What to Do in Montreal: 11 Fun Ideas for Locals and Visitors

What to do in Montreal? Honestly, pretty much everything.

We get asked this all the time. Friends visiting for the weekend. People who just moved here. Even Montrealers who've lived here forever and keep ending up at the same bar every Friday.

So here's our list. Some classics, some local favourites, and a few things you might not have thought of.

Let's go.

1. Walk around Old Montreal

If it's your first time here, start in Old Montreal. Cobblestone streets, old stone buildings, the Old Port right on the river.

Check out Notre Dame Basilica. Walk down Saint Paul Street. Grab a drink on a terrace when the weather's nice.

Yes, it's touristy. Go anyway. There's a reason everyone does.

2. Climb Mount Royal

We have a mountain in the middle of the city. Use it.

Take the trails up from Park Avenue to the Kondiaronk Belvedere. That's the lookout with the view of downtown you've probably seen on Instagram. It's free and it's open all year.

Fall is our favourite time to go. Winter is great too if you don't mind a bit of snow.

3. Bar hop in the Plateau

This is where a lot of Montreal nights start. And end.

Saint Laurent, Saint Denis and Mont Royal are packed with bars. Cocktail spots, dive bars, craft beer, dance floors. You can walk from one to the next all night without ever needing a cab.

Our advice? Don't plan too much. Pick a starting point and see where you end up.

And remember, bars here close at 3am. Pace yourself.

4. Walk along the Lachine Canal

The Lachine Canal path runs from the Old Port all the way to Lachine. It's one of the best ways to see the city without rushing.

Walk it, bike it, or grab a BIXI. You'll pass through Griffintown and Saint Henri, with lots of spots to stop for a coffee or a bite. Atwater Market is right by the water too, so stop in for some local produce and snacks.

Summer is the busiest. Fall is quieter. Both are worth it.

5. Go see a standup comedy show

Ok, we're a little biased on this one. But hear us out.

Montreal has a growing comedy scene, in English and in French, with tons of up and coming Montreal comedians worth getting to know. If you're wondering what to do in Montreal on a random Tuesday night, a comedy show is always a good call.

That's where we come in. Laugh It Off MTL is an independent bilingual standup comedy production company. We don't have one club. We bring shows to bars and restaurants all over the city.

Which means every time you come to a show, you discover a new venue.

One night it's a speakeasy hidden under a restaurant in Old Montreal. Another night it's a spot right on the Lachine Canal. Then a pub in Griffintown, or a neighbourhood bar in NDG. Different room every time. Same good standup.

We do English shows and French shows on separate nights, so pick whichever language you laugh in. Some nights are pro lineups. Some are open mics where you catch comics trying out brand new material before anyone else hears it.

And it fits with pretty much everything else on this list. Walk the canal, grab dinner, catch a show. Or start your Plateau bar crawl with an hour of standup first.

Check out all our shows and grab tickets at laughitoffmtl.ca. Limited seats at most venues, so book ahead.

6. Eat. A lot.

You can't talk about what to do in Montreal without talking about food. There are more good restaurants here than you'll ever get through. Here are a few fan favourites to start with.

Satay Brothers. A Saint Henri classic for Southeast Asian street food. Pork belly buns, laksa, satay. It gets busy. It's worth it.

Momo by Christian Ventura. You might know it as Sushi Momo. It's on Saint Denis in the Plateau and the whole menu is vegan sushi. Even our friends who swear by regular sushi love it. Reserve ahead, it fills up.

Dobe & Andy. A Hong Kong style diner in Chinatown. Get a milk tea, pick something off the menu and you're set. Easy stop before or after a day downtown.

St Viateur and Fairmount. The great Montreal bagel debate. Both are in Mile End, a few blocks apart. Try one from each and pick a side. We won't tell you ours.

La Banquise. Poutine on Rachel Street, with way more options than you'd expect. The unofficial last stop after a night in the Plateau.

Jean Talon Market. Not a restaurant, but if you love food, go. It's a huge market in Little Italy with local produce, cheese, maple stuff and plenty to snack on.

7. Hit a museum

Rainy day? The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts on Sherbrooke is a solid plan. Pointe à Callière in Old Montreal is built right on the spot where the city was founded, and tells that story.

8. Catch free live music

Some of the best nights out in Montreal don't cost anything to get in. You just need to know where to go.

Le P'tit Bar. If you want the real Québécois bar experience, this is it. It's a tiny spot on Saint Denis in the Plateau, and there's free live music every single day, mostly French songs, night after night. Grab a drink, squeeze in and sing along if you know the words. Get there early, because it fills up fast.

Honey Martin. This NDG pub is a true neighbourhood spot with live music on the calendar. It's also where we do our free Laugh It Off MTL comedy show on the last Monday of every month. So you can catch a band one night and come back for standup the next.

Pair either one with a Plateau bar crawl or dinner nearby and you've got a full night out without spending much at all.

9. Play free trivia with Quiz Master Brian

If you've never done pub trivia in Montreal, you're missing out. And the guy you want running it is Quiz Master Brian.

Brian is one of the most active trivia hosts in the city. He runs free trivia nights at bars all over town, like the Burgundy Lion in Little Burgundy, plus themed trivia nights at spots like The Wheel Club.

The format is simple. Get a team together, pick a team name you'll regret later, and go round after round. His nights are bilingual, so everybody can play.

It's one of the best cheap nights out in the city. Worst case, you learn some random facts. Best case, you win and get to brag about it all week.

Follow Quiz Master Brian to see where he's hosting each week.

10. Find a festival

They call Montreal the city of festivals for a reason. There's always something on.

Everyone knows the summer ones like Jazz Fest and Osheaga. But the colder months are busy too. This November alone you've got Coup de cœur francophone celebrating French music from November 5 to 15, M pour Montréal with new artists from November 18 to 21, and the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) from November 19 to 29.

Then the Grand Marché de Noël opens at Place des Festivals around November 20, with free shows through the holidays.

11. Go underground

When it's freezing out, Montrealers just go underground. The underground city connects malls, food courts, metro stations and office towers all across downtown.

You can get around half of downtown without ever putting your coat on. Shop, eat, explore, then pop out right where you need to be.

So, what are you doing this week?

Climb the mountain. Walk the canal. Eat way too many bagels. Then come laugh with us somewhere you've never been before.

Laugh It Off MTL has shows all over the city, in English and in French, and every one is a new venue to discover. Grab your tickets at laughitoffmtl.ca. Limited seats available.

See you at the show.