Top 10 Things to do!
What is it? The essential addresses for Québécois and Montreal classics like bagels, poutine, and smoked meat can all be found within this youthful borough. Why go? This combination of three distinctive neighbourhoods—Mile End, the Plateau, and the McGill Ghetto—is known to have the best of the best in signature dishes; Fairmount and St-Viateur for hot and fresh bagels from wood-fired ovens, Schwartz’s for Montreal-style smoked meat washed down with cherry coke, and La Banquise for poutine day or night. Don’t miss: Starting off or completing a historic food crawl with visiting slices of Montreal food history by noshing on a special sandwich at Wilensky’s Light Lunch or a mish-mash at Beauty’s.
What is it? A huge, sprawling network of connected subterranean tunnels running throughout the downtown core with easy access to the metro system. Air-conditioned in the summer, and heated in the winter. Why go? Walking the full circuit numbers in at over 30 kilometers, so one visit to this multi-level maze is never enough. It’s a functional web of passageways to get from restaurants to malls to downtown attractions, one of the largest of its kind in the world with half a million people using it every day. Don’t miss: The indoor ice skating rink of 1000 de la Gauchetière, the fragment of the Berlin wall at the World Trade Centre and Eaton Centre, the site of Time Out Market Montreal.
What is it? Experience rooting for the home team—the Montreal Canadiens hockey team, or Habitants from which ‘Habs’ is derived—in an action-packed and frosty blur of blue, white and red. Why go? A visit to this city isn’t complete without experiencing the fandom of Montrealers screaming "Go Habs Go!", especially when rivals like the Boston Bruins or Toronto Maple Leafs are in town. If you didn’t make it to the box office on time, don’t worry: There’s always a scalper nearby hawking at a marginal mark-up. Don’t miss: If you can’t get into the game, watch it on either the 46-foot screen or one of the 60 televisions inside the Bell Centre’s 1909 Taverne Moderne, one of the best sports bars in Montreal.
What is it? An independent cinema in the Mile End coupled with a café and bar serving snacks and drinks to enjoy while viewing a film. Why go? Thanks to a supergroup of film festival and production company veterans, Montreal has joined the moviegoing revolution with this intimate drink-dine-watch movie theatre equipped with a top-of-the-line projector and sound system. Enjoy coffee and pastries by day or drinks by night before settling in to one of the cinema’s highly curated titles. No weekday programming’s the same as the next—keeping the selection vibrant—and the same goes for the kids movies throughout the weekends, one of the best things to do with kids in the city. Don’t miss: Any of the special events, like screenings and panel discussions with directors, or dropping in for their brunch service weekends from 10am to 4pm.
What is it? A 360-degree spherical projection screen providing wild audio-visual presentations, films, dance parties and games are presented in a fascinatingly conceptual venue. Why go? Part of the complex that’s home to the Society for Arts and Technology, an arts and research centre focused on immersive technologies, the Satosphère is the first of its kind for Montreal and beyond. Equipped with 157 speakers and regular programming that sees the likes of virtual reality, VJs and DJs, it’s an experience that’s more than unique. Don’t miss: Anything else on the third floor it occupies, including an outdoor terrace and the Foodlab, a farm-to-table restaurant with cocktails and great biodynamic wine.
What is it? A Mile End bookstore belonging to a Canadian publishing company specializing in comics and graphic novels by authors both international and national. Why go? Drawn and Quarterly has been an publisher of comics since 1990. Its popularity was followed up by the creation of this bookstore in 2007 and has since grown into a gathering place of the city’s literati and organizes big name book launches. It’s not just about comics either, as the store curates solid selections both in fiction and non-fiction. Don’t miss: Regularly scheduled readings by authors that make for high-spirited events, but May is the month to visit for Free Comic Book Day or the Montreal Comic Arts Festival.
What is it? The original neighbourhood and cultural center jampacked with restaurants, shops, and bars surrounding the small pedestrian-only strip of De la Gauchetière. Why go? What began as a collection of laundromats 1877 has grown into an area with distinctive character and feel seldom found elsewhere in the city. There are Sunday dim sum brunches by the cartload at Ruby Rouge, flossed treats from Dragon’s Beard Candy, the culinary performances of Nouilles de Lan Zhou and bamboo steamers brimming with dumplings at Qing Hua. Don’t miss: Catching your breath at the indoor koi pond located inside the pagoda-topped Holiday Inn before heading to Chinatown West in Concordia University’s downtown campus for more.
What is it? The original neighbourhood and cultural center jampacked with restaurants, shops, and bars surrounding the small pedestrian-only strip of De la Gauchetière. Why go? What began as a collection of laundromats 1877 has grown into an area with distinctive character and feel seldom found elsewhere in the city. There are Sunday dim sum brunches by the cartload at Ruby Rouge, flossed treats from Dragon’s Beard Candy, the culinary performances of Nouilles de Lan Zhou and bamboo steamers brimming with dumplings at Qing Hua. Don’t miss: Catching your breath at the indoor koi pond located inside the pagoda-topped Holiday Inn before heading to Chinatown West in Concordia University’s downtown campus for more.
What is it? A ferryboat that’s been repurposed as one of the finest spas in town, giving a great view of Old Port and Habitat 67 in the distance from relaxing quarters. Why go? Billed as a ‘spa on the water’, this multi-tiered floating building may not physically unmoor and drift down the river, but a day spent there sure feels like it. There’s a Nordic water circuit to enjoy throughout the year with saunas and baths, and gardens for lounging about in the summer. Don’t miss: Springing for any one of its massage or beauty treatments, followed by wining and dining at its onboard restaurant La Traversée.
What is it? 662 acres of huge green spaces, attractions, a major festival site, a high-speed racetrack and an amusement park spread out across two islands. Why go? Commonly looked to as the launchpad for some of Montreal’s biggest festivals like Osheaga, Heavy MTL, and ’77 Montreal, this park’s equally occupied with annually hosting the Canadian Grand Prix on the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, relics of Expo 67 like the Biosphere environmental museum, and the La Ronde amusement park. Stretch your legs and see where a day’s worth of exploring takes you. Don’t miss: Putting it all on black at the Montreal Casino, and dancing to electronic music at Piknic Electronik—held on Sundays from May until September—or Île Soniq in August.