Why go à MONTRÉAL?
The good reasons to go à MONTRÉAL
Surprising architecture
Industrial buildings stand side by side with opulent mansions and modern high-rises.
Sporting discoveries
It's not easy to follow the puck on the ice, on the bar screen or at the arena.
A top culinary destination
With renowned chefs, flavours from around the world, numerous food trucks and tutti quanti.
A real cultural melting pot
Montreal is a land of immigrants and ethnic diversity.
A bilingual city
A destination where both French and English are spoken.
Inclusion
Tolerance and open-mindedness reign supreme in this welcoming city.
Festivities with no downtime
A city renowned for its countless festivals, there's never a dull moment, even at -20°C.
Wide open spaces nearby
To stretch your legs in the forest or in the mountains, a stone's throw from the metropolis.
The ultimate winter experience
To experience a "real" winter at least once in your life.
Discoveries by bike
The city is ideal for cycling, with a number of excellent cycle paths.
Good to know when visiting MONTRÉAL
Timetable
In urban centers like Montreal, points of interest are generally open year-round, with limited opening hours outside the summer season (e.g., closed on Mondays). In the regions, however, they are often seasonal, open from May to October. While they are open every day in summer, opening hours are often reduced from Patriotes Day (Monday before May 25) to June 24, and from Labor Day (1st Monday in September) to Thanksgiving (2nd Monday in October).
To be booked
Reservations are rarely necessary, except for guided tours, workshops and special activities, or immersive shows such as Aura at Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal and Tonga Lumina at Tremblant (Laurentians). If the point of interest requires transportation, such as a shuttle bus, it's best to reserve a seat on board. Note that some points of interest also offer on-site accommodation, often experiential. In this case, we strongly advise you to book your package in advance.
Budget & Tips
Admission is usually between CAN$10 and CAN$25 for adults. Children, students and seniors almost always benefit from discounts or even free admission. For example, access to national parks and historic sites is always free for under-18s. Many points of interest are also completely free, although some require a voluntary contribution. To make the most of all that Montreal has to offer, there are three passports that can help you save big. The first is the Montreal Museum Pass, which offers three packages, with or without public transit passes, to discover the city's museum institutions(https://museesmontreal.org/fr/cartes-musees). Then there's the MTL Passport, which lets you visit up to 28 must-see attractions in a 2 or 3-day package, including public transit (www.mtl.org/fr/passeport-mtl). And if you're planning to study in Montreal, find out more about Passeport MTL étudiant international.
Main events
Countless festivals take place in Montreal every year, with themes as varied as craft beer, blues music, African and Creole cinema, comedy and circus arts. Among the biggest and best-known are Igloofest, a huge open-air electro music event held in the middle of winter. In summer, the Montreal International Jazz Festival and Osheaga attract the world's greatest singers and musicians. And we can't forget the Formula 1 race held at Montreal's Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.
Guided tours
All kinds of guided tours are available in Montreal, from traditional city bus tours to helicopter flights over the metropolis and cruises on the St. Lawrence River. There's something for every taste, too: a tour of craft breweries, gourmet stops in an emerging district, a "haunted" lantern-lit walk, a historical tour with characters in period costume, local-style discovery with a local, and more. The choice is yours! A number of Quebec cities are also members of the international Stroll Buddy (formerly Greeter) network, including Montreal and Mont-Tremblant (strollbuddy.com).
Smokers
Whether on a guided tour or in a museum, smoking is prohibited. For outdoor points of interest, such as interpretation sites and national parks, smoking areas are often provided.
Tourist traps
If you're taking part in a guided tour in Montreal, make sure your guide is properly accredited and has a city permit (which must be visible at all times while on duty). Guides have completed a mandatory training program recognized by the Quebec Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Education. This ensures the quality and veracity of the information conveyed during tours.
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Discover MONTRÉAL
Canada's second-largest city after Toronto, a dynamic financial, commercial and technological center, a first-rate port on the waterway linking the Great Lakes to the Atlantic, Montreal is one of the world's great French-speaking cities. It is the only city in the country to have reconciled Old World influences with North American modernity, to have succeeded in bringing together the English-speaking and French-speaking communities that history has long pitted against each other, and to have succeeded in integrating an ethnic mosaic resulting from immigration. It's also an agglomeration of once-distinct towns and villages, and a vibrant cultural metropolis. And the sheer number of events that take place here without a break explains its nickname of "North America's festival capital". Last but not least, Montreal is one of the world's great gourmet destinations, a fact not lost on epicureans.
