can you visit the olympic stadium in montreal

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Montreal Olympic Stadium

Club: none | Opening: 1976 | Capacity: 56,000 seats

History and description

Montreal Olympic Stadium got built in the 1970s to serve as the flagship venue of the 1976 Summer Olympics.

In 1972, the City presented plans for a shell-like stadium including a 175-meter mast and a retractable roof. Works on the stadium started in 1973, but progressed slowly due to the harsh winters and a labour strike..

The stadium got completed just in time for the Olympics, though the mast and roof had not been completed yet. It opened on 17 July 1976. The stadium could hold 76,000 spectators during the Olympics.

Due to financial difficulties, it took over ten years for the mast and roof to be completed. The mast had by then turned into an observation tower with funicular running up.

Further renovations in 1992 reduced capacity with 12,000 seats as seating was taken away to make the stadium more suitable for baseball. Due to structural problems the roof was replaced again in 1998 by a new version.

When the Montreal Impact joined the MLS in 2012, they made next-door Stade Saputo their home, though they do occasionally play high-profile matches at the much-larger Olympic Stadium.

How to get to Montreal Olympic Stadium

Montreal Olympic Stadium is located in the north of Montreal at about 7 kilometres from downtown and old Montreal.

It is easy to get to the stadium using the metro . Metro station Pie-IX, on the Green line 1, lies right next to the stadium. Catch the Green line at one of the various stops in downtown Montreal or connect to the Green line from the Orange line at Beri-UQAM station. It is a quick journey of no more than 10 minutes from downtown Montreal.

Address: 4141, avenue Pierre-De Coubertin, Montréal, Québec, H1V 3N7

Eat, drink, and sleep near Montreal Olympic Stadium

Montreal Olympic Stadium is located on the Olympic Park that holds other sports facilities and borders the Botanical Gardens and Parc Maisonneuve.

The Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbourhood, bordering the stadium on the south and west, is a traditionally working class neighbourhood, but up-and-coming with lots of new bars and restaurants popping up around Ontario Street, a few blocks west from the stadium.

It is not an area with a lot of hotels around, but Guesthouse Gite du Survenant just south of the stadium and Hotel Universel just north of the stadium are well-rated options. Otherwise there are many apartment rentals in the area.

Click here for an overview of hotel near Montreal Olympic Stadium and here for options elsewhere in Montreal.

Montreal Olympic Stadium Tours

The Olympic Stadium offers guided stadium tours as well as a visit to the Observatory in Montreal Tower.

Tours run multiple times a day from Tuesday to Sunday between 10:30 am and 4:00 pm (5:30 pm in the summer months). Check the official website for up-to-date schedules and bookings.

The tours costs $15.00, the observatory $24.25, and the combination $33.50.

Photos of Montreal Olympic Stadium

Useful Internet links

Parc-olympique.qc.ca – Official website of Montreal Olympic Stadium. Tourisme-montreal.org – Montreal tourism information. Stm.info – Montreal public transport information.

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Montréal Olympic Park

Daily, 0 a.m.

Work on the Stade playground may affect the schedule. The Tower is closed for renovation and is set to reopen in Fall 2024. There is currently no guided tour offered of the Olympic Stadium.

Characteristics

Partial access for persons with restricted physical ability
Family Activity
Restaurant on site
Parking for Buses
Parking ($)
Guided Tour

An international symbol of Montréal, the Olympic Stadium — and its Tower, the world's tallest inclined tower — was designed by 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.

A visit to the Olympic Stadium not only allows you to remember important events, but to discover that this witness to the history of the city still vibrates with true vitality. Its architectural, historical and patrimonial value is undeniable. Guides are happy to accompany visitors inside this bold and complex architectural masterpiece and to share both the technical details of its construction and anecdotes gleaned over the years and events.

Why not go in as spectators? The stadium currently serves as a multipurpose facility for special events, including concerts and trade shows, and occasionally hosts matches of the Club de Foot Montréal of Major League Soccer, and an annual spring training series for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball.

Olympic Park (Parc olympique)

can you visit the olympic stadium in montreal

Pie-IX • 4 min walk
Viau • 8 min walk

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10 Things to Do in Montreal's Olympic Park

Things to Do in and Around Montreal's Olympic Park

A family-friendly destination known for its nature museums, open-air events, and winter activities, visitor favorites include the following 10 things to do in Montreal's Olympic Park.

Attend an Event at the Olympic Park Esplanade

The Montreal Olympic Park Esplanade features outdoor events and activities year round, like First Fridays , a monthly food truck event replete with haute comfort foodie finds and live music scheduled on the first Friday of every month May through October.

In the winter, the Esplanade turns into a winter village with a skating rink, a bar, a dance floor, and other attractions which vary year to year.

Other annual events include La Fête Nationale bonfire and extreme sports festival Jackalope .

Check the Esplanade schedule to find out what's next on the schedule. Olympic Esplanade events and activities are often free.

Explore the Montreal Biodome

After hosting the 1976 Summer Olympics, much of Montreal's Olympic Park was repurposed. Easily the most dramatic transformation was turning the Olympic Velodrome into an indoor zoo, aquarium, and botanical garden wrapped into one. The Montreal Biodome recreates five ecosystems, from the Amazon rainforest to the South Pole, complete with temperature control, indigenous plants, and wildlife native to each featured region.

Catch a Sporting Event at the Olympic Stadium

Designed by French architect Roger Taillibert, the Montreal Olympic Stadium, aka the Big O, used to be home to the Montreal Expos, a major league baseball team which relocated to Washington D.C. after the 2004 season, renamed the Washington Nationals.

Today, with a seating capacity exceeding 56,000, the covered ampitheatre still hosts major league baseball games, typically Toronto Blue Jays games, as well as auto shows, home shows, monster truck spectaculars, and assorted sports championships, from the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2016 to the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in October 2017. Consult the Montreal Olympic Stadium schedule to find out what's featured next.

Ascend the Montreal Tower

Attached to the Olympic Stadium at 165 meters (541 feet) high with a 45-degree tilt, the Montreal Tower is the tallest inclined tower in the world. By comparison, the Leaning Tower of Pisa is 65 meters (213 feet) high with a 5-degree tilt.

The reason the 8,000-tonne (8819-ton) tower remains standing at all is courtesy of whopping 145,000-tonne (159,835-ton) mass attached to its base as deep as 10 meters (33 feet) below ground.

Visitors can reach the top of the tower via its glass funicular for a choice view of the Montreal skyline. Montreal Tower schedule and admission rates vary by season and age group.

Swim in the Olympic Pools

Bring your bathing suit. Some of the best indoor swimming facilities in Canada—and the bulk of Canada's best divers—are in Montreal courtesy of its Olympic past. For a modest admission fee , the public can access one or several of the Olympic Park's six pools, depending on the schedule of the day .

Swim options include a competition pool, training pool, synchronized swimming and water polo pool, an underwater deep-diving pool used for scuba lessons, and a diving pool with six diving boards ranging from 0.5 meters (1.6 feet) to 10 meters (62 feet). A 33°C (91°F) relaxation pool ideal and wading pool ideal for babies, toddlers, workout warm-ups, and physiotherapy as well as an inflatable water obstacle course are also on site.

Learn About Space at the Montreal Planetarium

Located on the grounds of the Olympic Park, the Montreal Planetarium proposes a permanent exhibit on life in the universe as well as multimedia astronomy film presentations projected on its two dome theatres.

Wander the Montreal Botanical Garden

Across the street from the Montreal Olympic Park is the Montreal Botanical Garden and its 34 themed gardens spread across ten greenhouses open year round and 75 hectares (185 acres) of outdoor green space.

One of Montreal's most popular attractions, both tourists and locals flock to its summer blooms and annual events, like the fall season's Gardens of Light and winter and spring's Butterflies Go Free .

Come winter, outdoor grounds turn into cross-country ski trails . And adjacent the Botanical Garden is Parc Maisonneuve's gorgeous skating rink .

10 Things to Do in Montreal's Olympic Park: Montreal Insectarium

Heading to the Botanical Garden ? Combine it with a visit to the Montreal Insectarium —they're neighbors. North America's largest "bug museum" features over 150,000 arthropod specimens as well as over 100 live species, from scorpions to tarantulas. Kids love it here.

Watch Soccer at the Saputo Stadium

The home of soccer/association football team the Montreal Impact , Saputo Stadium seats over 20,000 spectators and first opened in 2008, erected on what was originally the Olympic Park's track and field facilities.

Watch, or Skate, at the Big O

The Big O isn't just the Olympic Stadium's nickname. A concrete tunnel in the shape of a flattened letter O built as a passageway for 1976 Summer Olympics athletes has been used by the skateboarding community as a skate pipe for years. It was moved 30 meters (98 feet) from its original location to make way for Saputo Stadium expansion in 2013.

On topic, skaters love the Olympic Park in general for its lines, curves, ramps, and railings, the perfect obstacle course for a budding skater aching to practice tricks and technique. The area is so favored by skaters that a state-of-the-art competitive skate park is in the works, to the tune of $750 million. Extreme sports events at the Olympic Park like Jackalope are expected to multiply in turn.

The Big O can be used at any time. Just head to 3200 Viau Street, in between Sherbrooke and Pierre-De Coubertin and you'll spot it soon enough.

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Montreal Olympic Stadium (Stade Olympique de Montréal)

The Montreal Olympic Stadium ( Stade Olympique de Montréal ) is Montreal’s multi-purpose stadium that was built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics. The Olympic Stadium is the centerpiece of the Montreal Olympic Park ( Parc Olympique Montréal ). Nicknamed The Big O , the Olympic Stadium features a retractable roof and a seating capacity of 56,000 people.

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Address : 4141 Rue Pierre-de-Coubertin, Montreal, QC Schedule : Open Year-Round daily 10am to 6pm Telephone : (514) 252-4141 Official Website View in Virtual Tour

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Olympic Park Montreal Stadium and Tower

Rated out of 5 Read Reviews

Ride the funicular up the world's tallest inclined tower to the observatory at Olympic Stadium and enjoy spectacular views of Montreal

Olympic Park in Montreal is part of a larger greenspace that includes the Montreal Botanical Garden Maisonneuve Park and more recently Park Exalto a unique urban playground. The focal point of the park is the Olympic Stadium and the attached Montreal Tower, a unique structure and attraction that is visible from miles away. There is also a huge outdoor Esplanade area which features many free shows, performances and events throughout the year.

The Olympic Stadium has become one of Montreal's most internationally recognized landmarks. It features a very unique architectural design created by French architect Roger Tallibert. This striking landmark features the world's tallest inclined tower which rises 574 feet above the ground at an incredible 45 degree angle.

Visitors to the Stadium can ride a funicular up the outside of the Montreal Tower to the observatory at the top. As it quickly carries you up the steep incline to the observation level, the funicular, which has a capacity of 76 passengers, presents superb views of the park and the botancial gardens below. From the observatory at the top you will enjoy spectacular views of the city; on a clear day you can see for up to 80 kilometres.

One might think that the Stadium they see today is pretty much the same as it was for the 1976 Olympics, but that is far from the case. In fact the project has been plagued with problems throughout its life. Labour disruptions prevented the completion of the tower and retractable roof in time for the Olympic games and after many more design modifications and problems the retractable roof was not put into operation until 1989 - 13 years after the Olympic Games. The troubles were only just beginning however as the new retractable roof did not function well and was very susceptible to damage from wind, snow and even heavy rain. After a decade of problems the retractable Kelvar roof was replaced with a non-retractable fiberglass roof in 1998, but even this had problems with snow load in the following year.

In spite of its many problems, Olympic Stadium has and continues to host a wide variety of notable games, concerts and events. During the 1976 Summer Olympics the stadium hosted both the opening and closing ceremonies along with a number of Olympic sporting events. From 1977-2004 it was home to the Montreal Expos baseball franchise and from 1976 - 1997 it was home to the Montreal Allouettes Canadian Football League franchise and it is still used as a venue when Montreal hosts the CFL Grey Cup game. The stadium has the largest seating capacity of any stadium in the country.

At the base of the Montreal Tower there is a large sports complex that includes an Olympic swimming pool. Adjacent to the stadium is the Biodome, an indoor nature museum which is one of four science facilities operated by the Space for Life Foundation. It was originally the Velodrome at the 1976 Olympics Games. All of these structures where part of the original design by architect Roger Tallibert.

Adjacent to the Pie-IX Metro Station you will find the newly opened Park Exalto. This park, the first of its kind in North America, provides athletic obstacle courses with differing levels of difficulty that provide visitors with a fun challenge. Admission to the park lets you repeat the courses as many times as you wish. Later when you get tired you can relax in one of the hammocks or practice your golf putting to wind down. you can get more information at Parc Exalto .

Olympic Stadium is almost as intriguing for its troubled history as it is for its striking design. As one of Montreal's most recognizable and prominent landmarks it, along with the surrounding attractions are a must see.

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Facts For Your Visit

Watch for free shows and events in the outdoor Esplanade.

Olympic Stadium and Tower Hours: Opening hours may differ on holidays

Monday: 7:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Tuesday: 7:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Wednesday: 7:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Thursday: 7:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Friday: 7:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Saturday: 7:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Sunday: 7:00 AM – 11:00 PM

Address: 4141 Av. Pierre-De Coubertin, Montréal, QC H1V 0B2, Canada

Phone: (514) 252-4141

Official Website: Olympic Stadium and Tower

Olympic Stadium and Tower Reviews

How to get to Olympic Stadium and Tower by Metro

By Metro: Take Metro Line 1 to Station Pie-IX which is located right at the southern corner of Olympic Park and just a short walk from the stadium and tower.

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MLA 8TH EDITION
Noakes, Taylor. "Montreal Olympic Stadium". The Canadian Encyclopedia , 16 August 2021, Historica Canada . www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/montreal-olympic-stadium. Accessed 01 May 2024.
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Montreal Olympic Stadium

Article by Taylor C. Noakes

Published Online August 16, 2021

Last Edited August 16, 2021

Primary venue of the 1976 Summer Olympics. Montreal ’s Olympic Stadium is a massive, monumental, multisport complex. It serves as the largest covered amphitheatre and sports venue in Quebec and is also the largest stadium in Canada. ( See Sports Facilities .) It has a permanent seating capacity of 56,000. The stadium is integrated into the Montreal Tower (the world’s tallest inclined tower), the Olympic Pool and the former Velodrome — today, the Biodome . The stadium is often referred to as the Big O by Anglo-Montrealers.

The Olympic Stadium sits at the centre of the Olympic Park complex. The complex is itself located in the middle of a sprawling collection of sports facilities, attractions, venues and museums in Montreal’s East End.

The stadium was designed by renowned French architect Roger Taillibert — supposedly Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau ’s favoured architect. It is unclear when exactly Taillibert was offered the job of designing Montreal’s stadium. Drapeau had been interested in a sports stadium for nearly a decade before Montreal was awarded the Olympics. Montreal obtained a professional baseball franchise in 1969 ( see Montreal Expos ) and Drapeau promised the team’s owner a covered stadium within two years. Not long after, Taillibert’s firm apparently began working on the stadium before the Olympics became official. There was no official competition between architects regarding the design. Drapeau’s decision to employ a French architect was not popular among Quebec ’s professional order of architects. They wanted the Olympics to showcase local talent.

