montreal mural tour self guided

The Ultimate Self-Guided Montreal Walking Tour

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Table of Contents

Ah… Montreal. One of the most delightful cities in all of Canada , Montreal has endless amounts of incredible sights to see, from the enchanting architecture in Old Montreal to the breathtaking views from Mount Royal. And what better way to explore the city than on a self-guided Montreal walking tour?

Now, exploring Montreal on foot in just one day might sound impossible, but with this ultimate Montreal walking tour in your back pocket, you’ll be ready to rise to the challenge.

Granted, we won’t be able to see the entire city of Montreal — it’s the second-largest French speaking city in the world, after all. But if you’ve only got one day, this free Montreal walking tour will show you the best way to spend it. 

And not to worry, I’ll take you through this travel itinerary from morning til night, including tips for getting around Montreal, costs, and the best places to stop!

My Self-Guided Montreal Walking Tour at a Glance

• Mont Royal Park and Lookout
• Saint-Laurent Boulevard
• Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal (Optional Stop)
• Montreal Underground City (Optional Stop)
• Old Montreal
• Old Port of Montreal
• La Grande Roue de Montréal

How Long Will This Montreal Free Walking Tour Take?

Not including the time spent at each stop, this self-guided Montreal walking tour will take an estimated 1 hour and 45 minutes of pure walking from place to place. 

However, plan to start relatively early in the morning and set aside an entire day. That way, you can really take your time and check out all the cool things to see and do. As you’re about to find out, there are lots!

Tips for Making the Most out of your Walking Tour

• Choose a relatively small area packed with interesting sights (done — just read below!).
• Pack a light load with some snacks and a bottle of water.
• Wear comfortable shoes that you know won’t give you blisters.
• Bring a change of socks, just in case.
• Wear layers, as the temperature may rise and fall from morning to afternoon and night!

Now, let’s begin with the tour!

The Perfect Self-Guided Montreal Walking Tour

1. mount royal park and lookout.

• Start Point: The Sir George-Etienne Cartier monument
• Cost : Free
• Time Estimate : 1.5-2 hours
• Website : https://www.lemontroyal.qc.ca/en

​​ Say “Mount Royal” three times fast. Does it sound familiar?

That’s right, this park is where the city of Montreal got its name! Needless to say, there’s no better place to start your free walking tour of Montreal than at its namesake. 

Mount Royal Park is located on a hill, so be prepared to do a little physical exercise. If you’re really not feeling it, you can also take the bus number 11 from the corner of avenue du Park and avenue du Mont-Royal Est to the Remembrance/Chemin du Chalet stop. This will leave you a short walk away from the Mount Royal Lookout!

However, as the day is young and your tour has just begun, I recommend doing the 25-minute nature walk up the side of the mountain on foot. 

After all, that’s what Canada is known for — rocks and trees and trees and rocks — and it wouldn’t be a true Montreal walking tour without seeing any!

Take the Chemin Olmsted from the monument up to the staircase. There will be signs for the “Chalet du Mont-Royal,” “Belvédère,” and “Point de Due” — the latter is what you want to follow to reach the breathtaking view of the city skyline. 

In the summer, you’ll find dozens of joggers, bikers, and picnickers, but Mont Royal Park is an excellent place to find things to do in the winter in Montreal too. Cross-country skiing is a popular option, but you can also just stroll around and admire how mother nature transforms the leafless forest into a snow-capped winter fairy-tale.

Planning a day trip from Montreal to Ottawa? If so, click here to read my self-guided Ottawa walking tour !

2. Saint-Laurent Boulevard

• Opening Hours : None (outdoors)
• Cost : Any food you buy on the way
• Time Estimate : 30-60 minutes

Back down at the monument, you’re just a few blocks away from the Boulevard Saint-Laurent. Take your time to walk down this street nicknamed “The Main” as you head towards the river. 

Boulevard Saint-Laurent is teeming with boutiques, shops, cafés, clubs, bars, and restaurants, and the famous Schwartz’s smoked meat deli if you get the munchies. 

And make sure to keep your eyes wide open for the beautiful murals that decorate this street. But don’t dawdle too long; there are lots more sights to see on your Montreal walking tour, and you surely don’t want to miss them! 

