Montréal is one of North America’s coolest cities, and in my opinion, one of the coolest in the world. The culture is amazing which I discussed in my Montréal Experience Blog, but another reason the city is so awesome is because of all that there is to do. Whether you’re young and single and looking for a wild night, a history lover, a sports fan or looking for some family fun, there are endless things to do.
Twelve years ago, I took a 5-week French course in Montréal; this was when I really got my feet wet travelling, and I had plenty of time to explore the city. I’ve been back several times since and this summer we went as a family. We stayed for 5 nights, and we could have used an extra night to do all the things we wanted to. You’ll see as my list is long... so, here are some of the best things to do in Montréal:
Taste Your Way through Montréal’s Food Scene
Montréal has one of the best food scenes in the world. Whether it’s their world-famous poutines, Montréal style smoked meat, Montréal bagels or their fine dining, there’s excellent food for everyone, including a diversity of foods. And you can find all types of Asian, Middle Eastern, African and of course Franco-Quebecois dishes.
La Banquise is a must for the wide range of poutines on their menu or even for breakfast or after the bar, as it’s open 24/7. And you can’t go to Montréal without going to Schwartz or one of Montréal’s famous delis serving Montréal style smoked meat. Then there’s the freshly baked Montréal bagel; head over to the lively and vibrant Mile End neighborhood to try Fairmount Bagel. While exploring Montréal, to try many of the world-class foods you’ll naturally explore some of Montréal’s cool and unique neighbourhoods.
Explore Montréal’s Coolest Neighborhoods
Montréal is a unique city, and each neighborhood has its own personality and culture. There’s Mile End which is artistic and hip and contains vintage shops and cafes. Le Plateau-Mont Royal, which is just next door is bohemian and classical Montréal with its spiral staircases, bright colours and street art. Then there’s Little Italy for food, Chinatown and many other cool neighbourhoods to explore.
Of course there’s Old Montréal, the most famous neighbourhood. Old Montréal is where historic charm meets modern luxury and walking down the Cobblestone streets almost feels like Europe. Old Montréal dates back to the 1600’s and is where the famous Notre-Dame Basilica is located. And there are plenty of cool restaurants, shops and other touristy things to do there.
Spend an Afternoon in Old Port
Right beside Old Montréal is Old Port, the waterfront recreational area stretching along the St. Lawrence River. You can spend an afternoon in Old Port, eating from the food trucks, shopping for souvenirs, grabbing a drink on a terrasse and a host of other activities. There are bouncy castles for kids, La Grande Roue de Montréal (the Ferris wheel with panoramic views of the city), the Montréal Science Centre, zip lining and much more. There are activities for everyone in Old Port, and even if you don’t want to do anything extravagant it is worth grabbing a snack and walking along the port.
Mount Royal and St. Joseph’s Oratory
In the 1500’s, French explorer, Jacques Cartier, climbed up Mount Royal and gave it its name, Mont Royal. On maps it was written as Monte Real and shortly after the surrounding area, and city was named Montréal. So, the 764 ft. mountain, Mount Royal, plays a significant role in Montréal and it’s worth the climb.
It’s a fairly easy climb with stairs most of the way and allows you to explore some wilderness of Mount-Royal Park. Once at the top the views of the city are phenomenal. Depending on where you start and if you want to explore Mount-Royal Park, this will take a couple of hours in total. And if you’re there on a Sunday, it’s worth pairing the climb with Tam-Tams, a famous gathering in Mount-Royal Park where you will see craft vendors, dancing, drumming and all sorts of outdoor festivities. It’s a fun little place to have a picnic and experience authentic Montréal culture.
And if you like a short hike/walk, another worthwhile activity is heading down to the charming Cote des Neiges neighbourhood and climbing up the stairs of St. Joseph’s Oratory. St. Joseph’s Oratory is Canada’s largest church and the third largest dome church in the world. It’s a moderate walk up the stairs and a site where pilgrims frequently climb on their knees. Once inside you can look at the cool architecture, light a candle or just take in the views of the city from the observatory and terrace.
Botanical Gardens and the Biodome
Other nature activities include the Botanical Gardens and the Biodome which are both located in Olympic Park. You can pair these activities together or choose one or the other. Unfortunately on our recent family trip to Montréal, we didn’t get a chance to visit either as we’d hoped to. But, I’ve been to both in the past and both are worthwhile depending what you’re in the mood for.
The Biodome is an immersive indoor nature museum with several distinct ecosystems from the Americas including the Tropical Rainforest, the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Sub-Antarctic islands. The Penguins are one thing that really stood out to me.
Or if you’re up for a nice nature walk and enjoy flora, the Botanical Gardens which are one of the largest botanical gardens in the world, are a must. Here you can see Bonsai Trees in the Japanese Garden, explore the Chinese Garden or even the First Nations Garden.
Parc-Jean Drapeau
In my opinion, even better than the Botanical Gardens and Biodome, is Parc-Jean Drapeau. Parc-Jean Drapeau is located on St. Helen’s island. This is where the iconic Biosphere is located. From the park you can get views of the Biosphere and cool views of Montréal from across the St. Lawrence. There is also Jean-Dore Beach which is a nice and packed beach to visit in the summer, the Circuit Gilles-Villenueve which is the home of the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix and somewhere that you can bike on.
