Montreal Attractions

Montreal’s Atwater Market (Marché Atwater) is one of Montreal’s most popular food markets. It features fresh produce, over ten butcher shops, three cheese shops, a fish shop and over a dozen specialized boutiques. At the Atwater Market, you’ll find fruits, vegetables, meats, fishes, flowers, spices and so much more. The Atwater Market has both indoor and outdoor sections.

The Montreal Biodome (Biodôme de Montréal) is a unique indoor zoo that replicates 4 distinct ecosystems found in the Americas. Each of the four environments occupies a section of the Biodome and features a variety of animals, flowers and plants that belong to each of these environments. Located in the Olympic Park, the Biodome is a combination of a zoo, an aquarium, a botanical garden and so much more.

Montreal’s Biosphere is a musem decicated to raising environment awareness and water ecosystems. Located in Parc Jean-Drapeau, on Île Sainte-Hélène, the Biosphere is considered to be the world’s largest geodesic dome.

Montreal’s Bonsecours Market (Marche Bonsecours) is one the most recognizable buildings in Old Montreal. It is named after a nearby church that also shares the same name Notre-Dame de Bonsecours, also known as the sailors church. The building has served as a public market, a concert hall, a meeting hall, Montreal’s city hall and even the Parliament of Lower Canada. Today, the Bonsecours Market is quite popular with tourists and features a wide selection of cafés, bistros and restaurants.

Montreal’s imposing Centre Canadien d’Architecture (Canadian Centre for Architecture) spans an entire block. Located in the southwest corner of downtown Montreal, the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA ) consists of two buildings that take up 130, 000 square feet of exhibition space. You will find exhibition galleries, a theatre, bookstore, library and study centre. All dedicated to the appreciation of architecture.

Montreal’s Château Ramezay is a museum and historic building on Notre-Dame Street in Old Montreal. With a history of more than 300 years, the Château Ramezay has been preserving Montreal’s heritage since 1895, when it was converted into a museum.

Montreal’s Complexe Desjardins is a multifunctional building located in the heart of downtown Montreal. The Complexe Desjardins contains a shopping mall, a hotel complex and several office buildings. Located across the street from the Place des Arts, the Quartier des Spectacles and the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art, it is an important attraction that houses over 200 free, public activities every year.

Founded in 1964, Montreal’s Contemporary Art Museum (Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal) is located inside Montreal’s Quartier des Spectacles. The museum is inside the Place des Arts and opposite of Complexe Desjardins. Montreal’s Museum of Contemporary Art’s primary mission is to promote Quebec art along with Canadian and International contemporary art.

Montreal’s Habitat ’67 is a housing complex that is often called a collection of condo cubes. Habitat ’67 is a model community built along the St. Lawrence River that was created as part of Expo ’67. The complex consists of 354 prefabricated modules, known as “boxes” that are connected together to form 158 residences that range from 660 to 1,700 square feet. Each module contains its own garden and is virtually self-sufficient.

Montreal’s Jean-Drapeau Park (Parc Jean-Drapeau) is a large park located on the Saint Lawrence River. Formerly known as Parc des Îles, it consists of Sainte-Hélène Island (Île-Sainte-Hélène) as well as the man-made Notre-Dame Island (Île-Notre-Dame) , which hosted Expo ’67.

Montreal’s Jean-Talon Market (Marché Jean-Talon) is an outdoor market located on the edge of Montreal’s Little Italy district. Open year-round, the market features various stands that sell fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables.

Montreal’s Lafontaine Park (Parc Lafontaine) is one of Montreal’s largest parks and the largest park in the Plateau Mont-Royal district. The Lafontaine park features beautiful walking paths, pretty ponds and an open-air theatre.

Montreal’s Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral (Cathédrale Marie Reine du Monde) is an European-inspired Basilica that also happens to be the seat of the Archdiocese for Montreal. The Cathedral is meant to be a scaled down version of the St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It covers approximately one quarter of the area of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Montreal’s McCord Museum of Canadian History (Musée McCord d’histoire Canadienne) is a museum dedicated to Canadian history. Located in downtown Montreal, right next to McGill University, the Museum contains a large collection of exhibits on Canadian social history. Along with being an exhibition museum, the McCord Museum is also considered to be a teaching and research facility that examines contemporary issues of Canadian society and history.

Montreal’s McGill University is recognized as one of the top Universities in all of Canada and the world. The University has a very diverse student population that contains students from more than 150 countries. McGill University is one of Montreal’s two Anglophone universities (the other being Concordia University), and is the oldest institutions of higher learning in all of Canada.

The Montreal Botanical Garden (Jardin botanique de Montréal) is a large botanical garden that represents habitats and cultures from all around the world. It is one of the largest and most spectacular botanical gardens in the world. The Montreal Botanical Garden features over 22,000 plant species, 10 exhibition greenhouses, some thirty thematic gardens, and a dedicated team of researchers and activities staff.

Montreal’s Insectarium is the largest insectarium in North America and one of the largest in the world. The Insectarium displays various insects from around the world in exhibits that are held year-round. Because Montreal’s Insectarium features insects from all around the world, it is a popular tourist attraction, with more than 400,000 people visiting the Insectarium each year.

Montreal’s Planetarium (Planétarium de Montréal) has been helping visitors discover the Stars and Universe since 1966. The Montreal Planetarium is designed to help uncover the fascinating world of astronomy and space exploration to all. It offers various multimedia shows that feature content for all ages.

