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Montreal ( French : Montréal ) is the largest city in the Canadian province of Quebec . While Quebec City is the political capital, Montreal is the cultural and economic centre, and the main entry point to the province. With 1.8 million residents in the city (2021), and 4 million in the urban area, Montreal is Canada's second largest city. and the largest francophone city in the Americas. Most Francophones are conversant in English to varying degrees of fluency. Old Montreal has a heritage of colonial times. Though a large city, Montreal gives opportunities for outdoor life , and for watching the legendary Montréal Canadiens ice hockey team.
Ville-marie borough.
Neighbourhoods from west to east:
Other montreal districts and montreal island towns, elsewhere on the island.
On an island in the St. Lawrence River at the historically highest navigable point, Montreal has been a strategic location since before the arrival of Europeans in Canada. A thriving Iroquoian town called Hochelaga was on the site of present-day Montreal when explorer Jacques Cartier first visited in 1535. In 1642, the tiny town of Ville-Marie was founded as a Catholic mission by Paul Chomedey, sieur de Maisonneuve. It soon became a centre of the fur trade. After its capture by the English in 1762, Montreal remained (until the 1970s) the most important city in Canada and was briefly capital of the province in the 1840s.
Prohibition on sales of alcohol in the United States during the 1920s and 1930s made Montreal a destination for cross-border fun seekers from nearby New England and New York. The city built up a seedy, yet playful, industry in alcohol, burlesque, and other vices. In the 1960s, an urban renewal drive centred on Expo 67. The World's Fair in Montreal brought a subway system (the métro) and attractive urban parks and is considered to be one of the most successful World Fairs. Over 50 million visitors gathered in Montreal during this memorable summer. The 1976 Olympics left a strikingly idiosyncratic stadium and many other urban improvements.
The opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 1959, though much-lauded as an economic boom, spelled the beginning of the end for Montreal's economic dominance in Canada. Once the transition point between western railways and eastern sea carriers, Montreal watched helplessly as some of this business moved farther west, up the now navigable seaway, to ports in Ontario and on Lake Superior. The Quebec sovereignty movement, which began to pick up steam in the 1960s, further chilled the atmosphere for Canada-wide businesses, many of which moved their headquarters to Toronto.
Following an economic depression in the 1980s and 1990s, Montreal became more secure in its place in North America and the world. It remains a centre of culture, arts, computer technology, aerospace, the biotech industry, and media for all of Canada.
47% of Montrealers speak French as their only mother tongue, while around 13% of the population speak English as their mother language, and 33% speak something else. It is considered to be polite to start a conversation in French, but Montrealers will generally switch easily to English when they realize you don't speak French. At a minimum, start with " Bonjour , can we speak English?"
Montrealers use an unconventional compass, using the river and the mountain as cardinal points. When you are downtown, the St Lawrence River is “south” and Mount Royal is “north”; making the West Island and the East End correct in both their names and orientations. This tends to confuse visitors because the “East” End is really north and the “South” Shore is east, and the St Lawrence River runs almost north-south at this location.
Most local maps use this convention as do the highways around the city. For example, Autoroute 15 north actually runs northwest and Autoroute 40 east runs northeast.
To underscore this fact, a Montreal map will show that the "south end" of Victoria Bridge is in fact further north than the "north end".
Montreal is an extremely inviting destination for gay and lesbian tourists. Canada's contributions to gay rights have become widely known, but Quebec was the first province in Canada to pass a non-discrimination law for sexual orientation and to provide same-sex civil unions (although Toronto was the first municipality in Canada to do so). Same-sex marriage is legal in Quebec (neither residency nor citizenship are required for a marriage licence, but there is a three-week waiting period after you receive the licence) as it is in the rest of Canada. Canadian and Quebec immigration law allow residents to sponsor their same-sex partners or spouses. The métro station in the Gay Village, Beaudry, is marked with rainbow pillars. Montreal's pride celebration (last week of July, first week of August) is the second-largest in Canada after Toronto 's.
The climate of Montreal is a true humid continental climate with 4 distinct seasons. The city has warm—and occasionally hot & humid—summers, generally mild springs and autumns, and often very cold & snowy winters. Montreal gets over 2,000 hours of sunshine annually, daylight hours range from 05:15-20:45 in early summer, to 07:30-16:15 in the December. Precipitation is moderate throughout the year, with around 2 metres of snow per season.
YMQ IATA is used as the metropolitan area airport code for the airport and rail station.
Plattsburgh International Airport and Burlington International Airport , in the United States, are 1 hr 20 min and 1 hr 50 min away, respectively, by car from Montreal. Adirondack Trailways offers a bus service from Plattsburgh International Airport to Montreal. Greyhound offers a bus service from Burlington International Airport to Montreal. For travellers from the US, these airports may offer a significant cost savings compared to Trudeau but at the added inconvenience of arranging ground transportation between the US and Canada.
From Toronto , take Highway 401 east about 5 hr until it becomes Autoroute (freeway) 20 on the Quebec side of the border. It will then take about an hour to get to downtown. Be alert for frequent speed-limit changes along this road. To reach downtown follow the Centre-Ville signs and take Autoroute 720 (Autoroute 20 continues over the Pont Champlain bridge to the South Shore).
From Ottawa , it's about 2 hours east along Highway 417 (which becomes Autoroute 40 in Quebec) to Montreal. The portions of Highway 417 and Autoroute 40 between Ottawa and Montreal (west of the Autoroute 40 interchange with Autoroute 25) are part of the Trans-Canada Highway .
From Quebec City , it's about 3 hours west on either Autoroute 40, or Autoroute 20 followed by Autoroute 25. Autoroute 20 west of Rivière-du-Loup and Montreal area portions of Autoroute 25 between Autoroute 40 and Autoroute 20 are parts of the Trans-Canada Highway.
From New York City , take Interstate 87 north through Albany and the eastern half of New York State for about six hours. After the border crossing near Plattsburgh , the freeway becomes Autoroute 15, which leads directly into downtown Montreal over the Pont Champlain, the most beautiful approach to the city. The drive time from Plattsburgh to downtown Montreal is approximately one hour.
From Boston , take Interstate 93 to Interstate 89 after you cross into New Hampshire. Follow Interstate 89 north to and through Vermont to the border crossing, where it turns into Highway 133. This secondary road continues to Autoroute 10, which leads directly into downtown Montreal. The whole trip takes about 5 hours. Once you cross the border it is about 1½ hours to Montreal.
From Rouyn-Noranda , Val-d'Or , and Mont-Tremblant , take route 117, and transfer on to Autoroute 15. Route 117 is part of a branch of the Trans-Canada Highway , that starts from its interchange with Autoroute 40 (Trans-Canada Highway's main route) in Montreal , which becomes Highway 66 in Ontario. Highway 66 ends as part of the Trans-Canada Highway about 14 km west of Kirkland Lake , where Highway 66 intersects with Highway 11, which is another branch of the Trans-Canada Highway.
VIA Rail Canada train routes serving Montreal:
The journey to New York is cheaper but slower than by bus (see below), but it makes up for it with superior comfort, extra legroom, the ability to walk around the train and visit the cafe car for food and drink at your leisure, and the good view from the train of the Lake Champlain and Hudson River scenery.
Train passengers leaving from Boston may take the Regional Service to Penn Station, New York City, and transfer to the Adirondack line to Montreal, but this method requires significant layover times in New York.
The train station has no permanent lockers but it's usually possible to keep it guarded by Via Rail for less than a day if travelling with it. There is Wifi and a few power outlets.
Buses arrive and depart from the Gare d'autocars de Montreal (not to be confused with the Gare Centrale or central train station) at 1717 Berri Street (adjacent to the Berri-UQAM metro station). Call +1 514-842-2281 for schedules and prices.
Intercity operators include:
Montreal is an island in the middle of the Saint Lawrence River, accessible only by bridge. Not all bridges are bike accessible; however, several are, including the breathtaking Jacques Cartier bridge. Prominent bike lanes exist throughout the city, most notably along the Lachine Canal, Rue Rachel, boulevard de Maisonneuve, rue Brébeuf, rue Berri, rue Cherrier and along rue Laurier. The Plateau-Mont-Royal is where most of these bike paths are and is the neighbourhood, along with neighbouring Mile-End, where there are the most people who cycle and walk as a means of day to day transport. It has the highest density population wise and the lowest car ownership rate per household. However, bike theft is an issue, especially in the Plateau. Most locals can recall a time when they witnessed bike theft, though the situation is getting better now that the public bike share program, Bixi, has been implemented. It was not uncommon to have somebody offer you a stolen bike for sale on the street. Be equally aware of the peripheral articles of your bicycle; seats, baskets, and wheels can often be easily detached if not properly secured to the bike's frame or locked with a u-lock.
Upon disembarking the train, go to the baggage claim area and wait there for a baggage attendant to bring your bicycle to you. If you have checked other baggage, claim it at the conveyor belt. The easiest way to exit the station is at the main entrance near the baggage claim through the parking garage onto rue de la Gauchetière. All other exits require you to carry your bike up flights of stairs. At the west side of the station is the entrance to the Underground City and access to Bonaventure metro station on the Orange line. However, there is no elevator access to the metro from the train station, which means that you have to carry your bike and luggage down several flights of stairs.
The airport is on the western part of the island. From the main terminal, exit onto the main access road and turn right. Wind along the access road until the first major interchange and turn right. You will reach Albert de Niverville Boulevard and be forced to turn left (south) towards the main highway (Autoroute 20). At the end of this Boulevard, turn right on Cardinal Avenue. To your right, you will come to a pedestrian underpass that takes you under the railway tracks and leads to the Dorval Circle, a very busy traffic circle. This looks intimidating, but the traffic lights will allow you to ride safely under Autoroute 20 to Dorval Boulevard (Boulevard Dorval) . Continue south down Dorval Boulevard until the end. Turn left on Lakeshore Drive (Chemin Lakeshore) towards the city. This road turns into Boulevard St. Joseph. You will eventually come to a bike path to your right that winds along the shores of Lac-Saint Louis (part of the Saint Lawrence river) through the town of Lachine. Continue down this path until you reach the entrance of the Lachine Canal. Cross the canal and continue down the Lachine Canal Bike Path (Piste Cyclable Canal Lachine) and follow the signs to the Old Port (Vieux Port) in Old Montreal (Vieux Montreal). The Lachine Canal Bike Path can be quite busy on weekends and holidays, so be ready to take your time. It is paved over its entire length.
Cyclists approaching Montreal from the west must take secondary highways to Dorion, where Autoroute 20, inaccessible to bicycles over most of its length, becomes accessible as it crosses bridges first to Île Perrot (Perrot Island) and then to the Island of Montreal (at Saine-Anne-de-Bellevue). Bicycles should use the sidewalk on these bridges as traffic is usually heavy. From here, cyclists may take Lakeshore Boulevard and the Lachine Canal Bike Path (see Airport section above) to Old Montreal and the downtown core.
The Isle-aux-Tourtes Bridge on Autoroute 40 is not accessible by bicycle.
Cyclists approaching Montreal from the South Shore to the south and east of Montreal may access the Island of Montreal a number of ways (see map ).
The surest (but not foolproof) way is using the sidewalk Jacques Cartier Bridge. When it is not closed for repairs, it is open year round and all day. A paved bike path along the shores of the Saint Lawrence River provides the most scenic approach to the bridge.
The new (Samuel-de) Champlain Bridge (built in 2019) has an excellent cyclist-and-pedestrian path that will take you from Brossard to Nun's Island (and from there, give you easy access to the Pointe-Saint-Charles or Verdun neighbourhoods of Montreal).
An equally popular route is from the Saint Lambert Locks (Ecluses Saint-Lambert) of the Saint Lawrence Seaway near the Victoria Bridge (Pont Victoria) east of Montreal . The bike drawbridge may be blocked by the entertaining spectacle of a ship passing through the seaway. From here, cyclists take the Grand Prix racing track (Gilles-Villeneuve circuit) on Île Notre Dame to the Concord Bridge to Montreal. This route is closed sometimes for car racing events or construction [ dead link ] . In this case, cyclists can take a circuitous detour down a gravel causeway dividing the seaway and river to the Estacade, an ice boom that crosses the river parallel to the Champlain Bridge to Nun's Island and eventually Montreal. A lesser known crossing involves one at the Sainte Catherine Locks (Ecluses Sainte-Catherine) at Saint-Catherine south of Montreal. These bridges cross the seaway to the same causeway as the Saint Lambert locks. In this case, the road to the Estacade ice boom is paved.
The Mercier bridge and Lafontaine Tunnel are definitely inaccessible to bicycles. These can be dangerous, even in a car. There is no bicycle path crossing the Mercier Bridge.
The Jacques-Cartier bridge operates on a winter schedule when the society that manages the bridge decides conditions are no longer adequate. This means access is closed at night as well as during snow removal operations. The new Champlain bridge bike path is open except during snow removal operations. The Saint-Lambert Locks south shore link closes from about November 15th to April 15th .
Montreal has historically been divided into east and west by boulevard Saint-Laurent, with the west side traditionally being Anglophone and the east side traditionally being Francophone. Numbered addresses on streets that cross Saint-Laurent start there and increase in either direction; most addresses are given as "rue ____ Ouest" (west) or "rue ____ Est" (east). Many streets are named after Catholic saints and figures from local history, both well-known and obscure. In Montreal street names, "east" and "west" refer to the direction parallel to the St. Lawrence River, and "north" and "south" refer to the direction perpendicular to the St. Lawrence River. Because the St. Lawrence River runs almost north-south near downtown Montreal, "east", "west", "north", and "south" are actually northeast, southwest, northwest and southeast respectively. Confusingly, most maps displayed in the city have "Montreal north" on top which can be confusing with a satellite navigation that uses pole north. Also, don't try to navigate by looking at the sun!
Walking is a favoured way to get around the densely packed downtown and the narrow streets of Old Montreal, especially during the warmer months. However, beware during winter months, as sidewalks can be icy and extremely hazardous after winter snow and ice storms. Winter boots with good grip are essential for surviving pavements that have not been cleared. Beware also (as much as you can) of thawing ice falling from overhanging balconies and roofs. But you can always take the stairs down to Montreal's famous "Underground City" ( Montréal souterrain ), called RÉSO, a network of pedestrian corridors connecting Métro stations, shopping centres, and office complexes.
Jaywalking is widespread and rarely punished. However, drivers will usually not stop or even slow down if a pedestrian steps out in front of them, even at marked crosswalks. At an intersection, however, a pedestrian will have right of passage before turning traffic and most drivers respect this. Despite Montreal drivers' poor reputation for aggressiveness, they generally respect pedestrians.
Rue Sainte-Catherine is Montreal's main commercial artery and busiest pedestrian thoroughfare. The "Underground City" and the Green Line (or line 1) of Montreal's Metro is easily accessible from all the major office complexes, shopping malls, department stores, and theatre complexes that line it. Smaller chain stores and restaurants also vie for valuable commercial space. Well-kept historic churches with green space provide quiet oasis and contrast with the giant neon signs of strip clubs. Major hotels can generally be found one or two blocks north and south of Sainte-Catherine in the downtown core. Bars, restaurants, and dance clubs cluster within a block of Sainte-Catherine around Crescent and Bishop, catering to a mostly English-speaking clientele. Rue Saint-Denis, farther east, and the Gay Village between Berri and de Lormier, even more to the east, are mostly French-speaking. McGill College Boulevard in the downtown core from Saine-Catherine offers an open view of Mount Royal to the north and an impressive view of the Place Ville-Marie skyscraper to the south. Keep your head up and beware of following the flow of the crowd on this street: throngs of pedestrians often walk across cross streets against red lights, risking life and limb.
Rue Prince-Arthur, east of Saint-Laurent, is for pedestrians only. Another pedestrian-only locale is Montreal's Chinatown, on Rue de la Gauchtière Est between Saint-Urbain and Saint-Laurent. A good trick for navigating downtown Montreal is to remember that streets slope up toward Mount Royal, which is just north of downtown and easy to see from most locations.
