Things to do in March 2026

Welcome to Montréal!

To enjoy the best the city has to offer during your stay in March, please don't think of yourself as a tourist, but as one of us. Whether you're here for a few days, a few weeks or a few years, we're counting on you to enjoy Montréal in a spirit of respect, responsibility and celebration! 

Wintry activities, attractions and tours

We hope you make yourself at home in Montréal’s incredible hotels — there’s an accommodation option for everyone, from landmark hotels to family friendly hotels and boutique hotels galore. 

In Old Montréal, walk the cobblestone streets to the St. Lawrence River and visit the iconic Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal — see the gorgeous multimedia AURA Experience, a wonderful way to feel the grandeur of this landmark.

Downtown holds one of the city’s most lovely churches, the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, where you can admire the beautiful stained glass during services or during the regular organ concerts.

In the Old Port of Montréal, after shooting a selfie at the glimmering BONJOUR structure, see views of the city and the river from the Grand Quay of the Port of Montréal, where you’ll find a cruise ship dock, marine history displays, green spaces and a stunning attraction: the Port of Montréal Tower. Nearby, treat yourself to bird’s-eye views on La Grande Roue de Montréal observation wheel. 

Visit the esplanade of Place Ville Marie, where the massive art installation The Ring glints overhead. Or take a break for entertainment and a snack at Esplanade Tranquille at the corner of Clark and Sainte-Catherine Street. 

One of the best ways to discover the city is with expert guides on Montréal tours: bundle up and set your own agenda with private walking tours at your own pace. See the city like a local with MTL Detours, take a day trip outside the city with N-tours or call upon the experts at Guidatour. For an unparalleled taste of the city, savour one of the expert two- or three-hour walking tours given by Local Montréal Food Tours — they range from Mile End to Old Montréal.

If you’re wondering why Montréal has so many colourful murals, hear more about them and their artists on a street art tour with Spade & Palacio, including the murals from the last MURAL Festival. For an electric bike tour of the murals (weather permitting), look to Fitz Montréal — their tours cover anything from downtown Montréal to Jean-Talon Market. To enjoy Montréal after dark (also weather permitting), head out on the Montréal by Night Loop on GrayLine’s double decker bus! Enjoy the ambiance and watch as the city’s most vibrant districts come to life after dusk.
You can also devise your own self-guided art tour (or follow one of their expertly curated ones) thanks to Art Public Montréal, a fountain of information on Montréal’s hundreds of public artworks that are viewable for free year-round. Explore their selection of podcasts, too, for the inside scoop.

Passport MTL

The easiest way to visit dozens of Montréal attractions, museums and more at a discount is by getting your own key to the city: Passeport MTL, whose special winter edition will help you experience the best of the magical season.

Winter sports and relaxation

From March 4 to 8, more than 1,200 athletes (including some Olympians) from 12 countries around the world will compete in the 30th edition of International Gymnix 2026, a women’s artistic gymnastics event happening at Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard. There are lots of fun activities for the whole family onsite, including a gymnastics course for kids, food kiosks and pop-up athletic gear shops.

The ISU CNSG Short Track World Championships will unite the globe’s fastest female and male skaters in the world for thrilling competitions, all happening at Aréna Maurice Richard. 

And world-class basketball fans won’t want to miss the 2026 CCAA Women's Basketball Championship, happening at the Tony Proudfoot Gymnasium at Dawson College, from March 18 to 21. 

Cheer on the Montréal Canadiens as the NHL season rages on with lots of nail-biting matches happening on home turf at the Bell Centre. See the whole month’s schedule here! 

If you can’t make the games in person, watch all the hockey, soccer, football, basketball, MMA and more at Montréal’s sports bars. 

Also at the Bell Centre, take the kids to Disney on Ice: Jump In! It runs from March 5 to 8.

The Grand Chelem Baseball Centre, located downtown, invites you to step up to the plate. Whether you’re an elite player or a casual hitter, Grand Chelem offers baseball and softball training for all levels and any age. 

Wanna play? Head to the Centre Eaton de Montréal where the PLAYBOX Centre has a game for everyone, from internationally renowned crane games to arcade games, skill games and VR attractions. Super Super at DIX30 in Brossard is another super lively, family-friendly option, while Royalmount has a very fun arcade at The Rec Room, next to the Cineplex cinema, where you can duke it out in VR games and more before munching burgers or nachos (with accompanying cocktails, for parents) at the onsite eateries. Head to the Casino de Montréal to play on life-size arcade games at their ARcade by Moment Factory gaming experience: a fusion of multimedia and video game technology in two play areas that pits teams against each other in six interactive games. Each game combines motion-detection, projection technologies and videogame mechanics. Montréal loves exploring the retro side of play with its selection of arcades.

