Montreal

Montreal needs 3 days: Old Montreal, with cobblestone streets and the neo-Gothic Notre-Dame Basilica, on one, Mount Royal Park, designed by the same architect as Central Park with panoramic views of the city, on another, and touring the Old Port on the St. Lawrence River on the third. June-September is best, with music and comedy festivals all summer. It's mid-priced for Canada. It's the second-largest French-speaking city in the world after Paris, with a unique bicultural identity in North America that combines European architecture, a continentally renowned food and festival scene, and intense university life thanks to its four universities.