Montreal: The Ultimate Things To Do Guide

Montreal resists easy categorisation, which is part of what makes it so compelling. It is a French city and a North American city simultaneously, never quite one thing, always more than the sum of its contradictions. You can spend a morning in a cobblestone neighbourhood that predates the American Revolution, eat bagels that locals will tell you are objectively superior to anything New York produces, hike a forested mountain that sits at the literal centre of the island, and finish the evening at a jazz bar that stays open until 3 AM — all without leaving a five-kilometre radius.

This guide covers the full range of things to do in Montreal, from the iconic to the overlooked, from the architectural and cultural to the edible and the hedonistic. Montreal rewards depth. The more time you give it, the more it gives back.

Explore Old Montreal (Vieux-Montréal)

Old Montreal is where the city began in 1642, and the historic district retains a physical coherence that most North American cities can only dream of. The grey limestone buildings, the narrow cobblestone streets, the riverfront warehouses converted into hotels and galleries — it is the most intact historic urban fabric in Canada outside of Quebec City.

Place Jacques-Cartier

The sloping central square descends from Notre-Dame Street to the waterfront and is the social and tourist heart of the district. In summer the terraces are packed from noon onwards, street musicians occupy every corner, and the scene can feel overwhelming at peak hours. Early mornings or late evenings reveal a different, quieter quality that is genuinely atmospheric.

Notre-Dame Basilica

The Gothic Revival interior of Notre-Dame is among the most spectacular sacred spaces in North America — a theatrical explosion of carved wood, gilded ornament, and midnight-blue vaulted ceilings set with gold stars. Admission is required; the Aura light-and-sound installation on select evenings transforms the space into something entirely different. Booking in advance is advisable during summer. See our detailed Notre-Dame Basilica guide for everything you need to know before you visit.

The Old Port waterfront

The Vieux-Port promenade runs along the St. Lawrence for over two kilometres, connecting the historic district to the river. In summer it fills with cyclists, rollerbladers, and visitors watching ocean-going freighters move upriver toward the Great Lakes. The Montreal Science Centre occupies a converted warehouse at the western end. In winter, the outdoor skating rink becomes one of the city’s most popular cold-weather attractions.

Browse Old Montreal walking tours and experiences on GetYourGuide

Climb Mont-Royal

The forested volcanic hill rising 233 metres at the city’s geographic centre is the defining feature of the Montreal landscape. Frederick Law Olmsted — the landscape architect behind New York’s Central Park — designed the park in the 1870s, and his intention of creating a wild-feeling natural escape within the urban fabric has been largely honoured.

The Kondiaronk Belvedere lookout below the Chalet du Mont-Royal offers the best free panoramic view in Montreal: the entire downtown skyline, the St. Lawrence beyond, and on clear days the distant silhouettes of the Vermont and New York State mountains. Arrive at sunset for an experience that needs no filter.

The park has cross-country ski trails in winter, the beloved Sunday tam-tam drum circle in summer (Sundays from May, at the monument at the base of the slope), and the two historic cemeteries — Notre-Dame-des-Neiges (Catholic) and Mont-Royal Cemetery (Protestant) — that record Montreal’s history in stone. Our full Mont-Royal Park guide covers all the trails, lookouts, and seasonal activities.

Wander the Plateau-Mont-Royal

Below the mountain to the east, the Plateau is Montreal’s most characterful residential neighbourhood — a dense grid of Victorian duplexes with exterior spiral staircases, corner dépanneurs, and a commercial life built on independent restaurants, vintage shops, and neighbourhood cafés rather than chain stores.

Avenue du Mont-Royal and rue Saint-Denis are the main drags. The side streets between them contain some of the best wandering in the city: painted staircase facades, community murals, small parks packed with Montrealers in summer. The neighbourhood is predominantly French-speaking and operates at a pace and with a quality of daily life that feels genuinely Mediterranean at its best moments. Read our full Plateau-Mont-Royal guide for neighbourhood-specific recommendations.

Eat your way through the city

Montreal’s food culture is one of the main reasons people come here, and it delivers. The city has a particular gift for producing food that is unpretentious but carefully made — the bagel shops that have been running the same operation since the 1920s, the smoked meat delis that make their own pastrami in-house, the poutine joints that have elevated a working-class staple into something approaching high art.

The markets

Jean-Talon Market in the north end is the largest outdoor market in North America — an extraordinary convergence of Quebec farmers, specialty food vendors, and the energy of a city that takes its ingredients seriously. Atwater Market on the Lachine Canal is smaller and more neighbourhood-focused, with an excellent cheese counter and butcher shops that make it a destination for Westmount and Saint-Henri residents. Both deserve half a day. See our guides to Jean-Talon Market and Atwater Market for detailed coverage.

Bagels, smoked meat, and poutine

The Montreal bagel — wood-fired, hand-rolled, smaller and denser than the New York variety, with a sweetness from honey water — is a genuine culinary institution. St-Viateur Bagel in Mile End has been making them since 1957; Fairmount Bagel on the street of the same name since 1919. The debate about which is better is a Montreal tradition as fundamental as the bagels themselves.

