Montreal Tourist Attractions
The website of Tourism Montreal (www.mtl.org/en) has plenty of details about Montreal’s tourist attractions, including places to visit, events, nightlife, etc. The list below is extracted for this site.
Growing from a humble stone church in the 17th century to a minor basilica erected to welcome some 8,000 parishioners, Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal stands as a majestic testament to the importance of religion and art throughout the city’s history. A jewel of Québec’s religious heritage, it is a masterpiece of Gothic Revival architecture. Built between 1824 and 1829, this site of national historic significance features dual towers reminiscent of Notre-Dame-de-Paris. The West Tower houses the famous 10,900-kg Jean-Baptiste bell, while the East Tower rings with a carillon of ten bells. Three large statues – Saint-Joseph, the Virgin Mary and Saint-Jean-Baptiste – keep vigil over the entrance to this religious sanctuary that welcomes millions of visitors each year.
For years, Saint-Paul Street was Montréal’s main street. Many of the buildings, which date from the 19th century, have been renovated and today serve as artisanal boutiques, designer shops, art galleries, artists’ studios, and even homes, not to forget the famous Marché Bonsecours. Those cobblestone streets overflow with warm, inviting restaurants, chansonnier bars, jazz clubs, and seductive lounges.
Recognized as one of Canada’s ten most beautiful heritage buildings, the Marché Bonsecours is a bustling marketplace that showcases Québec artists, designers, and artisans. A symbol of Montréal’s heyday, this imposing building was the city’s main agricultural market for over a century. Now it houses 15 boutiques, including the Conseil des métiers d’art du Québec (Québec’s Craft Council), cafés serving local products, event venues and exhibitions. Inaugurated in 1847, the Marché housed a concert hall and even served as City Hall. Its symmetrical composition and Greek Revival portico with cast-iron columns from England, silver dome, and simple and varied details make it a perfect illustration of the neo-classical style in favor at the time.
The mission of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is to acquire, conserve, study, interpret, and present significant works of art from around the world and from every era. The Museum’s collection showcases Québec and Canadian heritage, Indigenous art, and international art, comprising close to 47,000 works of art from antiquity to today. The MMFA’s exhibitions and cultural programming aim to inspire new ways of looking at art and the history of art. As a hub of art and a pioneer in providing art therapy, the Museum collaborates with partners in various fields, offering audiences an enriching experience while striving towards a more inclusive, accessible, and just world.
An international symbol of Montréal, the Olympic Stadium — and its Tower, the world’s tallest inclined tower — was designed by the French architect, Roger Taillibert, and built in the 1970s as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics. It is known by locals as “The Big O,” a nickname that references both the Olympics and the circular shape of its roof. Its Esplanade, an urban park made up of nine platforms, also offers a breathtaking view of the Stadium and the Tower.
The Biosphère is set proudly in the middle of the St. Lawrence Seaway, on Île Sainte-Hélène, and has been emblematic of Montréal since the 1967 Universal Exhibition. Its geodesic dome stems from the creative mind of famous architect Richard Buckminster Fuller, one of the fathers of contemporary environmental thought. When designing the Biosphère, Fuller already had it in mind to shine human genius as the foundation of a respectful cohabitation with nature on our one and only “spaceship,” as he liked to call Earth.
This Loto-Québec-owned entertainment complex is one of the most fun spots in the Montréal region. Not only does it boast a wide variety of slot machines, gaming tables, and an interactive gaming area where you can play hit casino games on electronic tables, but it also offers free shows and live entertainment, restaurants for every taste, bars brimming with action, and a cabaret that features a stellar lineup of shows. While you’re there, check out ARcade by Moment Factory, a thrilling and immersive augmented reality experience that’s part video game, part sports, part fun night out!
Rising majestically above the cityscape is Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal. It is the largest sanctuary dedicated to Saint Joseph and one of the world’s most visited pilgrimage sites, with over 2 million visitors annually. In 1904, Brother André, a simple porter renowned for his miracle cures (which he attributed to God through Saint Joseph), set out to construct a small wooden chapel, which would ultimately become one of the city’s most impressive religious buildings. It wasn’t until 1967, thirty years after his death, that the immense sanctuary was completed.
Inaugurated in 1931 as the Harbor Bridge, this link between Longueuil and Montréal was renamed in 1934 in honor of Jacques Cartier, the French explorer and first European to describe and map the St. Lawrence River. The Jacques Cartier Bridge is an emblem of the Greater Montreal area because of its history and architecture. Living Connections is a unique interactive lighting concept that, for years to come, will be activated in real-time by the seasons and the energy of the city.
The land-filled jetty called Cité-du-Havre was built to protect the harbor from currents and ice. Habitat 67, a housing complex designed for the 1967 World Exhibition by the 23-year-old architect Moshe Safdie, was built on this reclaimed land. An avant-garde design by the day’s standards, Habitat 67 proposed a new lifestyle that has not lost its appeal. Guided tours allow visitors to discover the suspended terraces, Moshe Safdie’s restored apartment, pedestrian walkways, and more.