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Attractions

Divided between east and west by Boulevard St-Laurent, known affectionately as The Main, much of the island of Montréal can be covered on foot. Failing that, the city's public transit system, the easily navigable underground métro system (C$2.75/ride; C$9/day; C$17/three days, www.stm.info), will get you to most points of interest. Just look for the big blue signs with the white arrows.

City tours are plentiful and range from the usual bus tours to more specialized options like horse-drawn carriage rides and river cruises. For an initial orientation, Gray Line Montréal (C$36; www.grayline.com) runs a popular three-hour bus tour that covers over 200 points of interest throughout the city. Catch it in front of the Infotouriste office (see below). Of course, a calèche ride (horse-drawn carriage) is a more romantic way to see the city, especially in Old Montréal. While the buggies are easy enough to find and hire on your own – they line up in front of Notre-Dame Basilica (see below) – you can also book in advance through Lucky Luke Carriage and Sleighs (514/934-6105; C$65/hour). If you're here during peak summer season, boat cruises along the St. Lawrence River are a pleasant way to see the city. Hop aboard our preferred company, Le Bateau-Mouche (Jacques-Cartier Pier; mid-May to mid-Oct; C$17.95+; www.bateau-mouche.com), to admire the skyline from a glass-enclosed boat modeled after those made famous on the Seine in Paris.

The local tourist office, Infotouriste (1001 Square Dorchester, corner Peel; 514/873-2015 or 877/266-5687; www.tourisme-montreal.org), stocks an abundance of free brochures and city maps, as well as the Montréal Museums Pass (C$45), which covers unlimited public transportation plus access to 32 museums and attractions over a three-day period – a great buy if your visit involves an ambitious sightseeing plan. Passes are also available through the Old Montréal Tourist Welcome Centre (174 rue Notre-Dame E; 514/873-2015; www.tourisme-montreal.org), which specializes in information specific to this historic district.

Old Montréal and the Old Port
Established as a trading post by French settlers in 1611, the port area comprising Old Montréal (www.vieux.montreal.qc.ca) and the Old Port is still a vibrant commercial hub, though now money is changing hands at tacky souvenir shops and bustling sidewalk cafés rather than at fur outposts. It's true that tourists far outnumber locals here, but you'll forget about the crowds and glaring commercialism the minute your feet hit the cobblestone.

Start your tour with a crash course in Montréal history at Pointe-à-Callière (350 place Royale; late June-Labor Day Mon-Fri 10am-6pm & weekends 11am-6pm, Labor Day-late June Tue-Fri 10am-5pm & weekends 11am-5pm; 514/872-9150; C$12; www.pacmuseum.qc.ca), also known as the Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History. This vast complex of six buildings includes an archeological crypt where you can view remnants of the city's 17th-century fortifications. The permanent exhibition, Where Montreal Was Born, encourages you to relive a typical market day from 1750 via an interactive installation that recalls daily life as it once played out in the city's main public square.

When you tire of the museum's faux public squares, head to a real one: a block north of the museum, and 10-minutes east along rue St-Paul, lies Place Jacques-Cartier, a granite plaza anchored by a statue of English naval hero Horatio Nelson and lined with 17th-century stone buildings. On warm days, sun-seekers fill the square's numerous café terraces and it bustles with street performers and artisans. At the top of the square, kitty corner to the grandiose Second-Empire City Hall is the Château Ramezay (280 rue Notre-Dame E; June-Sept daily 10am-6pm, Oct-May Tues-Sun 10am-4.30pm; 514/861-3708; C$8; www.chateauramezay.qc.ca), the site where Benjamin Franklin failed to convince Québec to become part of the United States back in 1776. These days, the colonial mansion houses a charming museum filled with art, manuscripts, and artifacts from the 18th and 19th centuries.

A block southeast of here stands the city's most enduring and endearing chapel, Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours (400 rue St-Paul E; Mar-Apr 11am-3.30pm, May-Oct 10am-5.30pm, Nov-mid-Jan 11am-3.30pm, mid-Jan-Feb closed; 514/282-8670; C$6; www.marguerite-bourgeoys.com), also known as "the sailor's church," thanks to its role as a beacon to sailors returning home from the sea. Presiding over the Old Port (see below), with delicate wooden model ships hung from the ceiling and beautiful frescoes decorating the vault, this 1771 chapel is in fact the second to stand in this spot; the first, a stone building dating from 1675, was destroyed by fire in 1754 (vestiges of the foundation have only recently been discovered).

