Have a Mad Men guy’s weekend in Montréal

The show may be over, but Mad Men’s suits and sexiness – and some of the smoking and scandal too – live on not only in our memories (and on Netflix), but in retro style in Montréal. Tourisme Montréal’s tips for a classy weekend with the guys tap into that Mad Men aesthetic in clothes, restaurants, hotels, barbers, cigars and bars.

Dress the part

Update or refine your own style in Montréal at luxury retailers of designer suits and brand-name menswear Holt Renfrew, Ogilvy Monsieur and Harry Rosen downtown, or smaller boutiques like Tozzi on Crescent Street, L’Uomo Montréal and Giorgio on Peel Street, Philippe Dubuc on Saint-Denis Street, StockMarkt on Notre Dame Street West, WANT Apothecary in Westmount, and three hot Mile End retailers: Clark Street Mercantile, Les Etoffes and the storefront location of online success story Frank Oak. If you’re in the market for a new suit, consult our guide to buying a suit in Montréal. Find soft and supple leather wallets, briefcases, bags and jackets at Rudsak on Mont-Royal Avenue and in Eaton Centre and at three central locations of M0851. For slimmer wallets, walk down to Winners in Place Montréal Trust off Sainte-Catherine Street for reduced prices on brand-name shirts, jackets, pants and more.

High-living hotels

Recently refurbished but with all the class of the past, the luxury of Montréal’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel is worth every penny as is a stay at the historic Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Hotel (where John Lennon and Yoko staged their famous bed-in). Find all the amenities, well-stocked bars and more at the centrally located Marriott Château Champlain Hotel, the five-star Hôtel Le Crystal and the postmodern-sleek W Montréal. If big hotels aren’t quite your style, opt for the elegance-meets-contemporary-cool of Montréal’s award-winning luxurious boutique hotels.

Shave and a haircut

Montrealers love to look good, so unsurprisingly there’s no shortage of hair salons in the city, but if you’re looking for a quick trim at a great, no-nonsense barbershop, we’ve got that covered too. Among the many long-established barbershops, wood-panelled downtown favourite Andies Barbershop on Metcalfe stands out, while classically cool Scotch and Scissors on Saint-Denis is aptly named for a Mad Men weekend. In the Little-Italy-adjacent neighbourhood of Mile Ex, search out Emporium on Saint-Zotique (next door to excellent restaurant Manitoba and the strong brew of Dispatch Coffee, one of Montréal’s many independent coffee shops) and a few blocks south from there find Les Mecs Cheveux on Beaubien. In Mile End, go even further back in time at suit dealer, café and barbershop Waxman House on Parc or update your hair and wardrobe alike at the aforementioned Frank Oak on Saint-Viateur.

Retro restaurants

Have the steak of your life in the darkened yet lively environs of La Queue de Cheval, Moishe’s Steakhouse, L’Atelier d’Argentine, Gibby’s, Vieux-Port Steakhouse and Mechant Boeuf, Or go for something a little lighter at Le Club Chasse et Pêche, Les 400 Coups, Branzino, Henri and the Japanese-inspired Thazard. Downtown’s dapper Tavern Square Dominion serves up pub food like Bangers Mash and pours perfect classic cocktails and Québec brews. If you’re a large group and need some space to stretch out, try a private dining room at a top restaurant. On the fast, delicious, plentiful, authentic and miraculously-still-cheap end: Schwartz’s and Reuben’s for smoked meat sandwiches. And here we have to ask: Would Don Draper eat poutine? We’re pretty sure he would try the foie gras poutine at Au pied du cochon or the lobster poutine at Garde Manger.

Vice city

And finally, Montréal’s nightlife, where whiskey, cigars and beautiful people seem forever plentiful. Find your Cubans or your cigarillos at La Casa del Habano, Stogies Cigares Lounge and Vasco Cigars downtown, take your pick of cigars and accessories as well as shaving kits and more at Cigare Compagnie on Saint-Laurent in Little Italy, or add peaty top-shelf flavour to the smokey mix at Whiskey Café in Mile End. More whiskey abounds at rare whiskey specialists L’Île Noir, behind the inconspicuous door of Big in Japan and at the city’s Irish pubs. For good mixed drinks and high-class yet relaxed ambiance try Barroco, Le Confessional, or go to Pullman if you’re in a wine and tapas state of mind. Sit down for a meal, a couple of stiff drinks and live music at supper club Le Balcon Cabaret Music-Hall or loosen up and watch a game at the city’s best sports bars. Try your hand at poker at the Montréal Casino, hosting live jazz and more shows every night. Go to the city’s best jazz and blues clubs, like downtown’s Upstairs Jazz Bar Grill – or bring your buds to Montréal in late June for hot nights at the Montréal International Jazz Festival. On warmer nights, make yourself at home on the fashionable rooftop terrasses of Suite 701, Terrasse Nelligan, Terrasse sur l’Auberge or Newtown or hang out in the bar at any time of year and watch the beautiful people go by. Since it really isn’t the 1960s, why not add electronic music into the mix at underground lair Velvet Speakeasy and other swanky dance clubs. And if you’re in Montréal with the guys for New Year’s Eve, plan your night with our 2015 New Year’s Eve Guide.