Montreal's main sights fall into three clusters, which makes them easy to plan. Old Montreal holds Notre-Dame Basilica, with its blue and gold interior and the evening AURA light show, and Pointe-à-Callière, the archaeology museum built over the city's birthplace. Downtown, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the McCord Stewart Museum are a short walk apart on Sherbrooke Street, and Mount Royal Park rises just behind them, with the Kondiaronk Belvedere giving the classic view of the skyline. Saint Joseph's Oratory, on the mountain in Côte-des-Neiges, is close enough to combine with a walk in the park.
The third cluster is in the east, where the Olympic Park, the Biodôme and the Montreal Botanical Garden sit around the 1976 Olympic site. Allow most of a day here, as the Biodôme and the garden each deserve two hours or more. The Biosphère, Buckminster Fuller's dome from Expo 67, is on Île Sainte-Hélène across the river from the Old Port. Space for Life runs the Biodôme, the Botanical Garden and the Biosphère, and publishes opening hours week by week, so check them before you go. Note that the Montreal Tower at the Olympic Park is closed for renovation until spring 2027. Book timed tickets for popular exhibitions at the Museum of Fine Arts, and check Mass times, which are in French, before visiting the basilica.
10 places · Updated October 27, 2026
Our top 3 attractions in Montreal
Attraction
Gothic Revival basilica on Place d'Armes in Old Montreal, known for its deep blue, star-studded vaults, its 1891 Casavant organ and the AURA evening light show.
View details — Notre-Dame Basilica of MontrealAttraction
Frederick Law Olmsted's park on the mountain that gives Montreal its name, with the Kondiaronk Belvedere city view, Beaver Lake, forest trails and winter sports.
View details — Mount Royal ParkAttraction
Fine arts museum founded in 1860, spread over five pavilions on Sherbrooke Street, with world cultures, Inuit, Quebec, Canadian and contemporary art.
View details — Montreal Museum of Fine ArtsAttraction
Domed basilica and pilgrimage shrine on Mount Royal in Côte-des-Neiges, founded by Saint Brother André, with free entry, a museum and wide views over the city.
View details — Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount RoyalAttraction
Archaeology and history museum in Old Montreal built over the city's birthplace, with remains in situ, the William collector sewer and a multimedia show on Montreal's story.
View details — Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Archaeology and History ComplexAttraction
A 75-hectare botanical garden founded in 1931 beside the Olympic Park, with Chinese, Japanese and First Nations gardens, year-round greenhouses and the Insectarium.
View details — Montreal Botanical GardenAttraction
Living museum in the former 1976 Olympic velodrome that recreates five ecosystems of the Americas, from a tropical rainforest to the sub-Antarctic islands.
View details — Montreal BiodômeAttraction
Downtown social history museum founded in 1921, with millions of objects, images and documents on Montreal life, fashion, photography and Indigenous cultures.
View details — McCord Stewart MuseumAttraction
Buckminster Fuller's geodesic dome on Île Sainte-Hélène, built as the US pavilion for Expo 67 and now an environment museum run by Space for Life.
View details — BiosphèreAttraction
Site of the 1976 Summer Olympics, home to Roger Taillibert's stadium and the world's tallest inclined tower, now an events, sports and leisure park.
View details — Olympic Park