Canada · Quebec
Montreal
North America's most European city: Old Montreal's cobbles, Mount Royal's lookout and bagels straight from wood-fired ovens.
Montreal is the largest French-speaking city in the Americas, built on an island in the St. Lawrence around the wooded hill of Mount Royal. Old Montreal's stone warehouses and cobbled lanes run down to the river, while the Plateau and Mile End climb away in rows of outside staircases, bagel bakeries and neighbourhood bistros. It mixes French and English, European habits and North American scale, and its summers are one long run of terraces, parks and festivals.
Suggested stay
3–5 days
Language
English, French
Currency
CAD
Timezone
UTC-4
Why you'll love Montreal
Old Montreal Grey-stone streets, the Notre-Dame Basilica and the Old Port pack three centuries of New France and British trade into a walkable riverside quarter
Mount Royal The city's green hill, laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted, gives a skyline lookout, forest trails and Sunday drum circles minutes from downtown
Eating Wood-fired bagels, smoked meat, poutine and a deep bench of French-trained bistros make it one of the great food cities of North America
Two languages French on the street, English close by, and a bilingual, bohemian streak that shows in the music, the murals and the neighbourhood bars
Best time to visit
May, Jul, Sep-Oct
13-27° days
45.503° N, 73.570° W
UTC-4 · America/Toronto
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Weather & when to go to Montreal
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best May, Jul, Sep-Oct
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Montreal
Winter from around December to March is long and bitterly cold, with deep snow, icy wind and slushy streets, and November is grey and raw. Locals retreat into the underground city and embrace outdoor winter festivals, but most visitors are better off from late spring to autumn.
Top things to do in Montreal
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Notre-Dame Basilica - Old Montreal's Gothic Revival showpiece
history culture arts 👍 PopularFacing the Place d'Armes, the twin-towered basilica completed in the 1820s hides an interior of deep blue vaulting, gilded woodwork and carved pulpit that stops most visitors in the doorway. Pair it with a wander through the surrounding lanes of Old Montreal, Rue Saint-Paul and Place Jacques-Cartier.
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Mount Royal - climb to the Kondiaronk lookout
scenic nature wildlife 👍 PopularWalk up through the forested park Olmsted designed to the Kondiaronk Belvedere for the classic view over downtown towers to the St. Lawrence. On summer Sundays the tam-tams drum circle gathers by the George-Etienne Cartier monument; in winter the park turns to cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and skating on Beaver Lake.
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St-Viateur and Fairmount - Montreal bagels and smoked meat
food 👍 PopularMontreal bagels are thinner, denser and sweeter than New York's, boiled in honeyed water and baked in wood-fired ovens; St-Viateur and Fairmount in Mile End bake around the clock. Follow them with smoked meat on rye at Schwartz's on Boulevard Saint-Laurent, and a late-night poutine.
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Jean-Talon Market - Little Italy's open-air market
food ⭐ Highly recommendedOne of the largest open-air markets in North America, in Little Italy, with Quebec farmers selling seasonal berries, corn, maple products, cheeses and cider alongside bakeries, butchers and small food counters. At its best in late summer and autumn, when the harvest stalls overflow.
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Montreal Museum of Fine Arts - Canada's oldest art museum
culture arts ⭐ Highly recommendedSpread across several pavilions on Sherbrooke Street, the museum runs from old masters to a strong collection of Quebec and Canadian painting and decorative arts, and stages the city's big touring exhibitions.
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Pointe-a-Calliere - the city's birthplace, underground
historyThe archaeology and history museum in Old Montreal stands on the spot where Ville-Marie was founded in 1642, and takes you down through excavated foundations, an old collector sewer and layers of the city's past beneath the streets.
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Olympic Park and Space for Life - Biodome and Botanical Garden
nature wildlife culture artsIn the east end, the leaning tower of the 1976 Olympic Stadium stands beside the Biodome, which recreates four ecosystems of the Americas under one roof, and the vast Botanical Garden with its Chinese and Japanese gardens and Insectarium.
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Lachine Canal - cycle the old industrial waterway
scenicA flat path runs along the historic canal from the Old Port west past converted factories, the Atwater Market and Saint-Henri's cafes. Rent a BIXI shared bike and make a half-day loop of it.
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The Plateau and Mile End - murals, staircases and bars
culture arts nightlife musicWalk the residential streets of the Plateau for the city's signature outside spiral staircases, then along Boulevard Saint-Laurent, where giant murals cover the walls and the bars and live-music rooms keep the Main busy late.
Best areas to stay in Montreal
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Old Montreal
First-time visitors $$$Cobbled historic quarter by the river
Explore hotels in Old Montreal →
Downtown
Convenience and winter $$Towers, shopping and the underground city
Explore hotels in Downtown →
Plateau Mont-Royal
Living like a local $$Colourful staircases, bistros and bars
Explore hotels in Plateau Mont-Royal →
Mile End
Food lovers $$Bagel bakeries, indie cafes, creative crowd
Explore hotels in Mile End →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Montreal
Getting to & around Montreal
Getting there
Fly into Montreal-Trudeau (YUL) in Dorval, west of downtown, or arrive by VIA Rail at Gare Centrale
Flight
Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL)
The airport sits in Dorval, west of downtown. The 747 express bus runs around the clock to downtown and the central bus station, taking around 45 minutes to an hour, while a taxi takes roughly half an hour outside rush hour.