The Montreal Science Centre introduces children to science and technology through various interactive activities. The Montreal Science Centre features both temporary and permanent exhibitions that encourage participation and really get children involved.

Montreal’s City Hall (Hôtel de Ville) is one of Montreal’s most impressive buildings. Located in the middle of Old Montreal,it features a unique French Second Empire architecture. City Hall is used as the administrative headquarters of Montreal. Montreal’s mayor also has an office in the building.

Mount-Royal (Mont-Royal) is a large hill located in the middle of Montreal. At 234 meters, Mount Royal is the highest point in Montreal. It is affectionately called The Mountain by Montreal locals. Montreal is named after this 761 foot hill, which also houses the famous Mount-Royal Park (Parc du Mont-Royal), one of Montreal’s largest green spaces.

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal) is dedicated to promoting and acquiring the work of Canadian and International artists, past and present. The museum has a vast collection of Ancient Cultures, European Art, Canadian Art, Inuit and Amerindian Art, Contemporary Art and Decorative Arts. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square Mile stretch of Sherbrooke Street.

The Notre-Dame Basilica (Basilique Notre-Dame in French) is one of Montreal’s landmark churches and one of the most beautiful churches in North America. Located in Old Montreal, the Notre-Dame Basilica features a Neo-Gothic style. It was opened in 1829 and was built to replace the original Notre-Dame church, which has since been demolished.

Montreal’s Notre-Dame Island (Île Notre-Dame) is an artificial man-made island. It was built from 15 million tons of excavated rock used in the construction of Montreal’s Metro system in 1965. The island was opened just in time for Expo ’67. It is located on the Saint Lawrence River immediately east of Sainte-Hélène Island and west of the Saint Lawrence Seaway.

Montreal’s Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours Chapel (Our lady of Good Help Chapel) is the oldest church in Old Montreal. The chapel looks out to the Saint Laurence river and Montreal’s old Port. Because of this location, the church is often called the Sailor’s Church. In older days, many sailors who came to Montreal would come to the church to offer thanks to the Virgin for safe passage.

Montreal’s Olympic Park (Parc Olympique) is a large park that was originally constructed for the 1976 Olympic Games. The park includes many of Montreal’s popular attractions.

The Olympic Stadium (Stade Olympique de Montréal) is Montreal’s multi-purpose stadium that was built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics. The Olympic Stadium is the centerpiece of the Montreal Olympic Park (Parc Olympique Montréal). Nicknamed The Big O, the Olympic Stadium features a retractable roof and a seating capacity of 56,000 people.

The Place des Festivals is a large public urban space that is dedicated to festivals and entertainment within the Quartier des Spectacles. The Place des Festivals draws huge festivals, particularly, during the summertime because of the many free events that take place in the Quartier des Spectacles. As part of the Place des Arts, the Place des Festivals contains the biggest interactive fountain in Canada.

Montreal’s Place d’Armes is one of the 3 main squares located inside Old Montreal. (the other two are the Place d’Youville and the Place Jacques-Cartier) Place d’Armes is quite popular because it is so close to downtown Montreal.

Montreal’s Place Jacques Cartier is one of 3 main squares located inside Old Montreal. (the other two are the Place d’Youville and the Place des Armes). It is a large public square in the heart of Old Montreal that is named after Jacques Cartier, one of the Canada’s most famous discoverers.

Montreal’s Pointe-à-Callière Museum is both a museum and historical site at the same time. Located in Old Montreal, the museum was founded in 1992 to celebrate Montreal’s 350th birthday. Pointe-à-Callière is packed with information on the archaeological and historical riches of Montreal.

Montreal’s Quays of the Old Port offers plenty of activities for Montreal locals and visitors. Located at the Eastern end of the Lachine canal, and just off the St. Lawrence River, the Old port is great place for locals and tourists to mingle. During the summer, it offers a riverfront destination for walking, cycling, pedal boats, rollerblading and even Segway rentals.

Montreal’s St. Joseph Oratory ( Oratoire St-Joseph ) is a great basilica with a giant copper dome built in honor of St. Joseph, the patron saint of Canada. It is recognized as one of the great spiritual centers of the world and attracts more than two million visitors a year. At 263 meters (863 ft.), the shrine of St. Joseph is the highest point in Montreal. Its dome, at 97 meters (313 ft.), is second in size only to St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

Montreal’s Saint Helen’s Island (Île Sainte-Hélène) is an island park in the Saint Lawrence River. Saint Helen’s Island consists of two small islands: St. Helene’s Island and Round Island. The island is named after the wife of Samuel de Champlain. It is part of Montreal’s Jean-Drapeau Park along with Notre-Dame Island.

Located in Old Montreal, the Lachine Canal. The lachine canal wass Montreal’s fist gateway that helped shape Montréal in its early history. Built by the British in 1825, it was used by thousands of ships before the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Lachine canal was shut down in 1970, and it is now [...]

Montreal’s Underground City is a cornerstone of Montreal that is visited by over a quarter of a million people each day. The Undergound city contains hotels, restaurants, galleries,stores, rail stations, Metro stations,cinemas, nightclubs and even a library. This vast network runs under Montreal’s streets, crosses certain plazas and intersects with many Metro stations. You can find busy walkways and quite corners.

A stay at Montreal’s Village Des Neiges (Snow village Canada) is a truly unbelievable experience. Located in the heart of Montreal’s Parc Jean-Drapeau, on Île Sainte-Hélène, this unique attraction offers an amazing snow village with natural light during daytime and spectacular architectural light effects at night.