35 best free things to do in Montreal

A total solar eclipse is happening on April 8, 2024, and Montreal is on the path of totality meaning the city is located in a prime viewing spot. Mark your calendar for a viewing party, and don't miss grabbing your pair of free eclipse glasses from the library locations listed below!

Serena Van Der Woodsen was spotted eating and drinking her way across Montreal's Mile End and her picks are all worth the hype. From a donut shop with a cult following to the home of Montreal's famous viral pink drink, Serena van Der Woodsen is spilling all the gossip XOXO. Don't miss Mile End's hottest new restaurant, ranked one of the best global openings in 2024.

A Latin enclave and hipster hotspot, Saint-Hubert Plaza is partly covered with a glass roof, making it ripe for exploring whatever the season. You'll find art galleries, brunch spots, some of the hottest new restaurants in th city and coolest bars. Don't miss the honky tonk and line-dancing at Spaghetti Western.

Wednesday evenings after 5 p.m. and every first Sunday of the month are free at the McCord Museum. Your ticket includes access to major exhibitions like Indigenous Voices of Today, which bears witness to the still unrecognized knowledge of Indigenous peoples in Quebec and Canada, the deep wounds they carry and their resilience. 

One of the best things to do this season is checking out Luminothérapie—original and interactive winter experiences in the form of large light-and-sound installations designed specifically for public spaces. This year, six new works will debut in downtown Montreal, one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the world, for the first time in Canada around the theme of the Cosmos.  

Finding the city too hot or too cool? Great, because we built a series of underground tunnels that go for 33km through shopping centers, office buildings, hotels and businesses. If you don’t want to walk outside, you don’t have to. When you reach the Eaton Centre, make sure to visit Time Out Market Montréal where you'll find the best chefs and restaurants in the city under one roof.

Smack in the middle of the Island of Montreal is its pride and joy, Mount Royal. This small mountain and Quebec Heritage site offers some of the best views, nature paths, winter sledding, and trails for (winter) biking, hiking, walking or jogging. With three public buildings on site for shelter, information and bathroom breaks, visiting the mountain is the ideal activity on a sunny afternoon—especially on summer Sundays for the Tam Tams, a freeform drum circle that’s been happening at the foot of George-Étienne Cartier Monument weekly for over 40 years. 

It's no surprise that the city was recently ranked one of the best cities in the world. The second oldest city in Canada, Montreal's combination of history and landscape with 20th century architectural wonders results in a never-ending list of attractions to check out—like Marcus Samuelsson's favourite Montreal spots (hint: Leonard Cohen might have something to do with it).

Entry is free for all at Les Premiers Vendredis—a Montreal festival that brings together an enormous number of food trucks—is one of Canada's biggest gatherings of its kind. Head to Montreal's Olympic Stadium Esplanade starting on June 2 for a taste of Montreal's diverse culture and cuisine each month (wait for it) on the first Friday from June to October—rain or shine. The food is some of the best cheap eats in the city, and the new “Rue Culturelle” offers visitors a (free!) opportunity to celebrate diversity through music and dance.

If there’s one thing you’ll want to do during Montreal’s hot and sticky summer season besides grabbing a drink, it’s taking a dip in one of the city’s many swimming pools. One of the biggest, best (and recently redone) free pools around is located at Parc Jarry and sports a fenced-in grassy area to lay your towel in case searing hot and hard concrete isn’t your poolside jam. If you’re after something in the heart of the Plateau, Parc Sir-Wilfrid-Laurier’s pool is free too, but only on weekends and holidays. And don't forget the city's beaches!

From murals and street art to some of the city's most stunning landmarks, take a guided bike tour—or just DIY your own). With more than 3,450 km of bike paths at your disposal in Montreal and its surroundings (plus the free maps published online via Vélo Québec, Bixi and other organziations), customize your own route and start exploring.

