World City Guide

Key Attractions

Vieux-Montral (Old Montreal)
Located near the St Lawrence River, Old Montreal (website: www.old.montreal.qc.ca) is the site of the original fortified city. The buildings and streets date from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries and have been carefully restored. The area is filled, throughout the summer, with tourists who come to stroll along the cobblestone streets, visit the boutiques and restaurants or simply soak up the joie de vivre among the street entertainers and pavement cafs in the former marketplace of place Jacques-Cartier. A tour on a horse-drawn calche makes for an especially romantic way to see the sights.

The Gothic-Revival Basilique Notre-Dame was built in the 1820s; the cathedral’s twin towers are a landmark of Old Montreal. To the east, the silver-domed neo-classical March Bonsecours reprises its former role as a marketplace, with galleries, boutiques and exhibitions. Next door, the Chapelle de Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours is the city’s oldest church; it contains original Edouard Meloche frescoes and has a small museum devoted to the life of Marguerite Bourgeoys (Canada’s first saint). The tower affords excellent views of the port and surrounding streets.

In the western end of Old Montreal, Pointe--Callire, Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History tells the story of Montreal from its earliest days – with high-tech displays in the stunningly modern Eperon Building, and archaeological remains in the portions of the museum below place Royale (including the city’s original sewers) and under the renovated Old Customs House.

Basilique Notre-Dame
110 rue Notre-Dame West, off place d’Armes
Tel: (514) 842 2925.
Website: www.basiliquenddm.org
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1630, Sat 0800-1615, Sun 1230-1615.
Admission charge.

March Bonsecours
350 rue St-Paul East
Tel: (514) 872 7730.
Website: www.marchebonsecours.qc.ca
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1800 (Jan-Mar); Sat-Wed 1000-1800, Thu and Fri 1000-2100 (Apr-late Jun and early Sep-Dec); Mon-Sat 1000-2100, Sun 1000-1800 (late Jun-early Sep). Exhibitions may have shorter hours.
Free admission.

Chapelle de Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours
400 rue St-Paul East
Tel: (514) 282 8670.
Website: www.marguerite-bourgeoys.com
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1100-1530 (Nov-mid-Jan and Mar-Apr); Tue-Sun 1000-1730 (May-Oct).
Admission: Free (chapel); charge (museum).

Pointe--Callire
350 place Royale
Tel: (514) 872 9150.
Website: www.pacmuseum.qc.ca
Opening hours: Tue-Fri 1000-1700, Sat and Sun 1100-1700 (early Sep-late Jun); Mon-Fri 1000-1800, Sat and Sun 1100-1800 (late Jun-early Sep).
Admission charge.

Vieux-Port (Old Port)
The Old Port (tel: (514) 496 7678; website: www.oldportofmontreal.com) was once one of the most important trading ports in North America. With most shipping activity now taking place downriver, this area has been transformed into an excellent recreation and exhibition area, filled with walkers, cyclists and rollerbladers on the riverside promenades between the Clock Tower and the locks at Parc des Ecluses. The Montreal Science Centre, on King Edward Pier, is a science and entertainment centre geared towards kids, with the Immersion Movie Game (interactive video game on a giant screen) and an IMAX cinema.

Montreal Science Centre
Quai King Edward, 2 rue de la Commune
Tel: (514) 496 4724 or (877) 496 4724.
Website: www.montrealsciencecentre.com
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0930-1600 (until 1700 mid Jun-early Sep), Sat and Sun 1000-1700, IMAX daily until 2200.
Admission charge.

Muse des Beaux-Arts de Montral
(Montreal Museum of Fine Arts)
The permanent collection at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is split between the original Beaux-Arts building, which houses Canadian, Inuit and First Nations art, as well as decorative arts; and the postmodern structure opposite (designed by Moshe Safdie) where European masters, prints and drawings and decorative arts are exhibited. In the tunnel connecting the pavilions are galleries showcasing contemporary Canadian artists and a small collection from ancient cultures. The museum also has a reputation for hosting outstanding temporary exhibitions, with shows in recent years as varied as an Alfred Hitchcock retrospective, 17th-century works commissioned by Cardinal Richelieu and a solo show of Jean-Paul Riopelle’s abstracts.

