Visiting Montreal in Winter: A Family Travel Guide
Montreal Slow Travel Guide: Visiting Montreal in Winter (with kids)
When I asked around for tips and recommendations for visiting Montreal in December, I heard from so many people who love Montreal… not a single one of them went in the middle of winter! Alas, that was part of our reason for going (to see “real” snow). Keep in mind I live in North Carolina in the US, so that could have played a role :) Nevertheless, we took our two young kids, ages 8 and 5, to Montreal between Christmas and New Years, and it was wonderful!
Whether you’re traveling with kids or just with adults, I’d love to share a few suggestions on what to see and do when visiting Montreal in winter. You’ll notice there’s also a section below of what I *wish* I had done! That’s travel in general (things don’t always go as planned), but especially with young kids.
I snuck in a few solo morning walks around Vieux Montréal
In This Montreal Slow Travel Guide:
Part 1 - Neighborhoods to Visit in Montréal
Part 2 - First-Time Visitor Tips: Winter Weather Gear & Navigating Montréal (Transit & Language)
Part 3 - Montréal Travel Guide Map
Allons-y! (Let’s go!)
Part 1 - Neighborhoods to Visit in Montreal
My brain thinks in neighborhoods and maps, so as usual I’ve organized my recommendations by neighborhood. If you’re planning out a loose itinerary for your trip, I’d recommend one day per neighborhood, perhaps two days for “Downtown Montreal” if you want to visit the incredible museums located in the area. Also, don’t forget to scroll down to the bottom of the post for a map with all of these places pinned for you!
Montréal Neighborhoods To Explore:
A snowy cabin at Parc La Fontaine in the Plateau neighborhood.
Vieux Montreal
Parc Mont Royal
Plateau Mont Royal
Downtown Montreal
Longer Trip? We wish we had visited Mile End and Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie (especially Little Italy and the Montreal Botanical Garden).
Vieux Montréal (Old Montreal)
A restaurant along Rue Saint-Paul, Vieux Montréal
Vieux Montréal is an area that runs along the Saint-Lawrence River and the Old Port of Montréal. It is quite touristy but lovely, dating back to the 1600s and complete with cobblestone streets and gorgeous architecture. If you know me, you know I recommend visiting… in the morning, of course! You’ll have the place to yourself so that you can really see how beautiful it is (especially under a blanket of snow), and then as you spend the day in this part of town, you’ll also get to experience the shops, restaurants and sightseeing all tucked in this beautiful neighborhood.
Notre Dame Basilica De Montréal
This church dates back to the 17th century and has been in operation since 1683. It is known for its incredible Gothic Revival Architecture (especially the interior) and became a Historic Site of Canada in 1989. Unlike most churches in Europe, there is a ticket fee to enter the church. During the winter, they had an incredible light show experience that you could purchase tickets to see as well (we didn’t do this activity, but it’s certainly popular!).
Rue Saint-Sulpice, Notre-Dame de Montréal
Lampposts lining Notre Dame de Montréal
Old Port Of Montréal
The Old Port of Montréal has a number of activities - some are reserved for warmer weather, including the massive zip-line and what appeared to be a pirate-themed playground for kids(!). However, there was a large ice skating rink at one edge of the port. We opted for the nearby La Grande Roue de Montreal: a huge ferris wheel with incredible views of the city. Yes, this is touristy, but very enjoyable and I’d be willing to bet it’s something that most locals do once or twice, especially with kids or when family or friends come to visit. The “pods” of the ferris wheel are enclosed and heated, and the wheel turns quite slowly (no rocking like amusement park ferris wheels!). Our young kids were a little nervous, but as soon as we started moving they were completely fine. If you like a good view, it's worth it!
