17 Dec

MONTREAL’S SNOW VILLAGE RETURNS WITH NEW YORK THEME

Sure, Montreal in the summer is hot, sunny and jam-packed with festival fun. But the winter is when the city really takes on its unique flavour. Where else can people revel in the streets – nay, in a whole Snow Village! – in a minus 20 degree winter wonderland?

After the great success of last year’s inaugural edition, North America’s first and only Snow Village is doing things even bigger and better this year with a special homage to the Big Apple. In perfect accordance with the year’s other New York/Montreal project, Montreal-Brooklyn, the Snow Village architects and sculptors are using the Big Apple as inspiration for the setting, sculptures, décor and more.

From family outings to outdoor activities to romantic getaways and even adventure tourism, the Snow Village has something for everyone, including a giant ice and snow slide, heated outdoor spas and a supersize heated igloo that doubles as a one-of-a-kind site for private parties. Imagine a wedding in this kind of setting… hey, there’s even a chapel on site!

Apart from the hotel stay, where you sleep among furs and the warmth of a wood fire, the most popular draw to the village is the food. The Snow Village’s beloved Pommery Ice Restaurant is doubling its capacity to 100 seats this year, plus there’ll be a brand-new second outdoor Ice Restaurant in Laval! Thanks to a partnership with the Auberge Saint-Gabriel, the Amarula Ice Restaurant will be a 56-seat outdoor restaurant located at the Centropolis on Boulevard St. Martin Ouest. Make sure you explore this borough North of Montreal on a weekend morning, to take advantage of the most unforgettable weekend brunches north of the St. Lawrence.

“The Centropolis was the perfect choice for our first Ice Restaurant outside the Montreal Snow Village,” says Village co-manager Carl Fugère. “Now North Shore residents can easily enjoy this unique Nordic dining experience, prepared to perfection with the Auberge Saint-Gabriel’s internationally renowned chef Éric Gonzalez.”

The official opening date for the Snow Village in January 18, but there’s an ice breaker (pun fully intended) at Amarula Ice Restaurant that’s open to all on January 3, and a pre-opening of the Village as a whole on January 4. So dig out your mitts, your toques and your Sorels, and let’s get this party started!