Everything to know to prep the best trip to Montréal
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Sooo, you’re thinking about visiting Montréal, eh? You’re in for a treat: it’s a North American metropolis just 48 km (30 miles) from the U.S. border, founded by French settlers in 1624 and alive with international influences. It’s a culinary hot spot with one of the highest restaurant densities in North America, a festival capital of 4 million welcoming inhabitants and a UNESCO City of Design. The fun starts here: with this all-encompassing Montréal city guide, you can plan the perfect trip to live like a local from the moment you hit the ground.
When is the best time to visit Montréal?
Montréal is a city of four seasons. When you choose to visit Montréal will depend on what you’re looking to experience: balmy heat, snowglobe life, or easy, breezy, mid-season vibes?
June to September
The weather reaches into the 30s °C (84 °F) from June to well into September. It’s a season of street festivals, endless nights, pool parties, lazy terrace brunches and aimless city trekking.
What to pack?
👚 Light breathable clothing
🩴 Comfortable trekking sandals
🧢 A good hat for outdoor festivals
🕶️ Your coolest sunnies
September to November
Sweater weather starts in September and runs through October, with the first snow starting around mid November. Fall equals culture: new exhibitions, new stage shows, fun food festivals.
What to pack?
🧥 Adaptable outer layers
👞 Comfortable art seeing shoes
🧣 A light scarf just in case
🎒 A bag for all your shopping
November to April
From November through to the end of March, temperatures can reach into the -20s °C (-4 °F). Winter brings all-night dance parties in the snow, cozy dining, holiday markets and outdoor art extravaganzas.
What to pack?
🎩 Your glad rags for festivities
👖 Sweaters and long pants
🥾 Comfortable snow boots
🧦 Lots of warm gear you can layer
April to June
In April, the whole city thaws, the sugar shacks open up and every denizen celebrates in the streets, in parks and on the re-opening terraces. The temperature tends to sit around 10 or 15 °C (50 to 58 °F).
What to pack?
👟 Comfortable café hopping shoes
👕 Short sleeves and thin layers
👒 A cute hat for terrace life
👗 Frolicking gear
How long should you stay in Montréal?
Tacking on a couple of personal days onto a business trip is a great start, but the real feel of Montréal is best experienced in a jam-packed 72 hours, or a culture-filled week. Or more.
You’ll want time to adventure through at least two or three of the city’s famously walkable and bikeable neighbourhoods to experience various scenes, from third wave coffee shop-slash-boutiques to authentic mom-and-pop eateries from all over the world.
Here are some Montréal itineraries to get you started:
🕐 A day to remember in Montréal
Some of the neighbourhoods you should check out
Downtown and Old Montréal are more touristic and closer to a wider variety of hotels, restaurants, shopping and attractions, but more residential areas like the Plateau, Mile End, Little Italy and Little Burgundy are equally popular with visitors for their more local vibe. Which will you explore first?
Plateau Mont-Royal and Mile End
Downtown adjacent to the north
Cool, trendy and packed with artists and creative types, the Plateau and its famed Mile End enclave are known as much for their residential quaintness as their festive nighttime antics, restaurants, cafés and vintage and one-of-a-kind shops.
😍 Try a poutine at Resto La Banquise
Old Montréal and the Old Port
Downtown adjacent to the south
With cobblestone streets and buildings dating back to the 1600s, Old Montréal and the Old Port are home to the city’s founding spot and most historic attractions, but also its newest. It’s a lively area where residents mix with visitors to eat, shop and live it up in speakeasies and supper clubs.
👟 Take a walk back in time down Saint Paul Street
⛪ Marvel at the Notre-Dame Basilica
Griffintown, Little Burgundy and Saint-Henri
Downtown adjacent to the west
Known collectively as the Quartiers du Canal, these three neighbourhoods on the shores of the Lachine Canal boast some of the hottest restaurants in the city as well as an active community and outdoor life involving cycling, walking, even paddleboarding and kayaking.
