Everyone heads to the mountain to hike when fall arrives, but our top pick goes to the two relic islands that make up Parc Jean-Drapeau. Tended to by gardeners and groundskeepers, Île Notre-Dame and Île Sainte-Hélène are great places to spend sunny fall days, afternoons and early evenings exploring the leftover ruins of Expo 67 and the buildings that remain as you snap photos and picnic on beds of fallen leaves.
UPDATE, September 22: Another fall season has arrived in Montreal, and if you want to know exactly when are where the leaves are turning colour both on the island and across the province, don't forget to check out this map of fall foliage from Tourisme Quebec. Get out there and enjoy the crisp, cool air and all the PSL lattes you can handle.
Once the autumnal equinox comes around, leaves start to turn colour begins and fall in Montreal, a brief but beautiful time lasting from late September until late October to explore the city. This lasts until late December, when the winter solstice begin.
While the island is flush with trees (the Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science's last count put us at more than 300,000), there's no need to sit indoors watching a tree change colour outside your apartment window. That's like watching paint dry. It's time to go for strolls in Montreal parks, maybe take some scenic drives from Montreal, go hiking near Montreal—anywhere and everywhere you can snag a panoramic shot or fiery red, awesome oranges and mellow yellows.
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