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Tours

Ring[2777]

Classic Highlights Tours

Downtown, Old Montreal or both

Montreal is the city of festivals, multiculturalism, joie de vivre, fine dining and a hub for research and development in Artificial Intelligence. Lots going for it! Right down to urban planning, it’s unique in North America due to the coming together of two cultures.

We’ll discover the must-see buildings, museums, squares, monuments and delve into the history of one of the largest French-speaking cities in the world — all with a personalized approach. No tour would be complete without a list of recommendations: restaurants, bars, activities, festivals and shopping.

*The Old Montreal walking tour makes a great shore excursion, since our port is adjacent to the old town. I can pick you up near the cruise ship port.

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Underground Stay Indoors Tour

Montrealers enjoy the great outdoors to survive the winter during their leisure time. But the rest of the week, we have to get to where we’re going and can’t let the weather hold us back. Each day, half a million users appreciate the convenience of shops, restaurants, access to bus terminals and the train station, ATMs, and other services as well as the tasteful light therapy some of the passages provide.

 

Let me guide you through this intriguing labyrinth while explaining its origins, how and why it grew to the largest in the world by connecting to the metro system. Discover some of the most attractive passages with fabulous art on display, and explore several of the prestigious inter-connected buildings while staying warm and dry.

 

Meeting point

Queen Elizabeth Hotel lobby, 900 René-Lévesque Blvd. West

 

Duration: 3 hours

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RESO 2-2023[2782]
Bagels 2-2023[2783]

Montreal Jewish Heritage Tour

It took centuries of anti-semitism and exclusion before Montreal Jews became aware that they truly belonged to a society like no other.

Not only did they form the “third solitude”, but they were sandwiched in between the other two along St. Laurent Blvd., the metropolis’s main street. It is there that they took up residence, worked relentlessly in the schmata industry and founded their own institutions, shops and places of worship.

Judaism in Quebec is distinct from that found in other parts of North America. Come discover, in the historic Jewish neighbourhood, all of its tenacity, warmth and originality. In addition, you’ll get acquainted with some real characters who played essential roles in the community. Shalom!

Meeting point depends on duration of tour 

Duration: 2 or 3 hours

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Tantalizing Tasting Tour for Two

The Mile End neighbourhood is often compared to Williamsburg in Brooklyn: same artsy vibe, similar demographics, a strong hipster presence in coffee shops and restaurants, street art, etc. Formerly a poor and rough part of town dominated by the garment industry, it has become Montreal’s trendiest neighbourhood with the largest concentration of artists in Canada.

A few of its eateries are veritable institutions, and you’ll be able to sample some of their “classics” as well as offerings with a modern twist. Between food stops, you’ll get a better understanding of what makes this neighbourhood tick, an appreciation for the car-less and outdoor staircase lifestyle, as well as a peek at great public art.

Menu

Salad, meat sandwich, cannoli, bagels, coffee, wine or beer

Menu options subject to change.

Unfortunately, Montreal’s culinary heritage is not rich in gluten-free or vegan food. Therefore, if you have any restrictions, please let me know, so that we can find suitable alternatives. Keep in mind that there are NO gluten-free or vegan options at the bagel factory.

This tour can be adapted for 1, 3 or 4 people.

Duration: 3 hours

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Grazie Mille[2781]
English Pug[2780]

Discover Old Montreal Through Storytelling

A private tour even a teenager might enjoy!

What was life like in the early decades of Montreal?

Join me on a three-hour journey through time in the historic centre with its exquisite architecture, cobblestone streets and old-world charm. You’ll meet the “First Family of Montreal”, a canine hero, a trailblazing teacher and “matchmaking facilitator”, plus learn about the origins of Notre Dame Basilica.

Enjoy stories you likely won’t find in guidebooks and retrace the steps of the men and women who, in the 17th century, shaped New France and Montreal, today the largest French-speaking city on the continent.

Meeting point: Pointe-à-Callière Museum, 350 Place Royale

Duration: 2 or 3 hours

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Pioneering Women of Montreal (1642-1771)

Strong women played major roles in the founding of Montreal and its survival in the late 17th and early 18th century.

Join me on a three-hour journey through time in Old Montreal with its exquisite architecture, cobblestone streets and old-world charm.

