"L'esprit des lieux": Montreal with Nathalie Bondil

Of course, I'd advise everyone to visit the Musée des Beaux-Arts. Just enlarged, it comprises four pavilions, including the design pavilion, with one of the largest collections in America. Its permanent collection is free of charge and allows visitors to discover the history of art in Canada, from the Inuit to the present day. Business travellers in a hurry will find it easy to get here if they are staying at the Ritz next door, or after lunch at the Maison Boulud, the hotel's new restaurant, which is both gastronomic and accessible. The place is elegant, yet intimate and warm, with a Japanese-style garden in summer, a wood-burning fireplace in winter, and several alcoves with walls lined with silky fabrics. This address, which opened in June, is already proving to be a great value.

I also recommend Club Chasse et Pêche, in cellars in Old Montreal decorated by Bruno Braën, a leading designer. It serves quality local produce, from snow crab to Boileau deer. I also like the humorous touch on the menu, which offers "warm and hearty meals" in winter. For a business meeting or an after-work break, known here as '5 à 7' - nothing but serious stuff! - Café Birks is perfect. With its English and French aesthetic, it's a typical metropolitan mix. It recently opened inside the Birks jewellery store, Montreal's Tiffany's of sorts. The place is run by Jérôme Ferrer, a French chef who first made a name for himself by creating Europea, still one of the best restaurants in the city.

Even if you come to Montreal on business, you have to take advantage of its incredible cultural opportunities. What I love here is the willingness to rehabilitate disused or historic sites and dedicate them to contemporary creation. In February 2012, the Arsenal, a monumental space dating back to 1846, was inaugurated in the up-and-coming Griffintown district to house several art galleries. Artists such as Anselm Kiefer and Anish Kapoor are exhibited there. Then in June, the Centre Phi, a space dedicated to multidisciplinary creation, opened in a beautiful building in Old Montreal. A bit like the Darling Foundry, one of the first buildings to be transformed into an art centre. The DHC Art Foundation also showcases the very best in contemporary art through its exhibitions, which are always free of charge.

When it comes to shopping, the city is full of original boutiques, but if you want to take home a 'made in Montreal' gift, I recommend Harricana. The concept is simple: old furs are collected and turned into modern coats, aviator hats or scarves, and even small pieces of jewellery. It's an ecological and original way of dealing with fur. It's where I bought my favourite coat. Another place to find treasures to take home is the Fou d'Ici shop, an "urban grocery" selling all sorts of local products: sweets, muffins and ciders with original names. I love finding tasty curiosities like sweet potato crackers, 'ground cherry spreads' - a gooseberry jam - and other Quebec delicacies.

Nathalie Bondil's good addresses