The stadium’s design was unique among traditional Olympic stadiums. The stadium has a cantilevered tower that suspends the originally retractable roof. The stadium’s main structure is supported by 34 cantilevered concrete “consoles.” This means that the stadium essentially doesn’t rest on the ground. The roof is now permanently closed. The plan was to have a stadium whose roof could be fully open in the summer and closed in the winter , allowing for year-round use. Drapeau also wanted to build a monumental tower for Montreal since the mid-1950s. The stadium project allowed him to accomplish this goal. The stadium and tower were built primarily of pre-stressed concrete.

The stadium was used for all the athletics events such as track running, pole vault, javelin, and shot put. Football (soccer) and equestrian team jumping finals also took place there.

The closing ceremonies took place on 1 August 1976 in the Olympic stadium. The celebrations were notably disrupted by a naked person running around who had to be escorted out.

See Montreal Olympics ; Canada at the Olympic Summer Games .

After the Olympics

The Montreal Alouettes began using the stadium when they moved in during the 1976 Canadian Football League season. The Alouettes won the Grey Cup the following year in front of more than 68,000 fans — a Grey Cup attendance record that stands to this day. The Alouettes continued to use the stadium into the 1980s and have returned to play playoff and Grey Cup games in recent years. Beginning in 1977, the Olympic Stadium became the home of the Montreal Expos professional baseball team. The Expos used the stadium until the franchise was relocated to Washington DC after the 2004 season.

The stadium’s attendance record was set in 1977, when over 78,000 people attended a concert by Pink Floyd. The band was interrupted on several occasions by fans setting off fireworks inside the stadium. An incident occurred when bassist Roger Waters’ spat at an annoying fan. The incident inspired the recording of the album The Wall , arguably the band’s magnum opus.

The stadium has also been used by the city’s professional soccer team, the CF Montreal (formerly the Montreal Impact). The stadium is used for regular season games when their home field, Saputo Stadium, is inaccessible, or when crowds demand a larger venue. In addition, the stadium has been used for a wide variety of other major professional and amateur sporting events.

The tower has become a successful tourist destination with its observatory and funicular. In addition, the base of the tower has twelve floors of rental office space, seven of which are rented by the Desjardins Group .

In 1989, the former Olympic velodrome was redeveloped into the Biodome , a unique environmental museum. Saputo Stadium opened near the base of the tower in 2008. The city’s Planetarium relocated to the Olympic Park and opened in 2013. The Botanical Gardens and Insectarium are also across the street.

The Olympic Stadium continues to serve as a multi-purpose event and sporting venue. Most recently, it hosted pre-season Major League Baseball exhibition games. Many public athletic training facilities are also available. These are used by Canadian Olympic athletes as well as Montrealers in general.

Structural Issues

The Montreal Tower was completed in 1987. This finally allowed the retractable roof to be used. However, it was only opened a total of 88 times and never lived up to expectations. The difficulties with the roof led to several costly repairs over the years. In 2017, the Quebec government announced it would spend $200–250 million to replace the roof.

There have also been other structural problems with the roof and parts of the tower. Support beams inside the stadium also fell off at some point. Despite these problems, the stadium continues to be used.

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Conquering the world…one city at a time.

Montreal’s Parc Olympique: A Visitor’s Guide

Introduction: Montreal is a city in Canada’s Quebec region sitting along the St. Lawrence River. Montreal has much in the way of unique attractions to offer to visitors. Parc Olympic is one of the most popular of those attractions. Montreal’s Parc Olympique draws visitors in to enjoy its great array of attractions, including the Montreal Tower, the Biodome, the Botanical Gardens, and of course the Olympic Stadium that hosted the 1976 World Olympics.

Highlights: Ride to the top of the 541 foot Montreal Tower for 360 views of the city, get lost in space at the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium, enjoy a walk through nature at the Montreal Botanical Gardens, spend the afternoon with the creepy crawlers at the Montreal Insectarium, catch a live performance on the Esplanade, and catch a sporting event or tour the Olympic Stadium.

Page Contents

About Montreal’s Parc Olympique

Parc Olympic is a large complex in Quebec’s Montreal. Parc Olympique includes the Olympic stadium, the Montreal Tower, and the partner attractions that make up the Space for Life, the largest natural science museum complex in Canada. These include the Montreal Biodome (not to be confused with the Biosphere in Parc Jean-Drapeau), the planetarium, botanical gardens, and insectarium. Parc Olympique is now a multi use venue that hosts sports events, live performances, expos, and monster truck shows.

Parc Olympique’s main feature is the Olympic Stadium that housed the 1976 Olympics. The building was constructed in the early 1970’s as the venue for the 1976 World Olympics. The Stadium has commonly been referred to as the “Big O” because of the shape, but more recently has been known as the “Big Owe” because of the cost of construction and continuing cost to tax payers.

How to Get There:

Parc Olympique is located at 4141, avenue Pierre-De Coubertin, Montréal. It can be reached many different ways:

Bike via the bike access paths of Rachel street, Maisonneuve Park and Bennett street
Metro at Pie-IX metro station followed by a 2 minute walk to the park
Bus: busses 97, 139 and 439

The Entrances

There are four entrances to Parc Olympique and each will get you to a different area of the park:

Entrance 1: Entrance to the Olympic Station
Entrance 2: Entrance closest to the Montreal Tower
Entrance 3: Entrance closest to the Sports Center
Entrance 4: Entrance closest to the Esplanade

Parking is available in underground lots/parking garages throughout the park. In total there are 7 parking lots. Parking rates are $4 for 20 min., with a maximum of $20 for a 24 hr. period.

What to do at Montreal’s Parc Olympique

Visit the Montreal Biodome

The Montreal Biodome is located next door to the Olympic Stadium and is a great escape to nature in the city. Visitors to the Montreal Biodome will walk through five different ecosystems and meet over 250,000 animals of 200 species and 500 plant species. The 5 sections of the Biodome are the Tropical Rainforest, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Laurentian Maple Forest, the Labrador Coast, and the Sub-Anartic Islands.

The Biodome is closed for construction at the time of this writing, but is anticipated to open back up soon.

Catch a Sporting Event at Olympic Stadium or Take a Guided Tour

Located within the Montreal Tower you will find a permanent exhibition on the construction of the stadium and the 1976 Olympics. The exhibition includes a combination of artifacts, photos, video archives, and interactive digital content. Guided tours of the stadium are also available with a guide who will give you a great overview of the history of the stadium.

The stadium hosts many amateur and professional sports events throughout the year. Be sure to check the schedule for when you are visiting and grab some tickets if there is something that interests you!

Ride to the Top of Montreal Tower

The Montreal Tower is one of the main draws of Parc Olympique. Standing 165 meters high, the tower has an incline of 45 degrees making it the tallest inclined tower in the world. A two minute ride inside a glass funicular will take visitors to the top of the tower where 360 degree views of Montreal spanning up to 80km (50 miles) await. The tower is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9am to 5pm, with extended hours to 7pm between June and September.

Tickets are $24.25 for adults with discounts for seniors and children. Combo packages are also available for tower access and a guided tour of Olympic Stadium.

Visit the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium

Get lost in space at the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium. The planetarium has two separate theaters, each with a unique experience. One theater focuses on scientific interpretation of the Universe, while the other one focuses on a more poetic and artistic approach to interpreting the universe. The planetarium also has many interactive exhibits for kids and adults alike to enjoy. Tickets to the planetarium are $21 for adults with discounts for seniors and children.

Swim at the Olympic Pool

The Olympic pool, located in the Sports Center of Parc Olympique, is open at select times for open swims allowing visitors to swim in the same pool Olympic athletes once performed in. The pool is usually open Monday through Friday 6:00 am to 10:00 pm and Saturday and Sunday 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. Open swim is $7.30 for adults with discounts for adults and children.

Explore the Montreal Botanical Gardens

While not technically located within Parc Olympique, the Montreal Botanical Gardens are located directly across the street from Olympic Stadium. With over 22,000 plant species, 10 greenhouses, and 20 thematic gardens, the botanical gardens area a great escape from the city life on Montreal. Visitors can take in the beauty, popping colors, and fresh air of the gardens at some of the most popular garden section, including the Aquatic Gardens, Chinese Gardens, Japanese Garden, and the Rose Garden.

Tickets to the gardens are $21 for adults with discounts offered for seniors and children. The gardens are open daily from 9am to 6pm, with extended hours to 7pm on Friday and Saturday nights.

Visit the Montreal Insectarium

If bugs don’t creep you out too much step inside Montreal’s Insectarium to learn about the diversity and nature of these creepy crawlers. The Montreal Insectarium is the largest insectarium in North America. It holds insects from around the world in its live and dead displays. Even if the insectarium is not something that draws you attention, I think it is safe to say there’s a 50% chance the little ones will be thrilled to explore all this museum has to offer.

The Montreal Insectarium is currently closed for renovations, but is anticipated to be reopening soon.

Watch a performance on the Esplanade

The Esplanade is the outdoor four level venue space near Olympic Stadium that is host to small and large events throughout the summer. The Esplanade offers a variety of different events, including events focused on sport and physical activity, sustainable development, and culture. The Vans Skatepark and Climbing Rocks can also be found on the Esplanade for those looking for a little bit of physical activity.

Published by Melissa

Hello! My name is Melissa (or Missy). I'm a nurse by day, but my true passion is travel. I'm a part time traveler, travel blogger, and photographer. Travel blogging allows me to share my experiences and knowledge with you as well as allows me to share in your experiences and learn from you. View all posts by Melissa

I’m Melissa, but you can call me Missy. I continuously crave a new adventure and love sharing those adventures with you! My sidekick is my 5 year old daughter. Together we are conquering the world, one city at a time! Find family travel tips and guides that will help you plan your next adventure!

24 Comments »

Its amazing how many countries abandon Olympic stadiums after the events, good to see this one being put to uses that the venues were made for and a great read about the parc and its surounds

It is such a shame, so much money goes into these buildings just to have them abandoned! They have definitely put it to good use.

My husband and I were in Montreal awhile back but never got to visit the Olympic stadiums. We’re planning a road trip with our kids when it is safe and this will definitely be on our list of things to see!

There are so many family friendly attractions at Parc Olympique, my daughter absolutely loved riding the tower. I’m sure your kids would love it!

We visited Montreal in August 2009 and I remember the Olympic park and the biodome. This was so long ago. I believe we took a tour in the Biodome, but I don’t think that we rode up the tower.

If you ever make it back I would recommend the tower. Stunning views of the city! They are working on redoing the biodome and have big plans for it, so that would be worth seeing again.

This place looks so well-kept and clean. I would love to have the chance to visit it one day when I come to Canada 🙂

It is very well kept, and they are working on a lot of updates to make the area even better!

Wow, great tips! Thanks for sharing 🙂 I love that view from the Tower and I’d definitely visit the Botanic Gardens!

Some of the best views in the city are found on the tower and the gardens are just beautiful!

It would be a fascinating experience to visit the Parc Olympique, especially the stadium where 1976 Olympic took place.Riding up the tower must be a thrilling experience.

The tower ride was great, great views of the city!

Hmm, you just got me thinking, have I ever visited an Olympic park before? I guess the only one that I can think of is the remnants of the Olympic village in Berlin. I have been near the Atlanta Park & the Winter Park in Innsbruck but never really took a tour of them. So this is really cool that you got to explore Montreal’s Parc Olympique! That Olympics happened the year I was born so I really dont remember much of it..haha. I will say that the Biodome sounds pretty awesome too. I mean to be able to explore 5 different ecosystems under 1 roof. Plus for visitors, I love how they highlight the local and nearby Labrador environments.

Many of the Olympic stadiums are not well kept after the Olympics are over. Montreal’s is and it is a great experience. The Biodome is great for any animal lover!

This is such a comprehensive guide to Parc Olympic in Montreal. Would like to visit it in future,

I’m glad it was helpful. I hope you can make it there!

Tour of Montreal Olympic Stadium looks really fascinating. Thanks for sharing,

Your welcome! It is a great experience!

Those gardens are gorgeous! I forgot how amazing the parc is. I haven’t been in years!

The gardens were beautiful! They are making a lot of updates, so it will be even better soon!

I’ve only been to Montreal once and it was just a quick trip, so I only stayed near the centre and didn’t get out to the Olympic Park. That botanical garden looks pretty cool though.

Oooh fab post! I already love Montreal for the food, but I didn’t explore much around the Olympic Park – it looks like a lovely area to explore on foot.

I especially love the look of the Montreal Botanical Gardens – that is such an amazing sculpture with the plants…it sort of reminds me of The Goddess Te Fiti from Moana!

Those gardens are gorgeous. There are a couple of gardens in India on this scale. I just love exploring such places.

What an interesting park! I have never been to Montreal but it is on my wish list, and this park is definitely one thing I wouldn’t pass up. I love exploring every corner of huge parks, but the Botanical Gardens and the Montreal Tower look especially intriguing.

Montréal Olympic Park

If you’re looking to make a statement with your next event, then look no further than the Olympic Stadium. This unique and grandiose Montréal monument can welcome large-scale indoor events such as shows, galas, sporting matches, trade shows, exhibitions or social events and so much more.

Ever since the world’s best athletes walked its hallowed hallways during the 1976 Summer Olympic Games, the Stadium has been filled with the roar of sports fans cheering on their favourite teams or the thunderous applause of audiences following a spectacular rock concert or opera.

Easily accessible by metro and offering over 4,300 indoor and outdoor parking spots, the Stadium can be configured in many different ways and can welcome up to 60,000 people. Smaller rooms, such as the Mezzanine Est, the Salon 300 and boxes, are ideal locations to host a cocktail reception or press conference.

Stadium facilities are fully equipped to meet the most demanding technical requirements: sound system, switchgear equipment to connect to mobile television units, box office, coat check, loading docks and waiting areas for tractor-trailers.

514-252-4141
1 877-997-0919

Réservation Parc Olympique

Email: [email protected]
Sale email: [email protected]
Sale phone number: 514-252-4141 x5492

Meeting planning capacity

Number of meeting rooms by capacity

Number of meeting rooms (under 150): 5
Number of meeting rooms (151 to 500): 2
Number of meeting rooms (501 to 1000): 1
Number of meeting rooms (1000 and over): 0

Maximal capacity by configuration

Maximum capacity - theatre/cocktail: 180
Maximum capacity - banquet: 200
Maximum capacity - auditorium: 180

Number of meeting rooms: 5

Surface area of the largest room: 518 m² / 5580 ft²

Total surface area for exhibition: 694 m² / 7480 ft²

Characteristics

Partial access for persons with restricted physical ability
Audiovisual
Electricity and Telephone
Storage Space
Loading Platform
Caterer - Your Choice
Parking for Buses
Parking ($)

Demolishing Montreal Olympic Stadium would be costly, but experts question $2B price

Stadium's pre-stressed concrete makes demolition more complex, experts say.

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Quebec's tourism minister says demolishing Montreal's Olympic Stadium would cost $2 billion, but that estimate is raising questions because other North American cities have torn down stadiums for hundreds of millions of dollars less.