A few blocks away reigns the grande dame of Montréal churches, the twin-towered Notre-Dame Basilica (116 rue Notre-Dame O; Mon-Fri 8am-4.30pm, Sat 8am-4.15pm, Sun 12.30-4.15pm; 514/842-2925; C$4; www.basiliquenddm.org), erected in 1829 – and the largest Catholic church in North America at the time. Adorned with dazzling stained-glass windows, intricately carved wood, and a dramatic cobalt ceiling emblazoned with gold stars, the basilica is a gorgeous example of neo-Gothic architecture.

As fascinating as grandiose old churches may be for adults, it's smart to have an escape plan if you're traveling with children. Lying south of Old Montreal, directly along the St. Lawrence River, is the animated Old Port, a waterfront district where horses, boats, rollerbladers, cyclists, and street performers provide plenty of distractions for tiny travelers with short attention spans. For a rainy day activity, make a beeline for the Montréal Science Centre (King Edward Pier; Mon-Fri 9am-4pm, weekends 10am-5pm; 514/496-4724; C$10; www.montrealsciencecentre.com), on one of the piers, makes science fun for kids and parents with stimulating exhibits and interactive installations ranging from robotics to energy to natural phenomena; it's also home to an IMAX theater.

Downtown
Just a short walk north from Old Montréal, downtown (also known as centre-ville) is representative of the city's pulsating cosmopolitan heart but, unlike most North American cities of its ilk, its make up combines appealing – and grand – 19th-century greystone buildings with gleaming skyscrapers, many of them housing the city's best cultural institutions and hotel and restaurant scenes. Connecting them all are two of the city's best one-stop shopping streets: rue Ste-Catherine and rue Sherbrooke (see Where to Shop for our preferred addresses).

Downtown's most upscale enclave, known as The Golden Square Mile(www.goldensquaremile.com), is home to several heavyweight institutions, of which the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts (Musée des Beaux-Arts, 1380 rue Sherbrooke O; Tues 11am-5pm, Wed-Fri 11am-9pm, weekends 10am-5pm; 514/285-2000; free for permanent collection, special exhibits C$15, half price Weds 5-9pm; www.mmfa.qc.ca) founded in 1860, ranks as Canada's oldest art institution. The Louvre it is not, but the MMFA does feature an eclectic assortment of more than 30,000 international works from all eras and an exceptional collection of Canadian and Inuit art.

Due east, the substantive McCord Museum (690 rue Sherbrooke O; Tues-Fri 10am-6pm, weekends 10am-5pm; 514/398-7100; C$12; www.mccord-museum.qc.ca) is also strong on Canadiana, with an emphasis on artifacts and photography. Some of the best exhibits are those related to Native Canadian heritage – beaded headdresses, a delicately carved Iroquois baby carrier, and wampum trading beads are just some of the highlights, and they're of such exceptional caliber, they surpass what you'd find at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian.

Outside of the Golden Square Mile are two additional downtown institutions that are worth seeing for their superb temporary shows: The imposing Montréal Museum of Contemporary Art (Musée d'Art Contemporain de Montréal, 185 rue Ste-Catherine O; Tues-Sun 11am-6pm, Wed 11am-9pm; 514/847-6226; C$8, free on Wed after 6pm; www.macm.org), showcases a permanent collection of work from 1948 to the present, including pieces by well-known Canadian artists such as Jean-Paul Riopelle, Guido Molinari, and Claude Tousignant, but is best known for its special exhibits – so do check ahead. A few blocks west, architecture buffs will go gaga over the Canadian Centre of Architecture (CCA, 1920 rue Baile, Wed-Sun 10am-5pm, Thurs 10am-9pm; 514/939-7026; C$10; www.cca.qc.ca), where conceptual studies, drawings, prints, and models showcase past, present and future architectural endeavors; past exhibits have focused on Mies van der Rohe, Expo 67, and local green-energy projects, to name a few.