🥕 Buy local products at Atwater Market
🛍️ Shop on the Griffintown, Petite-Bourgogne and Saint-Henri Streets
🍴 Get a taste of one of the city’s hottest eateries
And that’s just the start. Hope onto the metro and explore the residential neighbourhoods of Little Italy, Rosemont, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Pointe-Saint-Charles, Verdun, Outremont, Parc-Extension, Ahuntsic, Lachine and so many more, all dotted with parks, markets, restaurants, shops and cafés where you can soak up that only-in-Montréal atmosphere.
The classic must-see Montréal attractions
Montréal has all the postcard sites you can want as the background for a selfie — from the BONJOUR Montréal sign right on the Old Port to the giant Grande Roue de Montréal Ferris wheel to The Ring at Place Ville Marie or the incredible view of the city from the Kondiaronk lookout on Mount Royal.
Here’s your top 10 guide-book checklist:
⛰️ Hike up Mount Royal
🛍️ Shop your heart out downtown
🥯 Eat bagels, smoked meat and poutine
🏛️ Relive history in Old Montréal
⛪ Make a pilgrimage to Saint-Joseph’s Oratory
🚇 Explore the Underground City
🍎 Shop at the public farmers markets
🍕 Snack your way through the Plateau
🥇 Experience Olympian architecture
🖼️ Enjoy a whole world of museums
Some of the best things to do in Montréal
Promenade Wellington
Underground city
In addition to the guide-book musts, Montréal has off-the-beaten-track attractions and activities — many of which are free — where you’re more likely to rub shoulders with locals and get a real-life impression of the day-to-day here.
Café hopping on the Plateau
Montréal is home to an enormous number of independent coffee shops: there are about800 cafés and coffee shops in town, making it the second highest rate in Canada. The Plateau neighbourhood is a great place to start your hop: it’s a colourful, multicultural neighbourhood packed with chic shopping and parks perfect for people watching.
Enjoying the pedestrian street life on Wellington Street
Located in Verdun, a cool residential neighbourhood on the edge of the Lachine Canal, Wellington Street is one of the many streets in Montréal that turns over to pedestrians-only all summer long, but it’s the only one that was once ranked the coolest street in the world. Discover why for yourself.
Getting a different view from the mountain
Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, of Central Park fame, Mount Royal Park is one of the most famous tourist spots in town, but some parts remain discoveries. Try exploring it from the Upper Outremont side: there’s an entrance on Mont-Royal Boulevard that provides a beautiful steep hike up Chemin de Ceinture to a gorgeous view onto the north end of the city. Keep walking and you’ll end up right by the Saint Joseph's Oratory.
Taking yourself on a self-guided public art tour downtown
Uniting nearly 1,000 artworks by close to 500 Québec and international artists, the Art Public Montréal website is your starting point to a whole education about the art that Montréal’s public spaces have to offer up for free. There are suggested trajectories on the site as well — we suggest you start with an excursion around downtown Montréal, centring on Sainte-Catherine Street. It’s a good place to start your own art collection as well.
Eating your heart out in Old Montréal
Old Montréal’s cool restaurant boom is driven by high tourist traffic and an avid local public that enjoys the contrast of centuries-old architecture peppered with contemporary design. You can find everything in the area, from refined French dining to hidden speakeasies to casual lunch counters, pizza joints and pierogi palaces. Make your own journey, or take a tour to learn more with one of these foodie tour operators.
Experiencing festival life at Quartier des Spectacles
The sprawling plaza that stretches across two square blocks of downtown Montréal is called the Place des Festivals for good reason: it’s a festival epicentre in this city of festivals. But the whole area that englobes these outdoor performance spaces is called Quartier des Spectacles, and it’s packed with arts and entertainment.
- Place des Arts
- Maison symphonique de Montréal
- Society for Arts and Technology
- Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal
Going on a shopping spree in the Underground City
Get a professional tour of the Underground City with the experts at MTL Detours, or go it alone and shop your way from one end of the 33 km (20.5 miles) area to the other. From all the shops in Complexe Desjardins to those in the Centre Eaton de Montréal, not to mention Place Montréal Trust, you’ll have to think about bringing extra luggage.
