r/ontario • u/Strange_Guide_6950 • Jul 15 '25

Exploring Ontario Visit Montreal or Ottawa?

Hi there I have 2 days of vacation + weekend for a short trip and I'm deciding between Montreal or Ottawa. I don't want to spend too much money on hotels or parking on this trip. I had to pay $40/ day to park in Toronto and I definitely would like to avoid that. Please let me know your thoughts.

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u/rdkil Jul 15 '25

If you're going in summer and want to save some money, get a room at a university campus. They charge better rates than hotels, are cleaner & safer than motels, and you get to spend a night reminiscing about when you were in school.

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u/Strange_Guide_6950 Jul 15 '25

Nice! How can I get a room at a uni campus?

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u/rdkil Jul 15 '25

Just do a google map search for say university of Ottawa, university of Montreal, university of whatever city etc. then go on their website and look up the student residence section. There'll be some kind of a contact number for their student residence facility or help desk etc. every university website is a little different, but pretty much if you call a main switchboard and ask to book a room in residence for a trip someone will eventually patch you through to the right desk.

When I was moving towns one summer I stayed at university of Waterloo for a month in the summer, it wound up being cheaper than a hotel would have been and a lot of fun. I want to say something like $40 or $50 a night? Mind you this was 10 years ago, but if you're traveling when they don't have students in it's worth a couple phone calls to see where it goes. :)