Top Montreal Culture

If you’re not familiar with Montreal’s past, it can be difficult to fully appreciate the historical and cultural significance of Old Montreal on your own. Gain a deeper understanding of local history, architecture, culture, food, and art, and take the hassle out of finding your way around the labyrinthine cobbled streets on this small-group walking tour. Get insights from your local guide as well as recommendations on places to eat, drink, and explore.

Museum of Illusions, where your eyes and brain don't get along. Over 70+ educational exhibits, rooms, holograms, stereograms to experience. Pause reality, challenge your vision. It's like yoga or pilates for your eyes. A fun place to enjoy brain teasers, Instagram friendly establishment. Forget what you think you are seeing, you will have to look again.

Step into Montréal’s hidden universe beneath the streets for a 2-hour immersive experience through the city’s vast indoor underground network (RESO). Hosted by a passionate local, this experience blends art, architecture, and lesser-known stories as we move through iconic landmarks, a Parisian-style metro entrance, public art, hidden cafés, and major transit hubs. Along the way, discover how hundreds of thousands of people move through this climate-controlled network daily, especially during Montréal’s extreme seasons. This is a storytelling-based cultural experience shaped by personal knowledge, observations, and lived city experience. It is designed to offer a local perspective rather than a formal or institutional narrative. With years of experience hosting visitors from around the world, guests often highlight the welcoming atmosphere, insider feel, and unique photo opportunities. This experience is host-led and focuses on cultural exploration and local perspective.

Enjoy a relaxing way to sightsee and admire some of Montreal's top sights on this narrated cruise along the St. Lawrence River. Travel aboard a vessel that's complete with sunny terraces and a glass-enclosed dining area, passing area landmarks including the Jacques-Cartier Bridge, the Biosphere, the Olympic Stadium, and the scenic shoreline. Along the way, hear tales about the city’s founding and rich history.

Highlights of the Old Montréal Walking Tour Explore the Best of Old Montréal: Stroll through the historic heart of the city and uncover the stories behind its iconic streets, architecture, and landmarks. Engaging Local Guides: Our passionate guides are professionally trained and deeply knowledgeable about Montréal and Québec’s rich history and culture. Connect with Fellow Travelers: Meet curious explorers from around the world and get insider tips for local restaurants, cafés, and hidden gems to enjoy after the tour.

Montreal’s chilly winters mean inhabitants have long found creative ways of getting around the cold—and that includes the RÉSO. The most extensive underground pedestrian network in the world, it stretches for over 20 miles (32 kilometers)—and this tour makes exploring simple. This includes some outdoor portions where you can see points of interest in the heart of downtown Montreal.

A fixture in the heart of the city for over 100 years, the McCord Stewart Museum sheds light on life in Montreal, both past and present. It bears witness to the history, vitality, creativity and diversity of the communities that make up the city. In keeping with its commitment to decolonization and sustainable development, it creates exhibitions and educational, cultural and community-engagement activities that look at social history and contemporary issues through a critical and inclusive lens. The Museum’s Archives, Documentary Art, Dress, Fashion and Textiles, Indigenous Cultures, Material Culture and Photography collections position it as the custodian of a remarkable historical heritage and one of North America’s leading museums.

During this historical and cultural tour of Old Montreal, you discover the most famous places of this old district and also explore the local culture and the more unusual aspects of our beautiful metropolis! All this in a small group (15 people maximum) and with a certified guide holding a permit issued by the city of Montreal.

Dive into Old Montreal’s rich history, its darker, hidden side—a world of eerie legends and paranormal activity. This haunted Old Montreal tour uncovers this chilling past, shaped by colonial horrors, guerilla warfare, and unspeakable tragedies. Visit haunted sites like Place d’Armes, Cours Le Royer, the Courthouse District, and Chateau Ramezay, each steeped in ghostly tales and mysterious lore. Guided by a storyteller, this spine-tingling walk blends history and the supernatural, perfect for ghost hunters, history enthusiasts, and thrill-seekers.

Gain insight into Canada’s colorful heritage on this Jewish history walking tour in Montreal. Follow your guide through Montreal’s Plateau neighborhood, where many Jewish people settled from the early days of the 20th century. Learn of life for the settlers in those early days and see where they lived, worked and worshiped as they built new lives for themselves far from home. Discover synagogues, schools, hospitals and cultural hubs built by the settlers, and hear how they helped shape the face of modern Montreal today.