You know what's just as enjoyable as summer hiking? Winter hiking! Use this list to plan your next excursion into the woods, trail or park no matter what time of year. Some of the spots are smack dab in the middle of the city, and some are off the beaten path. No matter what, make sure you bring something delicious to eat and drink with you.

MURAL is an annual live-art festival every June that sees buildings all along Boulevard St-Laurent and the surrounding Plateau streets get painted by some of the world’s most famous urban artists. Over the festival’s weekend The Main closes for a street sale, live music shows and more, all for free—and of course, you can walk around and watch the 30-odd artists at work. The murals stay well beyond the festival dates, though, and add to the previous years’ artistic legacy. Make your own walking tour anytime of year and fill your thread with colourful posts.

Soak up some history for free at City Hall, a Second Empire statement building located right between Place Jacques Cartier and Champ de Mars in Old Montreal. Every Friday from early October to late June, Montreal’s City Hall offers free tours in English or French, where you can learn about the architects, Henri-Maurice Perrault and Alexander Cowper Hutchison, about the massive 1922 fire that destroyed half the city’s records, or about this building’s significance in historic moments—like in 1967, when French President General de Gaulle made his famous “Vive le Québec libre!” speech from its balcony.

This affluent borough’s beautiful library and greenhouse are next to the scenic Westmount Park, and are open to the public with the exception of borrowing privileges.  The library’s huge collection of books, movies, music and activities for adults, teens and kids make it a great place to explore, with the recently renovated, under-the-radar greenhouse next door for a colourful floral fix. 

This downtown public library is the province’s largest and most visited, a tall and expansive structure of wood and glass designed by Vancouverite and Québécois architects. Whiling away an afternoon here’s easy when sifting through their millions of titles—30% of which are in English—or checking out thousands of albums, films, video games at their dozens of audio and visual stations. Membership for Quebec residents is free, but if you’re just visiting, it’s still worth exploring. Bibliophiles should also check out the library’s book fair at the end of May, when old titles go for cheap.

Home to some of Montreal’s best contemporary artists, the Belgo Building located near the Quartier des Spectacles allows visitors to easily make their way from one exhibition to the next. All of its 27 galleries, artist workshops and dance studios are housed within the building’s six floors and are open to the public. Don’t miss Galerie Laroche/Joncas, Project Pangée, CIRCA art actuel, Centre des arts actuels Skol and Galerie Lilian Rodriguez on your next visit.

With an its jaw-droppingly massive audiovisual collection, the Médiathèque Guy-L.-Coté is the Cinémathèque québécoise’s access point to all of its films, scripts, books, photographs and more. With thousands of videos to view, it’s a window onto tons of local and international cinematography. While the rest of the Cinémathèque has admission fees for screenings and performances, this section is open and free to the public.

There’s never a dull moment around Boulevard St-Laurent in the summer. Head to the Parc des Amériques on the corner of St-Laurent and Rachel during the St-Ambroise Montréal Fringe Festival over a couple of weeks in June and you can soak up some free entertainment anytime of day, whether that’s music or excerpts from some of the productions on view. It’s a good way to sample before you buy tickets. That’s also where the beer tent is, if you feel like shelling out a couple of bucks for some bevvies.

The International Fireworks Competition runs twice a week throughout the summer, from the end of June to the end of July. While the actual fireworks are set off at local amusement park La Ronde, they can be seen anywhere along the waterfront in the Old Port or—for the best vantage point—on the Jacques Cartier bridge which closes to traffic for this very occasion.

Circus is supersized in Montreal (which spawned Cirque du Soleil) and this July, that means 3 Giants: three ginormous, 52-foot steel structures shaped like giants that will act as living stages for free circus arts performances in central Montreal. Each site features a completely different show by a different local circus troupe—Cirque Éloize, Machine de cirque and 7 doigts—twice a day for 10 days, at 6 pm and 9:30 pm, all free.