3. (Optional) Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal 

• Opening Hours : To be determined once reopened
• Cost : Previously $10 
• Time Estimate : 1-1.5 hours
• Website : https://macm.org/en/

The Museum of Contemporary Art of Montreal was founded in 1964 with just a couple hundred works of art, and has since grown into a collection of over 8,000 art pieces by artists from Quebec and around the world. The art shows remarkable diversity, embracing historically significant events, current societal issues, and emerging practices.

This stop on your Montreal walking tour is optional, and in fact, until December 2021, it’s out of the tour entirely, as the museum building closed for reconstruction in June of 2021 .

The renovations will take four years to complete, doubling the building’s size and turning the museum into a representation of the very thing it houses — contemporary art. 

In the meantime, a temporary museum space will open in the nearby Place Ville-Marie, and will include exhibitions and creative workshops. 

This temporary relocation will open in late 2021, so if art is what you crave, wait to take your Montreal walking tour until after the holiday season!

4. Chinatown

• Cost : Any food or souvenirs you buy

It you’re a budget traveler looking for free things to do in Montreal , then Chinatown is a definite must! Just stroll around the block-sized neighborhood and let your eyes feast on the colorful streets soaked in history. 

Montreal’s Chinatown is one of the oldest Asian communities on the North American continent, emerging in the 1890s as Chinese immigrants moved from west to east on the newly built Canadian Pacific Railway. Most of them settled in Montreal, creating a residential neighborhood which has since become largely commercial.

This area is basically one large block, bordering rue Saint-Dominique, Boulevard René-Lévesque Ouest, avenue Viger Ouest, and rue Jeanne-Mance. It’s sliced in the middle by rue de la Gauchetière Ouest and Boulevard Saint-Laurent, where most of the businesses are concentrated. 

If you walk along the borders of Chinatown, you’ll find the four ornate gateways, or “paifang”, marking the entrances to the area. I highly recommend checking them out, as no other Chinatown in Canada has this many pairings! 

Of course, there are many other things worth seeing in Montreal’s Chinatown, including:

• The “May an Old Song Open a New World” mural : Prepare a good pose before you come here, as this is one of the most Instagrammable spots in Montreal!
• The Wing Building , built by the same architect as the Notre-Dame Basilica.
• Place Sun Yet Sen : a public square with a traditional Chinese decorative structure that doubles as a souvenir shop.
• The Lee Family Association and Wong Won Su Association , where newly arrived Chinese immigrants received support and counseling. Today, a display of photos and artifacts offers you a peek into the immigrant’s journey.

Interested in my other Canadian walking tours? If so, click here to read my self-guided walking tour of Vancouver, BC !

5. (Optional) Montreal Underground City

• Opening Hours : Varies by business, but usually 10 am-9 pm Monday to Friday, 10 am-6 pm Saturday, and 11 am-5 pm Sunday
• Cost : Any souvenirs, items, or food you buy
• Time Estimate : 1-2 hours
• Website : https://montrealundergroundcity.com/

If you need a change of scenery, why not dive down into Montreal’s Underground City? 

This optional stop will take you into a subterranean labyrinth right under the heart of the city. Stretching over 33 kilometers, the Underground City connects metro stations to shopping plazas, with every possible form of activity along the way.

If you’re lost, just follow the RÉSO network signs that tell you where things are located, from artisanal souvenir shops and stylish boutiques to endless food and entertainment options. Colorful fountains and extensive playgrounds also offer plenty of things to do with kids in Montreal!

Works left by the Art Souterrain Festival make sure art-lovers get their fill, while free Wi-Fi and the Espace Services charging station keep even the biggest social media addicts content. Basically, there is something here for every traveler. 

Diving into this underground pedestrian network is also a great way to escape the sweltering heat or face-numbing cold that frequently invades the city streets, all without holing yourself up at home. If you’re looking for things to do in winter in Montreal, look no further than the Underground City!

You could easily spend the entire day in the Underground City, but don’t lose track of time, because your Montreal walking tour isn’t quite over yet!

6. Old Montreal

• Cost : Varies, depending on the souvenirs or food you purchase

Now, it’s time for our Old Montreal self guided walking tour!

This stop is practically made for Montreal walking tours , as it’s Montreal’s historic center.