Caroline Proulx released the estimate earlier this week as she presented a comparatively cheaper plan to spend $870 million to replace the unstable and hazardous roof of the stadium built for the 1976 Olympic Games.

The venue can't hold games or exhibitions half the year because of the roof's fragility — events are cancelled if more than three centimetres of snow are forecast.

But throughout the years, Quebec politicians have said that the only reasonable option is to continue maintaining the stadium — even if its roof has never really worked since it was completed in 1987 — than to get rid of the concrete behemoth in the city's east-end.

"It's certainly more than I've ever heard of for a stadium teardown," said Victor Matheson, an economics professor with College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., who specializes in sports economics.

In Atlanta, Ga., for example, a domed football stadium was replaced in 2017 with the cost of demolition and construction estimated at $1.6 billion US.

"The fact that in Atlanta you can build an entirely new stadium and tear down the old one for the same price of just tearing down the one in Montreal seems concerning," Matheson said.

Quebec to spend $870M on a new roof for the Olympic Stadium

The cost of bringing down a sports venue can vary widely. In 2017, an Ontario company was awarded $2.1 million to demolish Regina's 33,350-seat football stadium; other demolitions have been more expensive. In Washington, D.C., the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium was demolished at a cost of $20 million US in 2023, according to local media.

In New York City, the cost of demolishing the original Yankee Stadium was estimated around $25 million US, The New York Times reported, though the city would spend another $25 million US turning the site into a park.

Avoiding explosives raises costs of demolition, report shows

A 2009 report commissioned by the provincial agency that manages Montreal's Olympic Stadium put the cost of demolition at up to $700 million — about $965 million when adjusted for inflation.

One of the factors pushing the cost of demolition up, according to the report, is that the Olympic Stadium can't be imploded with explosives. Because the stadium is composed of pre-stressed concrete, it says, controlled explosions could send blocks of concrete flying hundreds of metres, kick up a cloud of dust and lead to a shock wave that could damage an adjacent indoor zoo and a subway tunnel underneath.

The report, prepared by engineering consultancy Séguin Ingénierie, also rules out demolition with a wrecking ball. The company behind the report, which would later change its name to Génius Conseil, ceased commercial operations in 2014, one year after its president told a public inquiry about a system of collusion and kickbacks in provincial government contracting. In 2020, it agreed to pay $300,000 to settle bid-rigging charges brought by the federal government.

Quebec will go ahead with Olympic Stadium renovations

Daniele Malomo, a civil engineering professor at McGill University, said it's impossible to estimate the cost of the demolition without an extensive evaluation, but he said the use of pre-stressed concrete makes the job more complex.

"The problem in demolishing something like that is that you can't just cut the concrete," Malomo said in an interview. Pre-stressed concrete is less susceptible to cracking and more resistant to bending, but the rebar wire within is under tension and if the concrete is cut, energy will be released, he said.

"It will behave like a bomb, essentially."

Reducing the tension and removing the rebar wires would be a lengthy process, he said.

Bruno Massicotte, a civil engineering professor at Polytechnique Montreal, said that the infrastructure under the stadium — such as the subway — rules out the use of explosives.

"The uniqueness of this structure will necessarily push costs up compared to other types of stadium," he wrote in an email. "But the justification for the $2 billion was not presented."

Montreal's Olympic Park said in an email that beyond the cost to dismantle the stadium's 12,000 concrete components, the $2-billion estimate includes $158 million for inflation, $168 million for "minimal site restoration" and $80 million to restore nearby roads after trucks have passed between 20,000 and 30,000 times during the demolition.

The priciest estimated stadium demolition in North America, after Montreal, might be in Houston, Texas, where the projected cost has been as high as almost $80 million US to demolish the Astrodome.

Is Montreal's Olympic Stadium worth saving?

There, community members secured state heritage status for the venue, which was the world's first domed stadium when it was built in 1965.

James Glassman, the founder of preservation group Houstorian, said many Houston residents have fond memories of sporting events or concerts in the stadium, which has become one of the city's few historical landmarks.

But with National Football League and Major League Baseball teams that once called the stadium home long gone — the NFL team left the city in 1996 and the MLB team has been playing at a new stadium since 1999 — community organizations are trying to find creative new uses for the structure, he said.

"Once it's gone, it's gone forever, so be careful, it's easy to kind of get caught up in demolition fever, but who pays to knock it down? Who benefits? What's going up in its place? If that land is needed for something else, there's a compelling reason, but, if not, allowing it to sort of stand isn't a terrible solution," Glassman said.

Montreal Olympic Stadium fire: Quebec grants up to $40 million for cleanup, repairs

Extensive decontamination work is needed in the stadium's tower because smoke spread throughout the building.

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The Quebec government has awarded the organization that manages Montreal’s Olympic Stadium up to $40 million to pay for repairs and decontamination after a March 21 fire.

Montreal Olympic Stadium fire: Quebec grants up to $40 million for cleanup, repairs Back to video

Parc olympique spokesperson Cédric Essiminy says extensive decontamination work is needed in the stadium’s tower because smoke spread throughout the building.

He says around nine kilometres of ventilation ducts need to be cleaned, as do offices in the tower.

Essiminy says the stadium’s tower and an attached sports complex, which have been closed since the fire , could reopen in late summer or early fall.

Montreal police say the fire, which began at the base of the tower, remains under investigation.

In February, the Quebec government said it would spend around $870 million to replace the stadium’s roof .

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Olympic Stadium renovations cost could be much higher: report

132 Quebec Flags Montreal Olympic Stadium

By News Staff

Posted April 26, 2024 1:10 pm.

Last Updated April 26, 2024 1:18 pm.

Earlier this year, Quebec announced it would cost close to $870 million to build a new roof at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium.

According to the Journal de Montréal, the province will now have to spend close to $1 billion after they failed to include several essential costs like mechanical, electrical and ventilation work in their estimate.

In February, the Quebec government said that major renovations would be needed to replace the roof and the technical ring supporting the new roof.

Montreal Olympic Stadium to get new roof, project to cost $870M
Montreal Olympic Stadium fire: Quebec grants up to $40M for cleanup, repairs

According to the Journal de Montréal, the additional work will cost around $130 million, on top of the $870 million already needed for the roof.

Just this week, the Quebec government granted the Olympic Park $40 million for renovations and cleanup of the sports centre and main tower after a fire last month caused major damage.

The 12 Best Places To Go In June

All products and services featured are independently selected by forbes vetted contributors and editors. when you make a purchase through links on this page, we may earn a commission. learn more, katherine louie , contributor, forbes vetted.

F illed with plentiful sunshine and balmy temperatures, June is the official start of summer and an ideal time to travel. Planning a trip in June can also mean avoiding the throngs of tourists that crowd the airports in July and August. With so many destinations to consider, we narrowed down the best places to go in June based on temperatures, activities and accommodations.

If you’re looking to take in big city sights and catch this season’s Broadway shows before they close, consider a trip to New York City, where temperatures are still moderate and there’s plenty to do. June is also an ideal time to head to New England, where weekends in Cape Cod and Newport offer tranquil beaches and fresh seafood. Below, the 12 best places to go in June—and where to stay while you’re there.

Where To Stay In The Best Places To Go In June:

New York City: Rockaway Hotel ; Nine Orchard ; Mark Hotel
Cape Cod: Chatham Bars Inn ; Wequassett Resort And Golf Club ; Beachfront Cottage Airbnb
Newport: Castle Hill Inn ; The Chanler At Cliff Walk ; Historic House Airbnb
Seattle: Fairmont Olympic Hotel ; Arctic Club Hotel ; Dutch Colonial Airbnb
Lake Tahoe: Everline Resort & Spa ; The Landing Resort & Spa ; Modern Mountain Airbnb
Nashville: The Hermitage Hotel ; 1 Hotel Nashville ; Nashville Guesthouse Airbnb
Copenhagen: The Huxley Copenhagen ; Hotel Skt. Annae ; Luxury Apartment Airbnb
Florence: Brunelleschi Hotel ; Grand Hotel Minerva ; Modern Rental Unit Airbnb
London: The Savoy , One Aldwych ; The Goring
Mallorca: La Residencia, A Belmond Hotel ; The St. Regis Mardavall Mallorca Resort ; Renovated Villa Airbnb
Dubrovnik: Hotel Excelsior , Riva Marina Hvar Hotel ; Dalmatian Villa Maria Airbnb
Montreal: Four Seasons Hotel Montreal , Hotel William Gray ; Two-Bedroom Airbnb

New York City

A suite at Nine Orchard.

New York, New York

Who Will Love It: Travelers seeking a bustling city with a multitude of activities

All-Star Attractions: Governors Ball Music Festival; The New York Philharmonic Concerts; New York Mets and Yankees games

What Not To Miss: A sunset walk along The High Line

Where To Stay: Rockaway Hotel ; Nine Orchard ; The Mark Hotel

The bustling streets of New York City are filled with excitement and adventure throughout the year, but June can feel particularly magical. From window shopping on 5th Avenue to strolls through Central Park, you would be remiss not to take advantage of the warm weather. The Governors Ball Music Festival is held at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in early June, and baseball lovers can cheer on the Mets and Yankees at Citi Field and Yankees Stadium. Take a walk along the High Line, an elevated park created on former railway tracks, to admire the murals and lush greenery. There are also plentiful free outdoor movies at Bryant Park, Prospect Park and more throughout the month.

Where To Stay:

Rockaway Hotel : This chic hotel near Rockaway Beach is ideal for those looking to escape the city. It offers impressive amenities like a full-service spa, heated outdoor pool, and rooftop bar.

Nine Orchard : Located in the bustling Lower East Side, Nine Orchard is a stately hotel that’s been recently restored. It has 113 guest rooms, an all-day restaurant on the first floor, and an elegant cocktail lounge that’s perfect for an after-dinner drink (or two).

The Mark Hotel : Tucked away on the Upper East Side, this luxurious hotel offers travelers five-star accommodations and amenities. With its plush beds, soaking tubs and the famed restaurant run by chef Jean-Georges, you’ll be tempted to extend your stay.

A view of the sprawling property.

Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Who Will Love It: Guests looking for a serene New England escape

All-Star Attractions: Yarmouth Sand Sculpture Trail; Cape Cod Pirate Festival; Cape Cod Baseball League Games

What Not To Miss: Biking or walking the Cape Cod Rail Trail

Where To Stay: Chatham Bars Inn ; Wequassett Resort And Golf Club ; Beachfront Cottage Airbnb

Known for its tranquil beaches, fresh seafood and recreational activities, Cape Cod is a wonderful place to vacation with friends and family. The hundreds of miles of coastline are replete with opportunities to swim, surf, sail and kayak, and the pleasant weather is ideal for biking or walking the Cape Cod Rail Trail or visiting one of the many historic lighthouses. In June, you can catch a Cape Cod League baseball game or take in the behemoth sand sculptures at the Yarmouth Sand Sculpture Trail, which are created by hand.

Chatham Bars Inn : This charming, oceanfront inn has plenty of activities for travelers, ranging from a full-service spa to tennis and croquet courts. Many of the rooms feature decks or balconies overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and there are multiple dining options on the property.

Wequassett Resort And Golf Club : This stunning resort's impeccably decorated suites and villas continue to draw travelers from both coasts. Two pools, beachfront access and award-winning restaurants that serve traditional New England cuisine add to the experience. Guests of the resort also have access to the prestigious Cape Cod National Golf Club.

Beachfront Cottage Airbnb : This seaside cottage is the perfect retreat for a couple or group of friends. It has hardwood floors, central air conditioning, a private patio with a grill and a full kitchen. It’s also minutes away from the beach and several beautiful bike trails.

Flowers in bloom around at the Chanler at Cliff Walk.

Newport, Rhode Island

Who Will Love It: Beach lovers seeking a tranquil destination

All-Star Attractions: Newport International Polo Series; The Newport Flower Show; Music At Sunset: Concert Series At Blithewold Mansion

What Not To Miss: The fragrant blooms at The Newport Flower Show

Where To Stay: Castle Hill Inn ; The Chanler At Cliff Walk ; Historic House Airbnb

Another popular New England destination is Rhode Island, which is most famous for the opulent Newport mansions that dot the sandy shoreline. The mansions are available to tourists year-round, but the warm June weather makes it an ideal time to stroll through the grounds and lush gardens. Among the many summer attractions is The Newport Flower Show, which occurs at Rosecliff, a Gilded Age mansion that’s now a historic museum. Each of the main rooms, from the expansive foyer to the dining room, showcases a variety of fragrant blooms that inspire and delight. Visitors can also enjoy the great outdoors at Blithewold in near by Bristol, a historic summer estate with breathtaking views of Narragansett Bay, which has musical performances every Wednesday throughout the summer.

Castle Hill Inn : This iconic waterfront property dates back to 1874, but features modern amenities from a new spa to an on-site restaurant serving local, seasonal ingredients. There’s also a fireplace and flat-screen TV in each room.

The Chanler At Cliff Walk : Situated on the Cliff Walk, this elegant hotel has two restaurants, an outdoor wine garden, in-room spa services and complimentary fitness passes to the International Tennis Hall of Fame fitness center. It’s a luxurious escape that lets you experience the best Newport offers.

Historic House Airbnb : If you want to stay in the heart of downtown Newport, this cozy and well-furnished Airbnb is a great option. There are four beds total and two bathrooms, along with a fully equipped kitchen, on-site parking for two cars and a patio.

The opulent lobby at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel.

Seattle, Washington

Who Will Love It: Those seeking both outdoor and city activities

All-Star Attractions: The Taste Northwest

What Not To Miss: A Seattle Mariners game at T-Mobile Park

Where To Stay: Fairmont Olympic Hotel ; Arctic Club Hotel ; Dutch Colonial Airbnb

Seattle offers unparalleled natural beauty, from evergreen forests to lakes and mountains. If you want to visit the Pacific Northwest, June is an opportune time to soak up the sun and fresh air. Enjoy a Seattle Mariners game at T-Mobile Park, visit the Space Needle on a clear day for sweeping views of the city or wander through Pike Place Market. The Taste Northwest is a free event held at the end of June with over 150 food vendors and activities that aim to showcase the region's unique flavors. Little ones will enjoy the indoor carnival with rock climbing, a jump zone and more.

Fairmont Olympic Hotel : Stay in downtown Seattle at this elegant, Italian Renaissance-style property that recently underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation. It’s within walking distance from Pike Place Market, the Seattle Art Museum and the Great Wheel.

Arctic Club Hotel : This boutique hotel offers a complimentary hot breakfast, stylish guest rooms and suites, a fitness center and valet parking.

Dutch Colonial Airbnb : If you need a bit more space, this 1901 Dutch Colonial home has three beds, two bathrooms, a private patio and a spacious kitchen that’s filled with natural light.

The exterior of the Everline Resort & Spa.