The districts surrounding downtown Montreal are especially delightful on foot. To the south is Old Montreal (Le Vieux-Montréal) (its narrow streets and buildings dating from the 17th and 18th centuries really can make you feel like you're in Old Europe) and the Old Port (Le Vieux-Port), a waterfront strolling park with exhibits and boat tours, is very popular with the locals. To the north, the Golden Square Mile and the McGill University Campus is wedged between Mount Royal and Sherbrooke Street on the southern slope of the mountain. Old Victorian mansions and townhouses can be found along the sloping streets, many now housing McGill University's offices and libraries. Just west of downtown is affluent Westmount, a perfect example of 19th-century English-style homes and gardens (inhabited to a great extent by English-speaking people) climbing the slopes of Mount Royal's western part (the higher you climb, the larger the old mansions). Just east and northeast of downtown are the mostly French-speaking Gay Village (Le Village Gai) and Plateau (Plateau Mont-Royal) districts. Street after street displays turn-of-the-19th-century row duplexes and triplexes, replete with famous Montreal outdoor staircases, overflowing front gardens (or snow-covered gables, depending on the time of year), and tiny shops tucked into every nook and cranny. For people who like to see a culture where it lives, Le Plateau is the place to wander about in.
Mount Royal (Mont-Royal) is also accessible from the urban core on foot. Fit pedestrians can climb Rue Peel to the southern edge of the park. A series of renovated staircases will take you directly to the Chalet near the top of the mountain, with its classic view of the downtown core. A more leisurely climb to the top awaits those on Olmsted Road (6.5 km), a wide, gently sloping bike and footpath accessible from the Plateau in Parc Jeanne-Mance (also known as Fletcher's Field). Smaller footpaths serendipitously branch off from this road. A cross-country ski path also winds to the top in the wintertime. Mount Royal's park was designed by Frederick Olmsted, a landscape architect who lived from 1822 to 1903 and was also responsible for the design of Central Park in New York City and the Emerald Necklace in Boston .
Driving ( SAAQ ) in Montreal can be a challenge for many North American motorists. Although turning right on a red light is allowed across the rest of Quebec (except at intersections where a sign indicates this is not permitted), right turns on red are strictly prohibited on the island of Montreal. The stop lights at most of downtown intersections are on the opposite side of the intersection, not at the stop line as in some of Europe.
The use of road salt to keep roads ice-free during severe winters takes its toll on the roadways, which are either heavily potholed or subject to perpetual construction. Downtown traffic is dense. Street parking can be difficult. Parking meters are in use seven days a week in most districts (M-F 09:00-21:00, Sa 09:00-18:00, Su 13:00-18:00), including statutory holidays. The standard parking ticket cost is $52. Parking tickets may be appealed in court only by the owner of the car that was subject to the infraction, so if a rented car is ticketed, the person who rented may be unable to contest the charge. Car parking downtown is expensive at around $3 an hour at parking meters or $25 per day at commercial parking lots. Parking signs are all in French, and will describe a day and hour (based on 24-hr clock) along with conditions for parking. Many arterial roads prohibit parking on one side during rush hour, and vehicles are subject to $150 fine plus towing costs and other fees. Montreal does not paint curbs red next to fire hydrants, but it is still illegal to park there.
There are also many private and public parking lots, and their prices vary widely. There may even be $15–20 differences between two parking lots just a few blocks from each other.
During the winter months, heavy snowfalls are common. In the aftermath of a snowstorm, an intensively-prepared "déneigement" (snow removal) process begins with intimidatingly large snow plows and trucks clearing, chewing up, and transporting away the snow. If you leave your car parked on a street, pay close attention to any orange "no parking" signs that will appear on roads to be cleared. Tow trucks will sound a loud 2-tone horn siren just before clearing. This is an announcement that a street is about to be cleared and that all parked cars will be cited/and or towed if they are not moved. For this reason it's important to be able to check your vehicle at least once daily after a snowfall. It is best to use indoor or underground parking if snow clearing is likely.
Many downtown streets are one way, which can complicate getting around. If you see a sign at an intersection that has direction arrows in a green circle, that means those are the only directions you are allowed to turn. Left turns are allowed on a green light provided there are no other signs prohibiting. Visitors should be familiar with the flashing green light, which indicates a protected left-turn (priority), which is equivalent to a green arrow in other parts of the world. Some signals are green arrows that flash, this is the same meaning. Autoroutes (expressways or freeways) can be challenging for visitors, as most signs are French, but most symbols are the same as in English Canada and the United States.
Cycling is the best way to visit the city, especially its central neighbourhoods like the Plateau Mont-Royal; it is a very popular mode of transportation once the coldest winter weather is over. The city is criss-crossed by more than 900 km of cycle paths, and the network is rapidly expanding. In the past few years there has been a major improvement in the quantity of safer separated bike lanes, with new lanes popping up in every neighbourhood. Montreal has become one of the best cities in North America for urban cycling. The Réseau express vélo (REV) provides safe, separated and mostly direct bike lanes in key locations and is best for riding across different parts of the city in a very efficient way. Montreal City Council publish an interactive map of the cycle route network.
One of the nicest path is the Lachine Canal path that stretches from Lachine, along Lac St-Louis, down to Old Montreal along the canal. You can cross over to the South Shore either on the Samuel-de Champlain Bridge, Jacques Cartier Bridge, Île Notre-Dame, or via the Estacade ice bridge from Île des Sœurs.
Even if you are on a bike path, beware of drivers especially if they are turning, as lines of visibility at intersections are not well enforced in the city. Generally Montreal drivers in the central neighbourhoods are used to sharing the road with bikes and so are courteous, there are always a few, usually from outlying neighbourhoods, who give all drivers a bad name. Some downtown bike paths are separated from the road by parked cars, which decreases visibility, both yours and the driver's. The often crowded bike path on rue Rachel one is the worst for this, however the Plateau part of the path will be renovated soon to make it safer and greener. If one is comfortable driving in Montreal, one generally can feel comfortable biking there as well. Montreal pedestrians are known for not waiting for a light to change if there are no cars coming; cyclists are a bit like that too and often treat the many stop signs on residential streets more as yield signs than as stop signs. Wearing a helmet is not required under the law, though, for children especially, it's better to be safe than sorry.
The Bixi system is a public bike-share system. Rated the best in the world, it was designed and developed in Montreal and has since been exported to many cities around the world including London, UK and Sydney, Australia. Major credit cards are accepted. The Bixi was conceived for local active transit but is accessible to tourists as well. For a flat $5 fee, you can use Bixi bikes as much as you like for 24 hours provided you don't use a particular bixi bike for more than 30 minutes at a time before returning it to a docking station. After returning the bike to a docking station, you can get another bike (even at the same station) after a 2-minute waiting period. As of 2023 there are over 830 Bixi stations with over 10000 bikes, including 2300 e-bikes, covering much of the city and some suburbs. The tourist information centre has maps of the stations. Helmets and locks are not provided. You could use your own lock, but there is usually a station not more than a block away on a commercial strip so returning the Bixi to the nearest stand is always the safest and most cost-effective choice. Stations fill up and empty quickly; you may have to bike to the next station to find an empty docking spot. If you have a smartphone, there is an app that shows you real-time the nearest stations, how many bikes are docked, or whether there is a free docking spot available. Be aware that a helmet is mandatory under the law if riding an electric bike. Police has been known to give fines.
Skate and bike rental shops are common, particularly in the Old Port and the Plateau. Visit La Maison des Cyclistes (the cyclists' house) at 1251 rue Rachel Est for all info on cycling in Montreal. (See Do for specific bike paths).
Montreal, however does a fair job of clearing snow on a select number of bike paths in the city, including the REV, the de Maisonneuve bike path, Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Rachel and Clark bike paths. Painted bike lanes, on the other hand are often badly cleared, resulting in dangerous ice build up. The popular Lachine Canal bike path, however, does not have snow removal which makes it very difficult to ride on in winter. The Jacques-Cartier bridge multipurpose path , on the upstream side of the bridge, is closed at night during winter to cyclists and pedestrians. The de la Concorde bridge bike path, however, is open all year long.
Starting in the fall of 2023, Bixi will operate its bike-share service all winter as part of a pilot, although only at a select number of stations, mostly in the denser inner-city boroughs.
By metro and bus.
Société de transport de Montréal ( STM ), ☏ +1-514 786-4636 . ( updated Jan 2024 ) STM is safe, efficient, and is overall pleasant to use. Tickets have been replaced by cards with magnetic stripe containing one trip, called an à la carte ticket. These are valid for one trip (including unlimited transfers in the same way for 120 min) on the metro and buses, costing $3.75 each (exact fare in coins is required on the buses but not on the metro) but are also available for less when you purchase two for $6.00 or ten for $27.00 (OPUS card required) either from the metro agent or the automatic fare vending machine in metro stations. Signs and announcements are only in French, though ticket machines are bilingual in French and English. Many metro counter staff are also able to speak English.
The Metro is entirely underground. Montreal metro stations and train cars do not have air conditioning. This means the Metro can sometimes get uncomfortably hot, in every season. It is, however, still the best transport option in the city.
Only certain metro tickets are valid in Laval and Longueuil . You will need to buy an All Modes AB ticket for $4.50. A full listing of all types of tickets and their validity can be found here.
You must keep your payment card as it is your transfer and your proof of payment ( correspondance ); fare inspectors may give you a large fine if you are unable to show it when they request it.
If you are using cash to pay your fare on the bus, it is important to have the exact fare, since the driver does not give change. Transfers are not provided when paying in cash.
Tourist passes offer unlimited travel on the bus and metro for periods of one day ($11) or three days ($21.25) and are well worth it to avoid fumbling for change, checking transfer times and restrictions, and worrying about getting off at the wrong stop and having to repay. There is also an option for unlimited evenings ($5.75), valid between 18:00 and 05:00 the next morning, which can be practical on a night out, since it's cheaper than buying a two-way ticket (which would cost $6). They are available for purchase at all metro stations (pay cash or use Canadian credit or debit cards only). Weekly ($29, valid for one calendar week running Monday through Sunday) and monthly ($94, valid by calendar month) passes are also available; unlike one day and three day passes, weekly and monthly passes must be loaded onto an OPUS card (see below) and are not available in paper ticket form.
The OPUS card is a smart card with a chip that contains your fare and transfer information. The OPUS card can be purchased at all metro stations and transit fare points of sale. As of January 2017, the card costs $6.
OPUS cards can be refilled at metro stations using the automated machines or at the ticket booth.
At each metro station, directions are not indicated by compass directions, such as westbound or eastbound. Instead, trains go in the direction of a metro line's terminus. The green line runs from Angrignon in the west to Honoré-Beaugrand in the east. If you were to travel eastbound, for example, you would look for Honoré-Beaugrand on the platform. If you were to travel westbound, you would look for Angrignon . There are four interchange stations at which commuters can change subway lines without extra charge: Snowdon (blue/orange), Lionel-Groulx (orange/green), Berri-UQAM (green/yellow/orange), and Jean-Talon (orange/blue).
Bicycles are permitted aboard metro trains outside of the rush hours such as: before 7:00, from 9:30 to 15:30 and from 18:00 to end of service on weekdays and all day Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. Bikes are only allowed in all cars of the train but are asked to not use the lead car, up to a maximum of 2 per car. STM staff may deny bikes aboard the metro for safety reasons such as special events that might generate a high level of ridership. Lists of such events are posted on the STM website and at the entrances to metro. During festival season in Montreal, bikes are sometimes restricted.
Bike riding inside stations or the Underground City is strictly prohibited.
Commuter train stations are divided into three zones that radiate out from downtown. Stations have automated machines from which you must purchase a ticket appropriate to the zones of the station you are traveling to or from, whichever is farther (for example, a trip from Zone A to Zone B or vice versa would require a All Modes AB ticket). A pre-purchased ticket card (L'occasionelle) must be validated at the card scanners at the entrance to the platform. In general, reduced fares (for students and seniors) require ID that is not available to travellers, but if you are staying in the area, ask an employee for more details as the rules are complicated, but you can get good savings.
There are no ticket machines on the train and ticket inspections are random. Incorrect tickets sometimes go unnoticed because inspectors check only occasionally. However, it is best to avoid taking chances as if the ticket is not valid, the customer can get a fine of $400. The ticket machines should now all be bilingual in English and French. The two downtown stations have staffed ticket booths Monday to Friday, but not in the evenings. Other stations may also have booths but generally only during either the morning or afternoon rush hour.
MapArt produces an excellent map in book-form of downtown Montreal and environs, including Vieux Montréal, Mount Royal, the Plateau, and areas as far north as the University of Montreal and as far south as Parc Jean-Drapeau. That form is handy as you can avoid always folding a map of the whole island.
Below is a basic map of the primary areas of interest to visitors.
Many notable historical buildings and churches are located in Montreal, the vast majority of which are in old Montréal . Most of these date from the 17th to the 19th century, showcasing the variety of architectural styles seen in these periods. At night, several of the buildings are beautifully illuminated, seemingly glowing from within. A Tourist Welcome Office brochure from bonjour québec lays out a walking map. It is worthwhile to follow the map twice, once during the day, and again at night.
Montreal contains a wide variety of museums - over 50 in total, both well known and hidden gems. Both types are well worth visiting, and will provide a worthwhile experience.
In Montreal/Parc Jean-Drapeau , you will find the Casino de Montréal and the La Ronde , a Six Flags family amusement park.
During the winter, many parks offer the possibility to do cross-country skiing with groomed paths, including Parc regional de l'Ile-de-la-Visitation (ski rental available), Parc du Mont-Royal (ski rental available and usually the best ski conditions, and Parc Maisonneuve and Jardin Botanique (no ski rental).
There is year-round ice-skating at 1000, rue De La Gauchetière (metro Bonaventure). There is free skating at Lac aux Castors Beaver Lake in the Parc Mont-Royal, in the connected ponds of Lafontaine Park in Plateau Mont-Royal, and in the Vieux-Port in front of the Bonsecours Market and many parks.
A map of the cycle path network is available from Vélo Québec . Particularly pleasant places to cycle and skate include:
Montreal has a bewildering variety of festivals, ranging from one-day ethnic fairs to huge international productions running two weeks or more. They are generally held in the summer and autumn, though increasingly they can be found throughout the year. Here are some of the larger ones:
Montreal is a popular destination for language-immersion programs in French and English. Many schools arrange accommodations — either in dorms or with a family and provide cultural programs with trips around the city and beyond. Prices are usually higher for non-Québécois and higher-still for non-Canadians. Most are in Downtown and the Old City. Intensive, non-resident programs are also offered by the YMCA and Quebec government.
Montreal is home to one of Canada's oldest and most prestigious universities, McGill University . McGill is consistently ranked as one of the top 20 universities in the world, but not each faculty. It is a university with a huge endowment fund. Concordia University is the city's other English-language university, the largest east of Toronto, and has over 40,000 students. Though Concordia lacks a medical school and law school, it still has a world class business school and its arts and sciences programs are top tier. Its student population is generally more multicultural than McGill's and the school's origins in and continuing emphasis on adult education make it popular for mature students, since it holds many graduate-level courses at night. Both universities are research focused.
The Université du Québec à Montreal (UQAM) and the Université de Montréal cater mainly to Francophone students. The Université de Montréal is the second largest French-language university in the world, after the Sorbonne in Paris and is one of the largest research institutions in Canada. The Université de Montréal has two affiliated schools, Polytechnique Montréal (engineering), and HEC Montréal (business school) that offer undergraduate and graduate studies.
Université Laval , Université de Sherbrooke , and Universté du Québec à Chicoutimi , all Francophone, also have campuses in the Montreal area.
Every university, with the exception of Laval, lends its name to a metro stop to indicate the university's approximate location. For example, the Guy-Concordia subway station, at the intersection of Rue Guy and boulevard de la Maisonneuve ouest, is no more than two minutes away from its namesake university (Concordia).
As Montreal is in the province of Quebec, which has its own immigration policies, those wishing to work in Montreal will have to go through two processes, once with the Quebec government, then with the Canadian government after the Quebec government has approved your application. If you are employed with a foreign company which has a Montreal office, you can seek a transfer. You can also seek a job with a Montreal employer and they can sponsor you for a temporary work visa. If you are a skilled worker (see CIC website) you can immigrate based on your own skills.
