas and bars that stay busy late.

The DoubleTree is linked to the Complexe Desjardins mall, with underground passages to two Metro stations, steps from Place des Arts. The Honeyrose is an Art Deco-styled hotel with an indoor pool and sauna, Boxotel has kitchen-equipped rooms and a rooftop terrace, and the Hyatt Place in the Latin Quarter has direct access to the Metro and the central bus station.

The blocks around the Palais des congrès, with its wall of multicoloured glass, sit exactly between Old Montreal and Downtown, which makes them a clever base: the basilica is under ten minutes one way, Sainte-Catherine Street the other. Compact Chinatown, with its ornate gates, noodle shops and bakeries, is on the doorstep.

The InterContinental is connected to the convention centre and looks out over the old town, with a saltwater lap pool. Humaniti is the stylish newcomer, with a spa and a seasonal outdoor pool. The Westin has an indoor pool and a French restaurant, and the Holiday Inn Centre-ville, across from the convention centre, is the good-value choice.

Montréal-Trudeau airport is in Dorval, west of the centre, and the drive into town is short outside rush hour. For an early departure, the Marriott In-Terminal is exactly what it says, with an indoor pool and a spa above the check-in hall. The Sheraton and the Hilton Garden Inn, both five minutes or so away, are comfortable alternatives.

Laval sits on its own island just north of Montreal. It is suburban and car-friendly, with large shopping centres, the Cosmodome space museum and the Place Bell arena, and it suits families on a road trip or anyone attending an event. The Metro's orange line reaches into Laval for trips downtown.

The Sheraton has a spa, an indoor pool and a health club. Ômage prides itself on its green credentials and is three kilometres from the Metro, the new Courtyard sits beside Place Bell, and Le St-Martin has a seasonal outdoor pool and breakfast included.

Montrealers escape to the hills at every opportunity, and you can follow them. North of the city, the Laurentian Mountains are a landscape of lakes, forest and ski slopes that blazes red and gold in autumn. To the south-east, the Eastern Townships offer vineyards, pretty villages and more skiing around Bromont and Mont-Orford.

Estérel Resort sits on a lake in the Laurentians, with fireplace suites, a spa and a skating trail in winter. Mont Gabriel, perched on its own mountain about an hour from Montreal, is a classic for skiing and hiking. In Bromont, Hotel Vallea has an outdoor pool and spa close to the ski hill, its water park and several golf courses.