Lake Tahoe, Nevada

Who Will Love It: Travelers who enjoy outdoor activities such as biking and hiking

All-Star Attractions: Summer Concert Series; Tahoe City Food & Wine Classic

What Not To Miss: Exploring the Tahoe City Food & Wine Classic on a sunny afternoon

Where To Stay: Everline Resort & Spa ; The Landing Resort & Spa ; Modern Mountain Airbnb

With average temperatures in the mid-60s and 70s, the comfortable June weather is ideal for exploring this picturesque destination. Travelers can embark on scenic hikes through the mountains, kayak or paddleboard along the shoreline or bike down serene trails. There are plenty of waterfront restaurants to soak in views of the lake while you sip on a cocktail, and the Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys hosts popular artists throughout the summer. Foodies will appreciate the Tahoe City Food & Wine Classic, which lets visitors taste delicious food and wine from local vendors and restaurants.

Everline Resort & Spa : This family-friendly hotel offers many summer activities, including biking, fishing, golfing, a heated pool for swimming and a game room.

The Landing Resort & Spa : Packed with plenty of amenities, this resort offers unobstructed views of the lake and surrounding mountains for a serene escape.

Modern Mountain Airbnb : If you’re traveling with a large group, opt for this recently renovated cabin Airbnb with a full kitchen, gas fireplace and large deck with a Weber grill. There’s also access to miles of hiking and biking trails.

The elegant upper lounge of The Hermitage Hotel.

Nashville, Tennessee

Who Will Love It: Country music lovers and foodies

All-Star Attractions: CMA Fest; Musicians Corner Series; the Grand Ole Opry

What Not To Miss: A live show at The Bluebird Cafe

Where To Stay: The Hermitage Hotel ; 1 Hotel Nashville ; Nashville Guesthouse Airbnb

Nashville is a popular destination year-round. It’s home to some of the most famous country music venues, like the Grand Ole Opry House and Ryman Auditorium, and a vibrant culinary scene. In addition to its cultural and historic sights, there are plenty of museums, small boutiques and sprawling public parks to explore in this city as well. In early June, hundreds of country music artists will perform at the CMA Fest and the Musicians Corner Series has free, outdoor concerts at Centennial Park. If it’s your first time visiting Nashville, don’t forget to stop by The Bluebird Cafe and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

The Hermitage Hotel : Conveniently located in downtown Nashville, this elegant (and newly renovated) hotel has palatial guest rooms, multiple dining options, and afternoon tea service on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

1 Hotel Nashville : This pet-friendly hotel has a wellness spa, rooftop bar and state-of-the-art fitness center.

Nashville Guesthouse Airbnb : This centrally located guesthouse is within walking distance from popular bars, restaurants and shops, and has private parking plus outdoor space.

A stylish room at The Huxley Copenhagen.

Copenhagen, Denmark

Who Will Love It: Travelers looking for a mix of museums and outdoor exploring

All-Star Attractions: Heartland Festival; Northside Festival; Copenhagen Photo Festival

What Not To Miss: A day at the Heartland Festival

Where To Stay: The Huxley Copenhagen ; Hotel Skt. Annae ; Luxury Apartment Airbnb

Copenhagen has an impressive array of summer activities, ranging from dreamy bike rides through the colorful streets to energetic music festivals. In June, the Heartland Festival, which combines live music with contemporary art and food vendors, and the Northside Festival, a three-day music festival, allow visitors ample opportunities to connect with local artists. Boat tours are another great way to experience the city and important landmarks; some tours even offer a complimentary drink. Don’t forget to cool off with a cold Danish beer or ice cream after a long day of sightseeing.

The Huxley Copenhagen : This stylish, boutique hotel has 81 impeccably decorated rooms with comfortable mattresses and sleek, Danish furniture. Hotel guests can enjoy a delicious breakfast each morning and at night the Huxley Lounge is an ideal spot for a nightcap.

Hotel Skt. Annae : Just a short walk from some of the city's main attractions, this hotel offers luxurious suites, apartments, and an array of restaurants on-site. Remember to end your dinner at The Shrimp with a cold glass of wine on the rooftop terrace.

Luxury Apartment Airbnb : After a day of exploring the city, retreat to this modern, minimalistic apartment in Copenhagen.

Al fresco dining at the Grand Hotel Minerva.

Florence, Italy

Who Will Love It: History buffs and foodies

All-Star Attractions: Festa Di San Giovanni; Florence Dance Performing Arts Festival

What Not To Miss: Dining al fresco at one of the many outdoor cafes and restaurants

Where To Stay: Brunelleschi Hotel ; Grand Hotel Minerva ; Modern Rental Unit Airbnb

Florence is an idyllic summer escape filled with impressive architecture, renowned art galleries and museums, and restaurants serving mouth-watering dishes. First-timers might enjoy a walking tour that takes them to historic locations, verdant gardens and lesser-known places. The city is known for its leather goods, so don’t forget to explore the open-air markets and boutiques that line the streets before stopping for gelato or an Aperol spritz. At the end of June, the city comes alive to celebrate the feast of its patron, and the Florence Dance Performing Arts Festival has performances throughout the month for travelers looking to take in the arts.

Brunelleschi Hotel : The plush rooms and convenient location (this hotel has breathtaking views of the Duomo) make it an excellent option for guests experiencing the city for the first time.

Grand Hotel Minerva : With all-star amenities like a rooftop pool and bar, room service, al fresco dining, and a hot plunge bath, guests can expect a luxurious and relaxing stay.

Modern Rental Unit Airbnb : This spacious and modern apartment is located in the heart of Florence, giving travelers access to the city’s top attractions and Michelin-starred restaurants.

The Savoy at night.

London, England

Who Will Love It: Those seeking museums, historical attractions and live performances

All-Star Attractions: Taylor Swift At Wembley Stadium; Hampton Court Palace Festival; MLB World Tour: London Series

What Not To Miss: A live performance during the Hampton Court Palace Festival

Where To Stay: The Savoy ; One Aldwych ; The Goring

Though London is a festive destination during the winter months (namely for its Christmas markets and fairs), the city comes alive in June and offers travelers endless opportunities for entertainment. The Hampton Court Palace Festival will take place in mid-June, featuring live music and specialty food and beverages in the palace gardens. Catch a baseball game at London Stadium, wander through Kew Gardens or take in the historic sights atop a double-decker bus. There’s no shortage of museums and pubs to pop into, and there are more restaurants than you can count.

The Savoy : The posh rooms at The Savoy are sure to impress even the most discerning travelers, and foodies will delight in the on-site restaurant helmed by Gordon Ramsey. If you’re traveling with little ones, child-size slippers and robes are provided so your kiddos can feel relaxed and at home during their stay.

One Aldwych : If you’re looking to stay in Covent Garden, this stately hotel with a swimming pool, impressive art collection and contemporary suites is an ideal choice.

The Goring : This quintessential English hotel is a short walk from Buckingham Palace, The Guards Museum and other notable landmarks, so it’s a great choice for sightseeing. The private garden on the property is another selling point, which is a quiet oasis for travelers to enjoy.

The outdoor pool at La Residencia, A Belmond Hotel.

Mallorca, Spain

Who Will Love It: Travelers seeking a warm oasis

All-Star Attractions: The Dream Island Festival; Sant Joan Festival

What Not To Miss: Exploring the beaches and underground caves

Where To Stay: La Residencia, A Belmond Hotel ; The St. Regis Mardavall Mallorca Resort ; Renovated Villa Airbnb

With breathtaking views of the Mediterranean Sea, Spanish architecture and picturesque beaches, the Balearic island of Mallorca is a top summer destination that’s not to be missed. Travelers can dine al fresco and enjoy locally sourced ingredients, from seafood to olives to citrus fruits, before spending the afternoon at one of Mallorca’s many beaches. There are also wineries, historical landmarks, underground caves and quaint villages to explore. The Dream Island Festival is an event that draws lively crowds during the month of June, and the Sant Joan Festival at the end of the month offers activities like fireworks and live music.

La Residencia, A Belmond Hotel : Spa lovers and those seeking ultimate relaxation will love La Residencia, a luxurious abode with decadent rooms (many have private pools and gardens), high-end restaurants and an award-winning spa.

The St. Regis Mardavall Mallorca Resort : An ideal choice for those with little ones in tow, the hotel’s Explorers Kids Club has activities tailored to young travelers, from treasure hunts to painting. Adults will appreciate the Arabella Spa, which has a hydro pool, ice cave, dry sauna and 11 treatment rooms.

Renovated Villa Airbnb : This palatial villa has three well-appointed bedrooms and three and a half baths that were all recently renovated. The stunning outdoor living space features a pool, garden and private orchard.

One of many dining options at Riva Marina Hvar Hotel.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Who Will Love It: Ocean loving travelers

All-Star Attractions: Hideout Festival; Croatian Summer Salsa Festival

What Not To Miss: A private boat tour to explore the smaller islands and inlets along Croatia’s coastline; a “Game of Thrones” tour through the Old City

Where To Stay: Hotel Excelsior ; Riva Marina Hvar Hotel ; Dalmatian Villa Maria Airbnb

Situated on Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast, Dubrovnik is home to sparkling ocean, medieval architecture and delicious restaurants that continue to draw tourists each year. You can experience the city’s many sights—including the filming locations for many episodes of HBO’s “Game of Thrones”—on walking tours or kayak tours, but a private boat tour will allow you to explore smaller islands, caves and inlets along Croatia’s stunning coastline. Music lovers might want to take advantage of the Hideout Festival and Croatian Summer Salsa Festival, both of which occur in June and feature live performances, dancing and boat parties.

Hotel Excelsior : This lavish hotel, built in 1913, has unparalleled seaside views and direct beach access. Other amenities include an indoor swimming pool, several on-site restaurants and bars, a fitness studio and a spa.

Riva Marina Hvar Hotel : This boutique property, recently renovated in 2022, has 50 rooms and suites that resemble a Mediterranean villa. The restaurant on the property has a lavish terrace where guests can sip on refreshing cocktails and light bites while enjoying the turquoise waters of the Adriatic.

Dalmatian Villa Maria Airbnb : Guests will feel like royalty at this stunning Airbnb property tucked away in the quiet hills of Postranje. It has modern amenities and furniture, a sprawling terrace with sea views and a swimming pool for cooling off on hot days.

A lavish bathroom in one of the suites.

Montreal, Quebec

Who Will Love It: Those looking for a taste of Europe in North America

All-Star Attractions: Model Train Exposition; Montreal Chamber Music Festival; Les Francos de Montreal; Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada

What Not To Miss: Exploring the Montreal Botanical Garden on a warm afternoon

Where To Stay: Four Seasons Hotel Montreal ; Hotel William Gray ; Two-Bedroom Airbnb

Montreal is a vibrant, French-speaking city filled with museums, restaurants, tours and festivals that draw crowds throughout the year. In June, the Les Francos de Montreal, a celebration of French music, takes over the city with live performances—many of which are completely free. The Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada and Model Train Exposition provide additional entertainment for summer tourists, while the Montreal Botanical Garden is ideal for those looking for a quick escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. During your trip, don’t forget to indulge in poutine or a smoked meat sandwich.

Four Seasons Hotel Montreal : Conveniently located in downtown Montreal, this glamorous hotel has spacious rooms, a state-of-the-art fitness center, a swanky restaurant and bar, a sky-lit pool and room service.

Hotel William Gray : This luxury hotel is close to many attractions in Old Montreal. It offers fine dining with gorgeous views and a 5,600-square-foot spa.

Two-Bedroom Airbnb : With plenty of natural light and modern furnishings, this two-bedroom duplex is another great option when visiting Montreal. It has two bedrooms, one bathroom, a fully equipped kitchen and two patios for fresh air.

About Katherine Louie, Your June Vacation Guide

I am a commerce editor for Forbes Vetted covering beauty, fashion, travel and home. Prior to joining Forbes, I held positions at BuzzFeed and Dotdash Meredith where I was responsible for curating lifestyle content and testing products for real-world insights. My work has appeared in Women’s Health, Men’s Health, BuzzFeed, Brit + Co, Everyday Health and more. I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in English/Creative Writing from Marist College and currently reside in Brooklyn, New York.

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Arsenal, Spurs, Man Utd and Newcastle: How new stadiums shape a club’s future and soul

It is approaching 6.30pm on a Saturday, a full 90 minutes after the final whistle has blown. At most grounds, the seats and concourses will have been cleaned and swept and long been empty. Only a few stewards would remain to lock up.

Upstairs at the Goal Line Bar at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, however, hundreds of fans are still drinking, socialising and, crucially, still spending. It is a social scene, a commercial scene; it is the difference between the silence of an empty football ground and the noise of a thriving stadium-based business. It is an example of the fabled “dwell time”.

This, in part, is why Tottenham Hotspur earn so much money on matchdays — £4.8m ($5.9m) on average — and part of why Tottenham’s revenue streams have turned into rivers.

It is also why other clubs in an era of increased financial regulation and restrictions are looking at Spurs and considering relocating or redeveloping, Manchester United and Newcastle United among them.

At a time when the historic appeal of English football combines with the global popularity of the Premier League , when clubs are sports and non-sports businesses and commercialism chimes with heritage and architecture to form a must-see destination, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is the model. It is known for its scale, modernity and clear sightlines that have changed how many see football stadiums. It is, to use a phrase, ground-breaking.

But where to go, how to grow and what can be lost? These are complicated questions when stadia rise or fall and they inevitably lead to others regarding logistics and cost, downsides and benefits and whether a fanbase of yesterday and today wants — or is wanted — in a supposedly immaculate new tomorrow. Local vs global is a live tension.

The Athletic has taken a tour of four Premier League clubs who have moved or who are thinking of moving — Arsenal , Tottenham, Manchester United and Newcastle United — to explore the advantages and disadvantages.

At Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, a hawk is brought in twice a month to scare the pigeons and a pair of Thierry Henry’s socks are in a time capsule beneath the ground. At Tottenham, there is the longest bar in Europe — see above — huge NFL -specific spaces and you learn captain Son Heung-min sits in Harry Kane ’s former middle seat in the semi-circle of the dressing room with James Maddison and Cristian Romero on either side.

At Old Trafford, Manchester United sell, proudly, the cheapest pint in the Premier League at £3.40. The old players’ tunnel behind where the managers stand is the last piece of the original construction from 1910, metre-thick walls that even Second World War bombs could not destroy. At St James’ Park, the vista looking north east from the top of the main Milburn Stand is magnificent and, on the walls downstairs, there is evidence Newcastle United have made a radical departure before — from 1892-94 they played in red and white.

Walking away down the hill from St James’, Adam, 24, a Newcastle fan who travelled up from Merseyside to do the tour, says: “I really, really love St James’ Park, but if progress means we have to expand in a new stadium because of revenue, then… but I hope not.

“Overall, there is a pragmatic approach from fans, I think. A new stadium would be exciting, but there’d be hesitancy as well.”

Were Newcastle to have a shiny structure rising on the banks of the River Tyne, as with Everton on the Mersey, would that not generate anticipation?

“Goodison Park has been crumbling for a while,” he replies, “and Everton have needed to move. At the same time, Goodison kept them up last season and there’s no guarantee you get that if you move to a new ground.

“There is the risk of losing your atmosphere. At West Ham ’s new stadium, you feel that passionate fanbase gets lost, the same with the Emirates.”