The word “historic” might feel somewhat exaggerated when it’s applied to buildings built predominantly in the 18th and 19th centuries, especially when you compare it to Europe where you can casually stroll past buildings that date back to hundreds of years BCE. But for a country that only recently celebrated its 150th birthday, 300 years is practically ancient. 

Needless to say, Old Montreal will give you a taste of Canadian history, with its colonial and European past etched into every cobble-stoned street. Some streets have even kept their original names! This area is also purely pedestrian, creating the perfect atmosphere for walking tours in Montreal. 

The buildings vary in architectural style and have been mostly preserved. Today, they serve as shops, boutique hotels, galleries, cafés, bars, and atmospheric restaurants. With so many beautiful spots scattered around, it’s one of the best Montreal solo travel destinations!

If you’d like to visit everything there is to see in Old Montreal, plan to spend up to 2 hours here. However, if you’d just like to see a few highlights, here are some landmarks worth noting:

• Edifice Aldred : A building with a strong resemblance to New York’s Empire State Building, and also built in the same year (1931)!
• Vieux Séminaire de St-Sulpice : The city’s oldest building (1657), and still surrounded by its original stone walls.
• Hôtel the Ville : The city hall which was nearly destroyed by a fire in 1922.
• Château Ramezay : Initially home to French governors, then taken over by British governors, then invaded and held by American rebels, and also a temporary home to Benjamin Franklin — if walls could talk, this building would put Gossip Girl to shame!
• Notre-Dame Basilica : An intricately decorated basilica and where Québec-born singer Céline Dion got married in 1994 — just step inside and you’ll see why!

Some destinations in our old Montreal walking tour, such as the Notre Dame Basilica, cost money to visit. But no need to worry – there are also many free things to do in Old Montreal!

If you’re staying late in the city, come back to see this part of town in a different light. And I mean literally — over a dozen buildings are illuminated at night, creating a wonderfully romantic atmosphere. It’s one of the best things to do at night in Montreal!

If you’re thinking of also visiting the Canadian Rockies, and you’re wondering how to plan your itinerary, click here to read my 7-day Canadian Rockies road trip !

7. Old Port of Montreal

• Cost : Free (outdoors)

As we near the end of our walking tour in Montreal, we come to the Old Port of Montreal. Once the commercial hub of the city, this area has since been transformed into a waterfront park. 

In the summer, there are an abundance of Old Port Montreal activities; it’s a prime spot for walking, jogging, cycling, and in-line skating. But if you’ve had enough physical movement for the day, I recommend sitting in the park and doing some people-watching!

You’ll also have a great view of Habitat 67 , a distinctive 158-unit housing project built for the 1967 World’s Fair. The architect’s original vision for the building was to show what affordable community housing could look like — but ironically enough, it’s become a private high-end apartment complex. 

8. La Grande Roue de Montréal

• Opening Hours: 10 am-11 pm, Monday through Sunday
• Cost : Just under $26 
• Time Estimate : 20-minute ride
• Website : https://www.lagranderouedemontreal.com/en/

The last stop on our Montreal walking tour is La Grande Roue de Montréal. You may be relieved to hear that this stop involves more sitting than walking — it is, in fact, a panoramic Ferris wheel.

The price may be a little steep, but this isn’t just any old Ferris wheel. Bringing you to a height of 60 meters, La Grande Roue is the biggest observation wheel in the country. 

Keeping in mind that Canada is prone to experiencing extreme weather conditions virtually any day of the year (Canada, eh?), La Grande Roue offers its guests the rare comfort of air conditioning or heating, making it one of the best things to do in Montreal in winter and summer!

This is the perfect ambiance for admiring a 360-degree view of the city. The ride lasts for 20 minutes, giving you ample time to soak up the twinkling lights of Montreal.

What better way is there to end your Montreal walking tour?

Wrapping Up Your Montreal Walking Tour

That was quite a day, wasn’t it? But if you’re wondering what to do in Montreal this weekend, this walking tour is the perfect way to spend it. And while this tour only scratches the surface of everything there is to see and do in Montreal, I’m confident it’s the perfect way to spend your Montreal weekend getaway!

Thanks for reading the article! If you have any questions, feel free to comment down below, and if you want to see more travel and hike-related content, make sure to check out my other articles.

Photos by Mia and Pixabay.

