Helpful Links

Montreal festivals and events:

http://www.go-montreal.com/attraction_events.htm

Tips for cheaper parking in downtown Montreal:

Montreal Museum Pass ($75) offers access to any of 41 museum members of Montreal Museums (one free visit per museum) for three days. The $80 pass, in addition to museum admissions, gives you access to unlimited public transport during 3 consecutive days (bus, subway, airport shuttle): http://museesmontreal.org/en/passes/the-passes
Passeport MTL allows you to visit up to 23 must-see Montreal attractions at a fraction of the price, public transportation included. Choose the $85 pass for two days, or the $99 pass for three days:                                        http://passeportmtl.com; https://www.mtl.org/en/deals/passeports-montreal

Coupons for Quebec attractions (select Montreal from the drop-down menu):

https://quebecattractions.com/tickets.html

Nature, Parks and Wildlife

The Botanical Garden, beside the popular showpieces, has also some hidden gems, like the Native American garden (which is very informative about the environment of the First Nations around Montreal), the shade garden, the garden of the senses for the blinds, etc. In addition, the Garden’s collection of Bonsai and Penjings is the largest in the Western Hemisphere (https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowTopic-g155032-i51-k5487398-Things_to_do_or_see_off_the_beaten_path_in_Montreal-Montreal_Quebec.html; http://espacepourlavie.ca/en/botanical-garden).

D’Oka National Park, located just 60 km west of Montreal, is a representative area of the St. Lawrence Lowlands that offers a great diversity of animal and plant species, wide range of educational and outdoor activities year-round, and a rich cultural heritage (https://www.sepaq.com/pq/oka/index.dot).

Iles-de-Boucherville National Park consists of a chain of islands located just a few kilometers from Montreal, right in the middle of the St. Lawrence River. It offers a lot of activities and educational experiences for learning about wildlife, conservation, the lifestyle and customs of the Iroquois First Nations of the St. Lawrence (http://www.sepaq.com/pq/bou/index.dot).

Parc du Bois-de-Coulonge is a calming park with fantastic views of the St. Lawrence River and beautiful gardens. Walking in the park, you can also visit Quebec‘s Government House, known as Spencerwood (built in 1854) (http://www.capitale.gouv.qc.ca/parcs-et-places-publiques/parcs/parc-du-bois-de-coulonge).

The EcoMuseum Zoo, located 20 minutes from downtown Montreal, is the one and only outdoor zoo on the island of Montréal, featuring animal species exclusively from Québec in a cozy and natural setting (http://zooecomuseum.ca/en).

Day Trips and Outdoor Activities

Laurentian Mountains located 200 km northwest of Montreal make for a great day trip that can include not only seeing the mountains, lakes and forests of the Laurentians, but also visiting quaint French villages such as Saint-Sauveur, Sainte-Adèle and Sainte-Agathes-des-Monts (https://www.tripsavvy.com/montreal-day-trips-1482020; http://www.canadiantraveller.com/23-Hidden-Gems-you-need-to-Know-About-in-Montreal).

Parc des Chutes De Sainte Ursule located 115 km northeast of Montreal features a beautiful waterfall cascading over a total descent of more than 270 metres, a suspension bridge, and much, much more (http://www.chutes-ste-ursule.com/pagesfr/accueil_ang.html; https://www.quebecoriginal.com/en-ca/listing/things-to-do/sports-and-nature/regional-parks/parc-des-chutes-de-sainte-ursule-3283893).

The Jacques-De-Lesseps Park at Montreal Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport is Canada’s only official airport observation park providing great views of aircraft departing and arriving on runways (http://www.thirtythousand.us/2012/07/25/jacques-de-lesseps-park-canadas-only-official-airport-observation-park; https://montrealtravelmom.com/2016/06/20/jacques-de-lesseps-observatory-park-watching-air-planes)

Sunday Montreal’s Tam-Tams is the name of a popular drum and dance activity with locals and a free weekly festival held every spring, summer, and autumn Sunday at the foot of Mount Royal Park (http://www.canadiantraveller.com/23-Hidden-Gems-you-need-to-Know-About-in-Montreal).

Museums and Historic Sites

Maison Saint-Gabriel, a museum and historic site, and the former farmhouse of a nun order, is one of the oldest buildings on the island (built in 1668) and one of the finest examples of the traditional architecture of New France (http://www.maisonsaint-gabriel.qc.ca/en/index.php; https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowTopic-g155032-i51-k5487398-Things_to_do_or_see_off_the_beaten_path_in_Montreal-Montreal_Quebec.html).

The Château Ramezay, a museum and historic site, is the first building in Québec to be classified an historic monument. Once the residence of Montreal’s French governor, it houses an impressive collection of Native Indian and Québec art and photographs (http://www.chateauramezay.qc.ca/).

Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel, or the Sailors’ Church, is the oldest chapel in Montreal and is unique due to many carved replicas of sailing ships hanging from the chapel’s ceiling
(http://www.marguerite-bourgeoys.com/en/chapel/history.asp).

Mary Queen of the World Cathedral (Basilique Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde), is the third largest church in Quebec and was modeled after Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome (http://www.diocesemontreal.org/en/the-church-in-montreal/our-churches/our-cathedral.html; http://www.diocesemontreal.org/blogues/cathedralecatholiquedemontreal/).

The Sucrerie de la Montagne located just 70 km west of Montreal near Rigaud is an authentic sugar shack in a forest of century-old maples that is open year-round. The sucrerie offers visitors transportation back in time to gain insight into the life of Quebec and Canadian pioneers (https://www.sucreriedelamontagne.com/en/)

The Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum, located 25 km south of Montreal, just across the St. Lawrence River, offers a historical glimpse into the milestones and founders of Canada’s railway system, as well as a lot of family activities, guided and animated tours throughout the year (http://www.exporail.org/en/welcome-to-exporail/).

Redpath Museum is one of Canada’s oldest museums, that has been serving up natural history, geology, anthropology and ethnography since 1882 (http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/redpath-museum).

The Musée Grévin (Grévin Wax Museum) displays approximately 120 wax characters arranged in scenes from the history of Canada and modern life, movie stars and international figures (http://www.grevin-montreal.com/en).

Sights and Landmarks and Public Art Projects

Habitat 67 represents some of the unique architecture in the city. This unusual housing complex was designed for Montreal’s Expo in 1967 and intended to imitate an organic growth, bringing together nature and geometric patterns (http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/habitat-67; https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/may/13/habitat-67-montreal-expo-moshe-safdie-history-cities-50-buildings-day-35).

Art Mûr is one of the largest private contemporary art galleries in Canada that represents one of the best collections of modern art in Montréal (http://artmur.com/; http://artmur.com/en/artists/).

The Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal was the first institution in Canada devoted exclusively to contemporary art. The collection includes over 7,000 works of art by more than 1,500 artists focusing on contemporary art from Quebec in particular and Canada in general (http://macm.org/en/).

Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery is the largest cemetery in Canada, with the history of Montreal written on the stones and monuments erected there (http://www.cimetierenotredamedesneiges.ca/en/cemetery/).

Indoor Activities

AeroSim Experience is Canada’s first professional-level flight simulator for the general public, where you can choose from a wide range of destinations and weather conditions for the flying experience you want (https://aerosimexperience.com/en/).