French language ability is a requirement for most jobs, as businesses are required by provincial law to greet and serve clients in French. Jobs that do not require prior French language ability are mostly IT jobs, and academic jobs at Montreal's two Anglophone universities. The Quebec provincial government provides free French language courses for newly-arrived expatriates and immigrants who speak little to no French, and you are highly advised to sign up for one of these courses as soon as you arrive to aid your integration into society.
The United States–Mexico–Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) allows skilled U.S. and Mexican professionals to obtain a Canadian work visa provided they are qualified in certain professions.
If you are a U.S. citizen aged 18–30 and a full-time student, you may qualify for a Canadian work visa valid for six months. Students from France, Britain, New Zealand, and Australia can also benefit from work programs. As well, if you obtain a degree from a Canadian university, you are eligible to remain in Montreal and work for up to one year.
For anyone else, the Immigration Canada (CIC) website explains a number of ways foreigners can legally work in Canada.
Student jobs include babysitting, painting during the summer, and moving furniture in June. McGill and Montreal universities are always in search of research subjects and so are Montreal's many biotech firms. Montreal also has many call centres, which constantly seek to hire new employees and offer flexible working hours.
Although Montreal's economy has been booming, the city remains remarkably affordable compared to other major cities in Canada and the United States. Shopping in Montreal ranges from eclectic budget stores to high-end fashion, with a wide spectrum in between.
Rue Ste-Catherine, between rue Guy and boulevard St-Laurent, has many of the big department and chain stores as well as a few major malls. Avenue Mont-Royal has funky consignment and gothic clothing stores from boulevard St-Laurent to rue Saint-Denis and a mixed bag of neighbourhood stores, used record shops, and gentrified boutiques heading east towards avenue Papineau. Rue St-Viateur is one of the city's most interesting streets, with its amazingly varied range of businesses crammed into the short stretch between Boulevard St-Laurent and Avenue du Parc.
St-Laurent remains one of the city's prime shopping streets, more or less along its whole length. Just about anything can be found there, with different blocks having different clusters of businesses (Asian groceries and housewares near de La Gauchetière, cheap electronics a little farther up, hip boutiques between Prince-Arthur and Mount Royal, anything and everything Italian between Saint-Zotique and Jean-Talon). Rue Sherbrooke ouest, west of the Autoroute Décarie, has an increasingly interesting concentration of largely food-oriented businesses. Jean-Talon market, near the intersection of Jean-Talon and St-Laurent, has a wide variety of local produce and food products (maple syrup, cheese, etc.) at very good prices.
For electronic stuff, the largest chain store is BestBuy. You can also find many smaller ones on Boulevard St-Laurent (between Ontario and Sherbrooke).
For trekking and outdoor, you also have many options
Trendier boutiques can be found on rue Saint-Denis, north of rue Sherbrooke and south of avenue Mont-Royal est, and on rue Saint-Laurent (continuing as far north as Bernard). The latter is becoming more upscale, so the range of shopping is highly variable and lower in density as one goes north of Mont-Royal. Rue Sherbrooke has a number of high-end stores (notably Holt Renfrew) and commercial art galleries in a short strip running approximately from McGill University west to rue Guy. Farther west, Sherbrooke intersects with Greene Avenue in Westmount, which has a short, but luxurious retail strip. Avenue Laurier, between St-Laurent and its western end, is one of the city's prime spots for eating and shopping in high style, though there are still a few affordable spots here and there.
On boul. St-Laurent, a cluster of high-end home furnishing stores. It starts roughly at the corner of rue Marie-Anne and is very prominent in the block between rue Marie-Anne and avenue Mont-Royal, with sparser, but still interesting stores as far north as rue Saint Viateur. Antique buffs will find interesting stores all over the city, but they'll want to make a special pilgrimage to rue Notre-Dame Ouest, when you head east from avenue Atwater. Rue Amherst, in the Gay Village, also has a significant concentration of antique dealers.
Montreal is a culinary mecca and has a huge variety of food options, from diners and fast food to low-cost ethnic restaurants to haute cuisine . The city was ranked 2nd best dining city in North America after San Francisco and ahead of New York. The large local Jewish population has contributed local specialties including huge smoked meat sandwiches (beef brisket) (Schwartz's is the most authentic smoked meat restaurant, though this title has been challenged by a gradual slip in quality in the early 2020s) and small, crusty bagels (the undisputed classic bagel places are St-Viateur's and Fairmount Bagels). Other specialties are "all-dressed" pizza (pepperoni, mushrooms and green peppers), pizza and spaghetti with smoked meat, and Québécois favourites like split pea soup and poutine.
Many Montreal restaurants are "apportez votre vin" ( bring your own wine ). This may sound like a hassle, but you end up paying much less for wine with dinner if you bring it yourself. There's usually a SAQ (government liquor store) or a dépanneur (convenience store, with a limited selection of typically inexpensive wine) nearby; ask your waiter where it is. Your waiter will open your wine for you; corkage fees are rare, but don't forget to factor this service into your tip so make sure to ask. If you are driving from the United States, you may find Canadian liquor prices quite frightening. Even the duty-free shops along the border are rarely cheaper than an American liquor store (although these are still cheaper than the SAQ). Visitors can bring in 40oz of hard alcohol, 1.5L of wine, or a 24-pack of beer.
Separate bills ( la facture in French) are common and you may be asked ensemble ou séparément? (together or separately?) The standard tip for acceptable restaurant service is 15% and is not included.
Never call a waiter "garçon"! Use "monsieur" or "madame".
There are several foods that are specialties of the city:
As Montreal has a very ethnically diverse population, it has various quality ethnic restaurants.
To buy your own food or regional products, the public market at Jean-Talon, 7075 avenue Casgrain (metro Jean-Talon or De Castelnau), is the place to go. Open daily 08:00-18:00, the market is especially noteworthy for its selection of produce. Even though they're not strictly part of the market, the many stores lining it on the north and south sides complete it wonderfully with superb selections of cheese, meat, and just about anything edible. The surrounding streets are heavily Italian-flavoured and have excellent grocery stores, butchers, bakeries, and restaurants.
Across town, the Atwater Market is also superb, though quite different from (and much smaller than) Jean-Talon. Here, you'll find the city's best butchers, and good selections of cheese, fish, and produce. It is on avenue Atwater, just south of rue Notre-Dame Lionel-Groulx station
Montreal claims to have the most restaurants per capita in North America.
With delis and bakeries and diners galore, Montreal offers great budget dining. Venues are scattered all over the city, but the largest concentration of restaurants is along boul Saint-Laurent, rue Saint-Denis and ave du Mont-Royal in the Plateau . Tasty and cheap ethnic food, lots of Indian buffets, can be found around the Jean-Talon market .
Two Montreal classics, poutine and the smoked meat sandwich, can make a filling meal for under $20. Pizza by the slice can be had for a toonie ($2), and there's always the option of rolling your own picnic with fresh produce from Atwater Market or Jean-Talon Market.
Several kosher restaurants can be found within a few blocks of each other on Queen Mary road not far from the Snowdon Métro station in and boul Décarie near Villa-Maria-des-Neiges in Côte-des-Neiges . The other greatest concentration of kosher food in along Bernard in Outremont .
Smoked-meat and sausage poutine aside, Montreal is vegetarian-friendly with several veggie and vegan restaurants and veggie options on most menus.
Montreal has excellent ice cream parlours, many of which make their own ice cream. There are also restaurants dedicated to desserts.
Local restaurant chains that travellers might not be familiar with, with various locations throughout the city, include:
If you are really on budget, there are a few community restaurants (like Chicrestopop ) which serve very cheap meals. Usually these locations are reserved for the homeless.
If you are staying in Montreal, there are several collective cooking locations where a group of people cook larger portions to freeze and stock for worker's lunch breaks.
The legal age to purchase alcohol in Quebec is 18 and the Québécois are now much more rigid in enforcing this age limit. All retail alcohol sales stop at 23:00 and bars and clubs stop serving at 03:00.
Quality wine and liquor (but only a small selection of imported beers) can only be purchased at SAQ shops, most of which are open until 18:00 Sunday to Wednesdays and 20:00 or 21:00 on other days; the smaller SAQ Express outlets are open daily from 11:00 to 22:00. Beer and a small selection of lower-quality wine are also sold at convenience stores (dépanneurs) and grocery stores. Some supermarkets have partnered with the SAQ to offer a few selection bottles, so if you are caught outside business hours or are in a hurry, places like IGA Extra and Métro generally offer a better variety of wine than the local dépanneur .
The selection of beer to be found in grocery stores and even the humble corner store have exploded in the last decade in and around greater Montreal. Two micro-breweries in particular are world-class: McAuslan (brands include St-Ambroise and Griffon) and Unibroue (Belgian-style ales such as Blanche de Chambly, Maudite, La Fin du Monde, and simpler, more affordable U lagers). Boréale makes a good, if unspectacular range of brews, while Rickard's and Alexander Keith's domestics are gaining popularity among locals. Most stores also sell a few major imports such as Stella Artois, Sapporo, Guinness, Leffe and of course, Heineken.
Montreal has three main strips for bar-hopping. Rue Crescent, in the western part of downtown , caters mostly to Anglophones and tourists. It tends to be trendy and expensive. On the edge of the bar-heavy Plateau , Boulevard Saint-Laurent gets extremely busy when McGill and Concordia students are back in town for a new session. Between rue Sherbrooke and avenue des Pins you'll find trendy clubs and bars with more of a Francophone clientele. Farther up St-Laurent, it's relatively downscale and linguistically mixed. Rue Saint-Denis, between rue Sherbrooke and de Maisonneuve, is the strip with the strongest Francophone feel. There are also many good bars away from the main strips, like on Avenue Mont-Royal, and even nowadays on Rue Masson et Rue Ontario in the eastern part of town. You should never have to line up to go have a drink, because there's virtually an unlimited choice. Depending on the day of the week, the best events vary. For example, on Tuesday you should go to Les Foufounes Électriques for cheap beer and a unique experience in a Montréal institution.
Dance clubs can be found all over the downtown area, with hotspots on boulevard Saint-Laurent and rue Crescent. Check out the Plateau , too.
After-hours clubs, for those who aren't tired out by 03:00, are open to 10:00. They do not, by law, serve alcohol at this time.
Stereo , in Quartier Latin , was once voted #5 of the top 10 clubs in the world by Muzik magazine. Circus , also in the Quartier Latin, is a luxuriously decorated after-hour in Montreal.
There are a couple of Karaoke places Downtown .
Montreal has as many gay and lesbian bars as San Francisco. Every October on Canadian Thanksgiving (Columbus Day in the U.S.) hosts the "Black and Blue" circuit party, attracting thousands to enjoy the thrill of harder dance music and hordes of pretty, shirtless men. Most popular gay bars can be found in the city's Gay Village , on the eastern stretch of Ste-Catherine and easily accessible by the Beaudry metro, between Amherst and Papineau. Unity , Apollon , and Sky are the dance club favourites, while Cabaret Mado offers excellent drag performances. There are also pubs, male strippers, restaurants, saunas, and karaoke in the area. The four main stripper bars are Stock , Campus , Taboo , and Adonis . The most popular sauna is Oasis .
For the budget traveller, Montreal offers youth hostels with dorms or private rooms and budget bed and breakfasts (sometimes with very skimpy breakfasts). The densest collection of budget hotels are in the Latin Quarter , in the streets east of Berri-UQAM metro and the intercity bus station. Old Montreal has a couple of quality hostels, but you'll pay more to be there. Montreal is also the city with the most Couch Surfing members, so it is easy to find a hospitable local host for a few nights. As with most major Canadian cities, another option is to stay at a hostel or hotel in an adjacent suburb; Laval and Longueuil are good choices for these due to their connection to the city's subway network.
Mid-range options include Downtown chain hotels to "gîtes", guest houses that range from a single room in an apartment to elegant historic homes with three to five rooms. Gîtes are usually found in the more residential neighbourhoods like the Plateau .
On the upper-end, four and five-star luxury and boutique hotels are mostly concentrated in Old Montreal and Downtown .
Montreal is home to four major universities and numerous smaller schools. Students routinely sublet apartments in the summer months.
Montreal has four area codes: the long-standing 514, the newer 438, 450 and 579 for surrounding, off-island areas. The area code must be used for all calls: even if it's the same one you're calling from and even if calling next door. For example, calling a 514 number from within 514, use " 514-123-4567 ". Dialling the same number long-distance would be 1-514-123-4567 .
Montreal's free public Wi-Fi network, " MTLWiFi " is available at over 800 locations, such as public buildings, libraries, busy streets, and open areas. In the downtown, nearly every major intersection has a hotspot.
The Grande Bibliothèque (Great Library) has many free Internet terminals, which require a library card (free to Québec residents with proof of address). Montreal library branches also provide computer access; non-residents pay a fee for a library card which provides access.
Photocopy shops often have internet terminals available, as do many cafés and some bookstores. There are also long-standing cyber/internet cafés (minus the café part) such as Battelnet 24 at many locations in Montreal including one at mezzanine level in the rue Guy entrance of Guy-Concordia metro.
Red Canada Post mailboxes are found along most main streets. Post offices are often inside pharmacies: look for the Canada Post logo.
For emergencies call 9-1-1 .
Although Montreal is Canada's second largest city, it shares Canada's low violent crime rates making it relatively safe. However, property crimes, including car theft, are remarkably high: make sure to lock your doors and keep your valuables with you. Take extra care if you want to visit Montréal-Nord or Saint-Michel. These neighbourhoods are the worst of the city and shootings are not unheard of in these areas. There is, however, little for tourists to do and they are unlikely to enter by accident.
Part of Montreal's Sainte-Catherine downtown corridor is arguably where crime is common in the city, especially east of Place des Arts. There are homeless people panhandling during the summer and fall. Although most of them are polite, there are some that are more aggressive. Avoid individuals wandering on the streets that appear intoxicated. The street is at its most dangerous around 03:00 when closing clubs and bars empty their drunken crowds into the street. You may also come across occasional pockets of street prostitution, especially around strip clubs.
In Montreal, pickpockets are not very common, but keep an eye on things when watching street performances in the Old City or in other crowds.
If you are concerned about safety on the metro, use the first metro car where the driver is. Emergency intercoms are on every metro car. Emergency phone booths are on every platform throughout the metro system, which is generally safe. While written instructions are in both English and French, most announcements (usually about delays) are in French only so if you think you heard something in the announcement that may affect you, just try asking a fellow passenger for a translation.
The STM offers a "between stops" ( entre deux arrêts ) service that allows women travelling alone at night to get off the bus between two regularly designated stops if the bus driver feels they can stop the bus safely.
Pedestrians and bike-riders should be especially careful. Crosswalks are rarely respected. Motorists have a general contempt for pedestrians, especially when they are trying to make a right turn at an intersection.
Wasps are a considerable menace during the height of summer. Consider carrying vinegar with you in case of stings to help neutralize the sting. Otherwise, see below if you are allergic for the nearest hospital.
Montreal is often icy and cold in winter, be careful by dressing appropriately for the conditions and be mindful of ice or snow anytime you are driving or walking. Street clearing of snow is generally effective.
Summers are warm to hot and can be quite humid. Being surrounded by rivers adds to this effect.
The closest hospital to Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport is the Lakeshore General Hospital at 160 avenue Stillview in Pointe-Claire. ( +1 514-630-2225 )
The Montreal General Hospital is at 1650 avenue Cedar. ( +1 514-934-1934 )
The McGill University Hospital (Glen site) ( MUHC ) is at 1001 Decarie Boulevard ( +1-514 934-1934 ).
The Jewish General Hospital is at 3755 rue Côte Ste-Catherine. ( +1 514-340-8222 )
If you do not have Quebec Health Insurance, be prepared to pay by credit card at the door as it does not accept traveller's insurance (but you may be reimbursed when you return home).
Several hospitals offer service in French and English.
The Gazette is the city's English-language daily.
If you have some French, hit the voir.ca website for good restaurant reviews and an overview of what is happening.
As in the rest of Quebec , language politics and Quebec sovereignty are contentious issues in Montreal. Don't make the assumption that all French Canadians are in favour of Quebec's separation from Canada as many (especially in bilingual Montreal) are against it. Also, while most Francophones in other parts of Quebec identify solely as Québécois and not Canadian, many Francophones in Montreal identify as both Québécois and Canadian. If you really want to discuss those topics with locals, be sure you are well-informed. It is still safer to avoid the subject, as it is still a very emotional issue. Use common sense and be respectful.