On this food-oriented tour, explore Old Montreal (Vieux-Montréal) with a local, certified guide to go beyond the typical tourist haunts. Escape the tourist traps as you visit key sights such as Place d’Armes and Saint Paul Street (Rue Saint-Paul). Try several local gastronomic delights in one tour, including Montreal-style bagels, local cheeses, delicious canelés, and poutine. The tour starts at 360 Rue Saint-Jacques in Montréal’s historic district.

An extensive network of bike paths makes Montreal the perfect place to explore by bicycle, but navigating them as a newcomer can be confusing. This e-bike tour covers the city center’s most important sites with a guide so you can focus on the views rather than a map. Pedal through downtown, Old Montreal, and the banks of the St. Lawrence River as a guide shares stories about Montreal history and culture.

See the historical sights of Old Montreal, a.k.a. Vieux-Montréal, on an immersive, private walking tour. Following a private guide, you'll learn about the city's history, which dates back to 1642, as you visit attractions such as Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel, Place d'Armes, and the Old Port of Montreal. Free of big tour groups and with ample chance to ask questions, you'll enjoy a more personalized way to see the city's best.

Immerse yourself in the dark side of Old Montreal on this exciting ghost walk. After darkness falls, follow your expert guide through the hidden streets of Old Montreal as they bring Montreal's fascinating history to vivid life through spooky stories about Montreal's ghosts, criminals, and history of witchcraft.

If you're a first-time visitor with limited time to explore, this group tour is an efficient way to see the best of Montreal. From Mount Royal and Old Montreal to the waterfront and St. Joseph’s Oratory, Canada's largest church, you'll take in the most important sights while learning all about the city's history from your guide.

Leave the crowds behind during this half-day Montreal bike tour, and see much more of the city than you could on foot. Admire Montreal’s top sights, explore the city’s diverse neighborhoods, and glide around La Fontaine and Mount Royal parks, then refuel with a tasty snack and a glass of wine or beer in Old Montreal. You can even opt to keep your bike rental for the rest of the day after the tour.

Travel from historic Old Montreal to the borough of Plateau Mont-Royal on this walking tour of the city. Visit the ornately decorated Basilica then wander the streets of Vieux-Montréal while learning about the city’s history and checking out its street art. Plus, make stops in the entertainment district and Chinatown.

Immerse yourself in Montreal's street art scene with this guided tour. Get greater insight than you would if exploring independently, as your guide leads you to a selection of the city's graffiti highlights. Walk down alleys and backstreets to see art that you might otherwise miss. Pick up recommendations of local eateries and bars to try as you go, which you can visit later on in your vacation.

Enjoy a memorable and relaxed way to explore Montreal—and admire a new perspective on the city—when you explore by boat on this Bateau-Mouche sightseeing cruise on the St. Lawrence River. Pick a tour duration and departure time that work best for you, make your own way to the Old Port, and get settled in near the floor-to-ceiling windows or on the open-air terrace. You can look forward to seeing top city landmarks, from the Montreal waterfront to the Olympic Stadium.

On this small-group Montreal bike tour, head off the tourist trail and discover some of the city's most characterful neighborhoods that most visitors miss. Venture to characteristic areas like Plateau, Mile End, Little Italy, and more, and stop to spot street art and visit the Jean-Talon Market. As you go, learn more about the city's history and culture from your guide, and stop for a famous Montreal bagel.

Savor a gourmet evening in Montreal with this sunset dinner cruise along the St. Lawrence River. Soak up stunning views of the Old Port, Jacques-Cartier Bridge, and the Biosphere while indulging in a locally inspired 3- or 5-course meal crafted on board. Afterward, hit the dance floor to the sounds of a DJ set or unwind on the upper deck, sipping cocktails and soaking in panoramic views under the starlit sky.

Visit buzzing eateries and busy watering holes on this market and food tour in Montreal. Explore Jean-Talon Market and a section of Little Italy with your guide and discover ‘farm-to-table’ produce, Canada-style. Gain insight into Montreal locals’ love of fresh food and sample some yourself at one of their hole-in-the-wall eateries. Meet the producers who work hard to keep standards high, and gain insight into the Vietnamese, Italian and Latino influences spicing up Canada’s cuisine.

Discover the highlights of Montreal on this guided small-group afternoon tour. See the upscale neighborhood Westmount, visit St. Joseph's Oratory (the largest basilica in Canada), and take a picture in Old Montreal (Vieux-Montreal) with its Notre-Dame Basilica. Visit at Mount Royal Park for beautiful views over the city.