Lying beneath most of downtown is Montréal's infamous underground city (look for signs marked RÉSO), but don't expect to discover an entrancing subterranean labyrinth. Built as a convenient way to avoid lousy weather, it's a purely functional network of pedestrian passageways lined with boutiques and restaurants beneath the central core of the city – think of it as a giant shopping mall with over 20 miles of tunnels and close to 2000 stores. Still, one building you may want to access via this route is the Centre Bell (1260 rue de la Gauchetière O; 514/925-5656; www.centrebell.ca); the venue hosts big-name concerts (like Madonna and Justin Timberlake) and serves as home ice for the 24-time Stanley Cup champions, the Montréal Canadiens (www.canadiens.com; $25+); hockey fans shouldn't miss the guided tour (Mon–Sun 11.15am & 2.45pm; $8) that includes a behind-the-scenes peek into the team dressing room (in off-season).

Plateau Mont-Royal
A hip enclave of narrow tree-lined streets and brick walk-ups with winding staircases, Plateau Mont-Royal is chock-a-block with design stores, funky bistros, offbeat boutiques, and cozy cafés perfect for people watching. This trendy neighborhood is an amalgam of cultures, characters, and class-levels, with a little bit of grit thrown in for good measure. Before you lose yourself among the neighborhood's many shopping, dining, or clubbing options (see the shopping and nightlife sections for specific destinations), saunter along St-Denis, St-Laurent, Prince Arthur, Duluth, and Mont-Royal and listen to the mix of languages spoken in the street – from French to Spanish to Portuguese. One place to stop and take it all in is Carré-St-Louis, a serene park with a stately fountain at its center that separates rue Prince Arthur from rue St-Denis.

Overlooking it all is Parc Mount Royal (www.lemontroyal.qc.ca), a mountainside oasis designed by Frederick Law Olmstead of Central Park fame, complete with his trademark meandering paths, lush woodlands, and verdant meadows. A cherished place of leisure for Montrealers since 1876, this green retreat buzzes with joggers, hikers and cyclists on warm days. In wintertime, cross-country skiers and toboggans take over the snow-covered hills while Beaver Lake, a small man-made basin, becomes an artificial skating rink. For stunning views of the city and the St. Lawrence Seaway, follow signs and climb the stairs to one of three lookouts, and if you're here on a summer Sunday, check out the popular "tam-tam," a drumming circle that pulls in a mixed dancing crowd around the monument to Sir George-Étienne Cartier at the base of the mountain.

Outlying Attractions In the east end of Montréal, near the Olympic Stadium, the Botanical Gardens (Jardin Botanique, 4101 rue Sherbrooke E; Nov-mid-May Tues-Sun 9am-5pm; mid-May-Aug daily 9am-6pm; Sept-Oct daily 9am-9pm; 514/868-3008; C$9.75; www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/jardin) beautifully cover 185 acres with more than 22,000 species of plants and flowers, 10 greenhouses and 30 themed gardens. Don't miss the orchids and the bonsai collection, as well as the largest Chinese garden of its kind outside of China.

For an enticing walk through four different ecosystems, head next door to the Montréal Biodôme (4777 ave-Pierre-de Coubertin; Jan daily 9am-5pm, Feb Tues-Sun 9am-5pm, Mar-Jun daily 9am-5pm, Jul-Aug daily 9am-6pm, Sept-Dec 9am-5pm; 514/868-3000; C$12.75; www.biodome.qc.ca) which features a lush tropical rainforest, typical Northern Québec woods that change with the seasons, the St-Laurent marine ecosystem and the Arctic and Antarctic, complete with penguins.

Despite being just another gambling den complete with slot machines, blackjack tables and Keno, the Casino de Montréal (www.casino-de-montreal.com) located just off the island of Montréal, on Ile Notre-Dame (www.parcjeandrapeau.com), a man-made island constructed (along with Ile Ste-Hèléne) for Expo '67, remains an ever-popular tourist destination. Also home to Canada's only Formula One racetrack, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the normally idyllic, peaceful island becomes noisy and chaotic for a few days each June as thousands of spectators from around the world attend the Montréal Grand Prix.

See Montreal Travel Guide