The main language in Montreal, as in the rest of Quebec, is French. Making an attempt to use the language is a great way to show respect for locals, whether or not they can speak English, even if you can manage only a few words with a very strong accent. However, Montreal is considered to be one of the world's most bilingual cities with many residents whose primary language is English, and you will often hear locals code switching between French and English when having a conversation. In case of doubt, you may want to open with a warm "Bonjour!" ( Good day ) and see what language is used in response. Most likely you will be answered in English, if your French accent does not sound local. Don't be offended if you are trying to speak French and locals respond to you in English. Since most Montrealers speak both French and English, they are simply trying to make things easier for you.
Many people working in the tourist and service industries are completely bilingual without accents. But don't make jokes about French people (especially since Francophones in Montreal are mostly Québécois with a few Acadiens and Franco-Ontariens, all of whom consider themselves different from the French from France and from one another). Also, do not assume that all Québécois are Francophones. Montreal has a significant English-speaking community with a long history in Quebec and many immigrants whose first language is neither English nor French ("Allophones").
Montreal makes an excellent entryway for visiting other cities and destinations in Quebec and the northern United States . You will have to pass the border control if you go to the US, and arm yourself with the appropriate visas and papers. Add at least one extra hour for the border control.
The Best Time to Visit
Weather & Climate
Montréal-Trudeau International Airport Guide
Where to Stay in Montreal
Public Transit Guide
48-Hour Itinerary
Day Trips From Montreal
Top Things to Do
Things to Do With Kids
Shopping in Montreal
Skiing in Montreal
Best Montreal Beaches
Guide to Mount Royal Park
Top Museums to Visit
Live Music in Montreal
Montreal's Iconic Food
Best Bars in Montreal
Top Breweries to Visit
Best Restaurants
TripSavvy / Taylor McIntyre
Montreal is one of those multifaceted cities that offers something for everyone. From an incredible food scene and buzzing nightlife, to myriad museums and art galleries to vibrant greenspaces and unique architecture, there’s always something interesting to see and do in the city. Whether you want to shop, bar-hop, or simply explore Montreal’s diverse neighborhoods, it won’t be hard to figure out how to spend your visit. For anyone thinking of planning a trip, read on for tips and information on the best attractions and activities, how to get around, where to stay, and what to eat and drink.
Best Time to Visit : The best time to visit Montreal is typically in the spring (mid-April and May) or during the fall (September to early November). At these times, you'll likely find fewer crowds, cheaper accommodations, and the best weather for sightseeing as it is neither too hot nor too cold. Do keep in mind that winters in Montreal can be very cold.
Language : Montreal has one of the largest French-speaking populations in the world. Nevertheless, visitors to Montreal can get by easily only speaking English. Although it is handy to have a few words in French such as greetings.
Currency: The currency used in Montreal is the Canadian dollar (CAD).
Getting Around : Montreal’s metro (subway) system makes for an efficient means of getting around. There are four lines connecting the downtown centre to major tourist sites, bus stops and train stations. The public transit network consists of 68 metro stops and 220 bus lines . The city is also very walkable (weather permitting), which makes getting around on foot another good option.
Travel Tip : Passport MTL comes in two-day and three-day versions and gives you access to close to 30 Montréal attractions and unlimited public transportation; it makes for a good way to save money on entrance fees.
Montreal’s world-renowned food scene will be a big draw for those looking to sample some of the city’s best dishes, whether from a tiny bistro tucked down a charming side street, a food truck, gastropub, or fine dining establishment. Anyone interested in spending time outdoors will enjoy the many parks and green spaces that abound in the city as well as the Montreal Botanical Garden. Or head below the streets into the “Underground City” to explore the vast network of pedestrian walkways beneath the city where you’ll find shops, eateries and access to transit.
Go back in time in Old Montreal : A visit to Old Montreal is a must for anyone visiting the city. Even if you don’t have an agenda, just meandering the scenic cobblestone streets is a worthwhile endeavor on its own. You’ll see centuries-old buildings blending seamlessly with trendy bistros and cute cafes and you can easily spend half a day exploring.
Do some shopping along Sainte-Catherine Street : From major department stores to funky boutiques, there is a lot to shop for on Sainte-Catherine Street. From west to east, it stretches 9 miles across the city. Spend an afternoon strolling, visiting shops, people-watching, and making stops at ay of the many cafes and restaurants in the area.
Explore the Old Port : Montreal’s Old Port features a range of things to see and do, making it a great area to spend an afternoon or even a whole day. During the warmer months, relax under a parasol at Clock Tower Beach, rent a paddleboat, or take a boat cruise along the St. Lawrence. You’ll also find plenty of options for food and drink at the various cafes, bars, and food trucks. Old Port is also where you’ll find the Montreal Science Centre and its IMAX theatre, and in the winter, take advantage of the outdoor skating rink.
Hang out in Parc du Mont-Royal : No matter what time of year you visit Montreal, you’ll find something to do at Parc du Mont-Royal. The park is popular among walkers, joggers, and bikers as well as picnickers in the spring and summer. While in the winter, you can enjoy the skating rink and sledding slope or do some snowshoeing. Also known as “the mountain” to locals, you can hike or bike to the summit for lovely views.
Check out our full length articles on the best things to do in downtown Montreal , the best attractions in Old Montreal , and where to go shopping in Montreal .
Montreal’s culinary influences are wide ranging and go well beyond classic French fare. You can find almost anything you might be craving here, such as Middle Eastern, Thai, elevated Quebecois dishes, and nearly everything in between. Despite the exciting diversity, there are a few things to seek out in terms of food while you’re in the city. First up, poutine: that gooey, delicious mess of French fries, gravy and squeaky cheese curds. You can find poutine all over Canada, but you really don’t want to miss out in Montreal. Even if you’re vegan or vegetarian, you should be able to find an option to try. Next up is bagels. But not just any bagels—these are Montreal style. These are boiled in water sweetened with honey, and then cooked in a wood-fired oven for a satisfying chew and golden brown exterior. If you are a meat eater, you will also want to seek out a Montreal smoked meat sandwich, popular throughout the city.
Beer drinkers will also be happy to know that there are close to 30 microbreweries in the city, so finding a local brew won’t be difficult. In addition, make sure to stop by the iconic Jean-Talon Market in the heart of Montreal’s Little Italy neighborhoods, one of North America’s largest open-air public markets. Here you’ll find everything from fresh produce and flowers, to cheese, meats, specialty food items, and much more.
Learn more about the food scene in Montreal with our articles on the best brunch spots in Montreal , Montreal’s best late night food , vegetarian restaurants in Montreal , and Montreal’s best terraces and rooftop patios .
In Montreal you have your pick of stylish boutique hotels, luxury properties, business-oriented hotels, family-friendly hotels, and more. There are more than 25,000 rooms in the city (with 16,000 located downtown) . Downtown is a good option in terms of where to stay since many of the city’s hotels can be found here, as well as a wide variety of the city’s attractions, museums, restaurants, cafes, and bars. Another good option is Old Montreal, which has its own fair share of hotels. This gives you easy access to the area’s historic architecture, cobblestone streets, boutiques, and bistros. You’ll also be very close to the Old Port, with its own set of fun attractions and activities.
For more about where to stay in Montreal, take a look at our full length stories on the best boutique hotels in Montreal and the best hotels in Old Montreal .
You can get to Montreal in several ways. If you plan on flying, Montreal's Trudeau International Airport is about 20 minutes by car from downtown Montreal. The convenient 747 Express bus operates 24/7 year-round and will get you to one of nine downtown stops in 40 to 60 minutes .
In terms of driving, Montreal is about a three-hour drive west from the provincial capital, Quebec City, about a six-hour drive east from Toronto, and six hours north of New York City.
If you prefer to arrive by train, VIA Rail makes for a scenic and relaxing ride. Their rail network connects many major cities to Montréal, you can choose from 17 daily departures from Gare Centrale .
As for the bus, Greyhound Lines serves Montreal from numerous cities in the US and Canada. Buses arrive at Montreal Bus Central Station, which is connected to the Berri-UQAM metro station.
Find out more with our full length article on the 25 best free and cheap things to do in Montreal.
Montreal Transit. " Visitors ."
Montreal Tourism. " Where to Stay. "
Montreal Tourism. "Grab a Flight to Montreal."
Montreal Tourism. " Take the Train to Montreal."
February in Montreal: Weather, What to Pack, and What to See
Resorts Near Montreal Where You Can Go Night Skiing
Guide to a Free Christmas in Montreal: Parades, Concerts, and Events
How to Travel From Montreal to Quebec City by Train, Bus, Car, and Plane
Winter in Montreal: Weather, What to Pack, and What to See
Montreal February Events and Attractions
The Westmount Conservatory and Greenhouses
Drinking in Public Montreal Style
10 Things to Know When Visiting Old Montreal
Montreal Events and Attractions in January
Best Things to Do With Kids in Montreal
Montreal Airport Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International
Cycle the City: Montreal Bike Rentals
Montreal Biodome: Planning Your Visit
The Grown-Up's Guide to Montreal Attractions
Montreal Cheese Festival
Here's where to eat, stay, and explore in Montreal, according to a local.
Best nightlife, best shopping, best neighborhoods to visit, best time to visit, how to get there, how to get around.
Despite its sometimes divisive language politics, extreme seasons, and chronic traffic headaches, Montrealers, or les Montréalais , are justifiably proud of their distinctive, if idiosyncratic, city — and for good reason. Travel + Leisure readers named Montreal one of their favorite cities in Canada in 2023 .
The sophisticated, French-speaking (yet very bilingual), culturally diverse city lays claim to world-class restaurants, lovely parks, superb art galleries and museums, a dynamic music scene, inspiring 18th- and 19th-century architecture, and vibrant nightlife.
It can also be a lot of fun in the winter , when locals like to get out and celebrate the cold and snow, even extending the revelry at outdoor festivals and concerts at night.
R.M. Nunes/Getty Images
Thom Seivewright, a Montreal expert and former hotel concierge, launched his small-group tour company, Tours Montreal , in the Canadian city in 2016. “Our art scene is on par with cities two or three times our size,” he says. “There’s obviously a big emphasis placed on arts and culture in Montreal.”
There’s a big emphasis on food , too. Montrealers love their bagels, cheeses, poutine, and maple syrup, and they’re loyal to their chef-owned restaurants. “It’s a little gem of a city that has world-class dining — and world-class junk food,” says Seivewright.
Long known for its exuberant after-dark scene, Montreal has it all, from cocktail bars to Irish pubs, jazz bars to pulsating dance clubs. The city is even planning to create a 24-hour nightlife district .
Here's everything you need to know to plan a memorable trip to Montreal.
Courtesy of Four Seasons Resorts
Hotel Nelligan , located in the heart of Old Montreal, was T+L readers' favorite city hotel in Canada in 2023 . Spanning four 19th-century graystones, the 105-room boutique property lies near the Notre-Dame Basilica and Old Port waterfront. Its seasonal rooftop terrace is a summer favorite for its picturesque views and lively happy hour.
Another T+L reader favorite, Hôtel Place d’Armes is housed in four 19th-century neoclassical buildings opposite the Notre-Dame Basilica. The property is highly rated for its tasteful rooms featuring hardwood floors and brick walls, swanky French brasserie , and popular rooftop terrace.
One of the city’s newer hotels, opened in 2020, Hôtel Uville got its name thanks to its location in Old Montreal’s Place d’Youville. Uville is part design hotel, part museum — a love letter to the Montreal of the 1960s and '70s. This was transformative period, a time when francophone Quebecers were turning away from the Catholic church and leading the charge in North America vis-à-vis cuisine, style, and design — the culmination of which were Expo 67 and the 1976 Olympics.
“This hotel is very cool,” says Seivewright. “They did a great job. The details, like the tiled bathrooms and custom-made wallpapers, are amazing. They’ve got archival photos and artifacts from the '60s and '70s in each of the rooms, and documentary films from the National Film Board that you can watch on your room’s TV.”
Montreal’s grande-dame hotel, the Ritz-Carlton , opened in 1912 in the city's Golden Square Mile. In addition to housing chef Daniel Boulud's Maison Boulud , the refined property offers afternoon tea in the ornate Palm Court and seasonal garden terrace, Spa St. James, and an indoor saltwater pool.
Located in Golden Square Mile since 2019, the posh Four Seasons Hotel Montreal is connected via a third-floor walkway to the luxury department store Holt Renfrew Ogilvy . The hotel boasts Marcus Restaurant + Terrace, in partnership with legendary Manhattan chef Marcus Samuelsson; a Guerlain Spa; and a skylit swimming pool with an upstream current generator. What more could you want from a world-class Montreal hotel ?
Taylor McIntyre/Travel + Leisure
What Central Park is to New Yorkers and Hyde Park to Londoners, Parc du Mont-Royal, or Mount Royal Park, is to Montrealers. At 764 feet high, Mount Royal may not be much of a mountain, but the park is, as Seivewritght says, “the heart and soul of the city.” He adds, “The fact that Montreal is a four-season city and Mount Royal is a four-season park makes it even better because you’ve got skiing, skating, and tobogganing in the wintertime. And in the summer, you can go biking and walking.” You can also go for a picnic and rent a rowboat or Mölkky or spikeball equipment at Beaver Lake.
With its graystone buildings and narrow streets, Old Montreal can sometimes feel like a slice of Europe in North America. Certainly no visit to Montreal is complete without a stop here. Not only will you find the city’s most important historic landmarks, including the Notre-Dame Basilica , the 18th-century Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel , the Second Empire-style City Hall, and the neoclassic Marché Bonsecours , but it’s also home to pretty boutique hotels, haute-couture shops, and chef-owned restaurants.
A national archaeological site, Pointe-à-Callière , now an impressive archaeology and history museum, sits above the ruins of the birthplace of Montreal. “The Pointe-à-Callière museum is amazing,” says Seivewright. “They’ll take you underground to see the ruins of the original fortifications of Montreal, the original city the French built here in the 1600s.” Visitors can also see Indigenous artifacts uncovered during a dig and part of North America’s first collector sewer, built between 1832 and 1838.
Opened in Montreal in an 80,000-square-foot building in 2011, Arsenal Contemporary Art has since expanded to include locations in Toronto and New York City. “Outside of the museums, I would send my clients to certain galleries around town. These days, one of my favorites is Arsenal. It has an amazing [selection] in its permanent collection, but it also puts on temporary exhibits that are just mind-blowing,” says Seivewright.
Montreal is a city of festivals, with everything from jazz (the city hosts the world’s largest jazz festival) to Pride to circus arts celebrated here. There’s even a dedicated festival and outdoor performance space downtown called the Quartier des Spectacles . While there are festivals year-round , May to September is the city’s busiest period.
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One of Quebec's most beloved foods is poutine, traditionally a mess (translation of "poutine") of french fries, cheese curds, and gravy. But poutine continues to get more upscale. A veritable institution since 1968, La Banquise doesn’t claim to be high-end, but the casual eatery serves 35 kinds of poutine and it’s open 24 hours. “La Banquise is a classic. I’m [vegetarian], and in my opinion, the veggie gravies are even more delicious,” says Seivewright. “A lot of people knock La Banquise because it’s popular, but I stand by it.”
The design at Montreal Plaza is elegant and stylish, yet also notable for its eccentric touches like a dollhouse hanging upside down from the ceiling and Elmo sitting on the bar. Even certain dishes, like crudo or oysters, are served atop a toy triceratops or among plastic Smurfs. Chef and owner Charles-Antoine Crête and his team enjoy serving great food in a playful, joyous way. “This is my favorite place,” says Seivewright. “It’s not the just the way the food is prepared or what it is, but the whimsical, creative way it’s presented.”
Sushi Momo , from Mexican-Canadian chef Christian Ventura, is Montreal’s best vegan sushi restaurant. The sleek, dimly lit, botanically adorned space in the Plateau area is inviting, while the artfully plated confections are a feast for the eyes and the fusion of flavors a song for the taste buds.
Nora Gray , a lively, casual restaurant in Griffintown, is known for its southern Italian cuisine, updated cucina povera , and privately imported natural and organic wines. The dark wood, banquettes, long bar, and warm candlelight lend the restaurant an intimate, romantic, and club-like feel.