Montréal Bowling is the perfect spot downtown to play a few rounds of bowling, play some pool, watch some sports, play some arcade games and grab some great snacks and cocktails.

Get swinging with a foray into the circus arts at the Montréal Circus Academy, where you can learn flying trapeze, pole fitness, exotic pole dance, aerial silks, aerial hammock, straps, handstands, flexibility and more. 

If you’re feeling more artsy, Art Chaos is a fantastic family- or group-friendly activity in Mile End, where you can paint crazy creations on rapidly spinning canvases, for a truly interactive experience. 

The West Island’s Ecomuseum Zoo is a wonderful place to glimpse local wildlife in their natural outdoor habitats and even have breakfast with some of them throughout March.

Among the many outdoor winter activities the city has in store, there are a bunch of great ice skating options throughout the city (or indoors at Atrium Le 1000 downtown), including the Patinoire sous l’Anneau ice rink at Esplanade Place Ville Marie, until March 29 only. Because even when Montréal feels like a living snow globe, it’s worth bundling up and heading outside to Montréal’s parks for some gorgeous strolls, hikes or snowshoeing. 

Topping the list of free things to do this season, see incredible city views from Mount Royal Park: head for a walk through the park and up the stairs to the lookout, or bus or drive up to Beaver Lake. Stroll (or cross-country ski, or skate) around Parc La Fontaine, go to Saint-Michel neighbourhood’s Parc Frédéric-Back, or cross the river to Parc Jean-Drapeau for a riverside walk and a different view of the city. While there, visit the Espace pour la vie Biosphère too, for environment-focused exhibitions and more.

Speaking of Espace pour la vie museums, enjoy the Jardin botanique’s sprawling tropical greenhouse environments, a welcome hit of warmth on these cold days. Experience several wild ecosystems at the Biodôme (there are penguins, otters, monkeys and more), explore the mysteries of the universe at the Planétarium, and learn about the thousands of butterflies, moths and other insects at the Insectarium. 

For the ultimate relaxation session after a day of trekking (or just because you deserve it), visit Bota Bota, spa-sur-l’eau, a unique spa in a moored boat on the St. Lawrence River in the Old Port, and other world-class spas like Scandinave Spa Vieux-Montréal, Avie Spa & Coiffure, Rainspa and Strøm Nordic Spa.

March art and exhibitions 

The cultural season is in full effect in museums and galleries around town, so get the full low-down in our seasonal exhibition overview. At PHI, you’ve got until March 8 to take in Manuel Mathieu: Unity in Darkness, an art exhibition that interrogates the invisible forces that shape our world and affect our individual and collective lives, and Keiken: Sensory Oversoul, in its North American debut: this show features two major immersive and participatory installation works that will undoubtedly blow your mind. 

Visit the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts before March 8 to enjoy the Kent Monkman exhibition titled History is Painted by the Victors, among others. Through his subversive lens, this major Canadian artist and member of ocêkwi sîpiy (Fisher River Cree Nation) revisits history painting to challenge colonial narratives and offer new perspectives on the past and our present. His iconic and monumental paintings are full of humour, poignant commentary, and simply not to be missed.

At the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal in Place Ville Marie, catch the current exhibition In Praise of the Missing Image until March 8. Part of the 19th edition of the MOMENTA Biennale d’art contemporain, it’s a group show that focuses on what escapes visibility, silences and gaps in individual and collective memory.

Go to Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Archaeology and History Complex in Old Montréal for their current show, on view until March 8: Sherlock Holmes is an immersive exhibition that combines history, literature and investigation. Journey back to 19th century London where you’ll explore the author’s sources of inspiration and follow the trail of the master of deduction amid life-size settings.

You’ll also be near the kid-friendly Montréal Science Centre, where you can explore interactive exhibitions that investigate the scientific world, like the permanent exhibition Human: a voyage to the very heart of human evolution through a fully interactive and highly energetic environment. Explore – Life-Sized Science is a permanent exhibition that explains the wonders at work behind motion, air, light, water, geometry, matter and code via interactive games involving giant soap bubbles, water tables — even a crane.

The McCord Stewart Museum bridges past and present in its exhibitions, which throughout March includes On the Menu – Montréal: A Restaurant Story: witness the evolution of Montréal’s restaurant scene in all its forms since the 1960s. Also on view, Aunties’ Work: The Power of Care is a heartfelt tribute to the support systems created by the matriarchs of Montréal’s Black communities.

Visit MEM – Centre des mémoires montréalaises, a cutting-edge museum dedicated to the voices of Montrealers presiding over the corner of Boulevard Saint-Laurent and Rue Sainte-Catherine. Throughout the month you can catch Detours – Urban Experiences, an immersive exhibition that takes you into the world of Montrealers with singular backgrounds.

