Montreal, the second largest French-speaking city in the world, has a long colonial history and is renowned as a cosmopolitan center of culture and foreign trade. The best attractions in Montreal offer enough exploration and entertainment opportunities. Here’s our list of the most famous attractions and things to do that you won’t want to miss out on in the Montreal.
Best Time to Visit Montreal
Montreal is a year round destination with something to do all around the year but it is best to visit the city between the month of March to May and from September to November to enjoy the best of Montreal.
How to Reach Montreal
By Air: There are two international airports in Montreal, one solely for travellers and the other reserved only for freight. Dorval Airport or Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport serves 40 airline airlines to more than 100 destinations worldwide and within Canada. Both major Canadian and U.S. airlines service the airport.
By Drive: The different highways and bridges leading straight into the city centre make Montréal by driving easier. Driving is an outing that is refreshingly open and scenic.
By Bus: From cities like Quebec, Ontario, Vermont, New York, Maine, etc., there are a variety of bus services to Montreal. You can use buses from the Centrale d’autobus station for arrival and departure.
By Train: With 52 stations, there are 5 commuter rail lines. Montreal-based VIA Rail provides several other cities in Canada with rail service. From Central Station, it operates its intercity trains and most of the commuter trains. Montreal is linked to New York, Quebec City, Buckingham, Maine, Halifax, etc. by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).
Now Coming to top attractions, here are the must see places in Montreal…
1. Mount Royal
Mount Royal, majestically growing up in the centre of the city, is a sign of the heritage, culture, geography, and creativity of the city, housing founding institutions, magnificent cemeteries on the hillside, and a four-season playground, Mount Royal Park. A beautiful panorama unfolds from the summit, or rather, from a base below the cross. With creative experiences inspired by the seasons, explore this beautiful outdoor atmosphere in a whole new way. Fresh air and fun promised!
2. Old Montreal
Montreal may be one of the most trendy cities in North America, but it is also one of the oldest, and there’s no better place in the Old Montreal neighbourhood to explore the rich history of the area. Here, within an easily walkable few blocks in the centre of town, charming cobblestone streets, stunning early architecture and interesting historical sites combine with trendy shops, ultramodern art galleries and excellent restaurants and hotels to create what is easily the most wander-worthy district of Montreal.
3. Montreal Botanical Garden
Montreal Botanical Garden, founded by Brother Marie-Victorin in 1936. The Montreal Botanical Garden, covering more than 75 hectares, has around 20,000 plant species and cultivars under cultivation and maintains a herbarium consisting of almost 100,000 reference specimens. The facility houses both outdoor and greenhouse gardens, both of which concentrate on a specific community. The lush and majestic site is adjacent to the Olympic stadium in Parc Maisonneuve in Montréal.
4. Parc Jean Drapeau
Renowned for its variety of culture and sports, the exclusive Parc Jean-Drapeau is the ideal spot for family and friends getaways, just 5 minutes from downtown Montreal. A visit to the huge La Ronde Amusement Park, which provides a variety of rides for all ages, as well as entertainment and games, is among the many family-friendly attractions. The Montreal Biodome, the largest structure of its kind in the world, is a biosphere that highlights green technology with ecological and environmental exhibits.
5. Fine Arts Museum
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal’s French Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal’s Canadian Museum of Fine Arts, with excellent collections of paintings, graphics, furniture, textiles, sculpture, and visual and decorative arts. One of the best Eskimo prints and carvings collections in North America and Indian art on the Northwest Coast is preserved there; there is also a significant collection of prints and drawings. Today, it is made up of more than 43 000 works from antiquity to contemporary times.
6. McCord Museum
The McCord Museum has an excellent collection of exhibits on the social history of Canada, especially of indigenous peoples. More than 20,000 pieces total its collections of costumes, clothes, shoes, quilts, and other hand-made textiles and feature works by fashion artists from Montreal. An vast collection of photos and films, a collection of first peoples’ culture, and a wide collection of approximately 1.5 million objects are other highlights.
7. Lachine Canal National Historic Site
A beautiful 13.5 kilometre-long urban park, the Lachine Canal attracts millions of tourists per year on foot, by bicycle or on board boats. You will enjoy a moment of pure escape in this tranquil natural setting, whether it is to admire the stunning and varied views of Montreal, to relax in a pastoral area, or to engage in sports activities. It has been a part of a park for many years now and provides lots of chances for charming trips along the banks of the canal.
8. Chinatown
You’ll find a “Chinatown” in most major cities, where Chinese businesses, restaurants and shops are clustered in one location. This is a history-steeped neighbourhood, with historical sights to visit. On foot, along its vibrant streets, the safest way to explore Chinatown is. Today’s Chinatown is packed with Asian restaurants and markets. As well as no longer strictly Chinese, but a spot where residents and visitors go to eat a nice lunch. This vibrant area dates from the late 1860s.
9. Place des Arts
The Place des Arts is an entire visual and performing arts facility. Furthermore, the biggest of its kind in all of Canada. The Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, and the Opéra de Montréal. Subsequently numerous stages and rehearsal halls offer spaces for all sorts of theatre, music, dance, films, and activities, make their home here: three wonderful cultural organisations. They are situated along a large esplanade adorned with works of art, fountains, a location for activities.
10. St. Joseph’s Oratory
What began as a small chapel has since become one of the most visited holiest places in the world. Also, it is one of the most famous landmarks in Montréal. Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal rises majestically above the townscape. With over 2 million visitors a year it is the largest sanctuary. Which is devoted to Saint Joseph and one of the most visited pilgrimage sites worldwide. The shrine contains a splendid basilica with up to 2,000 worshippers.