Dominique Lafond
Voted Canada’s best restaurant in 2023 , Mon Lapin is a cozy wine bar and restaurant in Little Italy. It serves natural wines and an ever-changing menu of French- and Italian-inspired small plates. Each dish highlights fresh, seasonal, and local ingredients plus unexpected flavor combinations.
Henryk Sadura/Getty Images
The 25-seat Cloakroom Bar , with a cloak-and-dagger atmosphere, was named Canada’s second-best bar in 2023 . “It’s one of my favorite bars anywhere in the world,” says Seivewright. “It’s hidden behind a menswear shop, which makes it even cooler. It’s very exclusive feeling. You tell them, 'I like gin, I like citrus,' and they’ll create something for you. If you’re three people and you all like the same thing, they’ll create three different drinks.”
Situated in the Plateau Mont-Royal, Diese Onze is an intimate jazz bar that also serves tapas and mains. “I’m a big jazz fan, and I love Diese Onze,” says Seivewright. “It’s a good mix of local and out-of-town musicians.”
A Montreal institution since 1995, Upstairs is, funnily enough, located in a basement. It attracts big-name international jazz acts who make this a routine stop on their tour itineraries.
Established in 1997, this European-style pub between the Quartier des Spectacles and student-heavy Quartier Latin is quite cozy inside, but it’s the enclosed, leafy terrace at the back that draws people here come summer. The service many not win any awards, but Le Sainte-Élisabeth is about the ambience.
The minimalist redesign of the Canadian Fur Company building (hence Furco ), located on a downtown back street, is a big draw for wine lovers and the happy hour crowd. It features an adventurous food and wine menu, in addition to more traditional charcuterie and cheese plates.
Marie Saint Pierre 's Montreal-made, ready-to-wear pieces marry timeless feminine styles with contemporary flair and function.
Entering this handsome Crescent Street atelier-cum-boutique near the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is like stepping into an old-school European tailor shop. Started by their father, Arthur Der Shahinian, sons Tavit and John carry on the tradition of crafting impeccably fitted and designed bespoke men’s suits and shirts, with damask silk lining and hand-sewn button holes, never compromising on quality or friendly, professional service.
Simons is originally from Quebec City, but it’s popular in cities across Canada. The small, mid-range department store downtown carries popular fashion brands as well as its own collections, in addition to homewares. “I’m a big fan of Simons,” says Seivewright. “I buy half my clothes there. The price point is good, the quality is good, and I like that it’s a local brand.”
Montreal’s answer to Saks Fifth Avenue, Holt Renfrew Ogilvy is a one-stop shop for all things luxury, including clothing, shoes, and accessories. Clients can also enjoy a personal shopping experience in one of the five fifth-floor suites or the glamorous art-deco Café Holt, with its remarkable solar-like orb set above the central bar.
“Saint Laurent [Boulevard], between Saint Joseph Boulevard and up to Van Horne Avenue, has the best boutique design shopping nowadays,” says Seivewright. “You could go all the way up to Little Italy and it’s still amazing. I was walking there the other day and every single window I walked by made me want to go in. There are furniture shops, clothing shops, and jewelry shops — some of it is new, some of it is vintage, and it’s all local.”
Saint-Henri, once a francophone working-class neighborhood, is now gentrified, replete with popular, chef-owned wine bars and restaurants, antiques shops, cafes, and boutiques. Still, it retains pockets of its former self. “I love it because it has parts that haven’t changed in a hundred years and others that make it the most modern neighborhood in Montreal,” says Seivewright. “It’s got a cool, little rough-around-the-edges vibe. It’s one of those neighborhoods where you’ll have a multimillion-dollar home next to a really rundown place, and you see that contrast. Then, you listen to the people and hear French and English. You've got old people, young people — it’s a neighborhood where everything mixes.”
Once relegated to working-class European immigrants, the Plateau/Mile End area is the epicenter of Montreal’s creativity and bohemian joie de vivre. Leafy streets lined with triplexes fronted by balconies and steep, often-winding, wrought-iron staircases invite visitors to explore this neighborhood bursting with convivial cafes, top-drawer restaurants , funky vintage shops, and trendy boutiques.
For a glimpse into how the upper crust of Montreal lived until the 1970s and '80s, head to the neighborhood of Outremont. Its two main shopping and dining strips are Bernard Ouest and Laurier Ouest avenues — part of the former turns into a pedestrian-only area come summer, with restaurant terraces sitting directly on the street.
Montreal is a four-season city. Late April to mid-May tends to be best for blooming trees, while October to early November is usually prime for leaf peeping. The holiday season is lovely, but a white Christmas is increasingly rare. For a stronger chance of experiencing the romance of winter snow, January and February are ideal. Summers in Montreal are hot and humid, and heat waves can now begin as early as May. Visit in May, June, or late August through September and October to avoid the worst of the summer temperatures and crowds.
Chris Jongkind/Getty Images
Montreal can be reached via regular flights with Air Canada, Delta, American, and United. Flying from New York’s LaGuardia to Montreal-Trudeau International Airport, better known as Dorval (YUL), takes about 90 minutes gate to gate. Driving may be cheaper, but it takes about seven hours, and unless you’re planning to pay for hotel parking, parking in Montreal can be a hassle. For travelers living in New York or Vermont, a more scenic and leisurely option (10 hours) is Amtrak’s Adirondack train from Moynihan Train Hall to Montreal’s Gare Centrale (Central Station).
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In summer, the best way to get around is on foot or by Bixi, the city-wide bicycle rental system. In 2023, Bixi decided to end the storage of their bicycles during the winter, so they are now available year-round. However, there are not as many stations as in summer. The metro (subway) is fairly reliable and frequent during rush hour — and often the quickest way to get from point A to point B. Buses tend to be less reliable, but they go everywhere the metro does not. An Opus card can be purchased with several fares added, if you’re planning on using the metro and/or buses often. Taxis and Ubers are readily available, too, and taxis can be hailed on the street.
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by Melissa Giroux
Vous prévoyez un voyage à Montréal, au Canada ? Si vous envisagez de rester à Montréal pendant une semaine, vous allez adorer notre itinéraire de 7 jours. Voyons comment vous pouvez visiter Montréal en 7 jours et, surtout, comment en profiter.
Pour commencer votre voyage à Montréal, direction le Vieux-Montréal, le quartier historique de la ville. L’une des meilleures façons d’explorer le quartier et d’apprendre tout sur les débuts de la ville est de faire une visite à pied de la vieille ville. Diverses visites à pied sont disponibles , toutes avec l’aide d’un guide compétent qui vous fera vivre une expérience unique et éducative.
Après une promenade dans la vieille ville, il est temps de déjeuner à la Taverne Gaspar . Située rue de la Commune, dans un entrepôt du XIXe siècle, la Taverne Gaspar propose une cuisine de pub d’inspiration française avec des options pour les régimes végétariens, végétaliens et sans gluten. Si vous voulez absolument goûter au célèbre plat québécois, la poutine, pendant votre séjour à Montréal, rendez-vous au Montreal Poutine, rue Saint-Paul.
Également situé dans le Vieux-Montréal, Montreal Poutine est spécialisé dans le célèbre plat, composé de fromage en grains et de sauce, et propose de nombreuses variantes pour satisfaire tout le monde. Outre la poutine, ce restaurant propose également une gamme de hamburgers classiques et de hot-dogs.
Pour votre activité de l’après-midi, il est temps de vous rendre au Musée d’archéologie et d’histoire Pointe-à-Callière pour en apprendre encore plus sur les origines et les fondations de Montréal. Non seulement le musée est une ressource fantastique pour apprendre l’histoire de Montréal, mais il est également construit sur le lieu même de la fondation de la ville, ce qui en fait un site historique très important.
Sinon, si la visite matinale du Vieux-Montréal vous a suffi, le spa Bota Bota est situé à proximité, au Vieux-Port, et propose une variété de forfaits ainsi que des vues magnifiques sur le quartier. Parfait pour les voyageurs solitaires, les couples et les petits groupes, le spa dispose d’une série d’installations, notamment des saunas, des hammams, des piscines chaudes et froides, des salles de relaxation et une variété de traitements apaisants.
Pour dîner dans le Vieux-Montréal, dirigez-vous vers la rue Saint-Paul, où vous trouverez Modavie . Modavie est un bar et bistro de jazz spécialisé dans la cuisine française et européenne et, pendant que vous y êtes, vous êtes susceptible d’entendre les sons d’un groupe local de Montréal. La spécialité du restaurant est l’agneau, mais des options végétariennes imaginatives sont disponibles.
Pour une soirée dans le Vieux-Montréal, rendez-vous à la Coldroom , rue Saint Vincent, pour découvrir un bar clandestin de style prohibition, parfaitement adapté à ce quartier historique. Caché derrière une porte noire, le Coldroom peut être facilement manqué par ceux qui ne le cherchent pas (suivez le canard !).
En récompense de vos talents de détective, le Coldroom propose d’excellents cocktails gastronomiques et une atmosphère qui rendra vos boissons légales un peu plus interdites.
Pour commencer votre deuxième journée à Montréal, nous nous rendons sur le Mont Royal , la célèbre montagne qui surplombe le centre-ville de Montréal. Si vous voyagez à Montréal l’hiver , le patinage sur glace sur le lac des Castors devrait être une activité en tête de votre liste. Situé au sommet de la montagne, le lac des Castors est la patinoire extérieure réfrigérée du mont Royal. L’accès est gratuit et la location de patins est disponible à partir de 10 $ pour 2 heures.
Si vous visitez le mont Royal avec des enfants, des activités telles que la descente en chambre à air sur la colline surplombant le lac des Castors, conviennent aux enfants de 4 ans et plus. Les laissez-passer quotidiens et l’équipement pour cette activité sont disponibles au comptoir de location d’équipement.
Si votre voyage à Mont-Royal a lieu pendant l’été, le lac des Castors est toujours une attraction de choix. Non seulement le parc environnant est l’endroit idéal pour un pique-nique ou une lecture matinale, mais des chaloupes peuvent également être louées pour être utilisées sur le lac au prix de 12 $ la demi-heure. Pour ceux qui préfèrent ne pas entrer dans l’eau, des voiliers télécommandés sont également disponibles sur le lac des Castors pour 10 $ la demi-heure, parfaits pour les enfants comme pour les adultes.
Pour le déjeuner sur la montagne, vous avez le choix entre plusieurs restaurants et cafés offrant des soupes, des sandwichs et des collations : Le Chalet Mont-Royal, le Pavillon du Lac-aux-Castors (adjacent au lac des Castors) et la Maison Smith. Vous pouvez aussi vous rendre au Plateau Mont-Royal pour un déjeuner ou un brunch au Restaurant L’Avenue.
Proposant des options végétariennes, végétaliennes et sans gluten dans un décor créatif, le restaurant L’Avenue est l’exemple parfait de la cuisine du quartier artistique du Plateau. Si la poutine est toujours présente dans votre esprit, prenez place à La Banquise ou à PoutineVille , qui comptent tous deux parmi les meilleurs restaurants pour déguster ce plat classique.
Après le déjeuner, dirigez-vous vers le centre-ville, rue Sherbrooke, pour visiter le Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal , le plus grand musée d’art du Canada en termes d’espace d’exposition. Outre les collections de Picasso, Rembrandt et Goyam, le musée présente souvent des expositions spéciales.
Des exemples d’expositions passées ont porté sur les Égyptiens, Napoléon, Pompéi et les verreries Chihuly.
Pour dîner au centre-ville de Montréal, rendez-vous sur le boulevard Robert-Bourassa et prenez place au restaurant Zibo . Proposant une cuisine canadienne d’inspiration californienne, Zibo répond aux régimes végétariens, végétaliens et sans gluten grâce à son vaste menu. Zibo propose également une impressionnante carte de bières, de vins et de cocktails pour accompagner votre repas.
Pour terminer votre deuxième journée à Montréal, faites un tour à la microbrasserie 3 Brasseurs sur la rue Saint-Catherine. En plus de la bière brassée sur place, 3 Brasseurs propose des vins et des cocktails, ainsi qu’une carte des mets qui associe les bières à certains plats et à leurs saveurs. Si vous visitez cet établissement du centre-ville de Montréal en été, vous pourrez vous asseoir à l’extérieur pour déguster une bière finement élaborée dans l’air estival.
Pour le troisième jour de votre voyage à Montréal, partez pour le Mont Tremblant, l’une des stations de ski les plus célèbres du Canada, située dans les Laurentides. Il existe plusieurs façons de se rendre à Tremblant depuis Montréal , la plus pratique étant probablement de conduire. Et ne vous inquiétez pas si vous ne visitez pas pendant l’hiver, car la station propose des activités toute l’année.
Il est toujours préférable de partir tôt le matin afin de pouvoir profiter d’une journée complète à Tremblant. Pour vous détendre après un long voyage, quelle que soit la saison, terminez votre matinée par une petite randonnée sur la montagne. Prenez la télécabine jusqu’au sommet de la montagne et suivez l’un des nombreux sentiers de randonnée que Tremblant a à offrir.
Au sommet de la montagne, arrêtez-vous pour déjeuner au Grand Manitou , une cafétéria offrant une vue spectaculaire sur les environs. Servant des plats chauds et froids, c’est l’endroit idéal pour reprendre des forces en vue de l’activité principale de la journée.
Après le déjeuner, si vous êtes de passage en hiver, il est enfin temps de vous essayer au ski. Le Mont Tremblant dispose d’une multitude de pistes, du niveau débutant au niveau expert, alors que vous soyez un skieur chevronné ou que vous en soyez à votre première expérience, Tremblant a tout ce qu’il vous faut. Si vous visitez la station en été, essayez de faire de l’escalade.
Aucune expérience de l’escalade n’étant nécessaire, vous pourrez gravir la falaise à plusieurs reprises avec l’aide d’un guide expérimenté.
Pour le dîner, rendez-vous dans le village piétonnier et prenez place au Choux Gras Brasserie Culinaire pour déguster une cuisine franco-canadienne. Avec des options végétariennes et sans gluten, l’atmosphère contemporaine et chaleureuse du Choux Gras Brasserie Culinaire, qui donne sur le village piétonnier, vous permettra de passer une agréable soirée.
Après le dîner, rendez-vous au Casino de Mont-Tremblant , un petit casino et un bar avec de la musique live et un patio extérieur. Que vous souhaitiez prendre un verre au bar ou tenter votre chance aux machines à sous (ou les deux !), c’est l’endroit idéal pour terminer votre journée à Tremblant.
Et si vous préférez garder le retour pour le lendemain matin, de nombreuses options d’hébergement et d’hôtels sont disponibles dans le village piétonnier.
Pour notre quatrième journée à Montréal, nous allons découvrir le Quartier des Spectacles et le quartier chinois. Pour votre activité matinale, rendez-vous dans le Quartier et dirigez-vous vers la rue Sainte-Catherine pour trouver le Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal , le premier musée du Canada entièrement consacré à l’art contemporain. À l’intérieur, vous trouverez des collections contemporaines de plus de 7 000 œuvres d’art mettant en vedette des artistes québécois, canadiens et internationaux.
Des expositions uniques sont organisées en permanence, présentant actuellement les œuvres d’artistes tels qu’Arthur Jafa, Ron Moppett et Kathleen Graham. L’entrée au musée est de 10 $ pour les adultes, 4 $ pour les adolescents et gratuite pour les enfants de moins de 12 ans.
Après une matinée d’exploration culturelle, faites une (très !) courte promenade jusqu’à Eggspectation Complexe Desjardins sur Sainte-Catherine Ouest pour un déjeuner ou un brunch. Comme son nom l’indique, Eggspectation se spécialise dans les œufs et les petits déjeuners, mais il y en a vraiment pour tous les goûts. Avec des variations imaginatives sur les classiques du petit-déjeuner et du brunch, ainsi que des plats sans petit-déjeuner, vous ne serez pas déçu.
Dans l’après-midi, rendez-vous au quartier chinois, un petit quartier du Quartier des Spectacles, pour une petite exploration. L’une des plus anciennes communautés asiatiques en Amérique du Nord, le quartier chinois de Montréal a commencé à émerger vers les années 1890 et a été reconnu comme une attraction touristique à la fin des années 1960.