You’ll retrace the steps of three generations of women from the Godé family, the founder of the second-oldest hospital in North America, Canada’s first historian, and a trailblazing teacher and “matchmaking facilitator”.

Listen to stories you likely won’t find in guidebooks, giving you a deeper understanding of what life was like in the early years of the colony.

Meeting location: Pointe à Callière Museum, 350 Place Royale

Duration: 2 or 3 hours 

(2 km or 1.5 miles)

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Marriageable Grils 2[2605]

Maison St-Gabriel et Site historique

Daisy Peterson Sweeney[2778]

Little Burgundy: Railroads, Jazz and Urban Development Experiment

Come explore this bright and busy neighbourhood in the former industrial Sud-Ouest borough, which has been experiencing a major make-over in recent years.

Murals, community gardens, a mysterious tower, and some of the city’s most famed restaurants highlight this tour, taking you on a journey through over two centuries of “The Berg’s” rich history.

All aboard!

Meeting point for 2-hour tour: Centre culturel Georges-Vanier,

2450 Workman Street

Meeting point for 3-hour tour: Lionel Groulx Metro Station,

620 Atwater Avenue

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Sherbrooke Street:

the Grande Dame of Montreal

This has long been my favourite street downtown because of the fabulous architecture, the Museum of Fine Arts, high-end shopping and its air of sophistication.

Sherbrooke Street, our city’s Fifth Avenue, has something for everyone: grand hotels, museums, public art, elegant mansions, McGill University’s sprawling and lush campus, luxury apartments and fossils–yes, fossils!

Join me in admiring some of the treasures of one of Montreal’s longest and most diverse streets.

Duration: 2 hours

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Ritz[2776]

Photo: Maison St-Gabriel

Bike ME[2774]

Bicycle Tours

In addition to keeping you cooler in summertime, a bike tour is a great way to cover more ground and see more sights than on a walking tour.

One of my favourite itineraries, through Plateau Mount-Royal’s diverse residential neighbourhoods, keeps you on relatively flat terrain. However, we can also explore downtown and Old Montreal. And if you want guaranteed flat terrain, why not consider the Lachine Canal cycling path: 14 km (8 miles) long, but we don’t have to do the entire length!

With its close to 900 km of bike lanes, Montreal is a cyclist’s paradise. My itineraries favour bike lanes, including the REV, and quiet residential streets.

Bikes and helmets are not included, but I can assist you in renting them.

Your bicycle options:

bring your own

rent a bike (I can refer trusted rental shops depending on meeting point)

rent a BIXI regular or e-bike (Montreal’s bike-sharing system)

 

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Little Italy

Montreal’s largest cultural community initially settled in this area, far from the hustle and bustle of downtown, where they could afford to buy real estate, grow fruits and vegetables, hunt, and make their own wine.

Although today our 260,000 Italians largely live elsewhere in the city, Little Italy remains a major draw with its great coffee shops and restaurants, exquisite church, Milano’s grocery store selling authentic Italian products and, of course, the Jean Talon Market–Canada’s largest outdoor farmers’ market.

Step into this most colourful and fragrant neighbourhood and discover its institutions as well as some hidden gems.

Meeting point:
Jean-Talon Metro (orange line) at the corner of Jean-Talon Street        and St-Vallier Street

Duration: 2 or 3 hours

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Arch over St. Laurent Blvd.[2790]
Chain[2775]

If our sculptures could talk

Montreal is chock-full of public art, so I have chosen some of our most beloved sculptures to tell you their story. It’s an original way of learning about the history of Montreal, Quebec and Canada while familiarizing yourself with our artists. You’ll also catch a glimpse of the duality between French- and English-speakers which has been such an important part of the fabric of our city since the 18th century.                            

                                     Old Montreal (West section)                                   Meeting point: Monument to Queen Victoria, Square Victoria

                                    Old Montreal (East section)                                    

Meeting point: Château Ramezay, 280 Notre Dame St. East

                                                  Downtown                                               

Meeting point: 772 Sherbrooke St. West

Duration: 2 or 3 hours

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Portuguese Neighbourhood

During the Renaissance, Portuguese explorers contributed to drawing the world map.