About to embark on a trip around Canada? Here are some helpful articles to make your trip as awesome and stress-free as possible:

• How to Travel Without Breaking the Bank
• 15 Things to Do Before a Trip
• How to Start Hiking: 15 Beginner Hiking Tips
• How to Travel as a Student (Even If You’re Broke!)
• Ottawa by Foot: Walking Guide of Ottawa

And here are some additional helpful links:

• Click here for my walking tours
• Click here for my hiking guides
• Click here for more posts on North America
• Click here for more posts on Canada
• Click here for more resources

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Mia is the founder of Walk a While with Me, a travel blog dedicated to sharing the best self-guided walking tours, travel itineraries, and hikes for destinations around the world. A keen traveler, she has visited more than 20 countries in the past six years. She is excited for you to follow along on her adventures!

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Complete Guide: Montreal Street Art

by Melissa Giroux

Want to check out Montreal street art during your stay in Montreal? We got your back. In this post, you’ll find all the best spots and events to admire street art around the city.

Under Pressure Festival

Montreal’s first street art festival, Under Pressure , was first celebrated in 1996 and continues to take over Quartier des Spectacles every August, making it the oldest running festival of urban culture in the world.

For the past 23 years, street artists, graffiti writers, deejays, emcees, and street dancers have been getting together in a radiance of urban community and hip hop culture. The festival celebrates urban culture with over a hundred local, national, and international artists taking part in the festivities.

There’s always plenty going on during the festival, including the creation of massive murals, musical performances, conferences, street dance battles, kid’s activities, and more.

Alongside these incredible artistic performances, an unmissable event of the MURAL Festival is the gastronomic culinary event Grill Saint-Laurent, a culinary contest in which restaurant owners create and present visitors with dishes prepared on the grill. The festival is located on Saint-Catherine Street, between Saint-Laurent and Saint-Denis Streets, which is closed during the weekend to allow for artists to get to work creating murals and other pieces.

During this weekend, the closed street will also be home to activities such as basketball tournaments, a skate park, and music performances. General entry to the festival is free, with fees required for some activities.

MURAL Festival

Another of Montreal’s street art festivals, MURAL transforms Saint-Laurent Boulevard into an open-air art museum every June. The eleven-day festival features local and international artists to celebrate Montreal as the global destination for urban art, collaborating in a colorful atmosphere of music and art. The festival holds live art, music, exhibitions, and artist talks.

During the festival, MURAL runs various walking (and running!) tours to help you make the most of the urban art that the city has to offer. With over 30 tours to choose from, participants will be guided by a knowledgeable tour guide through a 90-minute walk of Montreal’s best street art spots.

The walking tours cost $20 + taxes. Alternatively, a private tour is available, which includes 2 alcoholic beverage vouchers and a $20 voucher for the BBQ Grill St-Laurent per person. 

When the festival is not on, Spade & Palacio hosts a street art walking tour every Sunday, Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday, taking you through some of the city’s most infamous street art spots, including Saint-Laurent Boulevard and Plateau Mont-Royal. This tour is 2 hours long and costs $40 + taxes per person.

Saint-Laurent Boulevard and Saint-Catherine Street

If not visiting Montreal during either of the street art festivals, there’s no need to miss out on Montreal’s street art scene. One of the busiest streets in Montreal, Saint-Laurent is infamous for its impressive graffiti and street art portfolio.

As the focal point of the MURAL festival every year, Saint-Laurent has become a living open-air art gallery that’s ready to be experienced year-round. Saint-Laurent is also home to many vintage and artisan shops, boutiques, bars, and restaurants, making the street the perfect area for those seeking a street art crawl day trip.

The perfect stop-off for those exploring the art of Saint-Laurent, the infamous Schwartz’s Deli can be found along the street, serving Montreal’s world-famous smoked meat. Saint-Laurent also intersects with Saint-Catherine Street, the primary commercial artery of Downtown Montreal and another hotspot for street art and murals. Best known for its history, culture, and commerce, Saint-Catherine is also known for its spectacular art scene.

Every July, Saint-Catherine opens up into a must-visit street art experience, featuring musicians, DJs, graffiti artists, and acrobats. With over 300 boutiques on the street, many of them participating in the event, the commercial Saint-Catherine comes alive with creativity.

