モントリオールのツアー&アクティビティ

Old Montreal and the Notre-Dame Basilica, a Mile End food tour, Mount Royal’s lookout, Jean-Talon Market, the Old Port and the Lachine Rapids jet boat, a Quebec City day trip, the Botanical Garden and Biodôme, Saint Joseph’s Oratory, the Plateau’s murals and Mont-Tremblant. The food tours are the highest-rated experiences in the city.

Two days for the city and a third for Quebec City or Mont-Tremblant. Stay in or near the Plateau to walk to Mile End and Mount Royal; Old Montreal is a 20-minute walk or two metro stops away. In festival season (June to August) add a night for the Jazz Festival or Just for Laughs.

Mount Royal and the Kondiaronk lookout, Old Montreal’s streets and the Old Port promenade, the Plateau’s staircases and murals, Jean-Talon and Atwater markets, Saint Joseph’s Oratory, the Underground City, the Fine Arts Museum’s permanent collection, Parc La Fontaine, the Tam-Tams on Sundays, and the free outdoor stages during the summer festivals.

Quebec City and Montmorency Falls (3 hours each way, from $39), Mont-Tremblant (90 minutes, from $80), Ottawa (2 hours, from $38 for tours once there) and the Eastern Townships (90 minutes). Guided tours with downtown pickup run to all four; the train to Quebec City or Ottawa is a good alternative.

The AURA light show inside Notre-Dame Basilica, the Old Port after dark and the Grande Roue Ferris wheel, the bars of the Plateau and Saint-Laurent, live jazz at Upstairs and Dièse Onze, a ghost walk of Old Montreal, the Casino de Montréal, and in summer the free festival stages downtown and the fireworks over the river on Saturdays.

Winter runs from December to March and is cold (often −10°C), but the city leans into it: Igloofest in the Old Port, the Fête des Neiges, skating on the Old Port rink and Beaver Lake, the 32 km Underground City, the Biodôme and Botanical Garden’s Gardens of Light, the Nordic spas, and skiing at Mont-Tremblant 90 minutes away. Quebec City’s Winter Carnival in February is a classic day trip.

The Biodôme’s penguins and rainforest, the Botanical Garden and Insectarium, the Old Port’s Clock Tower beach, Ferris wheel and zipline, the Lachine Rapids jet boat (ages 6 and up), Beaver Lake pedal boats on Mount Royal, the Montreal Science Centre, La Ronde amusement park and a bagel-baking stop in Mile End.

June to September for terraces, festivals and warm weather, with early July the peak for the Jazz Festival. Late September and October bring fall colour to Mount Royal and the Laurentians and fewer crowds. May is cheaper and pleasant; winter is for Igloofest, the Underground City and skiing.

Yes — it is the most European city in North America, one of the continent’s best places to eat, and cheaper than Toronto or New York. Two days for the city and one for Quebec City give you the best of French Canada in a long weekend.