Karen Morris, a Manchester United fan doing the Newcastle tour, says: “I started going in the 1980s with my Dad, we had season tickets in the K Stand. I think we should go now. We need a more up-to-date stadium. It’s outdated.”

Would a move further out of Manchester be acceptable?

“I want to stay on the same land, one hundred per cent.”

The geography of the Tottenham Hotspur stadium is one of its many aspects. Much is made of the contrast between a £1billion stadium and the old council estates it brushes up alongside and Spurs’ former home, White Hart Lane, built 120 years ago, felt more of a fit in that respect. But Martin Cloake of the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust is delighted the new stadium is where it is.

“It’s important to us that the stadium is in the same place,” Cloake says. “Remember, the club wanted us to move to east London.

“One of the places most visited in the new stadium is the old centre circle from White Hart Lane. That sense of ‘it’s Tottenham, our place’, is important.”

At Arsenal, they were so concerned about the move from a beloved institution, Highbury, that the club began a process of ‘Arsenalisation’ at the new stadium, which is constructed a goal kick away in terms of distance but an unknown distance away in terms of that intangible metric, soul.

In the Arsenal museum, a plaque states: “Much of the mystique and glamour of Arsenal’s international reputation came from the legendary Arsenal Stadium, Highbury. A monument to popular culture, it received the title ‘Stadium’ at a time when most clubs had ‘Grounds’.”

Arsenal moved from Highbury in 2006, seven years after the decision to leave was made. One of the main reasons was the club felt it had outgrown Highbury. In seasons 1998-99 and 1999-00, Arsenal staged their Champions League games at Wembley to accommodate both rising ticket demand to see Arsene Wenger’s attractive, winning team and to fulfil UEFA ’s corporate criteria.

The latter was also relevant to Arsenal’s finances — selling 60,000 tickets, including thousands of expensive corporate seats, meant a far bigger payday than staying at Highbury, where the capacity for UEFA matches was just over 35,000. Demand far outstripped supply and the economic and ticketing logic of Arsenal moving was clear.

Yet Highbury was ‘home’. In the 17 seasons before Arsenal left, they won four league titles and finished second five times. Highbury’s role in this is unquantifiable, but it certainly was a vivid piece of The Arsenal.

In the 17 seasons since (not including 2023-24), Arsenal have not won a single title. They have finished second twice. A brutal reading of those league standings would say the move from Highbury has not been justified.

But the numbers able to watch Arsenal has soared and, economically, it has been transformative. Arsenal’s turnover in 2005-06, the club’s last financial year at Highbury, was £137m. In 2006-07, the first season at ‘the Emirates’, it was £200m and a season later £223m. Six weeks ago, Arsenal released their figures for the year ending May 2023 with “football revenue for the year” at £464m. Last July, Arsenal could afford to pay West Ham £100m for Declan Rice .

As it approaches its 20th anniversary in 2026, Arsenal’s new stadium will be of as much intelligence to those at the top at Old Trafford and St James’ Park as Tottenham’s. There are function and design lessons, as well as the financials.

As Nigel Phillips from the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust (AST) explains: “Arsenal moved in 2006 but got planning permission in 1999 to a design from the mid-1990s. This makes the Emirates almost a 30-year-old design and is so dated when compared to what Spurs have built.

“Another issue with the Arsenal stadium move is that of the £450m project costs, £260m was borrowed on a long-term basis via project bonds, but the other £190m came from Arsenal commercial revenues. Basically, it was spending money from future revenues and this meant that when those actual seasons rolled by, there was no commercial cash to spend as it had been spent on the stadium build.

“This is what messed with Wenger and the competitiveness of the club for a long period of time.”

Arsenal still qualified season after season for the Champions League — and secured that income — but in 2010-11, for example, just five years after moving, Wenger was bemoaning his spending power: “We can’t buy players for £50m, that is a fact.”

As the squad’s competitiveness plateaued, so did fans’ feelings about the team in its new surroundings. And, as Phillips says, “Fans’ relationship with the new ground is totally tied up with on-field performances.”

It is something Cloake mentions regarding Spurs. A new stadium needs big seasons or big moments to cement ardour and Cloake refers to the stadium’s opening game against Crystal Palace , in April 2019, when Son scored the first goal at the new home. Defeating Man City 1-0 there a week later (Son again) in the Champions League was another euphoric occasion.

“We played Everton before the Champions League final and there was this massive party going on,” Cloake recalls. “People were just so happy. A lot more were getting to the stadium much earlier and meeting their mates there. They were spending their time and their money in the stadium.

“The sightlines are really good, you can see what’s going on, it feels like a proper football stadium. The scale of it is fantastic as well and we haven’t left Tottenham.

“But, fairly quickly, we went into the (Jose) Mourinho and (Antonio) Conte era, when the football was some of the worst we’d seen. A narrative developed that the stadium was just a money-making machine, the atmosphere was rubbish and not as good as the old ground.”

Mikel Arteta has been commenting for some time on the improved atmosphere at Arsenal, which again is related to the team doing better.

“I just had a person that I haven’t seen for a while,” Arteta said last season, “and it’s the first time he’s been at the stadium for two years. He says it’s the best he’s seen ever since he was at Highbury.”

Highbury was labelled a ‘library’, we should not forget, though the rhyme was a factor.

The two north London grounds are major employers locally. Tottenham, who stage concerts, NFL games and have a go-kart track underneath the pitch, will host matches at Euro 2028. It all needs workers.

But Cloake also notes the recent rise in ticket prices. There was a backs-turned demonstration from some fans at the Luton game. Chairman Daniel Levy is earning £6.5million per annum.

Ticket prices and availability are already an issue for Newcastle United season-ticket holders. Only five years ago, 23,000 attended St James’ for a League Cup tie against Leicester City , but that was after years of being worn down by Mike Ashley’s arid regime.

Today, post-Saudi Arabia takeover, the question is how and where the club could accommodate crowds of 60,000-plus. Hemmed in architecturally at St James’ Park, Newcastle might need to move to grow.

Compared to 2019, it feels the club are preaching to the convertible, yet last week Newcastle United Supporters’ Trust concluded a survey in which 73 per cent of respondents said their preference was to remain at St. James’ “with renovations”. Only 19 per cent said they wanted to move.

The Trust’s Paul Karter was unsurprised: “We’re a one-club city and I think the tradition and love of having a city-centre stadium is huge in the eyes of Newcastle United fans. There’s heritage there.

“But it’s difficult. It’s a small city, there’s not a huge amount of space.”

Heritage sells, that is obvious from the outside interest in English football. Newcastle United want to be global, but the club does not have the enormous benefit of being in London. Half an hour in Spurs’ club shop reveals an endless number of Korean fans whose spend-per-head is significant. There is a small Australian range, too, at the club managed by Ange Postecoglou, where the famous Tottenham cockerel motif is replaced by a kangaroo.

Newcastle are joining Tottenham on an end-of-season trip to Australia to keep ‘exporting the brand’, but northern English provincial infrastructure is another hurdle – there are, for example, no direct flights from Newcastle airport to the United States.

Infrastructure and cost affect Sir Jim Ratcliffe as he enters Old Trafford. Manchester United’s first aim is to establish funding for a redevelopment or a new development, then design and submit a planning application. It could be 2028, 2029 or 2030 before a spade is in the ground.

In the 20 years since Arsenal began demolishing existing premises on the Ashburton Grove site, there has been an escalation in the prices of core materials. According to figures from the Building Costs Information Service (BCIS), one cubic metre of ready-mix concrete in 2004 cost on average £63. By 2014, it was £98, while today it is £136, a 40 per cent increase in 10 years.

One tonne of high-tensile steel bars has risen from £333 in 2004 to £638 in 2014 to £1,200 in 2024 — an increase of 88 per cent in the past 10 years. One tonne of structural steel has gone from £720 in 2004 to £1,075 in 2014 to £1,706 in 2024 — up 130 per cent in 20 years.

A new Old Trafford is likely to be over £1billion, maybe double, and debt is a loaded word at the club . Given Real Madrid said recently they will not pay off the vast restructure of the Bernabeu stadium until 2053, United’s repayments could go on until the 2060s.

Chris Rumfitt, of the club’s Supporters’ Trust, says at least Ratcliffe’s presence “means there’s a bit more trust — if it had been the Glazers proposing this, we would not trust them to do it right”.

The trust has a voice on the task force set up to address the next step. It had its first meeting last week. The trust has independently conducted its own surveys, asking supporters about priorities rather than the move-or-stay question.

“We thought the best place to start was with, ‘What do we want from the stadium?’” Rumfitt says. “Once you work that out, it maybe leads to the conclusion of the million-dollar question.

“The answer is that opinions are really mixed. There’s a great desire to understand the options and the consequences during the process. We have 55,000 season-ticket holders and, if at any point during work, capacity dropped below that number, then it’s obviously an issue.

“Then, if we did build a new stadium, what would it look like and where would it be? What do we mean by ‘next door’? Would we be looking to be on the same land in the way the Spurs stadium is adjacent to White Hart Lane? Given the amount of available land around Old Trafford, it’s doable.

“Football fans are conservative animals and, yes, everybody fears what could be lost. That’s the argument against a new stadium. The biggest fear is the creation of a generic, soulless, identikit bowl.

“That said, the new stadiums have got a lot better. I think Arsenal are a bit of a victim of the fact they went first. A lot of lessons have been learnt since about designing for atmosphere. Tottenham has it, I haven’t been to the Atletico Madrid stadium but I’m told it is similar, designed to prioritise atmosphere.”

An example of what does not work, Rumfitt argues, is West Ham at the Olympic Stadium, though the owners can point to the beneficial economics of the deal and the fact they have won a trophy since taking residence in 2016.

“West Ham is fundamentally not a football stadium,” he says, “and if you’re in the back section of the away end, you might as well watch it on the telly. It’s appalling.

“Upton Park and the horrible but brilliant atmosphere was one of the few places that remained genuinely intimidating. West Ham lost so much when they left.”

The Theatre of Dreams is quite a title to behold in this context. There is pressure. As Phillips of AST says: “Moving to a new ground is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get things right.”

Once you have walked through the last of the 2,000 doors at the Emirates, or past the ‘H’ fine dining area at Tottenham, or emerged from the red lighting of Old Trafford’s home dressing room, you end up high in the Milburn Stand at St James’, scanning a pitch that has been played on since 1880. It has never moved or been rotated.

It is surprisingly moving to think of Newcastle’s early greats such as Andy Aitken or Colin Veitch playing here. What was their view?

What do footballers see now? What are their priorities in a stadium? Does anyone ask?

Andros Townsend was running down the wing for Luton that day at Tottenham. Previously, he had run down it for Spurs at White Hart Lane, for Newcastle at St James’ and for Everton at Goodison, among others. Townsend, 32, noted the size of the Tottenham Hotspur stadium and of the pitch — five metres longer and one metre wider than White Hart Lane.

He says players are so focused on matchdays that, practical matters aside, little invades their peripheral vision – though “the size of the away dressing room matters to players” and he laughs when mentioning the quality of the shower gel.

“It was probably a lot more light, more colourful, more things going on,” he says of the new stadium compared to White Hart Lane, “but ultimately in your mind you’re thinking about so many things to do with the game, you’re not really focused on the broader picture, if that makes sense.”

Some managers have said they have never seen a crowd score a goal, but can fans and grounds impact a result?

“Oh, yeah, of course,” Townsend says. “The older stadiums tend to be right on top of the pitch and tend to generate a better atmosphere. I remember White Hart Lane did that, Selhurst Park, now at Luton. Whether that’s a psychological thing or a fact, I don’t know.

“Selhurst Park, especially on a night game, the atmosphere was incredible. Kenilworth Road is one as well.

“As an opposing player, probably Anfield. This season we were 1-0 up going in at half-time. We concede early in the second half, it’s 1-1 and all of a sudden the crowd just came alive and their players fed off that. It was suddenly tough for us to play out and we ended up losing 4-1.

“St James’ Park for similar reasons. I went there for Everton a few years ago and they were at it. The atmosphere was so intense we could not play out. Their players were on us because they were pumped up by the crowd. Fans’ intensity can transmit itself to the players, without a doubt.”

Luton have their own new stadium plans, but it would be an emotional wrench to leave Kenilworth Road. It sounds unrealistically romantic: can a football stadium have soul?

“One hundred per cent, one hundred per cent,” Townsend replies. “Goodison Park — Everton need to leave Goodison Park because they have had so many financial issues — but Goodison Park, it has so much history, so much memory.

“It’s obviously tough to leave, but in this day and age, it has to be done. Newcastle, again it’s the revenue. Will Newcastle have to sell players because of FFP? Moving to a bigger stadium, you get to sign more players. Do you look at it from a business point of view or a romantic point of view?

“My question to you is: if Spurs were still at White Hart Lane, would they be one of the ‘Big Six’? Would they be in the top four? Probably not.

“Yes, everyone would have loved to have stayed at White Hart Lane, but when you see the money now, there’s one club never brought up in FFP or profit and sustainability terms — Spurs. Yes, they’ve lost a lot, but they’re a big club because they’re producing big revenues and are able to spend big.”

As a modern player who has experienced old grounds, what would his advice be to those designing a new stadium?

“You have to try to keep the element of fans being close. Look at West Ham and the running track around the pitch, that probably takes away from the atmosphere.

“If you can create new and hostile, that’s win-win.”

Arsenal, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, and City, who visit in a fortnight, may experience both.

(Top photo: Getty Images; design by Eamonn Dalton for The Athletic)

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First published in The Observer in 1990, Michael Walker has covered World Cups and European Championships for The Guardian, Daily Mail and Irish Times among others. Author of two football books, one on England’s North-east, one on Ireland.

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You are here: Competition announcements

Competition: Montréal Olympic Stadium roof reuse

29 April 2024 By Merlin Fulcher Competition announcements

An open international contest is seeking ideas for the reuse of expired roof materials from the Montréal Olympic Stadium (Deadline: 31 May)

The contest – organised by the Montréal Olympic Park – invites professionals and students to draw up concepts for repurposing roof materials from the iconic 1976 stadium which is due to receive a new roof as part of a CAN $870 million upgrade .

The call for concepts aims to explore potential future ‘spaces, objects and processes’ for the enormous roof structure which features more than 12km of steel cables but has more than 20,000 tears and needs to be replaced to allow safe year-round use of the stadium.

Montréal Olympic Stadium

Credit: Image by Jiaqian AirplaneFan Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license

Key aims of the contest – which comes almost 50 years after the Roger Taillibert-designed venue originally opened for the 1976 Summer Olympics – include identifying ‘bold’ collective solutions for adopting ‘circular architecture to accelerate the socio-ecological transition.’

According to the brief: ‘What can be done with hundreds of tons of materials when the current roof of the Montréal Olympic Stadium is dismantled? Will we be able to take up the challenge of this Olympic roof reuse, while being part of a circular architecture approach, thus enhancing the quality of life of citizens impacted by climate change?

‘The international design and architecture communities, both students and professionals, are invited to propose spaces, objects and processes that will constitute an important legacy for our city and for the Province of Québec.

‘The aim of this competition is to provide inputs to the Olympic Park’s contemplation on the possibilities of reusing the materials of the Olympic Stadium’s roof.’

