By air
Montréal–Trudeau (YUL), ~20 km
North America · Canada
Montreal, Canada
French flair, festivals and bagels
Getting there
Best time to visit
May to October — festival season in summer
Don't miss
Notre-Dame Basilica
Old Montreal
Mount Royal
The Jean-Talon Market
Things to do
Old Montreal
Mount Royal
The Jazz Festival
The underground city
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0
What to pack
Layers
A quieter corner
The Mile End's bagel bakeries
Questions travellers ask
When is festival season in Montreal?
Summer. May to October is the time to go — pack layers.
Where should I start exploring Montreal?
Notre-Dame Basilica, Old Montreal, Mount Royal and the Jean-Talon Market. Explore the underground city, and catch the Jazz Festival if you can.
What should I eat in Montreal?
Poutine, smoked meat and bagels — for the last, go to the Mile End's bagel bakeries.
How far is Montreal's airport?
Montréal–Trudeau (YUL) is about 20 km away.
About Montreal
- Riverside
- Island
Where it is
Montreal is the largest city in Quebec, Canada, covering most of the Island of Montreal where the Ottawa River meets the St Lawrence. Mount Royal, the hill that gave the city its name, rises at its centre.
History
Jacques Cartier visited the Iroquoian village of Hochelaga here in 1535, and French settlers founded Ville-Marie in 1642. The city fell to the British in 1760, was for over a century and a half the industrial and financial centre of Canada, and hosted Expo 67 and the 1976 Summer Olympics.
People
Montrealers speak French, the official language of Quebec, and English is widely spoken too; the city also has large Italian, Haitian, Greek, Lebanese, Jewish and Portuguese communities. Summer brings a run of festivals, from jazz to comedy, and Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) communities live at Kahnawake and Kanesatake nearby.
Known for
- Old Montreal and the Notre-Dame Basilica
- Mount Royal Park
- The International Jazz Festival
- Bagels, smoked meat and poutine
- The underground city
Did you know?
Mount Royal Park, on the hill at the city's centre, was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who also co-designed New York's Central Park, and opened in 1876.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.