Montreal Science Centre
If you are traveling with kids, this is my number 1 recommendation for Montréal. This science center is absolutely incredible. It is a massive complex with multiple of permanent exhibitions for different age ranges. I took my daughter through a few of the permanent exhibits - she especially loved the Mini Mondo exhibit. My husband and son spent the entire morning at “Fabrik,” a “creativity factory” for kids 8 and up. Staff explain different creative challenges and you get to build and solve the challenge. It was a highlight of the trip for my 8 year old! We could have gone back for a second morning here without question.
Le Petit Dep
Le Petit Dep, Vieux Montréal
Two locations in Vieux Montreal: a touristy and (very) pricey spot, but also very very charming. We stayed across the street from one of their locations, so it became my little breakfast spot to pick up a croissant or a bagel and enjoy a flat white after a morning photography walk around Vieux Montreal. It seems to get very busy by 9am and doesn't seem to stop! Good for an afternoon coffee or snack.
Le Magasin General Du Vieux-Montreal
A gift shop in the heart of Montreal. I liked the downstairs area, which had more locally-made items. I found a very cool Montreal Map puzzle for my son. It’s a touristy spot, but a great place to pick up a little souvenir or two.
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Beautiful Streets In Vieux Montreal
The city is by and large a grid system, so it's very easy to navigate this neighborhood. My recommendation for Vieux Montreal: go for the side streets in between the larger ones for the most charm. Don’t miss:
Cours Le Royer:
A pedestrian only passage - if you get lucky you may catch it in the morning before the snow plow comes through - magic!
Place D’Armes:
In front of the Notre Dame Basilica, this square has some lovely art deco buildings around it, including the Aldred Building.
Parc De La Presse:
Just around the corner from the Place des Armes, this pocket park is a charming place to relax and take in some of the busy streets at the edge of Vieux Montreal.
Place Jacques-Cartier:
A pretty (and touristy) central square in Vieux Montreal with views of the Old Port.
Restaurants In Vieux Montreal
Restaurant L’Orignal, Vieux Montréal
A favorite for sure. Chic takes on traditional Canadian food, great drinks, and super friendly staff. They were very kind to us as the only family with kids in the restaurant and made it a really lovely experience. The music was excellent too (as a former college radio DJ, this is a huge bonus for me!). It got crowded FAST - I definitely recommend a reservation.
Caffe Un Po' Di Piu
An Italian small plates and cocktail restaurant facing the Saint Lawrence River. Everything we had was delicious and the drinks were great too. It is also incredibly beautiful inside, with a horseshoe-shaped bar, painted ceilings and eclectic lighting. They were also very friendly, especially with tired kids in tow. This is not a typical touristy spot, even though it’s in a very tourist-heavy neighborhood. We made a reservation and would recommend snagging one too.
Parc Du Mont-Royal
Lac-aux-Castors, Parc du Mont-Royal
The Parc du Mont-Royal is a stunning park in the center of Montréal. The park is massive - almost 4 square miles/10 square km. It’s so large that you forget you are in the middle of a city. We spent two mornings exploring two different areas of the park. We took an Uber to the park but had trouble getting an Uber for the return trip. So the number 11 bus is your friend! See below for a few of my public transit tips though (bref: buy your fare in advance or have coins on-hand for the bus).
Lac Aux Castors / Beaver Lake
A beautiful, winter-wonderland experience! The lake was frozen over, so we got to see people ice skating, which was clearly a very popular activity with locals! They had gorgeous classic & instrumental music playing, and with the thick layer of soft white snow… it was pretty incredible.
Ice skaters at Lac-aux-Castors (Beaver Lake) in Parc du Mont-Royal
My son & husband made this epic 5 foot tall snowman at Beaver Lake in Parc Mont-Royal.
There is a building with rentals available inside if you want to go ice skating yourself. Get there early - it was crowded! They also have sledding just behind the lake that we were very excited about. Unfortunately the sled (glissade) rental tent was closed between the week of Christmas and New Years, so the kids didn't get to go sledding. It was a bit of a disappointment but another reason to go back!