Montréal is the most populous city in Canada’s French-speaking Quebec province. The Montréal Olympic Stadium is a landmark multi-purpose venue which features a 165m-tall support structure inclined at 45° known as the Montreal Tower.

The stadium features a non-retractable roof which was installed in 1998 but is now damaged in several places making the stadium unsafe to use during periods of heavy snow and ice accumulation.

Credit: Image by Declan Martin Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

The latest ideas competition aims to find solutions for the reuse, recycling and recovery of the majority of the roof’s components which include 12km of steel cables, 42,000m² of material membranes and 434 connecting fixtures.

Judges will include Rami Bebawi, architect and co-founder of KANVA which completed a recent overhaul of the neighbouring Biodome Science Museum; Stéphanie Cardinal, architect and vice-president, Humà Architecture; and Yang Gao, designer and professor at Université du Québec à Montréal.

Four professional winners – due to be announced this summer – will each receive a CAN $15,000 prize. Four student category winners will also each receive a CAN $5,000 prize.

How to apply

31 May 2024

Contact details

Email: [email protected]

Visit the competition website for more information

Since 1896, The Architectural Review has scoured the globe for architecture that challenges and inspires. Buildings old and new are chosen as prisms through which arguments and broader narratives are constructed. In their fearless storytelling, independent critical voices explore the forces that shape the homes, cities and places we inhabit.

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The Olympic Stadium

Can a private event be organized at the stadium.

Absolutely! Get in touch and it will be our pleasure to see how we can help put your event together.

Can I bring firecrackers, fireworks or similar objects into the Stadium?

No. It is forbidden to have in one’s possession or use any firearm or blunt object, including explosives, firecrackers, fireworks, gas, smoke bombs, or other dangerous material. For more information, see the Security Guidelines page.

Can I use a laser pointer, air horn or whistle at the Stadium?

No. Any object whose volume, noise emission or light beam disturbs the peace is forbidden. For more information, see the Security Guidelines page.

Can I ride a bike, skateboard or in-line skates inside the Stadium?

No. Riding a bike, skateboard or in-line skates is permitted only in the outdoor spaces provided for this purpose.

Can I bring my pet into the Stadium?

Only properly identified guide dogs to help someone with a handicap are authorized to be inside the Stadium. For more information, see the Security Guidelines page.

Can I film, record or take photos?

Yes, so long as it’s not for advertising or commercial purposes, for which you need written permission from the Olympic Park. For more information, see the Security Guidelines page.

Is it permitted to hold a demonstration or gathering within the Olympic Park?

No. As well, it is forbidden to loiter or use abusive, threatening or indecent language. For more information, see the Security Guidelines page.

Can I bring a banner, flag or any other object to the Stadium to show support for my team?

No. Any object that can obstruct the view of spectators is not permitted. For more information, see the Security Guidelines page.

Can I bring a water bottle into the Stadium?

Unfortunately, no. For security reasons, bottles and cans are not allowed into the Stadium during events where spectators are in the stands, since these items can become projectiles that risk injuring other spectators. Drinks served in appropriate cups are available at Olympic-Park- authorized concession restaurants in the restaurant area. For more information, see the Security Guidelines page.

Am I allowed to bring food or drinks into the Stadium?

No, only food and drinks purchased in the Stadium’s restaurant area by concession restaurants authorized by the Olympic Park are permitted on site. For more information, see the Security Guidelines page.

Where can I buy tickets for special event like the Monster Spectacular, baseball games and more?

You can purchase these tickets at the Stadium box office or via Ticketpro. See the Events page for more information on ticket sales for the event you will be attending.

Are events free for kids?

It depends. See the Events page to learn more about admission prices and ticket categories for the event you will be attending.

Is it cold in the Stadium? It the space heated?

During an event, the Stadium’s temperature is maintained at a comfortable level for spectators.

Is there more than one entrance at the Stadium for events?

Yes, although this depends on the particular event. See the Events page to learn which entrances will be open for the event you will be attending.

At what time does the Stadium open its doors for an event?

The time at which doors open depends on the particular event. See the Events page to learn the opening times for the event you will be attending.

Can the Stadium roof be opened?

The roof has been permanently sealed since 1999.

I have a contract with an artist who could play at the Stadium. Can you represent them?

Sorry, the Olympic Pars is not a show promoter.

How much seating space is available at the Stadium?

The Stadium has over 56,000 permanent seats located on five levels. Depending on the event, we can add additional seating in the stands to bring the total up to 60,000.

Can I organize a baseball or soccer game for my team at the Stadium?

The synthetic playing field at the Stadium belongs to the professional teams who play here. We recommend that you get in touch with the event promoter to see if renting this space is possible. The Olympic Park also has a synthetic field that we can install on request. The total cost of setting up and taking down the field depends on the surface area required.

How much does it cost to rent out the Stadium?

As well as the main playing field, there are many different spaces for rent at the Stadium, which can host a variety of events. The total cost depends on the area, the type of event and how long it will last. We invite you to get in touch with us so we can discuss your project further.

The Sports Centre

How much does parking cost at the sports centre.

See the Sports Centre website for full details.

What’s the schedule for open swim?

What kind of activities are available at the sports centre.

You can find open swims, free and instructor-led activities, swimming courses, diving, fitness training, group classes, and a lot more. See the Sports Centre website for more details.

The Esplanade

Can i bring my pet to an event at the esplanade.

Some promoters allow pets on leashes at events, while others do not. Please check with the event promoter first.

What kind of activities take place at the Esplanade?

There are many activities scheduled at the Esplanade year-round. See the Events and activities page for more information.

Parking lots

What’s the maximum height for vehicles to access the parking lots.

The maximum height for parking lots P1, P2, P3, P4, and P5 is 6’2” (1.88m), or 13’4” (4m) for trucks and busses in lot P5 Level 1, located at 3200 Viau street.

How many indoor and outdoor parking spaces at there at the Olympic Park?

Please see the How to Get There page.

How much does a monthly parking pass or incentive pass cost, and how can I obtain one?

Please see the Rates section on the How to Get There page.

Can I park on the street?

There are a limited number of parking spots available on streets south of the Olympic Park. Be vigilant, as many of these spaces require parking permits.

Do I have to pay to use the parking lot when I visit the Tower Observatory?

Yes. Please see the How to Get There page for more details.

Daily Parking

How daily parking works.

Obtain your ticket when you enter the parking lot.

When you are ready to leave, you can pay for your parking at the pay station near the entrance doors (VISA, MasterCard, debit, or cash) or at the pay station located at the exit barrier (VISA, MasterCard, or debit).

At a pay station:

Present your ticket to the scanning reader.

The amount to be paid will appear on screen: $4 per 20 minutes, up to a maximum of $20 for a 24-hour period.

Pay the amount owed using credit, debit, or cash.

At the exit barrier (at the exit gate):

Present your ticket to the scanning reader (bar code facing upwards).

The amount to be paid will appear on screen: $5 per 20 minutes, up to a maximum of $25 for a 24-hour period.

Pay the amount owed using credit or debit.

What happens if I leave with my vehicle after 24 hours have elapsed?

In this event, the rate of $5/20 minutes applies on top of the 24-hour fee, up to a maximum of $25 for an additional 24-hour period.

The attraction I came to visit is closed. Do I still have to pay for my parking?

There is a 20-minute delay starting from the moment you enter the parking area. If you exit within this delay, you will not have to pay for parking. However, these minutes do count towards your total parking fee. For example, if you park for 25 minutes, your total will be $10, but if you only park for 15 minutes, you will not have to pay for parking.

How can I take advantage of the preferential rate offered to clients of Cinéma Starcité?

Only clients who purchase movie tickets at Cinéma Starcité can take advantage of preferential cinema parking rates.

Collect your ticket from the the pay station near the entrance by pushing the button. Be sure to keep this ticket on you, as you will need to validate it at the cinema.
The pay station in the cinema is located in the hallway leading to the movie theatres. Only clients who have paid for a movie ticket can access it.
Present your ticket to the scanning reader, which will validate your ticket and deduct $5 from your total.
Once validated, your ticket can be paid for at any pay station in the cinema.

IMPORTANT: If you do not have your ticket validated, you will not receive your $5 discount. This means you will have to pay the full $20 when exiting the parking lot. No discount can be provided at this point. Please remember to VALIDATE YOUR TICKET at the cinema.

NOTE: Validating your ticket gives you a $5 discount for a maximum of 24 hours. If you park for longer than 24 hours, you will be billed at a rate of $5/20 minutes up to a maximum of $25 per additional 24-hour period. A ticket can only be validated once.

How can I take advantage of the preferential rate offered to clients of the Sports Centre?

Only clients who use the installations at the Sports Centre (open swim, Wibit Sundays, training, classes, and gym members) can take advantage of preferential Olympic Stadium Sports Centre parking rates.

To take advantage of the referential rate:

Collect your ticket from the the pay station near the entrance by pushing the button. Be sure to keep this ticket on you, as you will need to validate it at the Sports Centre.
The scanning reader in the Sports Centre is located next to the column at the bottom of the stairs, near the locker rooms. This will set your fee to $5 for 4 hours of parking. Only clients who have paid to enter the Sports Centre can access it.
Once validated, your ticket can be paid for at the pay station at the parking entrance of the exit gate.

IMPORTANT: If you do not have your ticket validated, you will not be able to take advantage of the $5 fee. This means you will have to pay the full $20 when exiting the parking lot. No discount can be provided at this point. Please remember to VALIDATE YOUR TICKET at the Sports Centre.

NOTE: Validating your ticket sets your parking fee to $5 for a maximum of 4 hours. If you park for longer than 4 hours, this period will be added to your $5 fee and you will be billed at a rate of $5/20 minutes up to a maximum of $25 per additional 24-hour period. A ticket can only be validated once.

Public Parking Permits

I received a qr code in my confirmation email following my transaction. how do i use it.

This QR code will enable you to enter and exit the parking lot for the 3 first days after applying for your parking permit. Within these 3 days, you will need to visit the Parking Service counter to pick up your parking access card, at a cost of $15. Once your card has been linked to your permit, the QR code will no longer work.

How to use your QR code:

At the pay station, display the QR code on your smartphone and place it screen-side up under the scanning reader. Note that the scanner will not be able to read the QR code if it has been too enlarged.

Why did my email not contain a QR code?

You will not receive a QR code if your permit has been linked to one of the following access cards:

Your OPUS card, which can be used to access the parking lot.
Your current access card, which will contain your new permit. Simply continue to use your access card as usual.

Where can I find the Parking Service counter?

This counter is located at 4545 Pierre-De Coubertin avenue. Simply follow the directions for “Billetterie et stationnement” once in the Rotunda.

How do I access the pay station with my access card?

The red light on the pay station is a scanning reader. Simply place your access card flat under the light and wait a few seconds for the barrier to open.

If you remove your card too quickly, the scanner may not have time to read it. Wait until a message appears on screen telling you to remove your card.
Do not cover the magnetic strip with your hand when placing your access card under the scanner, as it may not be able to read your card.

How can I renew my permit?

Visit your online account , select “Renouveler mon abonnement,” then hit the “Renouveler” button next to the permit you wish to purchase. Then follow the payment steps.

The pay station at the entrance will let you know that your permit is about to expire a few days before it runs out. Simply bring your access card to one of the pay stations near the parking entrance to renew your permit.

If you don’t renew your permit the day it expires, the pay station at the exit will ask you to pay for your permit before exiting. Simply use your credit or debit card to pay. If you do not wish to renew your permit at this time, press the “Cancel” button and the barrier will open (unless your permit has already expired).

My permit has not expired, but the pay station will not lift the barrier without payment. What do I do?

The pay station at the entrance will let you know that your permit is about to expire a few days before it runs out. If you do not wish to renew your permit or do not wish to renew it on the spot, simply press the “Cancel” button and the barrier will open.

Note that you will not lose any days on your previous permit by purchasing a new one in advance. The start date of the new permit remains the day after your old one expires.

For example: You renew your permit on February 7 but your old permit only expires February 10. Your new permit will nonetheless cover the period from February 11 to March 10.

I renewed my permit online, but the pay station is still asking me to renew it. What do I do?

You have probably renewed your permit on a new card, as opposed to your current one.

To remedy this, when your permit expires, you can simply use the QR code sent to you by email to use the parking lot for 3 days. During this time, you must visit the Parking Service counter during operating hours to have your new permit linked to your current access card.

I forgot my access card at home? What do I do?

You must pick up a ticket when you enter the parking lot and pay it when you exit.

I’ve lost my access card. What can I do?

Without OPUS card:

You can purchase a new access card for $15 at the Parking Service counter during operating hours.

With OPUS card:

When you receive your new OPUS card, call or visit us at the Parking Service counter during operating hours to update your file.

I made an error when selecting the dates for my permit. Can I change these?

Unfortunately, no.

Clients must select their dates for validating a permit. These will appear on screen to be validated before finalizing the payment, and cannot be modified thereafter. Please be sure to verify all information before making your payment.

Permit on OPUS Card

My email did not contain a qr code. how come.

If your permit is linked to your OPUS public transport card, you will not receive a QR code, as your OPUS card serves as your access to the parking lot.

What happens if I go over the time period I'm allowed to access the parking lot with my OPUS card (5 a.m. to 10 p.m.)?

You can enter and exit the parking lot at any time with your OPUS card. However, any time you are parked outside the hours allotted by your access permit, you will be charged $4/20 minutes to a maximum of $20/day. This amount is cumulative if you leave your car in the lot over many days.

Permits for Tenants/Partners/Olympic Park Employees

I don’t want to pay $15 for an access card. can i use my opus card to access the parking lot instead.

Simply visit the Parking Service counter during operating hours and present your OPUS card to the attendant, who will link it to your parking permit. Be sure to bring your employee ID with you to take advantage of the preferential rate.

If you wish to take advantage of your preferential parking rate, you must visit the Parking Service counter with your ID during operating hours to purchase your discount coupon.

Monthly Sports Centre Permit

Why am i being asked to enter my opus card number when purchasing my permit.

To complete your transaction, you need to have on hand the card that will allow you access to the parking lot—whether that’s your OPUS transit card or the Olympic Park card that you’ve purchased from the Sports Centre.

Simply enter the number on your OPUS (last 10 digits only) or Olympic Park card when registering your permit.

You have linked your permit to your Sports Centre membership, so you will not receive a QR code as you already have a card that gives you access to the parking lot.

You must pick up a ticket when you enter the parking lot and pay it when you exit. Be sure to validate your ticket downstairs at the Sports Centre to take advantage of $5 parking (instead of $20).

What happens if I leave my vehicle in the parking lot for over 4 hours?

You can enter and exit the parking lot at any time with your OPUS card. However, your Monthly Sports Centre permit only covers a period of 4 hours per day. Any time you are parked outside these hours, you will be charged $4/20 minutes to a maximum of $20/day.

Are there other parking options I can use besides a 4-hour block of time per day?

Yes! You can purchase a “Public” or “OPUS card” parking permit. Simply select from the full list of permits, available here .

Are there restaurants on site?

The Sports Centre has a Café-Boutique that serves coffee, various drinks, sandwiches, salads, and snacks.