Dancing until you drop in Parc Jean-Drapeau
Summer in Montréal means park bathing, and at the sprawling Parc Jean-Drapeau, that means a daytime dance party every weekend. Piknic Électonik is a weekly ritual for EDM fans. Come early, dance the day away, and end with a flutter at the Casino de Montréal, just a short stroll away!
Where to experience Montréal’s famous food culture?
Where? City-wide, from the burbs to the centre of town, to every little neighbourhood. Montréal isn’t a city of big flashy restaurants – it’s a city of small neighbourhood finds with deep, loyal followings. Some are world-famous and MICHELIN-starred, while others are yours to discover. Get started with this guide to Montréal for first-time foodies.
Some tasty Montréal food stats:
Montréal has the highest concentration of eateries on the continent with 92 restaurants per square kilometre, in touristic neighbourhoods and representing various types of cuisine inspired by 120 countries and regions. There is something for every palate and budget. Note that many restaurants are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so do check before you go.
Iconic Montréal foods you just HAVE to try
- Montréal bagels
- Smoked meat
- Poutine
- Authentic French restaurants
- Brunch (it’s a true Montréal specialty)
Fun foodie things to do in Montréal
🌽 To fill up on fresh produce and local goods, explore the city’s beautiful public markets, including Jean-Talon Market in Little Italy and Atwater Market in Saint-Henri. Montréal’s smallest market, the Public Market of Lachinein the southwest, offers a great selection of products year-round.
🍱 Explore the wide variety of excellent downtown meals at gourmet food halls including Time Out Market, Marché Artisans, Le Cathcart and LE CENTRAL — or venture out to Le Fou Fou in the huge and tawny Royalmount mall in Town of Mount-Royal.
☕️ Get your caffeine fix at Montréal’s indie coffee shops — and fresh doughnuts to go with it! Add more sweetness to your life at Montréal’s best bakeries and pastry shops, best chocolate shops and candy shops.
🍻 Get a guided taste of the city with one of the many expert food tours, which take you into eateries or drinkeries in neighbourhoods ranging from Little Italy to Griffintown.
Travelling with kids to Montréal
From street performers to Biodôme critters to La Ronde thrills, Montréal keeps kids of all ages entertained, from toddlers to teens. The city itself feels like a playground — compact, walkable and stitched together by a subway system so easy it practically does the planning for you.
Atwater Market
Café la chouette
Things to do with babies and toddlers
- Enjoy performances at the park’s open-air Théâtre de Verdure in the summertime
- Stroll through the Jardin botanique’s sprawling grounds
- Watch the lynx, otters, bats, penguins and more in the at the Biôdome’s five different ecosystems
- Take in the MONTRÉAL COMPLÈTEMENT CiRQUE circus festival
- Go watch a movie at the Montréal International Children's Film Festival (FIFEM)
- delight in the interactive exhibitions at the Montréal Science Centre
- Enjoy storytime at any of the Montréal's kid-friendly libraries
Things to do with little-big kids
- Go nuts at giant play centres like Kazoom Café, Funtropolis, Zig Zag Zoo and the iSaute trampoline parks
- Zip this way and that in ice skates on Mount-Royal Park’s Beaver Lake
- Check out the city’s many kid-friendly museums and galleries
- Experience the thrills and spills of the La Ronde amusement park
- Figure out the world’s mysteries at the Montréal Science Centre
Things to do with tweens and teens
- Beat the summer heat at the city's swimming pools and beaches
- Try your hand at painting personalized ceramics at the Ceramic Café-Studio
- Experience the immersive VR experiences at PLAYBOX Centre, a high-energy, neon playground
- Play laser tag, go bowling, and try your hand at the escape rooms at BoulZeye
- Rent skateboards, scooters, BMX bikes and roller skates at TAZ. All levels welcome!
Where to eat with little kids in Montréal?
Try some of these great places to eat with kids in Montréal, but to mix food time with playtime, there are also some excellent places for babies and for toddlers to eat and play:
Getting around Montréal
Whether from the airport or within the city, Montréal is a breeze of a city to visit. It’s a city designed for walking — safe, picturesque, comfortably paved. In the summer the city turns some of its streets over to pedestrians only, and if the weather is inclement, head into the Underground City, where you can walk for 32 km (20 miles) throughout the downtown core, from malls to museums to cinemas and more without going out.