At the Montréal Planétarium, tickets to any of the shows gets you access to Rouge 2100: A Martian Adventure, an exhibition running throughout the month that offers a journey in five chapters and as many rooms, where we realistically imagine the first steps of a rare humans in 2100 on the fascinating red planet. Don’t miss this opportunity to see an acclaimed show, where the album’s score entwines with breathtaking images of the solar system and striking visual effects. 

Travel back in time as you tour the rooms of Château Ramezay and visit the historical site of Château Dufresne near the Olympic Stadium. The Musée des Hospitalières de l’Hôtel-Dieu de Montréalexplores the history of medical care and its relationship to do-gooding with its temporary exhibition, Medicine and Charity. Stained glass windows, sculptures, paintings, furniture, tapestries, everyday objects related to patient care, and archives will allow visitors to discover the extraordinary richness of French hospital heritage, as well as that of Quebec. 

Not far from the city, climb aboard railway cars, learn about the history of the railroad and explore miniature railways at the Exporail the Canadian Railway Museum.

Discover the vivid history and present of Quebec ceramics at the Musée des métiers d’arts du Québec, and Canadian arts and crafts at large at La Guilde in the Golden Square Mile. Experience a massive immersive art experience in surround-sound and laser light at OASIS Immersion, where Root for Nature extrapolates on biodiversity in all its splendour.

Speaking of immersive experiences, the Fabulous FAB Exhibition is an all-around trippy space spanning three floors in the Centre Eaton de Montréal, where you can experience no less than 20 extraordinary worlds. And don’t forget Montréal’s plethora of small, independent art galleries, from Bradley Ertaskiran to Hugues Charbonneau, Galerie B-312, SBC Gallery and Ellephant downtown, Oboro and MAI in the Plateau, Centre Clark and Dazibao in Mile End, Galerie d’Outremont in (you guessed it) Outremont and many, many others in every neighbourhood.

Onstage this March

Montréal’s cultural calendar is packed this season, with entertainment for everyone on the city’s many stages. Among the world-class theatre, dance, opera, circus and more gracing the city’s stages throughout March, you’ll find Festival international de Casteliers, from March 2 to 8 at the Maison internationale des arts de la marionette in Outremont. This one-of-a-kind art event showcases artists from around the world in a dozen shows and exhibitions that will captivate spectators of all ages.

On March 1, catch the last day of the Grand Ballets Canadiens’s spectacle at Place des Arts’s Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier The Creation, in which choreographer Uwe Scholz transforms Joseph Haydn’s monumental oratorio into a powerful ballet inspired by the Book of Genesis and devoted to the birth of the world.

Until March 7, Marseille’s world renowned (LA)HORDE ballet collective brings Age of Content to Théâtre Maisonneuve, a thrilling, engaged post-punk performance about the influences of fashion, immersive worlds and club culture in this era of online content and ceaseless self-promotion.

Get dark and moody from March 5 to 7 at Salle Ludger-Duvernay with Tango After Dark, starring international tango superstars German Cornejo and Gisela Galeassi, along with a group of eight world-class tango dancers. 

On March 15, Flamenco Alegria is a fiery two-part flamenco show featuring dance, guitar and percussion. Catch it at Théâtre Maisonneuve.

Music theatre lovers, this one’s for you: & Juliet comes to Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier from March 17 to 22. Created by the Emmy-winning writer from Schitt’s Creek, David West Read, this hilarious new musical flips the script on the greatest love story ever told. 

Another musical: Bat Out of Hell: The Musical is a thrilling spectacle of a show where the timeless music of Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf reigns supreme with a dynamic eight-piece rock band performing amidst sprawling multi-level platforms that transport you. Catch it for one night only on March 23 at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier.

At TOHU, catch circus at its finest: from March 3 to 7, see Clip! Philippe Trépanier’s solo clowning show includes slapstick, improv, juggling and a sweet, heartwarming narrative. From Match 26 to 29, catch WOW: World of Words, an immersive dance show that explores the meeting of cultures. The dancers move between suspended hammocks, acrobatic balloons and human percussion in a breathtaking, authentic visual fresco.

Catch Falsettos at the Segal Centre from March 7 to 15. An unapologetically queer, Jewish story, the absurdist is musical unlike anything else in the canon, blurring the line between reality and the ridiculous, poking holes in our ideas of family, masculinity, femininity, and love itself.

From March 4 to 22 at Centaur Theatre, a truly unique experience awaits in the form of Goblin: Macbeth. When three Goblins come across a copy of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare, they’re eager to take over a theatre and take a stab at Macbeth. A unique blend of comedy and tragedy, with a spatter of improvisation.

