LifeUnzipped with Marie-Philippe Jean

We’re heading back to Montreal for our next series of #LifeUnzipped and have teamed up with Marie-Philippe Jean, founder of Chic Tonique, a blog dedicated to everything lifestyle for girls.  Marie-Philippe took some time to tell is what inspires her and what she loves about most about her city.

Describe a perfect day in your city.
To me, a perfect day in Montreal has to start with an early sweat session - a yoga, dance or boxing class downtown. Then brunch with the gang is mandatory, followed by a long walk around Mile-End and a nap before we head to one of our favorite spots for food and drinks.

Do you have a favorite place to escape the city and experience the outdoors?
I love to take solo hiking day trips to the US and explore the Adirondacks. When I need to escape the chaos of the city, I head to my hometown of Riviere-du-Loup for a peaceful time near the water with my oldest friends.

What is your favorite late night food spot?
El Capital Tacos in Chinatown. I lost count of how many friends I took there. And the staff is just as amazing as their tacos and tequila drinks.

And your favorite place to grab a cup of coffee?
My lips had never touched coffee before my friend Antoine took me to Olimpico in Mile-End last year. Since then, it became one of my happy places for an afternoon latte on the always-sunny terrasse. And I must add Tommy in Old Montreal, for long writing sessions by the window.

What neighborhoods in Montreal do you enjoy most?
Westmount, for all its green spaces and beautiful houses. Mile-End for its people. Can’t decide. I need both.  

Where do you like to go for good, live music?
The Corona theater is gorgeous and its rather small size creates an interesting intimacy between the crowd and the performing artist. I saw James Bay there twice. I cried twice.

Do you have a favorite shop in town you like to visit?
Boucle&Papier, a cute little cards and papers shop in Mile-End. Picking greeting cards is a serious business to me! Pierres d’ailleurs on St-Denis is also a recurrent stop for gemstones and crystals.

What is most unique about your city and the people who call it home?
There’s a human contact in Montreal that I haven’t experienced much in other big cities. It might be cultural, it might be related to the notion of neighborhoods… Oh and our food is like nowhere else. In Montreal, you can find a fabulous meal that you will forever remember at basically every corner.

What inspires you most?
Being outside as much as I can and connecting with passionate, creative and visionary people following their bliss inspire me daily. I’m lucky enough to call a bunch of them my friends.

Continue to follow @JanSport and #LifeUnzipped on Instagram as we follow @mariephilippejean as she shows us more of her home town, Montreal.