Taxis
- The award-winning YUL Montréal-Trudeau International Airport is only 20 minutes from downtown Montréal
- Taxis are readily available outside the airport (no call necessary)
- Rates are standardized regardless of the cab company selected
- A trip from the airport to downtown Montréal (or vice versa) will cost you a flat rate of $49.45 (between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m.) or $56.70 (between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.)
- The base fee for a daytime cab ride to any other destination is $4.10 plus $2.05 per km and a $46.20/hour waiting fee
- At night, those rates go up to $4.70 base plus $2.35 per km and $53.40/hour for waiting
Rideshare services
At the airport, rideshare users can choose to be picked up from either Door 20 on the arrivals level or Door 7 on the departures level.
Public transport
- Public transit in Montréal is inexpensive, easy to use, fast and convenient city-wide.
- The metro operates between 5:30 a.m. and 1 a.m.
- It costs $3.75 for a single journey
- Less on average if you buy a pass card.
- Buses use the same ticket as the metro
- You can change from metro to bus or vice versa on a single fare, as long as you’re journeying in one direction
- There’s a convenient express bus that services the airport (the 747 Express Bus)
Cycling
The city is crisscrossed with 3,450 km (2,143 miles) of bike paths for easy and safe travelling. Montrealers are avid cyclists, and visitors can join right in thanks to the BIXI Montréal public bike sharing system: it makes 12,600 bikes (3,200 of which are electric) available for rental at over 1,000 stations in Greater Montréal.
🚲 A one-way regular BIXI ride costs $1.50 plus 20₵ per minute of usage
🚲 35₵ per minute of usage for electric bikes
🚲 Download the BIXI app and get rolling!
Other practical info
Montréal is notoriously safe, and it’s an accessible, easy city to integrate if you’ve ever travelled to North America. There are a few distinctions worth noting, though, so you have a complete lay of the land when you start your Montréal itinerary. You’ll find a useful guide to all the ins and out right here. Here’s the TLDR:
Languages
- You don’t need to speak French to feel at ease in Montréal, but tossing out a little français might earn you points!
- The city is famously multilingual, so getting service in English is never an issue
- Montréal is one of the most culturally diverse cities in North America
- It’s home to more than 120 cultural communities, with over 20% of residents speaking three languages (or more)
Currency
- Canadian currency consists of coins (5¢, 10¢, 25¢, $1 and $2) and bank notes in different colours starting at $5
- Debit and credit cards are widely accepted
- ATMs are easy to find, especially downtown and there are many currency exchange offices too
- Sales taxes are not included in most displayed prices: 5% federal Goods and Services Tax plus 9.975% provincial sales tax will be added to most purchases
Passports and visas
- To enter Canada, everyone needs a valid passport
- You may also need an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA), depending on where you’re travelling from (not U.S. citizens or travellers who already hold a valid visa)
- Applying is quick, easy, and inexpensive: it’s a simple online form that costs $7
Time zone
Montréal runs on Eastern Standard Time
Voltage and adaptors
Electricity in Montréal runs on 110V, with the same plug style used in the U.S.
Tipping
Service isn’t included in Canadian restaurant bills, so tipping is standard. Plan to add at least 15% to the pre-tax total.
Taxi drivers, hairdressers, massage therapists and other service providers are typically tipped around 15% as well.
For bellhops, porters and doormen, $1 to $2 is the norm. Housekeeping tips usually fall in the same range per day.
Opening hours
- Most shops keep standard hours:
- Monday to Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Weekends from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Stores typically close on statutory holidays
Isa Tousignant
Isa Tousignant is an editor and storyteller with a curiosity that runs deeper than most. She has chatted life philosophies with celebrity chefs, gemologists, arena rockers and furries. (All were transformative.) Her favourite things include discovering new flavours and celebrating the creativity that defines her hometown, Montréal.