Things to do in  Montreal

The aptly named Outremont (French for “beyond the mountain”) is situated northwest of Mount Royal. Since its establishment in the 1800s, Outremont has remained one of Montreal’s most upscale Francophone areas and a hub for the city’s Hasidic population. Today, the neighborhood features parks, historic homes, and hidden gem bars.

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Musée des Beaux-Arts), located in the heart of the Golden Square Mile neighborhood, is one of Canada’s most prominent cultural institutions. Home to over 44,000 works of art, from European masterpieces to Inuit sculpture, the museum also hosts classical concerts, public programs, and lecture series.

Ranking among the world’s finest botanical gardens, the expansive Montreal Botanical Garden is more than just a garden; it’s a horticultural experience. Stroll through more than a dozen themed gardens and 10 greenhouses, blooming with plants and flowers from around the globe, and admire colorful, seasonal displays of tulips, cherry blossoms, roses, dahlias, lilies, and countless other blooms.

First opened in 1933, Jean-Talon Market (Marché Jean-Talon) is a local institution. Montrealers come to shop farm-fresh ingredients, from Quebec-reared pork and seafood from the country’s east coast to colorful vegetables, everything from purple carrots to orange cauliflower and strangely shaped gourds—all of which are artfully stacked in sellers’ stalls.

The Lachine Canal (Canal de Lachine), which runs 9 miles (14.5 kilometers) from Montreal’s Old Port to Lake St. Louis, was built in 1824 to allow ships to bypass the dangerous Lachine Rapids. Today, the canal is lined with parks, bike paths, public art, and bustling residential neighborhoods, as well as the Fur Trade National Historic Site.

See creatures, from poison dart frogs to penguins, in their native habitats in the Montreal Biodome (Biodome de Montreal). It's among the top family-friendly Montreal activities. It’s not just a zoo: The biodome recreates the plant and animal life of five ecosystems of the Americas, including the sub-Antarctic islands, tropical rainforest, Laurentian maple forest, and maritime Gulf of Saint Lawrence.

Bordeaux’s main shopping street stretches 1.2 km (0.7 miles through the city center and is one of the longest pedestrianized shopping streets in Europe. Rue Sainte-Catherine is book-ended by the Place de la Comédie in the north, which is home to the city’s Neo-Classical Grand Theater, and the Place de la Victoire to the south.

Montreal’s La Ronde amusement park (operated by Six Flags) is one of the largest in Canada, and the largest in the country’s east. It offers everything from toddler-friendly rides and a huge Ferris wheel to 10 roller coasters and even a thrilling human catapult. With more than 40 rides, there should be something for everyone at this seasonal favorite.

Running almost the length of the island, Notre-Dame Street (Rue Notre-Dame) is one of Montreal’s most prominent thoroughfares. The most interesting stretches are in Old Montreal (Vieux Montréal), where it’s lined by historic buildings, and in Griffintown, Little Burgundy, and St. Henri, where antique stores, cafés, and restaurants abound.

Les Cours Mont-Royal is an elegant shopping mall that occupies the premises of a swanky old hotel and contains upscale boutiques, a day spa, and a permanent exhibition devoted to Barbie dolls. Many original architectural and design features from the 1920s structure, including a grand curving marble staircase and a huge ceiling chandelier, remain in place.

The Musée d'Art Contemporain de Montréal (MAC) houses a permanent collection of more than 8,000 works by Quebec, Canadian, and international artists. A diverse range of mediums are represented from digital, sound, and video works to photographs, installations, and sculptures, showcasing modern and avant-garde art dating from 1939 onward.

Located in Montreal’s Eaton Centre, the Grevin Museum (Musée Grévin Montréal) features 120 lifelike wax figures with a focus on Hollywood stars, Canadian celebrities, and world icons, from Tom Hanks to Celine Dion. With eight themed rooms, plenty of photo opportunities, and an on-site café, the museum is a popular choice for families.

Ville-Marie is the core of Montreal, encompassing most of the downtown area, including Old Montreal (Vieux-Montréal), the Quartier des Spectacles cultural quarter, the Gay Village, two islands on the St. Lawrence River, and most of Mount Royal Park (Parc du Mont-Royal). It’s jam-packed with museums, churches, shops, restaurants, and other top attractions.

When Montrealers refer to “the mountain,” they mean Mount Royal. Really, it’s a 764-foot (233-meter) hill, but that’s no matter. Mount Royal Park was designed in 1876 by none other than Frederick Law Olmsted—of Central Park fame—and since then, it’s been the city’s green lung, where locals go hiking, biking, boating, bird-watching, and picnicking.

On Montreal’s Notre Dame Island (Île Notre-Dame) within Parc Jean-Drapeau, the 2.7-mile (4.4-kilometer) Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve hosts the Grand Prix du Canada and serves as a popular spot for biking, inline skating, running, and walking during the rest of the year. The multipurpose track also offers scenic views of Montreal, thanks to its location in the Saint Lawrence River.