We rallied by creating an epic 5-foot snowman and a surrounding snow fort. We noticed that some locals started taking photos of our snowman, and when we walked back by a bit later, a few other dads and kids were busy building their own snowmen, and one family was enjoying a game in the fort we had made. This was a really special moment for my son, who had worked hard on the snowman and fort and loved seeing other people enjoy it too!
Kondiaronk Belvedere (Kondiaronk Lookout)
We spent a second morning at Parc du Mont-Royal, this time at the Kondiaronk Belvedere, an incredible lookout with a view over Montreal and the Saint Lawrence River. The number 11 bus stops close to the lookout - the walk from the bus stop to the lookout is about 10 minutes (this is hard to gauge with kids :) ).
It’s a beautiful spot to relax and take in the natural beauty surrounding you, and the bustling city below. The area around the lookout seems popular for hiking with multiple trail signs between the bus stop and the belvedere. We also saw people cross-country skiing on designated ski trails, which absolutely blew my mind!
Where To Eat In Parc Du Mont-Royal
Café des Amis at the Pavillon du Lac-aux-Castors, Mont-Royal
There are a few "Cafés des Amis" throughout the Parc du Mont-Royal. The Café des Amis - Pavillon du Lac-aux-Castors (Beaver Lake) had a full lunch menu, a full coffee menu, vin chaud, allll the things! For a little park café, it was quite good. I recommend eating lunch a bit on the early side (before 12:30), or prepare to wait a long time. It’s really the only option at Beaver Lake. The Café des Amis location up at Kondiaronk Belvedere doesn't have full lunch options (or at least they didn't when we were there), but they do offer hot and cold drinks, locally-made pastries and baked goods, and packaged snacks.
Plateau-Mont-Royal
The neighborhood of Le Plateau-Mont-Royal (known as Plateau) is a cool, laid-back area filled with restaurants, bars and a more local feel than other neighborhoods we visited, like Vieux Montréal or Downtown.
It has a strong art and music scene, neither of which we really got to experience on this trip, but we did enjoy our walk along some picturesque neighborhood streets, including Rue Saint-Denis, with lots of brownstone-esque homes with huge staircases, we suppose to allow easier entry during periods of heavy snow. Some of the staircases were painted in beautiful, creative patterns, a nod to the artsy vibe of the neighborhood.
Parc La Fontaine
Twilight Walk and Frozen Lake, Parc La Fontaine
Parc La Fontaine is a large local park, complete with cross-country ski trails, sledding and a frozen lake for ice skating in the winter. Although it’s small in size compared to the expansive Parc du Mont-Royal, this is still a large park at 84 acres. It’s more typical of a large urban park - and a great one at that! We visited on a day where it was covered in huge blankets of white, fluffy snow, so while I have no idea what it actually looks like in the warmer months… still, our visit was really lovely. It's also near La Banquise, which is a popular poutine spot.
Aux Merveilleux De Fred
Aux Merveilleux de Fred is one of my favorite pastry shops in France. “Fred,” as I affectionately call it, started in Lille, France, but I’ve been to a few of the locations scattered throughout Paris. They have some shops outside of France, and lucky for us, one of them was in Montréal! Aux Merveilleux de Fred creates a meringue-type pastry, coated in a delicious cream and topping with shavings of chocolate or other flavors. I am usually not the biggest meringue fan, but their pastries are incredible (and a bit on the sweet side for French pastry). The chocolate "merveilleux" is my favorite! I breathed a sigh of relief when the kids loved it too, especially since I’d dragged them out to the Plateau neighborhood originally just for this reason!
Breizh Café
Breizh Café, Little Portugal (Montréal)
If you are looking for traditional galettes Bretonnes (savory crêpes made with buckwheat flour), this is the place to go! My husband and I took an incredible trip to Saint-Malo in the Brittany (Bretagne) region in France.
Since then, we have been a fan of traditionally savory crêpes, called galettes, made with buckwheat flour and various savory fillings (usually some combination of cheese, egg, a meat (ham or sometimes smoked salmon), and vegetables.
