Montreal Olympic Park, Biodome and Insectarium Guide

The 1976 Summer Olympics left Montreal with two things: an architectural legacy of remarkable ambition and a debt that the city didn’t finish paying until 2006. The Olympic Park complex in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbourhood — the stadium, the inclined tower, the Biodome, and the associated facilities — represents the largest single investment in public infrastructure in Quebec’s history. The financial disaster has been discussed endlessly; the physical result is an extraordinary cluster of buildings and institutions that most first-time visitors to Montreal underestimate.

The complex is worth a full half-day, and a full day if you plan to visit the adjacent Botanical Garden and Insectarium (which we cover in our Botanical Garden guide). The Biodome alone justifies the metro ride from central Montreal; the inclined tower adds a vertiginous perspective on the city; and the stadium, while no longer regularly used for major events, is architecturally fascinating in its very specific 1970s megastructure way.

The Olympic Stadium

The stadium — designed by French architect Roger Taillibert — was intended to be the most technically advanced stadium in the world when construction began in 1973. The design featured a retractable roof supported by cables hanging from the signature inclined tower, allowing the venue to be opened and closed in minutes.

The roof never worked properly. The retractable membrane was replaced multiple times and eventually replaced with a permanent fixed roof in 1998. The inclined tower — still the tallest leaning structure in the world, at 175 metres and an 45-degree angle from vertical — remains as Taillibert’s most legible contribution to the skyline, visible from considerable distances across the east end of the city.

The stadium seats approximately 56,000 and is still used for concerts, trade shows, and the occasional sporting event. The Montreal Alouettes of the CFL played here for decades before moving to newer facilities. The Montreal Impact soccer team has also used the venue. Without a permanent tenant at the time of writing, the stadium has the slightly melancholy grandeur of a purpose-built structure awaiting its purpose.

The inclined tower and funicular

The tower is open to visitors via a funicular that runs along the external face of the inclined shaft to an observation deck at the summit. The experience of riding the funicular — gripping the rail as the cabin climbs at a 45-degree angle — is unusual enough to be entertaining in its own right. The view from the observation deck extends across Montreal, the St. Lawrence, and on clear days to the Laurentian Mountains to the north and the Adirondacks to the south.

The tower is open year-round (weather permitting), with reduced hours in winter. The funicular ride takes about 2 minutes; the observation deck visit typically 15–30 minutes. Worth combining with the Biodome visit below.

The Biodome

The Biodome is the Olympic Park attraction most worth visiting on its own merits, independent of any interest in the 1976 Games. Originally constructed as the velodrome for the cycling events, the building was converted in 1992 into a living museum housing four distinct ecosystems recreated within a single climate-controlled structure.

The four ecosystems

Tropical Rainforest: The largest of the four zones, recreating the ecology of a South American tropical forest with free-roaming capuchin and squirrel monkeys, sloths, piranhas, electric eels, hundreds of tropical bird species, and the dense multi-layered plant structure of an actual rainforest. The temperature and humidity are maintained at tropical levels — a significant feature on a -20°C Montreal February day.

Laurentian Maple Forest: A recreation of the boreal and deciduous forest ecosystem native to southern Quebec — the ecological zone that surrounds Montreal — with lynx, otters, and the bird species of the local forests. The seasonal lighting cycle changes to reflect the actual seasons, giving the exhibit a temporal depth that static displays cannot provide.

St. Lawrence Marine Ecosystem: Atlantic puffins, murres, and other seabirds occupy the rocky shoreline section; the underwater viewing area allows observation of the fish species of the St. Lawrence estuary. The puffins are a particular draw — they are engaging birds at close range, and the underwater swimming sequence when they dive from the rocks is genuinely spectacular.

Sub-Antarctic Islands: The most unusual of the four ecosystems, recreating the ecology of the remote island chains of the southern Atlantic — king penguins and rockhopper penguins in a cold, wind-swept environment that provides a dramatic contrast to the tropical forest at the other end of the building.

The Biodome underwent a significant renovation completed in 2020, improving the exhibit design, animal welfare facilities, and educational components throughout. The result is one of the best zoological and botanical institutions of its type in Canada.

Practical information for the Biodome

Tickets: Online booking is recommended, particularly for weekends and school holiday periods. Combination tickets with the Insectarium, Botanical Garden, and Planétarium Rio Tinto Alcan (the four institutions are collectively known as Espace pour la vie) offer significant savings.

Time to allow: A thorough visit takes 2–2.5 hours. Allow more with children who want extended time with the penguins and monkeys.

Photography: Permitted throughout; the lighting in the rainforest zone is challenging for photography without a camera that handles low light well.

Accessibility: Fully wheelchair accessible throughout.

The Insectarium

The Insectarium — Montreal’s dedicated insect museum, which underwent a complete renovation and reopening in 2022 — is one of the finest insect museums in the world and is significantly better than its relative obscurity outside Quebec would suggest. The renovation produced a building that is architecturally interesting in itself (half-buried in the landscape, with grass growing over the roof) and exhibits that engage insects not as curiosities but as the ecologically essential organisms they are.

The most remarkable feature of the renovated Insectarium is the immersive experience rooms where visitors are surrounded by living insects in their natural behaviour — walking stick insects, butterflies in season, and displays designed to make insect ecology tangible rather than merely visible. The butterfly pavilion in summer, when hundreds of tropical butterfly species occupy a warm glasshouse connected to the main building, is exceptional.

The Insectarium is adjacent to the Botanical Garden on the north side of Sherbrooke Street East; the two are best visited together. Our Montreal Botanical Garden guide covers the garden in full.

Parc Jean-Drapeau and the Olympic islands

The two artificial islands in the St. Lawrence — Île Sainte-Hélène and Île Notre-Dame, created from landfill for Expo 67 — are connected to Old Montreal by the Jacques-Cartier Bridge and host the Parc Jean-Drapeau. The islands contain La Ronde amusement park (the largest in Quebec), the Gilles-Villeneuve Formula 1 race circuit (host of the Canadian Grand Prix in June), the Casino de Montréal, and extensive green space.

The islands are easily reached from the Olympic Park by metro (Jean-Drapeau station on the yellow line, accessed from Berri-UQAM on the orange line). The ferry from the Old Port also stops at the islands in summer.

Planning your Olympic Park visit

With the Botanical Garden: The Biodome, Insectarium, and Botanical Garden are all within walking distance of each other around the Viau and Pie-IX metro stations. A combination visit to all three takes a full day and is one of the best value days in the city, particularly with the Espace pour la vie combination ticket.

With children: The Biodome and Insectarium are both exceptional for children across a wide age range. The penguins and monkeys are reliable favourites; the interactive elements of the renovated Insectarium engage children more directly than a conventional zoo. The funicular at the tower is popular with older children and adults.

On a rainy day: The Biodome and Insectarium are both fully indoor and perfect rainy-day alternatives to outdoor sightseeing.

Book a Montreal highlights day tour on GetYourGuide

Getting there

Metro: Green line to Viau station for the stadium and tower, or Pie-IX station for the Insectarium and Botanical Garden. The two stations are adjacent in the metro network; check signage for the specific attraction.

Bixi: Bike-share stations are available near the park, and the cycling route east from the Plateau along the bike lanes on Sherbrooke Street is pleasant in good weather.

By car: Parking is available at the Olympic Park in several lots; arrive early on busy summer days.

Related reading

• Montreal Botanical Garden guide — the adjacent garden complex
• Montreal with kids — family activities across the city
• Things to do in Montreal — the comprehensive activities hub
• Montreal neighborhoods guide — context for the east-end location