For those wanting to take their own street art Montreal walking tour, graffiti bloggers at Wall2Wall Montreal have created a map of the suggested walking tour route to best experience all of the street art that the city has to offer. The map connects all of the murals that have been done during the MURAL Festival, other major street art pieces in the city, as well as some urban secrets located in back alleys.

The starting point of the self-walking tour is the parking lot behind LNDMRK, known as ‘mural central’, near Prince-Arthur Street. The tour then goes up Saint-Dominique and Saint-Laurent East, heading back down Clark Street and onto Saint-Laurent West.

Plateau Mont-Royal and Mile End

The area combining neighborhoods Plateau Mont-Royal and Mile End has become very much an urban hub of Montreal. These two neighborhoods are rich in the artistic community, in which you will find colorful houses and spiral staircases among the street art that you seek.

The Plateau is home to many boutiques, cafes, and amazing restaurants to try typical Quebec food . While street art may be a little harder to find than Saint-Laurent, what you do find won’t disappoint. The Plateau is an up-and-coming street art locale, thanks to the Plateau’s Murality Program, which allows building owners to apply for a grant for the creation of a mural, promoting the growth and increase of urban art in the neighborhood.

Not far from the Plateau, Mile End, the hipster capital of Canada, boasts various giant murals that are well worth a visit. While neither area is as concentrated with street art as Saint-Laurent, the street art featured certainly makes these neighborhoods worth a visit. 

For those wanting a more museum-like experience of street art, Station 16 is a popular urban art gallery located on Saint-Laurent founded by the organizers of the MURAL Festival. Open all year long, Station 16 exhibits a combination of local and international artists, connecting them through a common passion for urban art and graffiti.

The gallery has previously featured exhibitions from street artists such as Stikki Peaches, Kashink, and Chris Dyer. 

Also located on Saint-Laurent, the Yves Laroche gallery is committed to exposing works of avant-garde artists combining graffiti, tattooing, comics, and pop art. First opened in Old Montreal in 1991, Yves Laroche has established itself as a place to see some of the best contemporary urban art in the area. Some of the artists featured in the gallery include Banksy, Bast, and Roa.

Guided tours

This year’s guided tours are offered in partnership with our friends at Spade & Palacio! Join the city’s first and original Montréal mural and street art walking tour to get the skinny on the artists, works, and the public art scene in Montréal.

Buy tickets

Over the years Saint-Laurent boulevard has been transformed into the country’s premier street art corridor. Since the creation of the first graffiti culture gathering over 20 years ago, the more recent MURAL Festival, municipal and public non-profit organizations, our city has become a world leader in the urban arts scene.

Our Montréal street art and graffiti tour covers local and international artists. The works range from small installations your guide will point out to massive works 10 storeys tall. We learn about techniques and the meaning behind the pieces and the talented artists.

Our city is home to the largest concentration of artists in the country, find out why. We’ll see street styles like wheat pastes and some mains and classics of the borough. This is a zigzag walk through the streets and alleys with a local guide in the know. The area is like an outdoor art gallery you can continue to explore on your own after we hand you our recommendations list for the best restaurant and bars in Montréal etc.

This is the OG Montréal mural tour that led others to follow in our footsteps. Great for locals and visitors and super popular with corporate and school groups.

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The best walking tours in Montreal for education and exploration

Whether you're a local or a tourist, get to know the 514 better than ever on foot with the best Montreal walking tours

Photogaph: Spade & Palacio Tours

While wandering around this city often reveals attractions  at every turn, sometimes the best way to truly understand Montreal—and all its inner workings—is to go with guided walking tours. Tour guides here undertake a rigorous training process before being certified, making Montreal one of only two places in North America that require such levels of expertise (the other being Quebec City ). With that said, the tours here will whisk you away on adventures in iconic Montreal food  and through neighbourhoods like Little Italy , Mile End , Old Montreal , Chinatown  and more. If you’re the kind of person who prefers a more self-guided experience, you’re better spending time in the best museums in Montreal  (but they, of course, have tours as well).

RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best things to do in Montreal

Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.

The best Montreal walking tours

1.  spade & palacio: beyond the basilica.