I found this café when searching for crêpe spots in Montréal that specifically said they used the traditional method of buckwheat flour, which is how we ended up here for my daughter’s birthday dinner. We loved it, and I’d definitely recommend a stop if you’re in the area.
Plateau Neighborhood Streets
Rue Saint-Denis, Plateau Mont-Royal
Rue Saint Denis:
A main thoroughfare through the neighborhood, with lots of shops and restaurants
Rue Rachel:
A fun local street that runs perpendicular to Rue Saint-Denis and up to Parc La Fontaine with colorful restaurants and shops.
Avenue Duluth:
We walked along this street just after sunset (at 4:30pm in December!), and the glow from the restaurants and small shops was quite beautiful.
Downtown Montreal (Centre-Ville)
Downtown Montréal spans the area between Parc du Mont-Royal and Vieux Montréal. It is pretty busy, filled with students from nearby universities, Chinatown, and some of the city’s main art venues and museums.
Luminothérapie
Luminothérapie is an outdoor, interactive art exhibit that runs from early December through early March. It takes place along the Place des Festivals and Saint-Catherine Street at Place des Arts, which are in the Quartier des Spectacles area of Downtown. Luminothérapie is interactive and enjoyable for kids especially, although I would have liked to explore it even if I were on my own! All of the exhibits have something to do with light, and they are meant to help combat the winter blues and give some energy and joy to those who visit the exhibits.
They have large, glowing see-saws, huge prisms that glow with different colored lights that you can spin, and my personal favorite: a series of musically-timed columns that each play a different instrument in an orchestra. This musical lights exhibit was up the steps in front of the Place des Arts complex (which includes theater and orchestra venues) and we enjoyed watching the lights “play” a few selections of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Symphony - very fitting for our visit just after Christmas!
The Great Montréal Christmas Market / Marché De Noël
We also made a visit to the Christmas Market (Marché de Noël) at Place des Festivals, which runs from mid-November through the end of December. Some of the ambiance was missing, since we were there on a “warm” day and it was after Christmas, but we still had a great time. The kids tried poutine from a food truck, we drank some vin chaud, and enjoyed walking around searching for elves on the walls, hidden by the organizers as a game for kids. They also had some interactive games, including one that apparently is a popular bar game in Canada - we made a few Canadians chuckle as they walked by, we guessed it was about our interpretation of how to play this game (none of them offered to educate us, though ;) ). The marché was a fun little visit, but I bet it’s definitely worth a stop earlier in the season.
What We Missed: For Our Next Trip To Montreal
Our kids are great walkers - we live in the city, and they are used to walking to destinations - they clocked 6-7 miles (9-11 km) each day of our trip! However, what we didn’t account for was their fascination with snow. My oldest had seen some halfway decent snowfall a time or two before in North Carolina, and he absolutely loves the snow (I think he should have been born Canandian!). My daughter really hasn’t ever seen it. So they were both very excited and *loved* playing in the snow… even the dirty snow along the busy city streets! It was quite the task to keep them moving, so we missed a couple of things we really were looking forward to - I guess that means we’ll need to go back!
Mile End - I would have loved to visit this neighborhood, tucked along one side of Plateau. It looks beautiful and local, and I was particularly looking forward to trying a St-Viateur Bagel.
Spa Bota Bota - truly almost everyone I asked about things to do in Montréal recommended this spa! It’s set along the Saint Lawrence River and looks like a great experience.
McCord Stewart Museum - this museum, located in Downtown/Centre-Ville, explores the social history of Montreal, with an appropriately significant focus on indigenous people. We were really disappointed to miss this (we had tickets and everything) - we just weren’t moving fast enough and had too much fun in the snow!
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts / Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal (MBAM) - the largest art museum in Canada, spanning five pavilions and an outdoor sculpture garden.
Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mont Royal - this beautiful basilica also apparently has great views of Parc du Mont-Royal and the city below.
Montreal Botanical Garden - this garden spans 185 acres and features greenhouses, Chinese and Japanese gardens, and Space for Life, a science museum with a planetarium, biodome and greenhouses.
Part 2 - First-Time Visitor Tips
Parc La Fontaine, Montréal
Winter Weather Gear
Twilight at Parc La Fontaine in the Plateau Neighborhood, Montréal
I am always cold, so my friends were (rightfully) quite concerned about my ability to survive a trip to Canada. While it was a bit on the warmer side when we were there - highs ranged from 25-40 degrees F (-3 to 4 degrees C) - I was never cold because we prepped well. Some of my top tips for packing warm in Montréal:
Base layers - these are the key. We were not cold in large part due to top and bottom base layers. If it had been much colder, I probably would have worn two base layers under my sweater and jeans. I purchased our base layers at REI and made sure to get midweight layers.
Good boots - I chose Sorels, but any true winter boot will do the trick. Most of these cold weather boots have a cold weather rating, listing the degrees to which the boots can keep your feet warm. Follow their guidance to size-up if noted on the product details.
Wool socks - I went with Smartwool but whatever wool brand you have will work. I wore two pairs of socks on most days.
Good gloves - tech gloves are the way to go - they aren’t quite as good as your uncovered finger in using your phone, but they will definitely do the job. I recommend two pairs: one thinner pair that you can wear most of the time, and a pair of those big chunky ski and snow gloves. Purchase the snow gloves one size bigger so that you can slide the thinner ones under them.
Walking Cleats - these saved me! I felt a little silly buying and packing these cleats, but they were key as someone who is a bit prone to slipping and tripping :) Especially on the “warmer” days where the ice got a bit slick, I stayed upright while I saw visitors and Canadians alike take some tumbles. I purchased Yaktrax Hiking and Walking cleats (found on Amazon). I did take them off before entering buildings so I didn’t scratch their floors, but I like that these cleats don’t have spikes on the bottom of the cleats (the traction cleats with spikes are a bit easier to find, but they are meant more for running, hiking, etc). I packed a wet bag, the type you would use for your swimsuit, and simply placed my cleats in the wet bag when going inside.
Navigating Montreal (Transit & Language)
Public Transit In Montréal
Place Jacques-Cartier in the Morning, Vieux Montréal
If you are familiar with metros in the US, this will feel very straightforward to you (especially if you’re used to a bigger system like NYC). The ticket kiosks function similarly to metros in DC, Chicago, San Francisco, Paris. Fares are per-ride (not based on distance traveled). You can use these tickets on either a metro ride or a bus ride.
We ended up taking the bus a few times when we were near Parc du Mont Royal, as it really is most convenient if you don’t have a car. The bus lines are also straightforward, and we were able to see on Google Maps when a bus was running behind, which was very helpful. An important note on the buses: they only take coins (including $1 and $2 coins), no bills, no credit cards, and no change. It’s definitely worth buying at a metro station or ticket stand before taking the bus.
Language In Montréal
Action Shot: the Family in Parc La Fontaine, Montréal
I speak a pretty good amount of French, which was helpful particularly when reading signage or interacting with people outside of the touristy areas. People did not always switch into English for me, but it could be because I was doing just fine in French :) I noticed that most people switched into English when the rest of my family was near me, as they could hear us speaking in English.
I will say that sometimes I had no idea what people were saying to me - the Québécois French is quite different! So I wouldn’t worry too much about learning the language - if you can say a few words in French, you should be absolutely fine. My recommendation is to select a few episodes from the Coffee Break French podcast (season 1).
Part 3 - Montreal Travel Guide Map
The map below shows all of the places mentioned above, pinned and ready for you to use on your trip!
Let me know if you use this guide when planning your visit to Montréal, and I’d love to hear what you enjoyed… and if you found anything interesting I should add to my list for my next visit!