How do I apply for a job at the Olympic Park?

Check the Offres d’emploi (in French) page of our website often.

I’m organizing an event and would like you to be a sponsor or set up a partnership. Is this possible?

The Olympic Park’s mission is not to sponsor events. However, we are always interested in hearing about new projects. You can get in touch with us at 514 252-4141.

How do I make a delivery to the Olympic Park’s main store?

The main store is located at 4400 Sherbrooke Street east. For deliveries or pick ups at the main loading dock, please head to the Maisonneuve Park access and follow signs for the Olympic Park, since this access point is manned by a security guard located under the Sherbrooke viaduct at 4581 Sherbrooke Street east. This will give you authorisation to access the loading dock, which serves 1) the Regroupement loisir et sport du Québec (RLSQ), 2) the Institut national du sport du Québec (INS Québec) and 3) Olympic Park technical services’ main store.

Where are the Olympic Park’s calls for tenders published?

Please see this site .

I would like to become a supplier for the Olympic Park. Who should I speak with?

Please contact our material resources team at 514-252-4615 for more information.

Questions générales

What are the largest events ever to be held at the stadium.

As well as the Olympic Games, the Stadium has also hosted a few Grey Cups (1977, 1979, 1981, 1985, 2001, and 2008), FIFA soccer games, and a number of concerts that have brought together thousands of fans, including: Pink Floyd, The Police, The Rolling Stones, Aïda opera, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, U2, Madonna, Genesis, and AC/DC.

When did the Expos play their first baseball game at the Stadium?

On April 15, 1977. The Expos first game under a roof took place in April 1987.

What construction material was used to build the Olympic Park?

Concrete is the main material used in the Park’s construction. Over 400,000m 2 , in fact! The type of architecture required the use of pre-stressed, post-tensioned concrete.

How many visitors has the Stadium welcomed since it opened?

Over 100 million visitors have visited the Olympic Park or attended an event since 1976.

Which architect built the Olympic Stadium?

In 1972, French architect Roger Taillibert was selected by then-major Jean Drapeau to build the Stadium.

Who does the Olympic Park belong to?

Most of the installations at the Olympic Park (Stadium, Montréal Tower, Sports Centre, and indoor parking lots) belong to the Québec government. The Biodôme and Planetarium belong to the City of Montréal.

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9 Places to See the Summer Olympics Without Setting Foot in Paris

You may have trouble finding accommodations or tickets to events in Paris, but other destinations around France are hosting sports like soccer, sailing, basketball and surfing.

The stone buildings of a Marseille, France, situated next to a port filled with sailboats. A hill rises in the background, and there is a church with a tall spire on top. The whole scene is bathed in rose-colored light.

By Sophie Stuber

For sports fans, Paris will be the center of the universe this summer — and with 15 million Olympic and Paralympic visitors expected, it will feel like it, with crowds and high prices. But Paris isn’t the only Olympic site in France: Nine destinations outside the metro region are also hosting events, giving travelers a way to catch some action without getting caught up in the crush.

In places like Bordeaux, Marseille and even Tahiti, you can watch top athletes compete in soccer, basketball, sailing and surfing. (Tickets have been added in batches, so if the ones you want aren’t available, keep checking the ticketing site, tickets.Paris2024.org . If all else fails, the official resale platform opens on May 15 .)

And when you’re not watching sports, you can take advantage of museums, parks, design centers, and fresh food and wine options. In Nantes, you can even ride a mechanical elephant.

Here are some ideas for planning your own alternative Olympic trip.

Basketball: July 27 to Aug. 4; tickets from 50 euros ($54).

Handball: Aug. 6 to 11, tickets from €45.

Start with a stroll around Vieux-Lille and a coffee in the Grande Place, taking in the colorful facades of this city near the Belgian border. Head over to the St.-Sauveur area to see the Art Deco belfry and exhibitions at Gare St.-Sauveur , a former train station. On Sundays, at the rambling Wazemmes market , about 400 vendors offer produce, fish, plants, fabrics, textiles and leather goods. Head out to Parc du Héron , east of the city, to see the LaM museum (€7), with works by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani and Joan Miró. Lille is better known for beer than for wine, and the Brasserie Gobrecht offers brewery tours every Saturday (reservations recommended).

Where to stay: Hotel de la Paix (€354 per night); Hotel Carlton (€406).

Soccer: July 24 to Aug. 2; tickets from €24.

Capital of a region best known for its wine, this small southwestern city sells local wine-walk maps at its tourist office. Stop by the Marché des Capucins , a local indoor market that also houses Bistro Poulette , a slightly chaotic and very delicious spot serving moules-frites, or mussels with fries. In the afternoon, check out the Bassins des Lumières (€15), the largest digital art center in the world, and the Cité du Vin (€21), which offers wine-tasting experiences. To wind down in a quiet wine bar, try Yarra , or for a cocktail, Symbiose . If you have time for side trips, spend a day in St.-Emilion, about 27 miles away, where you can sample great wines. Or check out the nearly 340-foot-high Dune du Pilat , the tallest sand dune in Europe — about 37 miles southwest of Bordeaux, near the beach town of Arcachon.

To stay: Les Chambres de Marie (€170); La Maison Galiène (€259); Yndo Hotel (€355); Le Palais Gallien Hôtel & Spa (€419).

Soccer: July 24 to Aug. 8; tickets from €24.

The street signs in Nantes are in both Breton and French, reflecting the city’s historical ties to Brittany. Start at Talensac Market for picnic supplies, especially radishes, local cheeses and strawberries. Pick up local delicacies like Gâteau Nantais (almond poundcake) and Far Breton (flan with Armanac-soaked prunes). Take your picnic lunch to the courtyard of the Château des Ducs de Bretagne , a medieval castle and museum (courtyard is free; museum is €9). On the Île de Nantes, a former shipyard has been transformed into a wild mechanical theme park. The Machines de l’Île mixes Jules Verne’s stories with Leonardo da Vinci’s designs in the form of a ridable mechanical elephant and sea creatures (€9.50 for the elephant ride or gallery visit). The Mémorial de l’Abolition de l’Esclavage (free) covers Nantes’s history as the most active slave-trading port in 18th-century France. The artists behind the glass-and-concrete memorial, Krzysztof Wodiczko and Julian Bonder , aimed to create “a metaphorical and emotional reminder of the primarily historical, but also very current, struggle for the abolition of slavery.”

To stay: Hotel Voltaire Opéra (€103); Hotel de la Cité (€120).

Châteauroux

Shooting: July 27 to Aug. 5; tickets from €24.

The small city not far from the Loire Valley is named for Château Raoul , the 10th-century castle that’s now part of a local official’s private residence. The best view of the château is from the Gütersloh Bridge. Follow the “coulée verte” — or green corridor — along the banks of the Indre River, stopping by Parc de Belle-Isle , which has a lake for swimming, with kayaks and stand-up paddle boards to rent, as well as a beach, playgrounds and camping. The Franciscan Cordeliers Convent (free), which dates to the 13th century, today offers contemporary art exhibits and miles of gardens, and the Bertrand Museum (free), a former 18th-century townhouse, showcases diverse collections in each of its 26 rooms, including the plaster original of the Camille Claudel sculpture “Sakuntala.”

To stay: Au Lys Blanc (€138); Les Rives du Château (€210 for a two-bedroom apartment).

Lyon and St.-Étienne

Soccer: Lyon, July 24 to Aug. 9; tickets from €24. St.-Étienne, July 24 to 31; tickets from €24.

It will be easy to catch soccer matches in either Lyon or St.-Étienne, only an hour apart by train or car in east-central France. In Lyon, often called the gastronomic capital of France, visit the majestic Notre-Dame de Fourvière Basilica , then savor an ice cream at La Fabrique Givrée . Explore the city’s network of covered passageways, called traboules — originally for workers to transport textiles and later used during World War II by the French Resistance for clandestine meetings. Then climb up to the Pentes de la Croix-Rousse neighborhood, with its tiny streets, shops and views of Lyon below. On a clear day, you can even see Mont Blanc. The Lugdunum museum (€7) and the nearby Roman theater (€4) take visitors back to 43 B.C., when Lyon was known as Lugdunum, and La Maison des Canuts (€9.50), covers the city’s history as a capital of silk.

Between Lyon and St.-Étienne, Pilat Regional Natural Park offers more than 900 miles of rocky terrain for hiking and biking, culminating at the summit of 4,700-foot Crêt de la Perdrix , with views of the Alps and Massif Central range.

St.-Étienne, about 40 miles southwest of Lyon, is transforming its historical industrial identity into one of design and innovation. At the heart is the Cité du Design (€4.50), the former site of a weapons factory, which has served as a center for art and research since 2010. The complex, now a key economic force in the city, is open to the public year-round and hosts art and design exhibitions.

To stay in Lyon: Fourvière Hotel (€189); Hôtel du Théâtre (€323).

To stay in St.-Étienne: Le Parc 42 (€113); Le Golf Sauna (€269).

Sailing (including windsurfing, kitesurfing and more): July 28 to Aug. 8; tickets from €24.

Soccer: July 24 to Aug. 6; tickets from €24.

This Mediterranean port city mixes urban grit and natural beauty. Start by visiting Le Panier, the village-like oldest part of the city. Try navettes , a traditional orange flower biscuit, and sample some sardines or panisses , traditional chickpea fries, on a sunny terrace. Detour through the touristy but pleasant Old Port on the way to Mucem (€11), the first major museum dedicated to Mediterranean civilization and cultures. Have a pick-me-up at Deep Coffee Roasters , a specialty roaster tucked away between touristy shops. At sunset, climb up to Cours Julien , a hip neighborhood with beautiful views for your apéro. Don’t miss the Cité Radieuse , a UNESCO-listed apartment complex that shows off the architect Le Corbusier’s Modernist mastery (you can stay at the hotel in it). And just southeast of the city, the Calanques , a series of small, narrow coves , offer miles of oceanside trails and rocky scrambles along turquoise water.

To stay: Hotel Le Corbusier (€229); Maison Juste (€300).

Soccer: July 24 to 31; tickets from €24.

Summer is peak season in Nice, the queen city of the French Riviera, where the mountains meet the Mediterranean. Run, bike or in-line skate along the Promenade des Anglais , a four-mile seaside path. Then climb up to the Colline du Château , a rocky hill east of the promenade with views of Nice and even as far as the Alps. For a longer walk, follow the trails from Coco Beach to the Cap de Nice along the coves. Then head to Cours Saleya , a pedestrian section of the Old Town, with flower stands, antiques and local food like the socca , a chickpea pancake. The Musée de Préhistoire Terra Amata (€5), constructed on top of an excavation site, reveals what Nice was like up to 400,000 years ago. Or just enjoy one of Nice’s pebbled beaches in a lounge chair.

To stay: Hôtel Rossetti (€186); Yelo Mozart (€238).

Teahupo’o, Tahiti

Surfing: July 27 to 31 ( events could shift through Aug. 4, depending on surf conditions); fan zones free.

For surfing’s second Olympics since its debut in Tokyo, the competition takes place far from mainland France in Tahiti, part of French Polynesia. Since the wave is offshore, there will be two ticket-free fan zones — Taharu’u Beach and Paofai Gardens — to watch the events on large screens. A third fan zone at PK0 beach in Teahupo’o will have free tickets but limited access. Tahiti offers white sands and turquoise lagoons in addition to near-perfect waves. For snorkeling, try the lagoon near Maui Beach , five miles from Teahupo’o. For black volcanic sands, head to Taharu’u Beach, about 20 miles northwest of Teahupo’o. About 45 miles from Teahupo’o, Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia, with a population of about 26,000, offers a variety of local delicacies like poisson cru: raw fish with lime juice and coconut milk, served with rice. Sample local fare, including steak frites and skewered veal heart, from food trucks, called roulettes, at Place Vai’ete, on the waterfront, near the Papeete Market.

To stay: Kia Ora Lodge (€265, seven miles from Teahupo’o); Punatea Village (€73, six miles from Teahupo’o).

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2024 .

An earlier version of a picture with this article was published in error. The image showed the French town of Cassis, not Marseille, where several Olympic events will take place this summer. It has been replaced.

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Open Up Your World

Considering a trip, or just some armchair traveling here are some ideas..

52 Places: Why do we travel? For food, culture, adventure, natural beauty? Our 2024 list has all those elements, and more .

Mumbai: Spend 36 hours in this fast-changing Indian city by exploring ancient caves, catching a concert in a former textile mill and feasting on mangoes.

Kyoto: The Japanese city’s dry gardens offer spots for quiet contemplation in an increasingly overtouristed destination.

Iceland: The country markets itself as a destination to see the northern lights. But they can be elusive, as one writer recently found .

Texas: Canoeing the Rio Grande near Big Bend National Park can be magical. But as the river dries, it’s getting harder to find where a boat will actually float .

The Olympics are nearly here. For a weary world, they can't come soon enough.

Start the countdown clock. In exactly 100 days, more than 10,000 athletes and tens of thousands of spectators will converge on Paris for the start of the 33rd Summer Olympic Games , a 16-day extravaganza that marks the first time the City of Lights has hosted the world’s pre-eminent sports festival in a century.

In keeping with the slogan for this year’s Olympics, “Games Wide Open,” the opening ceremony will take place outside a stadium setting for the first time. The plans are ambitious: a 3.5-mile boat parade along the Seine before as many as 325,000 onlookers on the river’s banks. The hundreds of athletic events — hosted by dozens of venues across Paris and other cities in metropolitan France — will likewise be open to large crowds.

French President Macron said instead of teams sailing down the Seine on barges, the ceremony could be "limited to the Trocadero" building across the river from the Eiffel Tower or "even moved to the Stade de France".

In many respects, the Paris Games promise to be one of the most elaborate cultural rituals since Covid swept across the world beginning in late 2019. Health restrictions forced the organizers of Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 to sharply limit the scale of the festivities, with events largely closed to the public. Paris 2024, powered in part by pent-up demand for communal experiences, symbolizes an international post-pandemic vibe shift.

More Olympics coverage

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Photos : See how Paris has evolved from the 1924 Summer Olympics to today
Quiz : Swimming. Cycling. Plunge for distance? Test your knowledge of Olympic sports

But with that spirit of openness comes all-too-familiar challenges. The festivities in Europe’s most densely populated city are shadowed by security concerns . The International Olympic Committee and French officials have insisted that they are putting strict security measures in place. Yet the recent history of violence in France — including the 2015 terror attack in Paris that left 138 people dead and at least 416 injured — stalks public consciousness there.

A bullet hole through the glass door of a cafe

The geopolitical backdrop for the Paris Games is no less troubling. The war between Israel and Hamas recently crossed the six-month mark, raising fears of a protracted conflict and wider regional instability. The devastation in the Gaza Strip has provoked international outrage, isolating Israel on the global stage. Meanwhile, Russia continues to gain ground in its military offensive against Ukraine as some Western nations worry about the rise of authoritarianism.

These international crises could come into play during the Games in the form of protests and other political demonstrations.

“It is certain that the international context is particularly tense today,” Tony Estanguet, president of the Games’ organizing committee, recently told Radio France . “I believe in this universal event. It’s up to us to preserve, to talk about sport and not to politicize the subject too much.”