That same spirit of adventure may be what brought a few hundred men to Canada to find work in the early 1950s, eventually leading them to the workshops and textile mills lining St. Laurent Blvd. on the Plateau.

Come see and taste what this vibrant community has brought to the city they embraced with so much affection.

Meeting point:

Parc du Portugal, corner St. Laurent Blvd. and Marie-Anne St.

Duration: 2 or 3 hours

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Rooster[2773]
Chapel[2771]

St. Paul Street:

A Surprise Around Every Corner

What do Leonard Cohen, Charles Dickens and Yoko Ono have in common? Find out on this fun and eye-opening stroll along Montreal’s oldest and possibly most eclectic street located in the old town.

See some sights that even locals don’t know about. You’ll discover awe-inspiring heritage buildings, art galleries, designer boutiques, and hidden gems tucked away here and there.

This tour covers a lot of ground, so you can truly soak in the romantic ambience and European flavour of Old Montreal.

Meeting point:

Notre Dame de Bonsecours Chapel, 400 St. Paul Street East

Duration: 2 or 3 hours

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McGILL: BEYOND THE CAMPUS

Over 170,000 students attend university in our city. International students–35,000 of them–seek out Montreal because of the quality of its universities but also for the quality of life: great food, low cost of living, safety, job opportunities, etc.

Now a world-class institution, sometimes nicknamed “Harvard of the North”, McGill does a good job of offering live campus tours, so this tour concentrates on what’s beyond, but within walking distance of the downtown campus. I’ll show you where to seek medical attention, ATMs, housing options, the nearest subway station, where to buy proper winter clothing, coffee shops, bookstores, etc.

Duration: 2 or 3 hours

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IMG_1183[2787]

Maisonneuve Neighbourhood:

From Riches to Rags and Back Again

A former industrial sector once known as the “Pittsburgh of Canada”, this neighbourhood is now filled with green alleys, mosaics, murals and poetry.

Within a few meters of each other, you will discover repurposed factories, handsome duplexes and triplexes with their outdoor staircases, and … LOTS of turtles!

What is fascinating here is this “side-by-sideness” of the old and new, breathtaking Beaux-Arts monuments in a place otherwise packed with workers’ lodgings, where French-Canadian factory bosses lived alongside their workers, on the same street.

Come marvel at the contrasts that abound in Maisonneuve.

Duration: 2 or 3 hours

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350 Years Along the Lachine Rapids

The lakeshore along Lake St. Louis and the rapids located about 15 km from Montreal are rich in history, heritage and cultural sites. Founded in 1667, Lachine was the third parish on the island of Montreal and owes its remarkable development to its location upstream of the rapids, ideal for the fur trade.

A half-day of exploring awaits: ancestral homes dating back to the French regime, waterfront parks, a convent, an old brewery, one of the oldest windmills on the island, and the Lachine canal, cradle of Canadian industry.

Transportation

For parties of 2, a car and driver can be arranged (extra).

For parties of 3 to 30, you must provide your own vehicle.

Duration: 4 hours

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faro33
View from Habitat[2784]

Driving Tours

If you have your own vehicle or would like me to arrange the rental of a car with driver, driving tours are a great way to cover more terrain, including giving you access to the look-out on Mount Royal with no vertical to worry about.

Contact me for a quote.

Choose from:

Classic Highlights Tour

Jewish Heritage Tour

Little Burgundy: Railroads, Jazz and Urban Development Experiment

Maisonneuve Neighbourhood: From Riches to Rags and Back Again

350 Years Along the Lachine Rapids

Duration: 3 hours

IT'S THE GOLDEN SQUARE MILE!

Drummond, McGill, Redpath, McTavish, Stephen : famous names that can be found in a downtown area measuring roughly one square mile. But who were these Scottish merchant princes, living in the lap of luxury in the shade of Mount Royal at the end of the 19th century? Largely thanks to them, Montreal became, at the time, the economic and financial centre of British North America.

Focusing mostly on the perimeter around the McGill University campus, this tour is designed to help you discover the institutions founded by these wealthy Montrealers, stately homes and the colourful personalities who owned them.

Duration: 2 or 3 hours

Tour type (click to scroll down)
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