Spade & Palacio was founded by two local guides with the idea of promoting non-touristy tours to its diverse clientele. The 2.5-hour Beyond the Basilica walking tour, offered year-round, begins in Old Montreal  but quickly exits the touristy neighbourhood, passing through a section of the International Quarter, Chinatown , the Entertainment District, and eventually to a collection of street art, ending at a local coffee roastery on Saint-Laurent Boulevard right in the heart of the Plateau-Mont Royal district. A great option for a first-timer.

2.  Fitz & Follwell: Old Montreal

While Fitz & Follwell may be better known for its bike tours, their 3-hour walking tour of Old Montreal  is a great way to discover some hidden secrets about the beloved historic district. With a focus on the story of the city’s foundations and industrial past, as well as some important attractions  and architectural gems in the area, this tour also includes a visit to the majestic Notre-Dame Basilica.

3.  Spade & Palacio: Montreal Mural Art

As the first company to offer guided tours of Montreal’s street art scene, Spade & Palacio offers a 2-hour walking tour concentrated on the plethora of murals found in the Plateau-Mont-Royal district. This tour offers a unique approach to learning more about the artistic side of Montreal – including the annual Mural Festival and its lasting effect on the cultural development of this trendy borough.

4.  Local Montreal Food Tours: Mile End Food Tour

While the secret on Mile End  has long since been out, the ultra-trendy subsection of the Plateau continues to attract visitors with its impressive food and nightlife  scene. Local Montreal Food Tours prides itself on delivering a well-rounded tour of the area, including six food stops (and a 7th non-food stop) that showcases some local iconic Montreal food . The 3-hour tour also includes portions on the historical, architectural and cultural elements of the neighbourhood.

5.  Guidatour: Various tours available

With a handful of private walking tours available—everything from Old Montreal  and Chinatown  to Golden Square Mile and Little Italy —Guidatour has been around for 34 years and continues to be a popular choice for tourists seeking to discover various area of the city. It’s worth mentioning that their Montréal Ghosts thematic tour uncovers stories of Montreal’s dark and haunted past; as nice as Montrealers are known to be, they’ve got some seriously creepy history under their belts.

6.  Kaléïdoscope: Mosaïcs & Centre-Sud

Offering a variety of services to school groups, conference participants and the general public, Kaléïdoscope focuses primarily on a local Montreal audience with most of their tours are offered exclusively in French. The company added a new tour this year (with the help of a first-year guide) highlighting a series of handmade mosaics in the largely unknown Centre-Sud neighbourhood.

7.  Round Table Tours: Iconic Dishes: Jewish Montreal, The Original Tour

Founded by former chef and certified guide Mélissa Simard, Round Table Tours is a gastronomic tour company that explores Montreal’s neighbourhoods, cultures and food genres through eating and storytelling. Its Iconic Dishes: Jewish Montreal food tour is a 4-hour marathon of eating, walking, poetry reading and historical exploration of the Mile End  and the north end of the Plateau, an area where most Eastern European Jews settled at the turn of the 20 th century and left an indelible mark on the city.

8.  VDM Global: Flavours and Aromas of Old Montreal

For those looking to get past some of the architectural and historical details of Old Montreal  and scratch the surface of the best restaurants in Old Montreal  that make up its happening food scene, this 2.5-hour walking tour might be the best bet. This tour dives deep into the origins of the cuisine in Montreal, exploring French, British and international genres and their impact on the local culinary reputation here.

9.  Ça Roule: Architecture Tour

Launched at the beginning of the 2019 season, this new tour highlights some of the contrasting elements of Old Montreal ’s historic buildings to the latest trends in urban design and architecture. The 2-hour tour starts in the heart of the cobblestone quarter and extends out to the neighbouring district of Griffintown before ending at the very site of the city’s original foundations.

10.  Héritage Montréal: ArchitecTours

This non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of the architectural, historic, natural and cultural heritage of Greater Montreal offers guided tours focused on how the city’s architecture and urban design have been influenced by industrialization, gentrification, or otherwise. Each year, Heritage Montreal releases a new program of 2-hour walking tours in both English and French, offered Saturday afternoons in August and September, rain or shine.