Nevertheless, Olympics organizers are determined to put on a show that stuns the throngs assembled on the boulevards of Paris, not to mention the millions of people expected to watch the Games unfold on their televisions and mobile devices. If the surge of enthusiasm for the Super Bowl, Taylor Swift, March Madness and the solar eclipse is any guide, then audiences are craving spectacle — and the Paris Games could be just the ticket.

Going for the gold

The scale of the Paris Games is immense: nearly 40 sports and more than 300 events hosted in at least 35 venues in Paris and other cities across metropolitan France. Following two Games that were hampered by Covid protocols and other tight restrictions, Paris could resemble a colossal international party, heralded by five Olympic rings (fashioned from recycled French steel) that will be displayed on the south side of the Eiffel Tower.

“The last two Olympics certainly didn’t have the look and feel of what we expect from the Games,” said Jeremy Fuchs, a sports writer and the author of a 2021 book about the history of the Olympics. “I would expect Paris to go all out. … With fans back in the stands, we should expect one of the more raucous Games in recent memory.”

The iconic landmarks will be immediately recognizable to worldwide TV viewers. Beach volleyball players will show off their jump serves at a temporary outdoor arena at the Champ de Mars, a large public park at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Equestrian and modern pentathlon competitions will take place at the Palace of Versailles , one of the emblems of French royal history. The 124-year-old Grand Palais will host fencing and taekwondo.

At least one venue that hosted events during the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris will be put to use again: Stade Yves-du-Manoir, the home of the opening ceremony 100 years ago. (The stadium also hosted some of the races depicted in the Oscar-winning film “Chariots of Fire.”) This time around, the 117-year-old arena will stage field hockey competitions.

The sports themselves are sure to draw wide attention, from basketball and boxing to sailing and swimming. Breaking (also known as break dancing) is set to make its Olympics debut, and three recently introduced competitions — sport climbing, skateboarding and surfing — will be integrated into the Paris Games, too. (Karate, softball and baseball won’t be part of the lineup.)

The vast majority of events are set to unfold across France, though there is one exception. The surfing competition will take place in a village on the southwestern coast of Tahiti. Paris organizers chose to hold the surfing events on the French Polynesian island because it “offers an opportunity to engage French overseas territories and their communities in the Olympic Games — for the first time in history — while showcasing France’s rich and diverse heritage.”

A man surfs in the village of Teahupoʻo in Tahiti

Paris organizers have signaled that they are attempting to reach younger audiences by featuring sports that are “closely associated with youth and reward creativity and athletic performance.” But given that relatively few people in their teens and 20s watch traditional linear television, the IOC faces a steep climb in convincing viewers in that age bracket to tune in, according to David Goldblatt, the author of “The Games: A Global History of the Olympics.”

This year’s Games will be more widely accessible to at-home viewers thanks in part to streaming. Peacock, the streaming platform owned by NBCUniversal, plans to invest heavily in live coverage of the festivities, including a “multiview” feature that allows subscribers to watch up to four competitions at the same time.

Superstar personalities could help make the case for the Games as must-see TV. Simone Biles, the seven-time Olympic medal-winning gymnast, hopes to compete in Paris. The list of U.S. athletes who could make waves also includes swimmer Katie Ledecky as well as track-and-field sprinters Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson.

Katie Ledecky competes in the Women's 800m Freestyle Final

David Wallechinsky, a former president of the International Society of Olympic Historians and the author of “The Complete Book of the Olympics,” said he was most excited about the track-and-field competitions because he believes the sport has the most universal appeal — unlike, say, “swimming the 400-meter medley or participating in equestrian dressage.”

In total, more than 200 countries — known in IOC parlance as national olympic committees, or NOCs — plan to send their most elite athletes to Paris, where most will check into the Olympic Village on the banks of the Seine. Russia and Belarus were banned from the Olympics after Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022 — four days after the conclusion of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

The final stretch

In recent months, preparations for the Games have arguably been overshadowed by the grinding realities of war and humanitarian disaster. Paris 2024 is just the latest in a long line of Olympic Games that have taken place against a backdrop of geopolitical turmoil, according to Wallechinsky, who pointed to several key examples.

The 1936 Summer Olympics were hosted by Berlin and opened by Adolf Hitler three years before the outbreak of World War II. Twenty-nine countries boycotted the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal to protest the fact that New Zealand’s rugby team had toured apartheid South Africa. The massacre of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches by Palestinian members of the Black September terrorist organization cast a pall over the 1972 Summer Games in Munich and underscored the violent tensions that are often inseparable from the athletic competitions at the heart of the Olympics.

In the Cold War era, the U.S. led a boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow and the former Soviet Union sat out the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

In the lead-up to the Paris Games, France announced it would deploy 45,000 police, military officers and army troops across the country. The country has requested reinforcements from 46 foreign partners — a “classic approach adopted by host countries when organizing major international events,” the Interior Ministry has said. Everyone involved in the Games — security officials, building workers, volunteers — will be put through background checks, too.

Armed police stand guard overlooking the Eiffel Tower

French government officials also decided to cap the number of people allowed to watch the opening ceremony at 325,000. Two years ago, organizers had proposed making the July 26 opening festivities accessible to as many as 600,000 people, a grand gathering that would span 6 kilometers (roughly 3.7 miles), stretching from the east of Paris to the Trocadéro.

In response to a request for comment on the security fears, an IOC spokesperson said French authorities had informed the committee that “they have been working for a couple of years under the assumption that the highest security measures will be required.” The spokesperson said that, per usual practices, “there is also very close international cooperation.”

“Based on this and the regular reports the IOC receives from them, we have full confidence in the French authorities and their strong collaboration with their international partners,” the spokesperson added.

In the run-up to the opening ceremony, organizers are also confronting markedly less existential issues — including high levels of “pollution of fecal origin” and other bacteria in the Seine , an environmental headache that might force officials to nix the triathlon swimming section.

“We are working hard on it. You know it’s one of the bigger challenges,” Estanguet told reporters this month.

In the end, though, spectators around the world will likely be focused on the pageantry and competition, savoring the first full-fledged Olympic Games in more than half a decade.

Disclosure: NBC News parent company NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.

Daniel Arkin is a national reporter at NBC News.

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The Stadium
The Olympic Stadium is the largest covered amphitheatre in Québec, with seating for 56,000 spectators in the stands and up to 60,000 when the floor is used.. Since it was first opened in 1976, the Stadium has welcomed some 66 million visitors.It was designed by French architect Roger Taillibert as a unique monument—one that's become an international symbol for Montréal.
Montreal Olympic Stadium
History and description. Montreal Olympic Stadium got built in the 1970s to serve as the flagship venue of the 1976 Summer Olympics. In 1972, the City presented plans for a shell-like stadium including a 175-meter mast and a retractable roof. Works on the stadium started in 1973, but progressed slowly due to the harsh winters and a labour strike..
Montréal Olympic Park
website 514-252-4141 1 877-997-0919 email. map view. An international symbol of Montréal, the Olympic Stadium — and its Tower, the world's tallest inclined tower — was designed by 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 ...
Olympic Park (Parc olympique)
Full-day Tours. from. $902.45. per adult. The area. 4545 Pierre-de-Coubertin, Montreal, Quebec H1V 0B2 Canada. Neighborhood: Olympic Park & Hochelaga-Maisonneuve (HoMa) Named for the Olympic Stadium complexes built for the 1976 games, the Olympic Park and the surrounding neighborhood of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve (HoMa) make up an invigorated area ...
10 Things to Do in Montreal's Olympic Park
Attend an Event at the Olympic Park Esplanade. The Montreal Olympic Park Esplanade features outdoor events and activities year round, like First Fridays, a monthly food truck event replete with haute comfort foodie finds and live music scheduled on the first Friday of every month May through October. In the winter, the Esplanade turns into a ...
Guided tour
The guided tour of the Stadium is included in the visit of Since 1976 exhibition.. The Since 1976 exhibition will take you on a journey to rediscover the history of the Olympic Park, from its construction to today. The exhibition features a number of artefacts, as well as photos, video archives, interactive digital content, and even reconstructions made to the building.
What to do
The Olympic Stadium. The Olympic Stadium is the largest covered amphitheatre in Québec, with seating for 56,000 spectators. Since it was first opened in 1976, the Stadium has welcomed some 66 million visitors. It has become the international symbol for Montréal. The Stadium hosts a wide range of events and concerts.
Olympic Park (Parc olympique)
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Write a review. About. A daring architectural site, the Olympic Park was built to accommodate the 1976 Summer Olympics and has since been host to more than one hundred million visitors. Whether to admire Montreal from atop the highest inclined tower in the world, to attend an event in the Stadium, to exercise at the Sports ...
Montreal Olympic Stadium (Stade Olympique de Montréal)
The Olympic Stadium is one of Montreal's most popular attractions. Each year, the stadium attracts nearly 2.5 million visitors. It's landmark tower, known as the Montreal Tower ( La tour de Montréal ), is the largest inclined tower in the world. At 175 meters (626 feet), the tower features impressive views of Montreal.
Olympic Park Montreal Stadium and Tower
2,563,000+ Properties Worldwide. 24/7 Support. Search. View Montreal Attractions Map. See the complete line of Montreal Experiences on Viator. See all Montreal Attractions. Guided Tours. Visit Olympic Park Montreal - map, address and directions, hours, things to do, tower, stadium, esplanade - everything you need to know.
Montreal Olympic Stadium
Montreal 's Olympic Stadium is a massive, monumental, multisport complex. It serves as the largest covered amphitheatre and sports venue in Quebec and is also the largest stadium in Canada. ( See Sports Facilities .) It has a permanent seating capacity of 56,000. The stadium is integrated into the Montreal Tower (the world's tallest ...
Montreal's Parc Olympique: A Visitor's Guide
What to do at Montreal's Parc Olympique . Visit the Montreal Biodome . The Montreal Biodome is located next door to the Olympic Stadium and is a great escape to nature in the city. Visitors to the Montreal Biodome will walk through five different ecosystems and meet over 250,000 animals of 200 species and 500 plant species. The 5 sections of ...
Olympic Park, Montreal
The Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium built in the mid-1970s as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics, it is nicknamed "The Big O", a reference to both its name and to the doughnut shape of the permanent component of the stadium's roof.. The stadium is the largest by seating capacity in Canada. After the Olympics, artificial turf was installed and was used by the Expos, Montreal ...
Olympic Park in Montreal: how to visit, ticket price
Its stadium can seat up to 80 000 spectators. On the main stadium of the Olympic Park in Montreal, there is a 175-meters tower, which is equipped with comfortable viewing platforms. ... Besides the sports objects, the guests of the park have a possibility to visit the Montreal Biodome, where everyone can observe the replicas of the American ...
Montréal Olympic Park
Montréal Olympic Park. 4545 Pierre-De Coubertin Avenue. Parking: 4141 Pierre-De Coubertin Avenue. Montréal, QC H1V 3N7. 514-252-4141. 1 877-997-0919. [email protected]. This former site of the 1976 Olympic Games accommodates major conventions, trade shows, exhibitions and competitions and is a major tourist...
Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Montreal
Olympic Stadium, Montreal: Our most recommended tours and activities. 1. Montreal: Le Bateau-Mouche St. Lawrence Sightseeing Cruise. Take full advantage of summer aboard a relaxing 1 or 1.5-hour river cruise departing from the Jacques-Cartier Pier in the heart of Old Montreal. This is the perfect introduction to Montreal if you are visiting the ...
Home
Montreal, an Olympic city. The construction; 1976 Olympic Games; Medals and other data; Close; ... In order to inform the general public about the evolution of the Olympic Stadium roof replacement project, the Olympic Park is launching a microsite dedicated exclusively to this major project. Visit the website. How to get here?
Quebec will go ahead with Olympic Stadium renovations
Olympic Stadium roof replacement delayed until 2024. Dismantling Montreal's Olympic Stadium would be 'foolish,' says man in charge. If it doesn't get renovated, the stadium would have to be closed ...
Montreal to Olympic Stadium
Olympic Stadium (French: Stade olympique) is a multi-purpose stadium in Canada, located at Olympic Park in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal. Built in the mid-1970s as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics, it is nicknamed "The Big O", a reference to both its name and to the doughnut-shape of the permanent component of the ...
Demolishing Montreal Olympic Stadium would be costly, but experts
Montreal's Olympic Park said in an email that beyond the cost to dismantle the stadium's 12,000 concrete components, the $2-billion estimate includes $158 million for inflation, $168 million for ...
Montreal Olympic Stadium fire: Quebec grants up to $40 million for
An aerial view of the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Monday Feb. 5, 2024. The Quebec government has awarded the organization that manages the stadium up to $40 million to pay for repairs and ...
Olympic Stadium renovations cost could be much higher: report
Earlier this year, Quebec announced it would cost close to $870 million to build a new roof at Montreal's Olympic Stadium. According to the Journal de Montréal, the province will now have to spend close to $1 billion after they failed to include several essential costs like mechanical, electrical and ventilation work in their estimate.
Best Places To Go In June 2024
Four Seasons Hotel Montreal: Conveniently located in downtown Montreal, this glamorous hotel has spacious rooms, a state-of-the-art fitness center, a swanky restaurant and bar, a sky-lit pool and ...
Montreal Olympic Park offering cash prizes for old stadium roof ideas
Back in February, we learned that the Montreal Olympic Stadium would soon be getting an $870 million facelift.. As announced by members of Quebec Premier Francois Legault's government, the main part of the upcoming renovations to Montreal's "Big O," built to host the 1976 Olympic Games, will feature the installation of a new technical ring and roof.
How to get here
The Olympic Stadium, the Tower, and the Sports Centre are easily accessible for visitors with reduced mobility. The facilities are also adapted for wheelchair users. The Esplanade is accessible to people with reduced mobility, and adapted sanitary facilities are available at the administration office entrance at 4141 Pierre-De-Coubertin ave ...
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An example of what does not work, Rumfitt argues, is West Ham at the Olympic Stadium, though the owners can point to the beneficial economics of the deal and the fact they have won a trophy since ...
Competition: Montréal Olympic Stadium roof reuse
The Montréal Olympic Stadium is a landmark multi-purpose venue which features a 165m-tall support structure inclined at 45° known as the Montreal Tower. The stadium features a non-retractable roof which was installed in 1998 but is now damaged in several places making the stadium unsafe to use during periods of heavy snow and ice accumulation.
FAQ
Montreal, an Olympic city. The construction; 1976 Olympic Games; ... I have a contract with an artist who could play at the Stadium. Can you represent them? ... you can simply use the QR code sent to you by email to use the parking lot for 3 days. During this time, you must visit the Parking Service counter during operating hours to have your ...
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Bordeaux. Soccer: July 24 to Aug. 2; tickets from €24. Capital of a region best known for its wine, this small southwestern city sells local wine-walk maps at its tourist office. Stop by the ...
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In just 100 days, Paris will host the 33rd Summer Olympic Games, welcoming over 10,000 athletes and tens of thousands of spectators. The Olympics are ready for a splashy comeback after two Covid ...

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