Color Crawl in Montreal: Where to Find The Most Colorful Places (With Kids, Yes!)

City adventures in Montreal can be such a joy, especially during summer time. I remember when I was little, my mom and I used to visit tons of places, do tons of road trips (ultimate fans) and let me tell you, these were the best memories I have of my childhood. I adored the smell of fresh bread in the mornings, packing our little bags with my fave toys, and asking my parents a zillion questions about our next adventure.This is something we wanted to do with our kids as well, sharing the beauty in little moments that we will cherish for a long time, and traveling or walking around our own city is one of the things we LOVE the most. I know (most of the time) driving from place to place with two kids can be a challenging journey and if you have a 5-year-old who’s asking “so, are we there yet?” every 2 minutes, you really do know what I’m talking about, right? I swear I was the first one thinking “why connected cars aren’t a thing already?” and to my shocking surprise, it is real.Say hello to a new era of driving thanks to Telus’ Drive+, a new service that will advice you about your car’s health (from bumper to bumper), will send you smart notifications (available for apple and android phones) when you need to stay on top of things (aka battery, fuel, if someone bumped you or if you’re getting towed while you’re not there) and will enable your car to enjoy WiFi service while driving (as a hotspot, yes, I’m dead serious). Those “are we there yet” days are over, and I started to keep Nico and Oli entertained during our road trips and city adventures, a total game changer!You wish to have a trip history handy? check!Set speed limit alerts? check!Location tracking and get notifications when someone starts and stops trips? check!and all in one single app. To celebrate the memories I’m building with Nico and Oli, we experienced our first Drive+ full day city trip, with an amazing color crawl of my fave places, some new, some old but real, real good.Happy color hunting!

IF YOU’RE LOOKING A PERFECT MINT & YELLOW HEAVEN Where: Louise Boulangerie The new kid on the block this year, Louise is a gorgeous bakery in the heart of Little Italy, serving fresh bread all day long, coffee, little snacks in a stunning decor.  What we had: fresh butter croissants for the little cuties, coffee for this mama! Jezz Louise, you are so good. Hours: Mon – Sun 7:45am to 6:30pm

RAINBOW FUN? YES! Where: Boucle & Papier An oldie but an absolute MUST visit with my kiddos when we want a cute pit stop in the city, gotta be Boucle & Papier. We are a paper-fan family (designers at the end of the day), so this is our very heaven on earth.  What we had: Unicorns for Oli and a sketchbook for Nico (this place is where I get them) Hours: Mon-Sun 10am to 6pm (Thu & Fri till 8pm)

PINK! PINK! PINK! WONDERLAND
Where: Cafe Pastel Rita
This new coffee shop blew my mind and not only because they used a lot of pink in the design, and a Wes Anderson vibe I cannot get over it, but also serves an amazing coffee selection and it’s home of Heirloom, a dreamy Montreal-based hat brand.
What we had: I tried their salad of the day (pistachios, aneth, green apple, pesto, sunflower seeds, lemon) and a cup of cappuccino. 
Hours: Mon-Sun – 8am on weekdays, 10am weekends till 8pm

IF YOU FEEL LIKE LIVING A BLUSH DREAM, THIS IS IT.
Where: Boutique Vestibule
When Pinterest meets the real world, well, this is all you can expect as soon as you step in Boutique Vestibule. From adorable clothing, home decor and irresistible stationary, this place is a dose of colorful happiness in the city.
What we had: Don’t even get me started. the list is, endless.
Hours: Mon-Sun  from 10am to 6pm 

A DOSE OF BOLD COLORS? RUN!
Where: The Baltic Club
I first saw Baltic Club this year at C2 Montreal and I loved their vibe, the concept and the made in Montreal motto behind them. This lifestyle and stationary brand began from the owner’s living room and it’s bringing color to our lives ever since.
What we had: Notebooks and more notebooks. Is there such thing as too many notebooks? I didn’t think so.
Hours: Mon-Sun  from 11am to 6pm

YELLOW & MUSTARD HUES
Where: Le Watson
This aaahhdorable new sandwich spot was a must visit with Nico and Oli, where we did some relax time and took a foodie break.
What we had: A latte for mama and a grilled cheese for the kiddos.
Hours: Tue – Sun from 8am (weekdays) to 6pm

PASTELS, IN EVERY SHAPE & TONE!
Where: Quartier Dix30, Urban Oasis area
The most colorful, pattern-filled corner of Dix30 will burst your creativity (and mood) like it did with my little ones.  We love to come here and do some book reading, walk around and explore, play with the street games and see all the art pieces to get our day as colorful, as possible.
What we did: Walk and relax after a busy city crawl and drive, with gorgeous colors and some lemonades.
Hours: Open every day!

Endless thanks to Telus for partnering with us, helping us discover the beautiful corners of our city making it so easy!All opinions expressed here are entirely mine.