Museums · Montreal · Canada
5 best museums in Montreal
The collections worth your time, how long each takes and how to fit them together.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: PtitLutin (photograph); Roger Taillibert (architect), CC BY-SA 2.5
Quick answer
Start with Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Pointe-à-Callière and Biosphère and Parc Jean-Drapeau. Together the 5 picks below take roughly 11–14 hours across 4 areas; all charge for entry.
Key facts
- Places in this guide
- 5
- Free entry
- 0
- Time to see them all
- 11–14 hours
- Areas
- Downtown, Old Montreal and Parc Jean-Drapeau
Museums in Montreal
Museum · Downtown
1.Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
Spread across five pavilions on Sherbrooke Street, the MMFA ranges from Old Masters and Impressionists to Quebec, Canadian and Indigenous art and decorative arts, and includes a 19th-century church converted into a concert hall.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Rainy day
- Architecture
- Iconic
Museum · Old Montreal
2.Pointe-à-Callière
Built over the spot where Montreal was founded in 1642, this archaeology and history museum takes visitors underground through excavated foundations, the city's first Catholic cemetery and a restored 19th-century stone sewer collector.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Rainy day
- Kids
- Off the beaten path
Museum · Parc Jean-Drapeau
3.Biosphère and Parc Jean-Drapeau
Buckminster Fuller's 76-metre geodesic sphere, the United States pavilion at Expo 67, now houses an environment museum.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Low cost
- Architecture
- Views
- Kids
- Outdoors
Museum · Old Port
4.Montreal Science Centre
On King Edward Pier in the Old Port, the Montreal Science Centre has hands-on exhibitions on technology, the human body and engineering aimed at children and teenagers, plus an IMAX cinema.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
Museum · Downtown
5.McCord Stewart Museum
Opposite McGill University on Sherbrooke Street, the McCord Stewart Museum tells the social history of Montreal and Quebec through costume and textiles, Indigenous objects and the Notman photographic archives, which document the city since the 19th century.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Rainy day
- Art
Grouped by area
| Area | Places | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown | Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and McCord Stewart Museum | 2–3 hours + 1.5 hours |
| Old Montreal | Pointe-à-Callière | 2 hours |
| Parc Jean-Drapeau | Biosphère and Parc Jean-Drapeau | Half a day |
| Old Port | Montreal Science Centre | 2–3 hours |
Booking and timing
Of these 5, 1 low cost, 4 mid-priced. None needs booking far in advance. The longest visit is Biosphère and Parc Jean-Drapeau; group the rest by area to save travel time.
How to fit them into 4 half-days
Grouped by area and kept to about four hours each, so you walk more than you ride.
- Half-day 1 (Downtown): Montreal Museum of Fine Arts → McCord Stewart Museum, at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 2 (Old Montreal): Pointe-à-Callière, at least 2 hours.
- Half-day 3 (Parc Jean-Drapeau): Biosphère and Parc Jean-Drapeau, at least 3 hours.
- Half-day 4 (Old Port): Montreal Science Centre, at least 2 hours.
The quietest months for queues
- March: highs of 3°C (37°F), about 11 rainy days, very quiet crowds. Thaw and freeze alternate and streets are slushy, but the sugar shacks open and hotel prices stay low.
- November: highs of 6°C (43°F), about 12 rainy days, very quiet crowds. Grey, cold and quiet, with the first snow possible; one of the least expensive months for hotels.
- February: highs of -3°C (27°F), about 10 rainy days, quiet crowds. Still very cold, with the best skating and the biggest winter festivals of the year.
The neighbourhoods they are in
- Old Montreal — Cobbled streets, grey-stone buildings and the Old Port waterfront
- Downtown — Shopping streets, museums and the Underground City
More of Montreal
Questions travellers ask
+Where should I start in Montreal?
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Spread across five pavilions on Sherbrooke Street, the MMFA ranges from Old Masters and Impressionists to Quebec, Canadian and Indigenous art and decorative arts, and includes a 19th-century church converted into a concert hall.