montreal.com - activities for kids

Updated July 2, 2010

The official city site has a portal page of all its activities for kids.

The Olympic Park

The Biodome, Botanical Gardens and Insectarium are all located around the Olympic Park and can be seen conveniently during the same day. Consult the websites for package deals on entrance fees. Adjacent to the Botanical Garden is Parc Maisonneuve, a large green space with plenty of room for a picnic or just a pleasant walk (or cross-country-skiing and snowshoeing, in wintertime).

Please note that the Biodôme and Insectarium are currently closed because of a labour dispute with the city. The Botanical Garden remains open.

Biodôme

Four eco-zones: tropical forest, Laurentian forest, polar world and St. Lawrence marine ecosystem. Essentially, this is an indoor zoo. The Biodome penguins are sometimes visible on the webcam above from montrealcam.com (not related to this website).

4777 av. Pierre de Coubertin
Metro Viau
514-868-3000
9 a.m.-5 p.m. (summer closing 6 p.m.)
Rates vary and can include package deals with the Botanical Garden, Insectarium and Olympic tower, but the basic adult ticket is $16 and kids' tickets vary from $2.50 to $12.

Remember that if you're a Montreal resident you can get the Accès Montréal card which gives you discounts on entry fees for many local museums and attractions.

Botanical Gardens

Chinese, Japanese and First Nations gardens, greenhouses, touch garden with braille labels for the blind, alpine garden, arboretum and more. There are gardening areas for young people and day camp activities in summer. These activities are in French only and are ongoing, requiring registration – there isn't anything specifically for tourist children passing through.

In early spring, butterflies are set free to roam around inside the biggest greenhouse. In autumn, throughout September and October, the Chinese garden is lit with thousands of lanterns and is a very popular evening visit. Winter brings Christmas decor and choral concerts to the greenhouses.

4104 Sherbrooke East
Metro Pie-IX
514-872-1400
Schedule and rates vary throughout the year: adult access now costs $16.

Insectarium

A bug's world. Popular field trip for schools.
4581 Sherbrooke East
Metro Viau or Pie-IX
514-872-1400
Access to the Insectarium is bundled with access to the Botanical Garden.

The Old Port

The Montreal Science Centre and the Labyrinth are located in the Quais of the Old Port, which has many other fun features like bicycle, quadricycle and inline skate rentals, boat rides, pedalos (514-282-0586), an outdoor skating rink in winter (with ice skate rental), and ethnic and other festivals throughout the summer.

Montreal Science Centre

Science displays and IMAX cinema. Adult access to exhibits is $12 and it's less for kids and seniors – the website has the full price list and various deals.

King Edward Pier in the Old Port, at the foot of Saint-Laurent Blvd.

Metro Place d'Armes or bus 55 to its southern end of line
514-496-4724 or 1-877-496-4724

Labyrinthe du hangar 16

Website makes noises and resizes your browser.

Find your way out of the labyrinth. Halloween specials. Tickets between $10.50 and $18 for kids and various group deals listed on website.
Hangar 16, Quai de l'Horloge, Old Port
Metro Place d'Armes 514-499-0099

Parc Jean-Drapeau

Metro Jean-Drapeau
The Expo 67 islands in the St. Lawrence are the site of adult attractions like the Casino and auto racing on the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, but they also contain acres of parkland, La Ronde, the Biosphere and a public beach. They're also the site of the winter Fête des neiges festival in January and now also the annual Fête des Enfants in August, both of which offer seasonal games, amusements, challenges, sporting activities and performances for kids: see the website for more information.

La Ronde

Big traditional amusement park now operated by Six Flags: games and rides, fireworks festival from June till August. Seasonal.
Metro Jean-Drapeau or bus 167
514-397-2000
Website has details on schedules and rates

Biosphere

Interactive exhibitions and multimedia presentations about water and ecosystems inside the geodesic dome on Île Sainte-Hélène.
160 chemin Tour-de-l'Île, Île Sainte-Hélène
Metro Jean-Drapeau
514-283-5000

Montreal Planetarium

Star gazing, black holes, and other celestial stuff. Seasonal shows.
1000 St-Jacques
Metro Bonaventure
514-872-4530
See website for schedules and rates.

The Planetarium is expected to move to the Olympic park within the next few years but it is still in its old location on Saint-Jacques near lower Peel Street.

Grande bibliothèque

The Grande bibliothèque on Berri has a wonderful children's section below street level. There are spring break events and a summer literary day camp. Events are all in French.
475 de Maisonneuve E.
Metro Berri-UQÀM
514-873-1100

The Montreal International Children's Film Festival

takes place from February 27 to March 7, 2010, to coincide with many students' spring break. Some films are in French and some in English.

Petits Bonheurs

is a May festival of live shows for kids, all in French.