Get your drag on this March 13 at Espace Saint-Denis, where War on the Catwalk stars the great Alyssa Edwards, as well as Drag Race stars Jewels Sparkles, Suzie Toot, Lexi, Bosco, Lydia B. Kollins and Daya Betty. 

Onscreen in March

Currently in its 44th edition, FIFA — aka the International Festival of Films on Art — runs from March 12 to 29 and celebrates films about arts, culture and new media in a multi-tiered program of shorts and feature films, both local and international.

Film lovers will get a kick out of the live classical music concert accompanying a screening of some famous scenes from our favourite sorcerer in The Magic of Harry Potter. Watch on March 3 and 4 at Maison Symphonique as a symphony orchestra plays live. On March 14 there’s also A Tribute to Joe Hisaishi, the composer behind some of Studio Ghibli’s greatest films at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier. On March 27 and 28, also at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, enjoy Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark Live in Concert, with orchestral accompaniment, while on March 31 it’s time for Dirty Dancing in Concert.

The Montréal Science Centre’s IMAX cinema puts nature on the giant screen in all its glory — this month you can see the incredible T. REX 3D: Greatest of all Tyrants throughout March, where you can discover the most gripping and scientifically accurate portrait ever made of this titan and its formidable carnivorous cousins.

See independent features, family films, documentaries and more at Montréal’s indie cinemas including Cinéma Moderne, Cinéma du Parc, Cinéma du Musée at the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts, and the iconic Cinémathèque québécoise in the Quartier des Spectacles (the city’s entertainment district).

Explore the city through cinema in these Hollywood movies made in Montréal.

Live music in March

We’ve got the perfect overview of Montréal’s big, can’t-miss concerts of 2026 so you can plan your highlights of the year.

Classical lovers have a world of choice at Place des Arts this month, with concerts ranging from The Enchanting Firebird by Stravinsky to Bartók and Mozart.

Also at Place des Arts, catch AnesthesiA, a Metallica symphonic tribute on March 7, and The Rock Orchestra on March 10: a band of 14 classical musicians who unleash effortlessly enchanting melodies alongside powerful walls of distortion in an unexpected union of classical music and metal, all presented by candlelight.

At the Bell Centre this month, don’t miss Twice on March 3.

You’ll find all sorts of fun music shows at MTELUS, including Mariah the Scientist on March 3, Feu! Chatterton on March 4, Charley Crockett on March 5, Lou-Adriane Cassidy on March 6, Louis-Jean Cormier on March 7, Artemas on March 10, Ray Volpe on March 13, Currents & Era on March 18, The Sheepdogs on March 19, Ariane Roy on March 21, Sticky Fingers on March 23, Emperor on March 28 and Black Label Society on March 31.

At Théâtre Fairmount in Mile End, catch Angel Du$t on March 3, Puma Blue on March 4, Population II on March 6, Dark Divine on March 10, JSTJR on March 14, Anja Huwe on March 19, Yellow Days on March 20, Avenoir on March 21, Mind Enterprises on March 23, Westerman on March 24, Black Eyes on March 27 and Oui Merci on March 28.

The world’s best EDM artists come to New City Gas to get you moving, including Sébastien Léger on March 5, Chencho Corleone on March 7 and Kybba on March 19. See the full programming here.

At the SAT this month, don’t miss the awesome Dômesicle winter 2026 series, all happening in the semi-circular Satosphere. For this special 10th anniversary edition, the SAT is pulling out all the stops with a programme packed with the best of techno, including house, funk, groove, trance, bass and breaks, acid and rave. The dome is transformed into a playground for more than 50 local and international artists who create unique and immersive atmospheres. See the full programming here.

Want to experience music and entertainment in a sparkling, velvet-clad theatre? Look no further than Caf’Conc, within the Marriott Château Champlain de Montréal. Find the programming here. 

Groove to live soul, disco, jazz, funk, salsa, Cuban music Fridays and more at Le Balcon, where you can have dinner with a show, go dancing, and enjoy a gospel brunch on weekends. Find the full program for the month here.

Hear live jazz nightly at Montréal’s amazing jazz and blues clubs, like Diese Onze and Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill. And go out dancing late into the night at Montréal’s dance clubs.

Indie venues Casa del Popolo and Sala Rossa have chock-a-block full monthly programs featuring both local and visiting bands, which you can find here. Look here for the many live events at hole-in-the-wall Barfly. Same for Bar Le Ritz PDB, where there’s a show nearly every night. Explore the lineups at Le Ministère and Turbo Haüs, and follow L’Escogriffe on Facebook to stay on top of all their upcoming shows. L’Hémisphère Gauche, up in Little Italy, is packed with music lovers for their nightly shows, as is Quai des Brumes on the Plateau — it never takes a night off.