Schwartz’s Hebrew Delicatessen on boulevard Saint-Laurent has been serving smoked meat sandwiches since 1928. The lineup is essentially permanent; the sandwich is worth it. For poutine, La Banquise on rue Rachel is the 24-hour institution serving 30 varieties. Our comprehensive Montreal food guide and best restaurants round out the full picture.

Book a Montreal food tour on GetYourGuide

Attend a festival

No North American city has a festival calendar as dense or as well-executed as Montreal’s summer season. The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal (late June to early July) is the world’s largest jazz festival by attendance, drawing over two million visitors to 650-plus concerts with a substantial free outdoor program. Just for Laughs in July is the world’s largest comedy festival. Osheaga in August brings major international music acts to Parc Jean-Drapeau. The Francofolies celebrate French-language music. Igloofest in January and February is an outdoor electronic music festival held in the Old Port during the city’s coldest weeks — and somehow it works.

Visit the Olympic Park and east-end attractions

The 1976 Summer Olympics left Montreal with a remarkable architectural legacy — and a debt the city finished paying only in 2006. The stadium, the inclined tower (still the world’s tallest leaning structure), the Biodome, and the Insectarium together form a remarkable east-end cluster of family-friendly attractions that most first-time visitors underestimate.

The Biodome recreates four ecosystems from the Americas — tropical rainforest, boreal forest, St. Lawrence marine ecosystem, and sub-Antarctic islands — under a single roof. The recently renovated Insectarium is genuinely one of the best of its kind in North America. The adjacent Montreal Botanical Garden, with 22,000 plant species across themed gardens including the outstanding Japanese and Chinese gardens, rounds out one of the best half-day (or full-day) itineraries in the city. Our full guide to Montreal Olympic Park and the Botanical Garden cover all the details.

Discover the neighbourhoods

Montreal’s neighbourhoods are distinct enough in character that choosing where to spend time is a meaningful decision. Mile End mixes the heritage of the Jewish immigrant community (the bagel bakeries, the delis) with the creative class that moved in from the 1990s onwards — now one of the most culturally productive square kilometres in Canada. Griffintown, the former industrial district south of downtown, is in the middle of a transformation from warehouses to condos and restaurants that makes it interesting to observe even if it lacks the settled character of older neighbourhoods. Chinatown and Little Italy both offer distinct cultural textures alongside genuinely good eating.

Our full Montreal neighborhoods guide covers all the major districts with practical advice on where to stay and eat in each.

Use the underground city

Montreal’s RÉSO underground city connects 32 kilometres of pedestrian walkways to 41 metro stations, 10 major hotels, and 1,700 retail outlets. In December and January it is not a luxury but a genuine quality-of-life infrastructure. You can arrive at the airport, take the shuttle to the metro, walk underground to your hotel, eat three meals, attend a concert, and shop extensively without at any point encountering weather below -20°C. Montreal presents this as civic pride rather than defeat.

Day trips and beyond

Quebec City is 250 kilometres east — about 2.5 hours by car or 3 hours by VIA Rail. It is the logical companion piece to a Montreal visit: a genuinely walled historic city with a European atmosphere and a concentrated historic district that warrants at least two nights. The Laurentian Mountains to the north, with Mont-Tremblant as the main hub, are 90 minutes from the city and offer world-class skiing in winter and excellent hiking and cycling from spring through autumn.

Practical information

Getting around: The STM metro system has four lines and covers most tourist areas efficiently. Single fares and day passes are available; the Opus card (rechargeable) is more economical for multi-day visits. Bixi bike-share stations are dense throughout the central neighbourhoods and the cycling infrastructure is excellent. Taxis and rideshare (Uber operates in Montreal) are readily available.

Best time to visit: May through October for outdoor activities, terrace dining, and festivals. December and January for the underground city experience and winter festivals (Igloofest, Montréal en Lumière). July is peak season with the highest prices and crowds but the most concentrated festival energy.

Language: French is the primary language but English is widely spoken throughout the tourism sector. A few words of French (bonjour, merci, s’il vous plaît) are always appreciated and open doors.

Money: Canada uses the Canadian dollar. Credit cards are accepted almost universally. Tipping at 15–18% is standard in restaurants; 20% at higher-end establishments.

Where to stay

Old Montreal is the most atmospheric base for first-time visitors — close to the historic attractions, the waterfront, and with quick metro or cab access to other neighbourhoods. The Plateau offers a more local experience. Downtown is practical for those attending events or conferences at the Palais des congrès.

Related reading

• Montreal neighborhoods guide — where to stay, eat, and explore by district
• Montreal food guide — what to eat and where
• Old Port complete guide — the waterfront in detail
• Montreal with kids — family-friendly activities
• Visiting Quebec City — the perfect companion trip