Les principales attractions du quartier chinois sont ses nombreuses boutiques et ses vendeurs de nourriture (essayez le bubble tea !). Faites un arrêt dans l’une des nombreuses boutiques de souvenirs, ou aventurez-vous dans l’une des épiceries asiatiques pour trouver des produits authentiques. Et ne manquez pas de vous arrêter au coin de René-Lévesque et de Saint-Laurent, près de la porte nord, pour voir une magnifique murale réalisée par MU, l’un des nombreux exemples de la scène artistique de rue à Montréal.
Dans le quartier chinois, rendez-vous au Ruby Rouge pour déguster une authentique cuisine chinoise. Leur plat phare est le dim sum, qui circule en permanence pour que les clients puissent le choisir, ainsi qu’une variation de la cuisine cantonaise et szechuanaise. Et si vous cherchez une activité amusante pour la soirée dans le quartier chinois, ne cherchez pas plus loin que le CEO Karaoke, qui se trouve au sous-sol du Ruby Rouge.
Si le karaoké n’est pas votre truc, retournez dans la partie principale du Quartier et vous trouverez le Café-Bar du Théâtre Sainte-Catherine. Ce bar unique est également un théâtre indépendant, qui accueille des spectacles musicaux, des projections de films et des comédies tout au long de la semaine. Quelle meilleure façon de prendre un verre dans le célèbre quartier des divertissements de Montréal qu’avec un théâtre indépendant ?
Avec l’université à proximité, le Quartier Latin de Montréal est connu pour être un quartier étudiant de la ville, animé par l’art, les cinémas et théâtres indépendants et une vie nocturne animée. En tant que tel, le Quartier Latin est fortement axé sur l’éducation et l’histoire, faisant de ce quartier l’endroit idéal pour ceux qui ont dépassé leurs années d’université mais qui aiment toujours apprendre. Le matin, allez dans le Quartier Latin et dirigez-vous vers la Galerie de l’UQAM , un musée d’art situé dans l’enceinte de l’Université du Québec à Montréal.
Comme la galerie est principalement axée sur l’enrichissement des étudiants, bon nombre des œuvres exposées sont réalisées par des étudiants en arts visuels, en histoire de l’art et en muséologie, ce qui fait de cette galerie une façon unique et contemporaine de découvrir l’art créé au cœur de Montréal.
Pour déjeuner dans le Quartier Latin, rendez-vous au Resto Végo , un buffet végétarien et végétalien situé dans la rue Saint-Denis. En plus d’un large choix de buffets pour tous les goûts, Testo Vego dispose également d’un comptoir gastronomique, avec des sandwichs, des pizzas et des salades préparés pour ceux qui recherchent quelque chose d’un peu différent du buffet.
Si vous avez envie de sucré, rendez-vous chez Juliette et Chocolat , un café-dessert français également situé rue Saint-Denis. Proposant une pléthore de desserts et de chocolats chauds, Juliette et Chocolat propose également des plats salés et des brunchs pour tous les goûts.
Pour vraiment comprendre la ville cosmopolite de Montréal, les visiteurs doivent faire un tour au Village, où nous nous rendons cet après-midi. Situé près du Quartier des Spectacles, le Village gai de Montréal est le plus grand d’Amérique du Nord. Il fait l’objet d’investissements et de promotions constants de la part des trois niveaux de gouvernement en tant que cœur de la communauté LGBT de Montréal.
Il est souvent recommandé de considérer le village gay comme un musée en plein air, en raison du grand nombre d’installations artistiques publiques, dont une galerie en plein air (Galerie blanche) et la peinture murale de Cécile Gariepy. Malheureusement, l’installation iconique à grande échelle comprenant 180 000 boules arc-en-ciel suspendues a récemment été démontée, mais elle sera bientôt remplacée par une autre installation fantastique. Gardez l’œil ouvert !
Pour le dîner, rendez-vous au Grenade , sur Ontario Street East, pour déguster des plats asiatiques contemporains dans un superbe intérieur d’inspiration asiatique. Grenade dispose également d’un bar à cocktails, dont la carte regorge de boissons importées et d’inspiration asiatique. Si vous visitez l’établissement en été, la terrasse arrière du restaurant est ouverte pour vous permettre de profiter de l’air doux.
Pour terminer votre soirée dans le village gay de Montréal, une visite au Cabaret Mado s’impose. Témoin du dynamisme de la scène drag queen de Montréal, Mado est un endroit idéal pour assister à un spectacle glamour (et peut-être même voir des visages célèbres) tout en buvant un bon verre. Il y a toujours un spectacle à l’affiche, entrecoupé d’événements spéciaux, alors consultez le site Web pour connaître les prochains spectacles !
Pour votre sixième jour au Canada, c’est le moment de faire une autre excursion d’une journée ! L’une des excursions d’une journée les plus populaires au départ de Montréal est la ville de Québec, la capitale de la province du Québec.
À environ 3 heures de route de Montréal, il est recommandé de louer une voiture pour cette excursion, bien qu’un train direct soit également disponible avec un temps de trajet similaire.
Commencez votre visite de la ville de Québec par une promenade dans le Vieux-Québec, un site du patrimoine mondial et l’emplacement du premier établissement permanent de la Nouvelle-France.
Assurez-vous que la Place Royale, les murs de la ville et la Basilique-Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Québec soient des arrêts dans votre exploration de cette ville historique. Si vous disposez de suffisamment de temps, assurez-vous de participer à l’une des nombreuses visites guidées de la ville et profitez des guides hautement qualifiés et compétents de Québec.
Après avoir flâné dans le Vieux-Québec, dirigez-vous vers le Petit-Champlain (et ne manquez pas de vous émerveiller de la beauté de cette rue piétonne !), où vous pourrez manger un morceau au Lapin Saute. Avec une terrasse ouverte en été et un feu pour vous réchauffer en hiver, c’est un endroit idéal pour s’installer pour le déjeuner, quelle que soit la période de votre visite.
Après le déjeuner, rendez-vous au Musée de la civilisation , situé entre le Vieux-Québec et le Vieux-Port, où vous pourrez tout apprendre sur les débuts du Québec et les Premières nations.
Le musée présente une foule de spécimens naturels, d’artefacts historiques et de documents sur le Vieux-Québec. Outre les collections permanentes, le musée organise des expositions temporaires telles que «Pompiers de Québec : 250 ans de courage», qui se tiendra jusqu’au 29 mars 2020. De nombreuses expositions et collections sont interactives, ce qui les rend d’autant plus intéressantes pour les adultes et les enfants. Les billets d’entrée pour adultes commencent à 11 $, et les enfants de moins de 11 ans entrent gratuitement.
Pour le dîner, faites une courte promenade jusqu’à la rue Saint-Paul, où vous trouverez Chez Rioux & Pettigrew. Servant une cuisine franco-canadienne, avec des options végétariennes, végétaliennes et sans gluten, Rioux & Pettigrew a pour objectif de satisfaire les clients avec son style gastronomique et son cadre industriel confortable.
Si vous souhaitez vivre une expérience gastronomique unique, n’oubliez pas de réserver le restaurant Taniere avant votre voyage.
Considéré comme le meilleur restaurant de la ville de Québec, Taniere propose une expérience gastronomique contemporaine dans une série de voûtes souterraines datant du XVIIe siècle. La nourriture, d’origine locale, est préparée de manière experte sur plusieurs plats, entre 15 et 20, avec des options d’association de boissons. Le prix en vaut la peine, c’est un lieu incontournable au Québec pour les gourmands.
Si vous avez encore de l’énergie le soir venu, rendez-vous au Sacrilège , rue Saint-Jean, un bar convivial qui propose des expositions d’art et de la musique en direct. C’est le bar préféré des habitants de la ville, et c’est là qu’il faut aller si vous voulez avoir un aperçu de la charmante vie nocturne de Québec.
Vous pouvez décider de passer la nuit dans la ville de Québec ou de retourner à Montréal.
Le matin, nous nous dirigeons vers Rosemont pour une visite du Jardin Botanique de Montréal, qui fait partie du complexe scientifique Espace vital Montréal. Pour profiter au maximum de votre expérience au Jardin Botanique, des visites guidées des serres d’exposition sont offertes gratuitement avec votre billet d’entrée.
Outre une impressionnante collection d’espèces végétales et des serres d’exposition, le Jardin abrite également divers jardins culturels thématiques.
Le jardin japonais présente un arrangement spectaculaire de bonsaïs, âgés de 20 à 100 ans, dans un environnement serein spécialement aménagé. Le jardin chinois a été créé avec des matériaux expédiés de Shanghai et construit par 50 artisans chinois. Le résultat est une exposition vivante de l’art chinois de l’aménagement paysager, qui crée un sentiment d’harmonie en utilisant les quatre éléments principaux : les plantes, l’eau, les pierres et l’architecture.
Enfin, le jardin des Premières Nations est conçu pour évoquer les liens étroits entre les autochtones et le monde naturel, afin de promouvoir le partage des connaissances et de la culture entre les Québécois autochtones et non autochtones.
Pour le déjeuner, rendez-vous à Little Italy, un petit quartier au nord du Mile End qui a été fortement influencé par une vague d’immigration italienne au début du XXe siècle. Corneli est un restaurant italien situé sur le boulevard Saint-Laurent, qui sert de la viande, du poisson, des pâtes et de la pizza authentiquement cuits dans leur four à bois.
Pendant que vous êtes dans la Petite Italie, dirigez-vous vers le marché Jean-Talon pour l’après-midi. Jean-Talon est le célèbre marché alimentaire de la Petite Italie et l’un des plus anciens marchés publics de Montréal, datant de 1933. Le marché offre une expérience unique de magasinage de produits, même pour ceux qui ne cherchent pas à acheter.
À proximité se trouvent plusieurs cafés, comme le Café Saint-Henri, qui sert un café fantastique et des collations sucrées. Par ailleurs, Rosemont abrite également le village olympique de Montréal, qui est une visite parfaite pour les amateurs de sport. Si une simple promenade dans le village peut constituer une excursion parfaite, le Parc olympique propose diverses visites et événements.
Ouvert presque toute l’année, l’Observatoire de la Tour de Montréal est accessible aux visiteurs, offrant une vue panoramique de la ville depuis la plus haute tour inclinée du monde. Des visites guidées de la Tour sont également disponibles, ainsi que l’exposition Depuis 1976 qui présente l’histoire du parc. Parallèlement, le stade est également ouvert, avec des visites guidées régulières et un programme d’événements saisonniers.
Pour le dîner, rendez-vous rue Beaubien Est pour une place au Il Bazzali, un restaurant italien pittoresque servant des cuisines européenne et méditerranéenne. Si vous avez de la chance, vous aurez peut-être même l’occasion de voir le célèbre «chef chanteur». Le restaurant est un BYOB mais, heureusement, il y a beaucoup de vins à choisir au Marché des Saveurs du Québec au marché Jean-Talon.
Pour terminer votre séjour à Montréal, rendez-vous à La Succursale, rue Masson. La Succursale est spécialisée dans les bières artisanales et les cidres, dans un intérieur contemporain et convivial. Si vous visitez l’établissement pendant l’été, La Succursale dispose également d’une terrasse extérieure, parfaite pour siroter votre boisson pendant les soirées chaudes.
Vous vous demandez où loger pendant votre voyage à Montréal ?
Lisez notre article pour vous aider à choisir le bon quartier et le bon hôtel à Montréal .
Voir plus d’itinéraires:
Updated March 2024
Looking for inspiration to plan a trip to Montréal in 2024?
I’ve been to this beautiful city more than a couple of times in the last few years, each time enjoying the city’s incredible sights and atmosphere a bit more. I’ve even surprised some of the locals with how much I’ve returned in just a few years.
It’s just that great of a place to visit at least once (or more 😉).
In this post, I want to share all the helpful tips, and ideas to help guide your trip planning process to Montréal, and overall, share my experience in hopes that it helps you get ideas for what you’d like to do, from the perspective of someone who has been there a handful of times.
Without further ado, let’s go to Montréal!
What is the best month to visit montréal.
I’ve personally always seemed to find myself in Montréal around May when the spring is in full swing, and I can share that this season is a great time to plan a trip to Montréal.
The weather is warm, with a few hot days, and a light breeze coming in from the St. Lawrence River.
There are tourists starting to visit the city, but it’s not the summer crowd yet so you can still move around the city without large crowds, or get an amazing view of the city when visiting the top of Mount Royal Park.
However, if you want to catch incredible autumn vibes, then definitely consider visiting during the fall months of October-November , when the orange-colored trees line the wonderfully picturesque sidewalks of Old and New Montéal.
Many people also enjoy visiting Montréal during the end of summer, late August-September , which is the season I decided to visit the city on my most recent trip.
Personally, I don’t think I’d plan a trip a trip to Montréal in August again, just because it was still very hot and humid, and very crowded.
I think August is still a busy summer travel month for many, and Montréal was definitely packed with us, travelers.
If you’re ok with large crowds and hot weather, then it’s ideal for you. If not, I’d wait till fall.
I’ve seen a few people ask around if 3 days in Montréal is enough? or if 2 days is enough for Montréal?
The truth is, and you’ll see in a bit, between Old Montreal, the boroughs around the city, and the great day trip activities to participate in, you could easily spend a week in Montréal.
💡 Pro Tip: What kind of traveler are you?
Is nature your thing? History? Cultural events? Art galleries?
Identify that for yourself , and then decide from a few of the suggestions I share in this post (more to come) which ones you’d like to see and start building your Montréal itinerary that way.
That will tell you how many days you need to spend in the city to see what you actually want to see.
I spent up to 3 days in Montréal on my first trip there back in May of 2018, and I felt that it was a great first few days to get a good introduction to the city, visit its main sites, and do a few other things.
I find myself returning to this city, however, wanting to discover more and observe the culture a bit deeper each time.
On my second visit to Montréal, I returned the following year in May 2019 and spent around 3 more days exploring more, and doing more activities to build upon what I had learned before.
I went on the Montréal ghost tour , the bike tour of the city from Old Montréal , to some neighborhoods and other parts of the city, and the Olympic Stadium tour.
All of which I recommend 100%! All were so fun, professional, and welcoming.
For being a city located in North America and being Canada’s 2nd largest city, surprisingly, you don’t need a car to get around – especially as a visitor.
Montréal falls in the top 5 Canadian cities with the best public transportation , offering a complete metro system with 68 stations dotting the city and 4 metro lines taking locals daily to all the places within the city.
Sometimes, the metro may even be free during the summer when major events are happening in the city, so that’s also something cool to think about when planning your trip to Montréal.
There is also the bus system, which makes traveling around the city an easy feat. Just make sure to buy an OPUS Card and top it off with funds for the city’s metro and bus systems.
Yes, there are sites you’ll want to see, like the Olympic Stadium Park and the Botanic Garden of Montréal, that are a little bit away. Although you can get to them via public transportation, you may catch an Uber to get there faster, depending on your schedule.
Also, when it comes to visiting some of the day trip options (more on that later), your best bet is to go with a tour if there isn’t a bus or train that can get you there and/or if the bus/train is more expensive than an organized tour, which seems to happen.
Travel within Canada is not all that cheap…
Montréal is very walkable, especially if you want to center all your activities around Old Montréal, but honestly, getting around the city on foot is part of the fun of enjoying such a multi-cultural city, filled to the brim with public art, events, shops, and tempting cafe’s – it’s the best way to get around in my opinion.
Montréal has a number of cool boroughs to stay in, or at least consider, depending on your travel style and what you’d like to experience.
If you like all things history, old and charming buildings, cobblestone streets, cute little alleyways, and an overall European-city vibe, then definitely check out staying in Old Montréal, also known as Vieux-Montréal.
This location is great if you want to explore the historical sights and experience the historic French charm of Montréal, including –
Check out the dozens of cafes, restaurants, rooftop bars, and restaurants located throughout Old Montréal, as well as convenience stores (or Dépanneurs as they call them) like 7-Eleven and local stores.
Downtown montréal (centre-ville).
If you want to stay in the middle of city life in Montréal, check out staying in Montréal city center.
Be surrounded by all the modern amenities that any other North American city has: direct transportation like Uber, bus, and metro stops.
