Francois is indeed a superhost! He responded very quickly to all our questions, and has welcomed us himself at the apartment. The apartment is very well appointed and very clean, and in a great location. Perfect for our family of 3. One can get to Old Montreal in 30-40 min walking South on St. Laurent. It is about 15 min to the entrance to Park Mt. Royal, where walking and biking paths abound. There are more than plenty of places to eat, of great variety, for all budgets. The grocery store is also just 5 min away. Do not miss the brisket sandwich from Schwartz's (4 blocks south from the apartment), you won't find a better one anywhere in Canada!
The apartment is in a typical early 1900's Montreal building, 2 storeys above a storefront. Pack lightly, there are 35 steps to get upstairs.
If you are driving, beware that parking on Montreal streets is ridiculously scarce. You can park short duration at the front of the apartment building, but the longer duration option is the Mt Royal Parking at 4510 Rue Clark (call Mark at 514.812-1836 ahead of time to open for you. This is a monthly parking, but there are available spaces for daily parking, at $25/day). The Montreal traffic is such a headache that you will be happy to forget the car while there.