11.  Quartier des Spectacles: Free Walking Tour (June to October)

While the Quartier des Spectacles area has undergone a dramatic transformation in the last decade to act as the central stage for some of our major outdoor festivals , this area also holds the title as the former Red Light district of Montreal. This free walking tour offered by the area’s not-for-profit organization allows visitors and locals alike the chance to discover the role of the neighbourhood in past, present and future, including our connection to jazz, dance, and the undeniable artistic jouissance that remains omnipresent in the city.

12.  Habitat 67: Seasonal Tours

Designed by Israeli-Canadian architect Moshe Safdie for Expo 67—still known as one of the world’s top five World’s Fairs of all time!—this architectural attraction  and housing complex was conceived as the development of the future, with each resident having access to natural light and greenspace. Access to the site, including a visit to the exterior of the architect’s former apartment, is limited to 90-minute private guided tours held in French and English from May to October.

More great things to explore in Montreal

The best montreal attractions for tourists to see and locals to revisit.

The best Montreal attractions reveal the city’s rich history and landmarks, all waiting to be (re)discovered.

The best museums in Montreal

Ponder fine art, explore historical crypts, go on walking tours and more at the most inspiring museums in the city.

The best things to do in Montreal with kids

Our top picks for the best things to do in Montreal with kids make sure you’ll be having just as much fun as they are.

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Montreal Walking Tours

This post will provide information about multiple free walking tours you can take in Montreal which provide details about the history and culture of the city.

• Overview and Schedule
• Old Town Tours
• Alternative Montreal Tours
• Urban Art Tours

OVERVIEW + SCHEDULE

Whether you’re interested in doing some sightseeing or you want to learn about the history of Montreal, there are a few different free walking tours you can take as well as an opportunity for low-cost bike tours.

Although most free tours will focus on the historical sites in the Old Town neighborhood, there are also some alternative tours that provide a look at some of the attractions you might otherwise miss while visiting this city.

In addition to these options, there are also a few walking tours that focus on the artistic and cultural side of Montreal.

While some of these outings are self-guided tours, there are a couple of different pay-what-you-wish tours you may want to consider as well.

These services are tip-based, which means you get to decide what they were worth at the end of the tour. Most people will tip anywhere from $10-$15.

Alternatively, you may want to consider some paid tours of Montreal as well if you’re looking for either small group or private tour services.

OLD TOWN MONTREAL TOURS

Discover the most notable locations in the city on a free walking tour of Old Town Montreal.

In addition to enjoying some sightseeing, you’ll also learn about the history of the area.

You can expect to see the following sites on these tours:

• Notre-Dame de Bonsecours Chapel
• Rue Saint-Jacques West
• Place Jacques Cartier
• Quartier International
• Place d’Armes
• The Old Port

If you want to find out more about these locations, consider taking one of the free walking tours listed below.

Free Old Montreal Tours

This company provides one of the only pay-what-you-wish walking tours in Montreal, and it covers some of the most historic sites in the oldest part of the city.

Their tour has an overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars on TripAdvisor.

You can take this free walking tour rain or shine on Monday, Thursday, and Friday at 15:30 (3:30 pm) and on weekends at 11 am. This outing is approximately 2 - 2 ½ hours long.

Book the tour or learn more .

Quartier Des Spectacles

Although this company isn’t as well-rated as its competitors, they do have an overall 4 ½ out of 5-star rating on TripAdvisor and most people enjoy this free walking tour.

This tour is offered rain or shine and limited to a max of only 25 people per group to ensure that guests can get the most out of their experience.

Unfortunately, the Quartier Des Spectacles tour has been temporarily canceled, but it will return in 2021. 

Check to see if this tour is available to book .

Additional Old Town Montreal Tours

If you’re looking for another option that won’t cost you anything, the Vieux Montreal website offers a self-guided tour with 20 notable stops to visit.

In addition to that, there are also several paid tours you can take which provide interesting experiences including evening tours, ghost tours, bus tours, cruises, and more.

Check this list of paid Old Town Montreal tours to find a service that fits your schedule.

ALTERNATIVE MONTREAL TOURS

Even after you’ve seen all of the most historic sites in the city, there are still a lot of wonderful locations to visit and landmarks to experience in Montreal.

While there aren’t currently any pay-what-you-wish walking tours that cover this side of the city, there is at least one self-guided tour available that you might want to consider.