Downtown Montréal also offers an incredible list of shopping malls, restaurants, cafes, and shops offering slightly more varied prices in comparison to maybe what you’d find in Old Montréal, for obvious reasons.
Still, nonetheless, you also get a “taste” of day-to-day Montréal hustle and bustle.
This location is perfect if you want to visit all the fascinating museums in the city, such as
I recommend checking out Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites – Montreal Centre-ville , which is centrally located downtown and offers incredible hospitality in a central location for various activities.
Honorable mention: If you’re looking to stay somewhere between Old Montréal and downtown Montréal, then I recommend checking out Embassy Suites by Hilton – Montréal for its amazing location. The Notre Dame and Place d’Armes are steps away and a few steps from modern city life.
Overflowing with its artsy vibe, hipster atmosphere, unique and cool cafes, and restaurants, Le Plateau is a neighborhood located 10 minutes or so from Old Town Montréal.
Le Plateau is close to Mount Royal Park, a stunning park with incredible nature and city views (make sure to climb up to the Kondiaronk Belvedere to get to the observatory terrace on top of the “mountain” to get incredible views of Montréal).
Other fun things to do in Le Plateau are to book a street art tour and learn more about the stories behind the beautiful street art adorning the city, check out Schwartz Deli for delectable and world-famous Montréal style bagels, get a bite of authentic poutine at La Banquise , or simply walking around the neighborhood to explore it for yourself. Personally, it’s one of my favorite things to do while there.
I recommend staying at Auberge du Carre St-Louis , situated in the heart of Le Plateau, right in front of Square St. Louis. Enjoy a variety of restaurants within blocks of the Inn, as well as shops and theaters.
Griffintown.
Located southeast of downtown Montréal is Griffintown – a neighborhood mostly founded by Irish immigrants who helped build the city’s strong foundations in the 1800s.
Today, the area has a great art scene and an established hipster culture to dive into.
Within Griffintown, enjoy visiting places like the Arsenal Art Contemporain Montréal, an art gallery that houses various exhibits from local artists.
Also in Griffintown are a number of bakeries, spas , and other fun activities to take part in, like a challenging and thrilling escape room.
If a trendy neighborhood is a place you want to stay in, then definitely check out Griffintown, conveniently close to Old Montréal and on the Old Port.
I recommend checking out Hôtel Alt Montréal , offering modern and sleek rooms with great city and port views while offering other great amenities inside the room and the hotel.
Get to know the everyday authentic Montréal inside Mile End.
A neighborhood in Montréal known for its authentic roots, incredible diversity in people and restaurants, and street art, it’s a great place to stay to discover the neighborhood, as well as the magical Old Town and downtown.
Though technically, it’s *kind of* a part of the Le Plateau neighborhood, Mile End is still a great place to check out on its own.
Check out some of the best eateries found in Mile End, such as emblematic Cafe Olimpico, and bagels of all different flavors (which you must try because it’s Montréal) at St-Viateur Bagel.
Consider booking a food tour of Montréal , where you can get the best of the food scene in Montréal that you definitely don’t want to miss.
I recommend staying in what feels like your own apartment in Mile End through Parc Avenue Lofts . These condos are made to give travelers a great stay while enjoying the artsy vibe of Mile End.
Offering a perfect little nest during your stay in Mile End in Montréal, it is a block away from the famed St-Viateur Bagel , one of the bagel shops that the late and missed Anthony Bourdain mentioned on one of his trips.
The village.
The Village is the name for the Gay neighborhood in Montréal, situated north of Montréal, offering a vibrant and fun neighborhood to check out and explore.
Wander through the streets to check out the vintage shops, and if you’re visiting in early August, stick around for Fierté Montreal (Pride). By day or night, there is always fun to be had, from drag shows inside Cabaret Mado to day drinking on the terraces of The Village.
If you want to stay in this neighborhood, I recommend you check out Kutuma Hotel and Suites , which offers a great location between The Village, Le Plateau, and Mile End – some of the most fun neighborhoods in Montréal.
This hotel offers a free continental breakfast served daily and is close to St. Catherine Street , known for awesome shopping in the neighborhood.
Things to do and see in montréal.
Explore Old Montréal and enjoy the cobblestone streets, taking you back to the 17th century, when the city was founded, brimming with French influence, culture, language, and customs.
Visit the Old Port and stop inside the Délices Érable & Cie, Montréal’s famous maple store, selling various maple-flavored products, from candy, coffee, bread, jams, and more.
A must-visit stop in Old Montréal is the Bonsecours Market , known as a heritage building, housing an indoor market that houses various shops inside, galleries, cafes, and more. Many of the items sold here are uniquely Québec-made.
Situated within Old Montréal, in front of beautiful Place d’Armes square , check out the emblemati c Notre Dame Basilica , which welcomes approximately 1 million people yearly!
Wander inside and check out the extremely stunning architecture and decor leading up to the beautifully lit altar.
Check out a tour of the Basilica, or walk in and see it yourself. Check out the events on the Basilica’s website for upcoming events, from religious to innovative events involving technology, light, and fun.
Address : 110 Notre-Dame St W, Montreal, Quebec H2Y 1T1, Canada
Wander through the exhibits inside the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts, showcasing the best of modern and contemporary art from local artists and international talent.
Check out collections of art only found in this museum, such as Quebéc and Canadian Art, Decorative Arts and Design, Graphics Arts, and the sculpture garden.
The museum is located on the historic Golden Square Mile.
Address : 1380 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal, Quebec H3G 1J5, Canada
The Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal is a basilica and shrine located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood, 34 minutes southeast of Old Montréal.
The cool and interesting thing about this place is the multiple (99) steps you have to take to get to the basilica doors.
If you don’t want to go up the steps, you can also take the escalator up, which is so interesting and different to see in a basilica – but it’s there!
Address : 3800 Queen Mary Rd, Montreal, Quebec H3V 1H6, Canada
Reserve your tickets online for the Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History, showcasing a fascinating look at Montréal’s history, from the First Nations people to the influence of the French and today’s society in the city.
Find relics found via excavations, construction sites, and more throughout the years, exhibited to learn about this part of Canada and its history.
Address : 350 Place Royale, Montreal, Quebec H2Y 3Y5, Canada
If you’re a foodie, you must stop by Marché Atwater , an indoor market housed inside a beautiful Art-Deco building, giving a glimpse into day-to-day life in Montréal.
Check out the multiple stalls and sellers showcasing fresh meats, dairy, produce, and more. Open all year round; be sure to step in during different seasons when you’re in town to see what’s new.
Address : 138 Atwater Ave, Montreal, Quebec H4C 2H6, Canada
The Marché Jean-Talon is one of North America’s largest open-air markets and is a great place to gain insight into everyday, local Montréal life at the market.
Look through the different products, what people are buying, and what essentially makes up the diet for a local.
Additionally, gain access to the variety of ethnic delicacies that are now popular throughout the city as a result of waves of immigration to the city.
Let your senses absorb the different produce, dairy, meats, and snacks commonly sold there, and grab some for yourself on the way home.
Address : 7070 Henri Julien Ave, Montreal, Quebec H2S 3S3, Canada
Visit the Underground City, situated right under the streets of Montréal, created to offer comfort and warmth during the cold months.
Built in 1966, this underground city complex houses a dozen shops, restaurants, hotels, train station entrances, and more.
It’s such a cool place to explore and see for yourself.
The whole entire thing is around 20.5 miles – yes, very expansive!
Address : 747 Rue du Square-Victoria #247, Montreal, Quebec H2Y, Canada
This park is situated on the hill of Mont-Royal.
It is commonly known as just “The Mountain,” offering great hiking opportunities and a staircase to climb and reach the top and gaze onto the magnificent views of Montréal on the Kondiaronk Belvedere (platform).
Don’t forget to step inside the Chalet, offering clean bathrooms, souvenir shops, and a nice big rest space to take in the views, sitting down in one of the leaning chairs.
Address : 2000 Chemin Remembrance Montréal, QC H3H 1A2, Canada
Wander through the acrylic, dome-like building located in Old Montréal, originally built for the 1967 World’s Fair and today housing an environmental museum open to the public.
You’ll see it if you go on the Montréal Ferris Wheel .
Take note of the beautiful display of lights occasionally happening inside the biosphere, adding a layer of beauty to the building.
Address : 160 Chem. du Tour de l’isle, Montréal, QC H3C 4G8, Canada
Visit the historic museum housed inside the gorgeous Beaux-Arts facade building, which used to belong to two members of the wealthy class of Montreal at the beginning of the 20th century.
Step inside and learn through the various exhibits and the different uses of the home throughout time, from being an all-boys school to housing art museums. Now, you can also tour the grounds of the home and see all the furniture decorating the space very much of the time.
It’s really pretty to see those who love learning about history and being surrounded by classic beauty. You won’t want to miss this on your first visit to Montréal.
Address : 2929 Av. Jeanne-d’Arc, Montréal, QC H1W 3W2, Canada
Visit the two islands that make up the Parc Jean-Drapeau, Saint Helen’s Island and the artificial Notre Dame Island, which are only a few minutes away from Old Montréal and accessible via the subway .
Inside Parc Jean-Drapeau, enjoy various cultural events like Electronic music festivals, food festivals, art expos, and extreme sports competitions.
For those looking for a bit of relaxation, check out the great walking paths, water park for children, the Jean-Doré beach, gardens, and green spaces for the perfect picnic.
It’s a local side of Montréal that you don’t want to miss.
Address : 1 Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montréal, QC H3C 1A9, Canada
If you love flowers and all things gardening, you must visit the botanic garden, brimming with a wide array of flowers, from fragrant roses, bright sunflowers, plants used for cooking, and even medicinal purposes, as well as other local plants and flowers.
Address : 4101 Sherbrooke St E, Montreal, Quebec H1X 2B2, Canada
The site where the 1976 Summer Olympics took place was in the city of Montréal, and today, the stadium and the sports complex surrounding the stadium are open for visitors to check out.
They used to offer tours, and you could go in with a guide, but unfortunately, they don’t offer them anymore. However, you can still go inside and explore yourself with an audioguide to learn about the important history.
You can even go up to the observation tower, 165 meters above and at a 45-degree angle, to get an all-encompassing view of the sports complex from above, proving to be a cool sight to check out.
While inside, check out the Olympic Stadium, equipped to hold up to 56,000 people, and the Sports Center with Olympic-size pools that the Montréalers use,
There are also a variety of cultural events that take place here, so it’s a good spot to keep in mind, especially if you’re planning on attending an outdoor concert that may take place here in the Esplanade part of the sports complex.
Address : 4545 Pierre-de Coubertin Ave, Montreal, Quebec H1V 3N7, Canada
La Petite-Patrie is the neighborhood where you’ll find the Marché Jean-Talon in the heart of what is known as Little Italy.
Indulge in the local food scene, take in the sight of life lived outdoors in the streets, people playing in the parks of all ages, and locally owned cafe shops and restaurants.
Also, here are a few of the museums and places of interest I mentioned above, like the Olympic Stadium Park and the Montréal Botanical Gardens.
The Mecca for the best bagel in Montréal is within the streets of the Historic Jewish Quarter.
From the first wave of Jewish immigration from various different countries in 1760 until today, the Jewish community has influenced the food scene and culture throughout Montréal in an enriching way.
Check out the bakeries, deli, and, of course, bagel shops, which I will recommend below which ones to check out specifically, so stay tuned!
This is the neighborhood where you’ll find the St. Joseph Oratory, a sight I recommended to visit earlier on this list, but other than that; it is a huge neighborhood that offers diversity, community, and beautiful architecture representative of the different waves of immigration, as well as affordable housing for both students and recently, arrived immigrants.
Something I heard from our biking tour guide was the efforts that the local city government strived for when it came to supporting and guiding newly moved immigrant families by placing them in centric neighborhoods where they had access to libraries, employment, schools, and hospitals, all within a few blocks walking.
The neighborhood also has a diverse mix of restaurants representing various world cuisines, awesome dessert shops, and cafes.
Also, the ambiance is great.
Mile End is one of the more popular neighborhoods to check out in the city, with its proximity to Mont Royal and Mont Royal Park and its endless list of things to do, places to eat, and so much more.
Shop the little boutiques and bookstores, check out the lively bar scene and the unique restaurants, and take in the fun vibe that never seems to go to sleep in this neighborhood.
It’s also a good distance away from Old Montréal.
It’s not really a neighborhood, but it’s definitely a great street to be aware of.
This is the street where most shopping occurs, mainly bigger brands, as well as tons of restaurants, local and chain.
It’s just a good place to know overall that I thought I should mention.
Also, it is a good reference point when planning distance from places.
Situated in Tremblant Mountain, about an hour north of Montréal, Mont-Tremblant is a great day trip option, offering ski opportunities but also taking the panoramic gondola, reaching great heights and offering spanning views of The Laurentians, reaching a panoramic terrace with even greater views.
It’s perfect for bird-watching, hiking, and other games like mini golf, enjoying the beach and the beautiful nature.
The capital of Canada is only 2 hours away west of Montréal and brimming with cultural activities that can only be found within a capital city.
Check out Parliament Hill, the Parliament Hill of Canada, the Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a high tea experience at the stunning Fairmont Hotel, and brimming with historical museums like the Bytown Museum (Bytown is the former name of Ottawa), and the Canadian Museum of History.
Québec city.
The most French-speaking town in Canada, Québec City, is a destination not to miss, known for its picture-perfect Old Québec City, dating to 1608.
Stroll through the famed Petite Champlain Street, the oldest shopping street in Canada, and contemplate the beauty of the towering Château Frontenac, stunning European architecture, and beautiful cobblestone streets.
Enjoy the Furniculare ride, housed inside the former home of Louis Joliet (the man whose name was given to the city of Joliet in Illinois after paddling down the St. Lawrence River, all the way to Illinois to the Des Plaines River).
If you have time, take a quick Uber ride to Montmorency Falls, a cascading waterfall taller than Niagra Falls.
I’ve been to Québec City twice, so I recommend taking the train from Montréal to Québec City using the Canadian train system or taking a day tour.
I’ve done both, and I would say if you want to do a day tour, go with a tour group that will take care of schedules and transportation better, especially if it’s your first time.
Otherwise, the train is a great option but it is better to take it if you stay longer than a day.
>> read more: follow me around québec city, the laurentians.
The Laurentians is a stunning natural site to visit, overflowing with abundant nature, the Laurentian mountains, beautiful parks to hike in, the beach, golfing, and much more.
Depending on the season you visit, there is always something to do, from canoeing, skiing, strolling the beautiful gardens, or participating in a local concert.
The town in and of itself is really quaint and beautiful and definitely worth a day trip.
Au diable vert canopy cycle.
Ok, this is for the adrenaline junkies out there visiting Montréal between May-November.
Consider visiting the Au Diable Vert outdoor result, known most for its suspended bicycle ride, which happens to be the tallest in the world.
Gently peddling your way through the treetops of some of Canada’s best scenery, the suspended bike is one not to miss.
Though currently there is no tour that can take you there, you can either drive yourself (driving in Canada is similar to driving in the U.S.) or take an Uber.
Eastern townships.
The Eastern Townships is a historical and quaint region of southern Québec, and only a little under 2 hours away east of Montréal, basically on the border with the U.S.
There is the French-Canadian flair (and mainly French-speaking) with a bit of a New England vibe in the 9 different regions that make up the Eastern Townships.
Enjoy the stunning nature scene of lakes, mountains, forests, and farmlands as you check out the Brome-Missisquoi region for its wine-making traditions. Granby – is perfect for nature walks and family fun, and the Memphremagog region – is known for its incredible food scene, farmers’ markets, and the Lake Memphremagog fresh waters lake.
Tours i’ve been on that i recommend you check out in montréal.
The best, most iconic, and delicious foods to try in Montréal 🍁 all in a handy guide to refer back to.
Check your email for your 9 Must-try Foods To Eat in Montréal! Make sure to also check your spam folder if you can’t find it right away!
💡 Pro tip : A lot of the city’s great restaurants, especially newer ones with interesting concepts are located in the St. Henri borough, a 20-minute metro ride from Old Montréal.
Old Montréal showcases the French/European influence dating back to 1535 when the first Europeans came to the city, known before as Ville-Marie.