Train
Gare Centrale
VIA Rail links Montreal with Quebec City, Ottawa and Toronto; Amtrak's Adirondack runs from New York
Coach
Gare d'autocars de Montreal
Intercity coaches arrive from Quebec City, Ottawa, Toronto and US cities including New York and Boston
Getting around
Metro
Four colour-coded lines on rubber tyres cover downtown, the Plateau, Old Montreal and the Olympic Park, and link into the underground city
TBC
Bus
STM buses fill the gaps the metro leaves, with some night routes; the same tickets and passes work on both
TBC
BIXI bike
Docked shared bikes across the central neighbourhoods from spring to autumn, with an extensive network of protected bike lanes
TBC
Walking
Old Montreal, downtown and the Plateau are walkable, and the underground city links much of downtown in winter
Free
Day trips from Montreal
Quebec City
1-2 daysWalled historic capital
The only walled city north of Mexico, with the Chateau Frontenac towering over the St. Lawrence and the lanes of the Lower Town below. Possible in a long day, far better with a night.
Getting there
train | bus | car
About three hours by VIA Rail train, coach or car along the St. Lawrence
Mont-Tremblant
Full dayLaurentian mountain resort
The Laurentians' best-known resort, with a pedestrian village at the foot of the ski mountain, lakes and a large provincial park for hiking and paddling. Skiing in winter, blazing colour in autumn.
Getting there
car | bus
About an hour and a half to two hours north by car or shuttle
Eastern Townships
Full dayLakes and wine country
Rolling farmland, vineyards, cideries and lakeside villages such as Knowlton and North Hatley, with Loyalist-era architecture and Mont Orford for hiking. Best done by car at an easy pace.
Getting there
car
About an hour to an hour and a half east by car
Ottawa
Full dayNational capital
Canada's capital on the Ottawa River, with Parliament Hill, the national museums and gallery, the ByWard Market and the Rideau Canal, a skating rink in deep winter.
Getting there
train | car
About two hours by VIA Rail train or car
A little history of Montreal
When Jacques Cartier reached the island in 1535 he found Hochelaga, a palisaded St. Lawrence Iroquoian village below the hill he named Mount Royal. French missionaries founded Ville-Marie here in 1642 under Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve and Jeanne Mance, and the outpost grew into the hub of the fur trade. In 1701 it hosted the Great Peace, a treaty between New France and some forty Indigenous nations.
Montreal surrendered to the British in 1760, and through the 19th century, fed by the Lachine Canal and the railways, it became Canada's largest city and commercial capital, with an English-speaking business elite and a French-speaking majority. The 20th century brought the metro, Expo 67 and the 1976 Summer Olympics, and the language politics that shaped modern Quebec.
Jacques Cartier visits the Iroquoian village of Hochelaga and names Mount Royal
Maisonneuve and Jeanne Mance found Ville-Marie on the riverbank
The Great Peace of Montreal is signed between New France and some forty Indigenous nations
Montreal surrenders to British forces, ending French rule in Canada
The Lachine Canal opens, turning the city into an industrial and shipping hub
Rioters burn the parliament building while Montreal is capital of the Province of Canada
The Montreal Metro opens
Expo 67 brings the world's fair to islands in the St. Lawrence
Montreal hosts the Summer Olympics
Know before you go
Payment
Cards everywhere
English
Everywhere
Wifi
Reliable
Power
Type A / B
120 V, 60 Hz
Dialing
+1
The months our climate read flags to avoid: the wettest, lowest-rated weather of the year.
Mobile network & SIM card
Get an eSIM before you fly
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FAQs about Montreal
▸ When is the best time to visit Montreal?
Late spring through autumn. May is fresh and green, summer is warm and often humid and brings the city's big outdoor festivals, and September and October bring crisp days and autumn colour on Mount Royal and in the Laurentians. Winter is severe, with deep cold and snow from around December to March.
▸ Do I need to speak French in Montreal?
No. French is the official language and the everyday language of most of the city, but English is widely spoken, especially downtown and in the west. A greeting in French is appreciated, and many locals switch between the two with ease.
▸ What is the underground city?
Known as RESO, it is a network of tunnels and passages linking metro stations, shopping centres, office towers, hotels and universities across downtown, so you can cover much of the centre in winter without going outside.
▸ Can I combine Montreal with Quebec City?
Easily. The two are about three hours apart by train, coach or car, and a week split between them is a classic trip. Quebec City feels smaller and more historic; Montreal is bigger, more cosmopolitan and livelier after dark.
▸ Is Montreal expensive?
Generally less so than Toronto or Vancouver, particularly for eating out and neighbourhood stays in the Plateau or Mile End. Hotels in Old Montreal and around the big summer festivals are the priciest part of a visit.
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