You can expect to see some of the following attractions while taking this tour:

• Street Art/Murals
• Cité Mémoire
• The Village
• Placottoires
• Marché Jean-Talon
• Montreal-style stairs

If you’re interested in visiting any of these locations, consider taking the Hidden Montreal self-guided tour .

Additional Alternative Montreal Tours

Travelers who would much rather have a professional guide show them around the city might want to consider taking a paid tour instead.

There are several interesting options for alternative paid tours that focus on seeing Montreal from a different point of view, including ghost tours, street art & mural tours, craft brewery tours, and more.

Ticket prices will usually range from $20-$50, but there are some that may cost even more.

Tour durations are 1 ½ - 2 ½ hours on average.

If you’re curious about any of these opportunities, make sure to check this list of paid alternative Montreal tours to find a service that fits both your interests and schedule.

SELF-GUIDED BIKE TOURS

Although there aren’t any free bike tours in Montreal, there is a bike-share program that you can use to easily rent a bicycle for a short time and explore the city on your own.

The BIXI service is only available from April 15th - November 15th, but it’s a great opportunity to ride around the city with ease for a very low price.

Fares start at $2.50 for one-way 30-minute trips, but they also offer 1-day tickets for just $5.25 and 3-day passes for $15.

The only catch behind this service is that you must return your bike to one of the designated BIXI bike racks every 30 minutes.

These are located all over the city, so they aren’t usually too difficult to find.

After renting a bicycle for as little as a few dollars, you can then use either the historical Vieux-Montreal self-guided tour of Old Town or the Hidden Montreal tour to see some of the most interesting sites in the city at no additional cost!

Additional Bike Tours

If you’d rather have a professional guide to help you find the most notable sites in the city, there are a few paid bike tours you may want to consider as well.

These outings typically focus on the Old Town part of the city, but some of them will also provide stops and information focused on street art, local food, and other cultural aspects of the city.

Ticket prices typically range from $50-$70 per person, and you can expect each tour to last anywhere from 3-6 hours.

Take a look at this list of paid bike tours in Montreal to choose a service you’ll enjoy.

URBAN ART WALKS

If you’re interested in seeing some of the most artistic sites in Montreal, the McCord Museum offers several free self-guided walking tours you can use by downloading their app onto your smartphone.

In addition to the app, there are also decals on the ground to help guide you around the city to places of note.

In total, there are more than 150 different points of interest on these tours.

Here are the self-guided tours they currently offer:

• Griffintown
• McGill College
• The Art of Magic
• Golden Square Mile
• Ivanhoe Cambridge
• Shopping in the 19th and 20th Centuries

For more information or to download their app and get started, check out this list of Urban Art Tours in Montreal .

Additional Urban Art Tours

Although it’s nice that you can enjoy a few different art walks in Montreal for free, you might prefer to have a tour guide show you around instead.

There are several interesting paid art tours you may want to consider instead of the self-guided options listed above.

• Street Art & Mural Tour
• Old Montreal East Side Tour
• The Old Port Art Walk
• Montreal Mural Tour

Ticket prices range from $20-$60, tours run from 1 ½ - 2 ½ hours on average, and some of these services are limited to small groups to ensure you’ll receive as much personal attention as possible from your tour guide.

And much, much more

North america, united kingdom & ireland, middle east & india, asia & oceania.

Get active and artsy with Motor City Murals’ new web app

Motor City Murals is inviting you to get active and artsy through its self-guided mural tours. They offer art at your own pace through Windsor and Detroit.

The web app, called MotorCityMurals.tours, builds on past tours, like McDougall Street Corridor Project and Queer Walk, to support tourism and encourage cross-border connections.

It was created in collaboration between Parallel 42 Systems, Hackforge, WindsorEats, and the Multicultural Council of Windsor-Essex.

“We built MotorCityMurals.tours to help folks explore street art in the region we love,” said Doug Sartori, president of Parallel 42 Systems. “We hope people like using it as much as we enjoyed researching the murals and building the app.”

The Multicultural Council said this is a great opportunity for newcomers to Canada to learn more about their new home and the region as a whole.

Windsor features over 100 stops and 50 in Detroit. Each stop features photos and information on the art, artist, and the area around it.

The app is free to use. Parallel 42 Systems said it respects user data and it will not feature advertisements.

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