Montreal's Top-Rated Walking Tour
Beyond the Basilica
ANY CLIMATE, inside and outside time. Small groups, see the classics, skip the lines then head to current and funky hoods and leave the other guys behind. The most areas by foot in a few hours. It’s like a Montréal 101 tour, for those who are willing to leave the Old Town. Featured in the New York Times – 36 hours in Montreal
If there’s one district that is beautiful year-round, it’s Old Montréal. We start our Montréal walking tour by skipping the line at the ornately decorated Notre-Dame Basilica before wandering the elegant streets of Vieux-Montréal. We’ll be popping into some historic and architecturally impressive gems to get an understanding of the district with a local before heading out and leaving the tourist crowds behind. This tour does a lot of in and out so it’s great for year-round conditions.
We stroll through a segment of our interior or underground city as a part of our tour. It’s the largest indoor network on the planet and lets us make our way to Chinatown for a quick snack as we get the skinny on the area.
Then it’s off to our old Red Light District, turned entertainment Mecca to see where the biggest festivals take place. This is the cultural heart of the country! We pop into a whacky often missed institution for a visit. Up Saint-Laurent boulevard, we check out half a dozen impressive works of art from Montréal’s MURAL Festival in the borough that is home to the highest concentration of artists in Canada. This is such a cool area to end in.
With a coffee from a local third wave shop in hand we walk the hip parts of the lower Main before leaving you with a custom list of recommendations. This route is a great way to see a lot in a small amount of time. From classics and historic to modern and funky hoods this is an excellent intro to our city.
If you want to experience the city like a local, then walking is the way to go! We can’t say it better than one of our Trip Advisor reviews:
“If you want to see Montreal through the eyes of a young Montrealer rather than a tourist book this is tour for you.”
– BostonFranks
Free cancelation up to 48 hours before your tour time!
Frequently Asked Questions
About 3.5 km with breaks and stops along the way at a decent pace. There is one hill when switching neighbourhoods and some stairs in the interior city.
This is a great intro to Montréal from some classics and mains up to the more funky and happening neighbourhoods. Do it as an intro and then explore more on your own. Our recommendations list will help you find more great stuff too.
To impress, obviously, but most importantly to stay warm. We have real winter here so dress like a Canadian would. Ears should be covered and good gloves too. We don’t take our long johns off between November to April and they change our lives! If you show up showing off your ankles at -20C we’re all going to laugh except you.
Summers are hot and humid. There is a lot of indoors and outdoors and repeat on this tour. It’s perfect for all conditions. Dress accordingly.
No. We end in the Plateau Mont-Royal area. We can help you with directions to keep exploring for the afternoon when we hand you a recommendation list.
Yes, if they did a good job it is customary to drown them in money.
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