And an underrated and less known attraction is the Jardins des Floralies which is a beautiful flower garden with large flower sculptures like the Mother Earth sculpture, like Te Fiti from Moana along with other beautiful displays. After looking at the sculptures we decided to rent paddle boats and ride around the island. It was a nice and relaxing afternoon.
La Ronde Amusement Park
Also on St. Helen’s island, is Six Flag’s La Ronde. The amusement park is overpriced and has long line ups, but if you like rides, specifically rollercoasters, you may want to check out La Ronde. There are 3 major roller coasters at La Ronde including Le Monstre which is the tallest wooden roller coaster in the world, The Goliath which is probably the most famous and Le Vampire. The lines are long, but the coasters are thrilling. This past visit to Montréal I only rode Le Monstre, but I’ve been on the other ones in the past and for thrill seekers they are fun… assuming you have patience for long lines.
We mostly spent the day exploring the many kids rides for our daughter. There were plenty to choose from and the lineups weren’t bad. She had a blast. The food was expensive but all in all it was a fun day that we paired with Parc-Jean Drapeau. Another cool thing about La Ronde are the views from the amusement park.
Biking Around the City
St. Helen’s Island and Parc-Jean Drapeau are beautiful, and a beautiful way to experience them is by bike. Montréal is a bike-friendly city, and one of the best ways to see a lot all while getting a light exercise is by bike. When I first visited Montréal, we took a bike tour around the city. We rented bikes in Old Port and drove them across the Concordia Bridge and all the way to St. Helen’s island. We biked past the famous Habitat 67 buildings, biked on the Circuit Gilles-Villenueve and along the St. Lawrence. It was beautiful, and still to this day one of my favorite things I’ve done in Montréal.
And if you don’t want to bike too far but want to explore like a real Montréaler, there’s the BIXI Bikes. BIXI Bikes are scattered throughout the city, and all you need is a credit card to rent them. You can hop on a BIXI Bike and bike through downtown, stop at one of the city parks like La Fontaine Park or stop on in at a bar. Montréal can get hilly, but overall, it isn’t too bad and there are designated bike lanes throughout much of the city.
Montréal Sports
Like most major cities, Montréal has several professional sports teams. The Montréal Canadiens are the most popular team, so if you’re into hockey and depending on the season you can check out an NHL game at the Bell Centre. There’s the Montréal Alouettes in the CFL for Canadian football and there’s the CF Montréal, for professional soccer in the MLS.
We went to a CF Montréal game at the Saputo Stadium and it was a lot of fun. The soccer was good and the atmosphere was lively. Plus, the tickets were cheap too. And in addition to these three there’s a few other minor professional sports teams including men’s basketball.
Night Life
There’s plenty to do in Montréal, but Montréal is possibly most famous for its nightlife. Whether that’s the crowded and sometimes dingy bars on Saint-Laurent to the hipster bars and breweries in Le Plateau-Mount Royal or Crescent Street for university crowds and pub crawls, Montréal has plenty of nightlife for all tastes. For a more classy experience you can find cocktail bars and lavish clubs in Old Montréal and after-hours clubs in the Latin Quarter.
When I was younger, we spent a lot of time exploring the nightlife and every night of the week you could find different bars with different themes and specials. It’s gotten pricier, but the nightlife is still around and still hopping. On this last visit I only explored a few pubs, but still they were a lot of fun.
Festivals
Just like the nightlife, Montréal is famous for festivals. For music you have Osheaga and ÎLESONIQ which are both held in Parc-Jean Drapeau and over the weekend in the summer. I’ve been to Osheaga and the lineup was unreal when I went, but lately the lineups haven’t been as good, still we were there during Osheaga this summer and the city was alive. And, for fans of electronic music, this year’s lineup for ÎLESONIQ looked unreal. There’s also Piknik Elecronik held every Sunday throughout the summer in Parc-Jean Drapeau.
Asides from music, there’s Jazz Fest which I experienced years ago and it was a lot of fun. There’s Fringe Festival and there’s also Just for Laughs, which has changed compared to when we went. There’s even Poutine Fest which was taking place when we were there this summer, we didn’t attend but I walked by and saw a ton of food trucks. It’s safe to say, Montréal has a ton of festivals especially during the summer months.
RESO: Underground City
Despite festival season being the most popular time to visit Montréal, you can visit year-round, just be careful for the snow during winter. If you do happen to visit during the winter, or if it’s a rainy when you’re there. you can always explore the Underground City.
The Underground City, known as RESO is the largest underground pedestrian network in the world. RESO spans 33 km beneath the downtown core of Montréal and is made up of Metro stations, shopping centers, restaurants and various retail stores. The Underground City is also connected to the Bell Centre for hockey games and Place des Arts for theater and shows. You can find cool restaurants, some cool décor, like around Place des Arts and the Complexe Desjardins which is a cool shopping center with a unique interior design.
I wouldn’t spend a ton of time there, but like I said on a rainy day it’s something interesting to check out. And you can pretty much spend a full day if you want, travelling around Montréal’s downtown core without having to step outside.
Final Thoughts
When I started writing this blog post, I didn’t realize how much I had to write, but that’s because Montréal has a ton of places to explore and a ton of things to do! No wonder we didn’t have enough time on our 5 day visit this summer; but it’s lucky that years ago I had the pleasure of staying in Montréal for 5 weeks so I could really explore everything the city has to offer. Montréal is often considered one of the coolest cities in North America and not only is it because of the nightlife and culture, but because of all there is to do in Montréal; it truly is a city that has something for everyone.
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