1379-1380 rue Sherbrooke West
Tel: (514) 285 2000 or 800 899 6873.
Website: www.mmfa.qc.ca
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 1100-1700 (until 2100 Wed).
Free admission (permanent exhibition); charge (temporary exhibitions; half-price Wed after 1730).

Muse d’Art Contemporain de Montral (Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art)
Adjoining the plaza at the place des Arts, the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Arts is Canada’s only museum devoted exclusively to contemporary art. The museum’s permanent collection is on display in one wing, on a rotating basis – the collection of works by Qubcois artists, such as Jean-Paul Riopelle and Paul-Emile Borduas, whose expressive canvases typify the Automatistes of the mid-20th century, is particularly strong. The other wing features temporary exhibitions focusing on one or more artists. A small sculpture garden makes for a quiet retreat.

185 rue Ste-Catherine West
Tel: (514) 847 6226.
Website: www.macm.org
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1100-1800 (until 2100 Wed).
Admission charge (free Wed after 1800).

Oratoire St-Joseph (St Joseph’s Oratory)
St Joseph’s Oratory can be found on the northwest side of Mount Royal. This magnificent basilica was begun in 1924 by Brother Andr, a celebrated healer, and completed in 1967, after his death. The 97m (318ft) high dome is one of the largest in the world and there is room for 10,000 worshippers beneath it. The votive chapel and crypt are worth investigating and there is a good view over the city from the terrace.

3800 chemin Queen-Mary
Tel: (514) 733 8211.
Website: www.saint-joseph.org
Opening hours: Daily 0730-2100 (hours for individual parts of the complex vary).
Admission: Free.

Parc Olympique (Olympic Park)
The Olympic Park was the site of the 1976 Olympic Games. The unique and costly (over C$1 billion) Olympic Stadium is now the venue for concerts and (at least for now) Montreal Expos baseball games. Half-hour guided tours are available and visitors can also take a funicular (cable car) ride up the world’s tallest inclined tower (175m/575ft). Nearby, the former velodrome is now a major attraction – the Biodme de Montral is a recreation of four ecosystems under one roof. Visitors can move from a tropical rainforest to a polar world, with stops in a Laurentian forest and St Lawrence marine environment en route. A museum dedicated to the late hockey legend Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard is also part of the complex.

Parc Olympique
4141 avenue Pierre-De-Coubertin
Tel: (514) 252 4737 or (877) 997 0919.
Website: www.rio.gouv.qc.ca
Opening hours: Funicular: daily 0900-1700 (until 1900 mid-Jun-early Sep). Closed early Jan-mid-Feb.
Admission charge.

Biodme de Montral
4777 avenue Pierre-De-Coubertin
Tel: (514) 868 3000.
Website: www.biodome.qc.ca
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 0900-1700 (early Sep-late Jun); daily 0900-1800 (late Jun-early Sep).
Admission charge.

Jardin Botanique de Montral
(Montreal Botanical Garden)
The Montreal Botanical Garden, opposite the Olympic Stadium, covers 73 hectares (180 acres) and includes a Chinese garden, Japanese garden and the Tree House, which displays information on Quebec’s forests. The installation of the First Nations Garden in 2001 marked the tercentenary of the Great Peace of Montreal. Also in the grounds is the Insectarium, full of crawling and flying creatures.

4101 rue Sherbrooke East
Tel: (514) 872 1400.
Website: www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/jardin or www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/insectarium
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 0900-1700 (Nov-Apr); daily 0900-1700 (May-late Jun); daily 0900-1800 (mid-Jun-mid-Sep); daily 0900-2100 (mid-Sep-Oct).
Admission charge.

Centre Canadien d’Architecture (CCA)
The Canadian Centre for Architecture should be seen as much for its own architecture as for the fascinating temporary exhibitions on buildings, architects and architectural movements inside. Peter Rose designed the modern building, whose austere limestone faade contrasts with the adjoining Shaughnessy House typical of the residences of Montreal’s wealthy elite at the turn of the century. The area behind the museum is the CCA sculpture garden, designed by Melvin Charney.

1920 rue Baile
Tel: (514) 939 7026.
Website: www.cca.qc.ca
Opening hours: Wed-Sun 1000-1700; Thu until 2100.
Admission charge (free Thu after 1730).