It’s officially springtime (yes, difficult to believe with this cold and depressing weather) and it’s time to get really serious about planning summer vacations and getaways (if you haven’t already). For inspiration, we thought we’d share our favorite international cities.

Matt Bray – Montréal
Montréal wins my vote. It has always appealed to me and I try to visit whenever I can. Its people are fun-loving and kind, fiercely independent, and its streets and neighborhoods manageable and attractive. Montreal has a lot of hustle and bustle, but is not a teeming metropolis the way New York is. It has great nightlife, restaurants and a ton of cultural attractions while remaining affordable and unpretentious. And I’m lucky to have some friends who live there so I not only get a free place to stay, but also enthusiastic, local guides. Mere hours from NYC, Montreal can also sometimes feel like you’re in Europe, thanks to the strong Francophone community. And I love Québec French!

August is traditionally the time for summer vacations (I’m personally of the opinion that all American businesses should take a cue from Europe and shut down for the month—that’s cool with you, Protima, right?). And who doesn’t love a good family summer vacation--full of bonding, fun, love, and siblings fighting each other in the backseat during those excruciatingly long car rides. We therefore asked D&B staff to share their best summer family vacation stories. – Joseph McKeown

Matt Bray, Attorney
I went with the extended family on my mom’s side to Cape May, NJ--I was probably about ten or eleven. We all--five full families--stayed together in a big house (which itself was a step up from previous years’ vacations spent at campgrounds on the Jersey Shore). All the kids--the cousins--performed for the adults. We wrote original plays and lip-synced and did routines to some family favorites (including The Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine”). I also remember the dunes and grass and walking to the beach in beautiful weather. And getting a hermit crab (which I later killed by leaving in the house during an extermination).

Elizabeth Brettschneider, Attorney
My best family vacations growing up were when my parents, my brother, and I went to Maine. I remember lots of messy lobster eating with the plastic bib around my neck and my fingers covered in butter. On one particular summer trip to Maine when I was about eleven years old, the family drove up Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park and then went for a walk around the paths on top. There are many scenic overlooks and we posed for photos. My dad was getting nervous that my brother and I were too close to the edge so of course I took advantage and started posing on what looked like a dangerous precipice (but really wasn’t) while balancing on one leg. A photo of this shenanigan was snapped and now this practice has become a family tradition. Even into adulthood I continue to send my father photos of myself balancing on the edge of what looks like a cliff.