The romantic streets with cobblestone transport anyone back to any European city, and enamoring more than one with its charm, sitting right beside the picturesque St. Lawrence River and the Old Port.
Downtown Montréal is more modern, boasting the typical city life, fast-paced, public transportation stops, continuous construction, and all of that.
Yet, I can’t help but feel like downtown Montréal isn’t like most North American cities.
Maybe I’m biased or a Europhile, but the French streets, stop signs, Paris-inspired Metro entrances, and influence is definitely noted throughout downtown, and immediately don’t make it seem like any North American city.
In addition, even though downtown is like any other downtown, you’ll still find open-air art galleries, an abundance of cafes and terraces, open park spaces with sculptures, and people actually sitting down, enjoying a good book or lunch.
Life is fast-paced just like in any other city, but Montréalers just know how to make time to relax , use the city’s open spaces, sit around and talk with each other over a coffee on a random Wednesday.
It’s not as go, go, go as Chicago for instance , where I went to school.
I think it’s the heavy European-take-it-easy influence that definitely floods onto modern downtown Montréal, and is essentially a part of every Montréaler.
They take chilling seriously.
And personally, I love to see it. Life being lived, slowly yet efficiently.
How much is the train from montréal to québec.
Typically, a round trip will cost anywhere from $60-$80 CAD per one way, so around $170 CAD plus or minus.
Depending on how much time you have overall in Canada, and how much time you’d like to spend in each city (both worth a few days to fully explore) then taking the train might be your best option.
Personally, I have been to Québec City and spent around 3 days exploring, which I think was a good amount of time. I got to explore the Old Town, visit the museums, and go out to Montmorency Falls for a day trip.
Afterward, I took a train to Montréal, and spend around 3 additional days exploring, and doing the free walking tour, a couple of museums, and the ghost tour.
On my most recent trip, I took a day trip to Québec City from Montréal, and though it was great and efficient, I felt it was a bit rushed, not because of the tour or the guides themselves, but simply because I don’t think you can really explore Québec City in one day (or a couple of hours as that is what the tour allotted, really).
However, doing a day trip is a good option and opportunity to get an intro to the city, and make note of the things you want to explore when you return (if you liked it enough).
Is montréal or québec city better to visit.
It might be the boring answer, but it’s the most authentic.
Both are completely worth the visit.
Having visited both cities multiple times at this point, both offer an incredible array of things to do, food to devour, and amazing history unique to their own region.
Both cities are located in the same province of Québec and have similar histories and architecture and even historical figures, however, the way things went down historically is unique.
For instance, Québec City is known to be the most French-speaking region of the country, and I definitely noticed that on my first trip.
Don’t worry though, they will speak English with you if you don’t know French – this is still in Canada.
Plus, Québec City has been growing exponentially, attracting a lot of tourism in the last few years, with its 17th-century-style buildings, and being the only walled city north of México, thus earning recognition from the UNESCO World Heritage.
Montréal doesn’t fall behind by inviting approximately 11 million tourists per year, charming people with its youthful, cool blend of North American life with a very strong European force, and incredibly fast-growing multi-cultural influence.
Most Montréalers are not only bilingual, but trilingual, learning both English and French as required by their school system, and also learning their native language.
So cool and different from many other North American cities.
As you can see, there are endless reasons to visit each city on its own and spend a few days to really get a better idea.
This is why I recommend doing at least one tour of any kind in either city, to really learn and appreciate where you’re standing.
I hope this post has helped you plan out your first trip to Montréal! Truly, I have poured everything I know into this post, and I surely hope that it can serve as inspiration and guidance for your Canadian travels, especially in the Québec province.
Have you been to Montréal before?
Let me know in the comments, and feel free to share your own tips for all of us to learn and be better equipped for our travels in Montréal.
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Hi! I'm the founder and writer behind Travel Notes and Things. I write posts about travel destinations, share travel tips and resources, as well as talk about transformative travel to help inspire Latinas to travel to their dream destinations!
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Montreal is an incredible city that seamlessly blends old and new, French and English (along with a smattering of other cultures), and the conservative and the cutting edge. There are plenty of phenomenal activities for all types of travelers, including tons of things to do in Montreal with kids. Between us, we’ve taken a childhood trip to Montreal, a couples trip to Montreal for our honeymoon, a bachelor party trip to Montreal and now a family trip to Montreal with our own kids.
Despite so many trips to Montreal through so many different lenses, we keep coming back and finding more to love. Of course the best things to do in Montreal, Canada will depend on your interests, but you’ll be sure to find inspiration ideas after reading this article.
Montreal is a big city with a million places to stay, ranging from budget-friendly vacation rentals to luxury hotels.
On our most recent visit we had a fantastic “apart-hotel” vacation rental in the heart of Old Montreal, located on Boulevard St-Laurent right near Rue St-Paul (pictured above). It was the most basic one bedroom offered, with a comfortable sleep sofa in the living room and a full kitchen in case you want to prepare your own meals (which you probably shouldn’t, because you’re in an amazing foodie city). Importantly for us, the apartment is equipped with a washer and dryer in the bathroom and comes with a parking permit for the Port (just a three minute walk across the street).
The same building has many larger options if you need more space to spread out. There are bigger one bedroom apartments and even three bedroom apartments clocking in at 2600 square feet with sleeping space for 8-9 guests!
There are plenty of excellent hotels near the Old Port of Montreal:
Get all the details on where to stay in Montreal with kids .
If you’d rather stay outside of Old Montreal, you can use the map below to identify some of the activities that interest you most and find the best places to stay in Montreal within relatively easy walking distance.
One thing’s for sure: you’ll never run out of things to see in Montreal. This list of the top attractions in Montreal for families is a great sampling to get you started, but be sure to stumble and explore to find your own favorites too!
One of the most unique things to do in Montreal is spend a few hours at Espace Pour La Vie , the life-focused set of attractions that sprang up from the ashes of the old 1974 Montreal Olympic site. Rather than letting it crumble and decay, planners repurposed the velodrome into a remarkable showcase of five different biomes of the Americas at the Montreal Biodôme.
In just over an hour you can explore everything from a frigid penguin habitat to Canada’s woodlands to South American rain forests. It’s truly a place of wonder – we loved feeling the ice as we walked through the Arctic tunnel, watching the beavers hard at work (above) and even glimpsed a sloth swinging along the ceiling!
Up the hill is a place unlike any other we’ve visited, the Montreal Insectarium. While there’s a large butterfly pavilion, there are also incredible interactive spaces to help you understand what it feels like to live as a bug! The displays of Earth’s diversity of insects are absolutely amazing and there are some truly unique live insects that you can watch to understand their behaviors. This is a truly enjoyable activity – especially if you’re visiting Montreal with kids, but even without them. The Insectarium does have limited capacity, so be sure to reserve your spot as soon as you know your travel dates.
Next to the Insectarium is one of our favorite places, and arguably one of the top attractions in Montreal: the Botanical Gardens. It’s absolutely beautiful! When we spent part of our honeymoon in Montreal, going to the annual Magic of Lanterns festival was a highlight. Even if it’s not the season for the festival or another celebration, visiting during the day gives you the opportunity to witness the elaborate Zodiac-themed sculptures that fill the pond of the Chinese garden. You’ll also want to be sure to explore the diverse collection of lilies near the main entrance. The Gardens are home to some of the best Instagram spots in Montreal!
If your interests are more extra -terrestrial, check out the Rio Tinto-Alcan Planetarium. This is the one site at Espace Pour La Vie that we didn’t get to visit due to time constraints, but it’s high on our list for our next trip to Montreal. There are excellent planetarium shows, space-focused art exhibits and more.
One note on costs… each museum ticket is $22 per adult and $16 per child ($60 for a family). It’s entirely possible to visit all four of these best Montreal attractions in one day so paying separately for each museum would get incredibly expensive. A better option if you plan to visit several of the sites is to purchase the Espace Pour La Vie Passport at $80 per adult or $140 per family. It’s valid for a year, which gives you the option to return. You can also visit the iconic Biosphère on a different day as it’s not located with the rest of the museums.
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Montreal was established in 1642 as a fur trading outpost and gradually, through fits and starts fire, grew to be an important city in the colony of New France.
Bits of the original village remain today, interspersed with some slightly newer structures (many from the 1800s) and right next to the redeveloped port. While not as extensive as old Quebec City , it’s still charming and full of beautifully maintained historic buildings. This is one of the best places to stay in Montreal, as you can easily enjoy the city’s charms away from some of the more modern busyness of a city this size.
There are still many historic buildings in Old Montreal, ranging from those built by early French settlers to gorgeous Gilded Age towers. To see it all and understand it , consider taking an Old Montreal walking tour . That tour offers shorter options highlighting either the east or west side of old Montreal as well as a combined tour that covers them both, so you can decide just how much history you want in one day.
Once it’s dark, stroll through the modernized port right near Old Montreal. There are lovely parks with fountains, food trucks and craft vendors and a big observation wheel to keep you entertained after the sun goes down. It may not have the same charm as the ancient city, but it’s a fun way to wrap up the day!
How do Montrealers survive the frigid winters? They head underground!
The Underground City, RÉSO, has more than 20 miles of subterranean passageways connecting buildings, malls, restaurants and museums in the city’s core. It’s remarkable!
We’ve only explored a small fraction of RÉSO, but for an in-depth experience you can visit with a knowledgeable guide on this tour – you’ll see the highlights and also understand the important history of Montreal’s Underground City.
Montreal gets its name from the large hill/small mountain on the edge of the city, Mount Royal. Mt Royal Park in Montreal is a large, beautiful green space where locals go for their own recreation. Fortunately there are so many wonderful ways to enjoy it, and an afternoon at Mount Royal is also one of the best free things to do in Montreal.
If you’re looking for active things to do in Montreal, there’s no better place. You can hike up to the top of Mount Royal via the extensive trail system, or if you’re really brave you can bike up the mountain and then down the other side.
For those who want a more relaxing way to enjoy Montreal outdoors, head to the lovely Beaver Lake area. We spread out a picnic on the large grassy hill and then rented a boat to paddle around the lake (check hours and rates here ). There are also some lovely manmade waterfalls near the lake that are perfect for some kid-friendly scrambling or keepsake photos.
Thanks to its elevation, Mount Royal also provides one of the best vantage points to see the city. You’ll probably want to end the day at one of the scenic overlooks off the road so that you can enjoy golden hour light as you take in the sweeping views. Bonus? If you leave the park as the sun is setting you can stop in lovely Outremont to enjoy dinner at one of the many excellent (and less touristy) restaurants along a pedestrian (in summer) thoroughfare like Ave Bernard.
Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal provides both a fantastic backdrop for Montreal Instagrammers as well as a great view out to the city from its terrace. It’s immediately adjacent to the base of Mount Royal Park, so many people combine them into a single visit.
I mentioned previously that we enjoyed a picnic on Mount Royal, but it was no ordinary picnic. No, ours was a farm-fresh picnic including everything from just-picked produce to local cheeses, freshly made baguettes and even house smoked salmon.
A visit to Marche Jean Talon is an experience unto itself. In addition to the delicious food offerings, there are also soaps, flowers and more. You can easily spend an hour wandering, exploring, sampling and buying! Since it’s impossible to walk away empty-handed, be sure to bring a packable grocery bag or two for your visit.
To really dive in, consider this guided tour of the market and nearby Little Italy!
You can’t visit Montreal without encountering St. Catherine Street. It’s 7 miles long and runs nearly the length of the entire city! There are shops, entertainment venues, universities, restaurants and more.
But it’s also, in many ways, the beating heart of this large city. You could walk along parts St. Catherine Street and easily mistake it for New York or Chicago. In other places it’s distinctively Montreal. In summer it’s the perfect place to enjoy the city’s brightly colored benches, pop-up photo booths, patio dining, festivals and more.
You’ll find a mix of international chains and Canadian and local specialties along St. Catherine Street. If your shopping list includes the coziest sweats you’ll ever own, don’t skip the massive Roots outpost near Peel Street – if you’re lucky, you might even catch an item from the sale section in the back. For a time-honored tradition, continue past the Quartier des Spectacles to Henri Henri, which has been adorning the heads of Montreal’s men (and my husband) for the last century.
Planning a family trip to Montreal? You won’t want to miss the Montreal Science Center ! We spent several hours there, but the kids would have been thrilled to stay all day. If you’re a member of your local ASTC science center, you’ll even get free admission.
The Montreal Science Center has a wide variety of exhibits covering everything from human development to mechanics. It’s extremely interactive throughout. Our kids loved the physical challenges of the Guinness Book of World Records exhibit and the in-depth experimentation in the maker space/workshop/lab.
There’s an IMAX with some very interesting shows, though the English schedule isn’t as extensive as the French schedule so be sure to check in advance if you know you’ll want to see one. If you’re visiting in the summer, you may want to consider arriving after lunch to avoid the throngs of summer camp groups.
It’s located at the port, so if you’re staying at one of our Old Montreal recommendations it’s just a quick walk to get to!
Without question, Montreal has a great food scene. While you’re there you should try out the signature Montreal bagels and smoked meat (not necessarily together).
Why bagels and smoked meat in what used to be called New France? Canada opened its doors to European Jewish refugees in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In fact, relatives on both sides of my family found a safe, new start in Montreal.
The Jews of Eastern Europe brought their own culinary traditions and had an outsized impact on Montreal food specialties. They brought smoking techniques that were different than the ones early French colonists had learned from the First Nations and bagel recipes that differed slightly from those brought to New York.
You can get a delicious sampling of Montreal’s Jewish food, history and culture on this excellent tour , or opt for a Montreal food tour that spans a broader range of the city’s diverse food scene.
If you’re an admirer of church architecture and design, be sure the Basilica of Notre Dame is on your Montreal itinerary! It’s full of intricate stonework, but paired with a ceiling in the style of the lower level of Sainte Chapelle in Paris and vibrantly painted altar pieces.
Visitors first thing in the morning should be able to enter quickly, but even an hour after opening the line was long. Buying tickets online in advance will save you plenty of time! We actually bought ours while we stood in the line and were able to advance straight to the entry.
If you’re interested in historic buildings in Montreal, head 1/2 block to the right before you enter the Basilica. You’ll be able to admire Saint-Sulpice Seminary, built in 1687. It’s the second-oldest building in Montreal and one of the few 17th century remnants that’s in today’s city center.
All of these ideas should be enough to fill two or three days in Montreal. If you have more time or want to pass on some of them, there are some wonderful day trips from Montreal that you can consider!
First and foremost, Quebec City is about a 3 hour drive away. While that makes for a long Montreal day trip, with an early start and a late return you could get a nice taste of one of North America’s most magical cities. One thing’s for certain: it’ll leaving you wanting more! Get the scoop on what to do in Quebec City . If you’re doing a car-free trip, your best bet for a day trip from Montreal to Quebec is to hop on an organized tour . Check availability below:
Canada’s capital city, Ottawa is much closer at 2 hours by car or public transportation. We haven’t visited yet but look forward to hitting Ottawa on our next visit to Canada. During a day trip from Montreal to Ottawa you can check out Parliament Hill, enjoy the Ottawa River and in May explore the stunning Canadian Tulip Festival.
We didn’t have time to visit on this trip, but nearby Mont Tremblant is a nature-lovers paradise all year long. It’s only a 90 minute drive, but unfortunately can’t be easily accessed by public transportation. There are wonderful hikes, a scenic gondola and excellent skiing in the winter. We’ll be sure to visit on our next family trip to Montreal!
Use this map to help you plan out your Montreal itinerary:
Want to extend your trip further? Check out these wonderful Canadian destinations within driving or train distance:
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Montréal est...
La Destination harmonieuse, c’est l’art de vivre à Montréal pendant votre séjour. Pendant votre visite, vous êtes résidente ou résident de passage. On vous invite à profiter de tout ce que Montréal a à vous offrir, à découvrir les endroits qui rendent la ville unique et à consommer les produits et services locaux, le tout, dans le respect.
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Montreal is an incredible city that seamlessly blends old and new, French and English (along with a smattering of other cultures), and the conservative and the cutting edge. There are plenty of phenomenal activities for all types of travelers, including tons of things to do in Montreal with kids. Between us, we've taken a childhood trip to Montreal, a couples trip to Montreal for our ...
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