Montreal is arguably the ultimate student city in Canada, home to McGill and Concordia in English and the Universite de Montreal, UQAM and HEC in French. It combines European character, a legendary festival and nightlife scene, and rents that stay affordable for a metropolis of its size. Add a walkable, cycle-friendly core and a bilingual buzz, and it's little wonder exchange students rank it among their favourites anywhere.

• McGill and Concordia teach in English, so you can thrive even with rusty French.
• Montreal's summer festival season, from Jazz Fest to Osheaga, is among the busiest on the continent.

Montreal's social life is relentless in the best way. The bars and clubs of Boulevard Saint-Laurent and Rue Crescent run late, the Plateau and Mile End host house parties and dive bars, and summer brings free outdoor festivals almost every weekend. The Sunday tam-tams drumming circle at the foot of Mont-Royal is a rite of passage, and students get discounts across much of it.

• Boulevard Saint-Laurent and Rue Saint-Denis are the core nightlife strips; drinks are cheaper than Toronto.
• The Sunday tam-tams gathering at Mont-Royal in summer is free and unmissable.
• Ask the Montreal group on Studcasa which festivals and student nights are worth queuing for.

Montreal is the great value among Canada's big cities, with rents well below Toronto and Vancouver. Budget around C$1,400 to C$2,100 a month all-in, though a room in the Plateau or Mile End can cost less than a shoebox elsewhere. Quebec's cheap student life, from BYOB restaurants to subsidised transit, stretches the budget further.

• Rooms in the Plateau, Villeray or Cote-des-Neiges often run C$650 to C$950 a month.
• Look for apportez votre vin (BYOB) restaurants to eat out cheaply without a corkage sting.

Montreal's rental market famously resets on 1 July, the province-wide moving day, so leases and listings cluster around then. The Plateau, Mile End and Villeray are the classic student neighbourhoods, while Cote-des-Neiges sits near the Universite de Montreal and downtown suits McGill and Concordia students. Flats are often unfurnished and rents are usually quoted with heating separate.

• Time your search for the 1 July moving day, when most Montreal leases turn over.
• Cote-des-Neiges for UdeM; the Plateau or downtown for McGill and Concordia.
• Check Kijiji, the McGill off-campus listings and the Montreal group on Studcasa for rooms.

The STM runs a clean, four-line metro in green, orange, yellow and blue, plus an extensive bus network, and the reduced-fare student OPUS card makes it cheap. The metro connects the main campuses and neighbourhoods, and BIXI bike-share is superb from spring to autumn. Winter drives everyone underground into the RESO, the huge network of connected passages downtown.

• Get a reduced-fare OPUS card with proof of student status for cheap monthly metro and bus travel.
• BIXI bike-share from April to November is the fastest way around the flat central neighbourhoods.
• In deep winter, use the RESO underground city to cross downtown without stepping outside.

McGill is one of the world's leading research universities, strong across medicine, law and the arts, while Concordia is known for its creative programmes and the Universite de Montreal and HEC lead in French-language teaching and business. English-speaking exchange students usually head to McGill or Concordia. French classes are widely available and worth taking to get more from the city.

• McGill's McLennan Library and Concordia's Webster Library are the main study hubs.
• Even at English universities, a beginner French course makes daily life and job-hunting easier.

The rules depend on your nationality and the length of your programme, so use this as orientation and confirm with the official Canadian immigration site. The key quirk is that a study permit is not required for programmes of six months or less, which covers many single-semester exchanges. Longer than six months and you'll generally need a study permit, applied for online before you travel.

Separately, most visitors need either an eTA for air travel or a visitor visa depending on nationality, so check both.

• Programme of six months or less, usually no study permit required
• Longer than six months, apply for a study permit online before arrival
• You'll still need an eTA or a visitor visa depending on your nationality
• Apply early; processing times swing seasonally and requirements vary by country

Montreal's food is iconic: wood-fired bagels from St-Viateur and Fairmount, smoked-meat sandwiches at Schwartz's, poutine in every form, and the sprawling Jean-Talon and Atwater markets. The city is bilingual and proudly distinct from the rest of Canada, with a European rhythm to daily life, long terrace lunches and a deep cafe culture in Mile End.

• Queue for a wood-fired bagel at St-Viateur or Fairmount; the rivalry is a local sport.
• Jean-Talon Market in Little Italy is the best food market in the city, especially in autumn.

The Plateau-Mont-Royal is the postcard Montreal of colourful triplexes and spiral staircases, beloved by students. Mile End next door is the hipper, cafe-and-bagel heart, while Villeray offers the same feel for less. Downtown and the Golden Square Mile surround McGill, Griffintown is the shiny new-build district, and Cote-des-Neiges is diverse and close to UdeM.

• The Plateau and Mile End for character and cafes; Villeray for the same vibe at a lower rent.
• Griffintown and downtown suit those who want new-build flats near McGill and Concordia.

Montreal is a springboard for the best of Quebec and beyond. Quebec City's old town is about three hours by train or bus, Ottawa two hours, and the ski resort of Mont-Tremblant an hour and a half for winter weekends. The Eastern Townships offer vineyards and lakes, and the US border and Vermont are close for a longer trip.

• Quebec City is about three hours by Orleans Express bus or VIA Rail for a weekend in the old town.
• Mont-Tremblant, ninety minutes north, is the go-to ski and hiking resort.
• Ottawa is a straightforward two-hour trip for the capital and its museums.

Learn a little French before you arrive; you can live in English, but a few phrases open doors and win goodwill, especially outside the McGill bubble. Plan your housing around the 1 July moving day, and get a proper winter coat, because January in Montreal is no joke. Say yes to the festivals, which are the city's true currency.

• Learn basic French pleasantries; locals warm to any effort, and it helps with jobs and admin.
• Budget for a genuinely cold winter, then embrace it with skating and Igloofest.