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It’s clear that Montreal’s a festival town when seeing how much locals love to eat, drink and party in the streets whenever possible. The best part about the many music festivals that take place throughout the year, like the International Jazz Festival, Les Francofolies, Les Nuits D’Afrique and the indie music festival Pop Montreal is that there are plenty of shows, live entertainment and activities to partake in, and all totally gratuit!

Seven stations located near downtown tourist attractions during the summer weekends will be offering free rides: Saint-Laurent, Place-des-Arts, Peel, Champ-de-Mars, Place-d'Armes, Berri-UQAM and McGill—a few steps from Time Out Market Montréal in the Eaton Centre. Berri-UQAM, Champ-de-Mars and Place-d'Armes are universally accessible and are equipped with elevators.

As much as this city loves festivals and parades, it also loves closing down major streets in the summer so folks can wander freely to eat, drink, shop and dine. There’s an overwhelming amount to choose from, but our personal favourites include: The Masson Street and St-Hubert Plaza fairs in Rosemont; the Saint-Laurent street fairs that happen at the beginning and end of the summer; a Mount-Royal Avenue fair in the Plateau; a Monkland fair in NDG; Wellington street fairs in Verdun; a San Marziale street fair on Saint-Viateur in the Mile End; a Greek street fair on Saint-Roch in Park Extension.

Every August, Little Italy closes off its streets to traffic for a week for businesses to set up stands and hawk their best food. This week-long event’s got its gastronomic delights—pizza, pasta, espressos, cannoli—but hits its zenith with a free opera performance. Grab a seat at the large stage set up outside of the Notre-Dame-de-la-Défense Church, or grab a six-pack and find a comfy spot on the grass in the adjacent Dante Park, and enjoy high art without its typical price tag.

Montrealers are lucky enough to be in a city filled with green spaces, so why not hang out in one of them? Parc La Fontaine has choice sunbathing spots and people-watching benches, Parc Jeanne-Mance is the perfect summer picnic space and Parc Sir-Wilfrid-Laurier has public ping pong tables and courts for boules. Or you can head to Parc Jarry for its wide-open spaces ideal for any kind of sport, or wander through Westmount Park for its scenic maple trees and duck pond. You can't go wrong with any of them.

The manmade waterway that runs eastward from the borough of Lachine to Montreal’s Old Port offers beautiful views of the city skyline, cool breezes and a paved path on either side. Ideal for strolling, biking, jogging or just sitting on one of its many public benches or Adirondack chairs to relax, the Lachine Canal is the Southwest’s top attraction. Pro-tip: Visit the area around Atwater Market in the summer for a free mist shower or game of chess.

Want to take a break from the island without really leaving it? Head to Jean-Drapeau park, a massive green space that lies in the center of a man-made island just south of Old Montreal. Home to the La Ronde amusement park, the famous Grand Prix F1 race track, the Montreal Casino and numerous summer music festivals, this space also has public beaches, pools, walking trails, art and the Floralie Gardens, where you can wander through 25 hectares made up of thousands of rose bushes, annuals and several varieties of perennials, trees and shrubs.

As much as Montrealers love a good party, they also love a good parade. That’s why when Pride Week, Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day, or Halloween rolls around, we can’t wait to dust off those floats, get dressed up, put some booze in our coffee and take it to the streets. Whether it’s Santa Claus or a pipe band, dancing drag queens or slow-moving zombies, we’ve got your free holiday parade entertainment covered.

Comic book fans rejoice: This international event happens on the first Saturday in May, celebrating comic books and the local shops that provide them. With free comic books and activities on offer, participating stores this year include Drawn & Quarterly, Crossover Comics, Brave Comix, Omnibus Bookstore, Chez Geeks, Komico, and more. Some of these shops hold events for kids in parks as well.

Montréal en Lumière's festival and events bring hundreds of the best winter activities to Montrealers and visitors from February 16 - March 6. From the killer musical program (folk, symphonic, rock and nursery rhymes, for starters) to the countless free activities, Quartier des Spectacles and its Place des Festivals is the essential Montreal winter destination.