Geordie Productions

English-language professional theatre for young audiences, both classics and new scripts staged regularly downtown for families and school groups. 514-845-9810.

Les Grands Explorateurs

Films accompanied by talks about exotic places and civilizations. In French only. Downtown Montreal events are held at the Salle Pierre-Mercure, 300 de Maisonneuve East, but shows are also held elsewhere in the Montreal area and throughout Quebec and New Brunswick.
Metro Berri-UQÀM
514-521-1002
See website for schedules and rates

Aquadôme

Heated pools, diving boards and water slides
1411 rue Lapierre, Lasalle
Metro Angrignon, then bus 113
514-367-6450
Times and days vary, see website.
Municipal pools are listed by borough on the city site.

Croisières AML

1-800-563-4643

Tour boat explores Montreal's waterfront from the Lachine Canal to the Îles de Boucherville, with narration by historical figures. Summer only.

Rafting Montreal

514-767-2230
1-800-324-RAFT
Rafting and jet-boating (minimum age 6) over the rapids of the St. Lawrence River. Summer only.

The West Island

Cap Saint-Jacques park, the Ecomuseum and the Morgan Arboretum are located fairly close together but are not very accessible by public transit.

Insect repellent is recommended in mosquito season – i.e., late spring to midsummer.

Ecomuseum

The Ecomuseum is a private, non-profit, 11.3-hectare educational wildlife park where you can observe and study indigenous fauna and flora in their natural habitats.
21125 Chemin Ste-Marie, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue
514-457-9449
9 a.m. to 5 p.m every day except Christmas
Adults $10, seniors $6, ages 3-15 $5
Pets are not admitted.

Morgan Arboretum

Trees and wildlife. Cross-country skiing trails in season.
Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue
514-398-7811
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day
Adults $5, seniors $3, children $2.
Website has details on how to get there. Dogs restricted.

Cap Saint-Jacques Park

Beach in summer, cross-country ski trails in winter. Organic farm, lots of green space for hiking, cycle paths, two historic houses.
20,099 Gouin Blvd. West, Pierrefonds
Bus 68 (but unless you live in that direction, it's a long, long ride).
514-280-6871

A number of major parks are located in different parts of the Island of Montreal and all offer picnic spots, cycling, walking, cross-country skiing in season, nature observation, and various seasonal events scheduled throughout the year.

Îles de Boucherville

The closest provincial park to Montreal, the Îles de Boucherville are accessible via the L-H-Lafontaine tunnel by car, and by ferry from east-end Promenade Bellerive in summertime. They offer trails for walkers and cyclists through fields and woods and even a few farms.

Bell Amphitheatre

1000 La Gauchetière West has a year-round indoor skating rink which rents out skates and has various admission deals – see their website.

1000 de la Gauchetière West
Metro Bonaventure
514-395-0555

Go-Karting

Action500 is an indoor karting track in east-end Montreal that allows anyone over 3'6" (106 cm) to drive a kart, and allows shorter kids to ride with an adult. It's open 24 hrs. They also have a paintball area. (Be warned, if you go to the top level of that website, there's a VERY LOUD promo that will start up.)

Kart-o-Mania is at the corner of Decarie and de la Savane. Their limit is 4'4" and/or 8 years old.

Hockey, soccer and football games

Our page on Montreal sports teams has information on how to get tickets for games. We also have a special page on the Canadiens hockey team.

La Récréathèque

Arcades, bumper cars, laser tag, billiards, indoor sports of all kinds. Particularly pitched at school groups and birthday parties.
900 Curé-Labelle, Laval
450-688-8880

Montreal marathon

The September 15, 2010 event includes a range of events besides the main race, including a "p'tit marathon" of 1 km for younger kids and a 5 km run for students.

Museum activities for kids

Some of Montreal's museums have summer day camps, workshops and school outing possibilities for kids.

The Musée d'art contemporain offers day camps plus ateliers for both adults and kids.
The McCord Museum of Canadian History has a range of activities for various age groups, mostly designed to supplement school programs.
The Pointe-à-Callière museum has some online Flash games; the education link on the site leads to information about school activities.
The Cosmodôme in Laval has a science-focused day camp in addition to its other offerings for visitors.

Out-of-town ideas

The AMT has escapades jeunesse set up for 2010-2011.

Exotarium reptile farm

846, Chemin Fresnière, Saint-Eustache
450-472-1827

Exporail Canadian railway museum

(noisy website)

The Exporail railway museum in Saint-Constant on the south shore has a large collection of train-related exhibits and has special events throughout the year. In summertime there are occasionally special train excursions from Lucien-L'Allier commuter train station out to the museum: check the AMT site.
110, rue Saint-Pierre, Saint-Constant
450-632-2410