50 Activities for Kids in Montreal
Montreal is a festival city and is full of fun activities all year round. There are plenty of activities for the entire family, whether its learning circus skills, exploring the science museums to learn the rich history, biking on the waterfront or just checking out the chocolate shops or ice cream parlors, your family will have a blast.
La Ronde
Located on Saint Helen’s Island, this is Canada’s second biggest amusement park. There are more than 40 rides in this Six Flags Park including a flume ride, 10 roller coaster rides, a grand carousel and over a dozen rides for small kids.
Montreal Biodome
This is a Sub-Antarctic exhibit with over 750 plant types and 4,800 animals. The penguins are sure to excite the kids.
This is the place you should take your kids if you want them to interact with animals with fun activities such as camel rides and feeding baby goats. This zoo has animals from all over the world including gorilla, giraffes, and tigers. In the warmer months, there are plenty of amusement rides and a waterpark.
Take your kids to celebrate the maple syrup season in this Quebec tradition. The place has hundreds of shacks where the entire family can learn about maple syrup farming and processing. The wagon rides and maple syrup snow treats are amazing.
The Botanical Garden
With over 22,000 plant species, 10 exhibition greenhouses, 30 themed gardens inspired by countries from all over the world and a tree house, this is the place to take your kids to enjoy some nature.
The Ghost Walk
This 90-minute tour takes you and your kids through Old Montreal. Each spooky site has a ghost with tales of its misfortunes and adventures.
Montreal Insectarium
Take your kids to see over 160,000 naturalized and living bugs. There are beehives, ant farms and other home crawlers. Your kids will enjoy as long as they don’t have a bug phobia.
Juliette et Chocolat
This place has over 30 varieties of thick and creamy chocolates at its chocolate bars. Favorite flavors include Grandma’s Style chocolate that comes in dark, white or milk chocolate and the single-origin or single-plantation vintage. The Guinea 47% with the salted caramel finish, bits of bananas and berries is amazing too. The menu also has crepes for grown-ups, decadent desserts, and spiked hot chocolate will satisfy anyone with a sweet tooth.
Montreal Science Centre
Your kids will enjoy learning science in this interactive center with games, challenges and an IMAX theatre. Take your kid(s) for Star Wars that takes place from April 19 through September 16. Children get to try out costumes, props, artworks, and models from the popular films.
The Theater
This Saturday Morning Children’s Series at the Centaur Theater Company has puppet shows and English plays for kids. The 2018 shows are The Silent Princess (April 14), Bed Bugs (April 21), A Midsummer’s Night Dream (April 28).
The Biosphere Environment Museum
Created by the visionary architect Buckminster Fuller for the Expo ’67, this Biosphere offers kids a chance to learn about environmental issues. Those under 17 get in for free.
Chill at the Beach
The downtown in Parc Jean-Drapeau is an amazing place for kids to swim, play beach volleyball, rent a kayak or jump on a trampoline.
Atrium Le 1000
This is an indoor skating rink inside the tallest building in Quebec, Le 1000 de la Gauchetiere. This is an ideal place to escape the summer heat as its open all year round.
Ball or Hockey Game
Depending on the season, you can take your kids to a ball or hockey game. Hockey’s Canadiens (aka the “Habs”) end their playing season on April 6th. The Alouettes or the “Als” start their CFL season on June 14 against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Catch them in their new 25,000 seat Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.
Places des Arts Junior Theatre
This place has music, dance, song, puppetry, cinema, storytelling, and theatre shows that your kid will definitely enjoy.
Montreal Tower/Olympic Park
This is the world’s tallest inclined tower built for the 1976 Summer Olympic Games. With a 175 meter-high view of the city, the observation floors give a great birds’-eye view of the city.
Play Around at the Récréathèque
This is a large playground with plenty of fun activities for kids such as mini golf, paintball, maze and more. Face painting gets the kids fired up.
The Amphi-Bus Tour
This tour takes you to all the historic streets of Old Montreal culminating at the St. Lawrence River.
The Aquadome
This is the best place to splash around with a 1,200-meter pool with therapeutic jets and four slides.
Centre d’Histoire de Montreal
This city museum has three floors that show the history on Montreal via visual effects, historical artifacts, images and personal testimonies that excite kids.
Chateau Ramezay
This 18th-century manor is the first building to be classified as a historic monument in Quebec. Your kids can learn about the pre-contact Amerindian era and the 18th-century Governor’s Garden.
Redpath Museum
If your kids love dinosaurs, they will go crazy in the Redpath Museum with a full-size Triceratops skull and a Gorgosaurus libratus skeleton. The Egyptian Mummies, dinosaur tours, and discovery workshops are popular with kids.
Cosmodrome
The best place to take your kids to learn about the solar system and space exploration. The Space Camp takes the kids on a simulated space mission.
Know All About the Fur Trade at the Lachine National Historic Site
This is the place to take your kids to learn about fur trading in Canada dating back to 1800s. This stone-built depot was built in 1803 and has exhibitions and tours in a 12-person rabaska canoe.
La Tohu
This place has plenty of activities such as circus arts, art shows, trapeze artists, and cartoonists. There is a festival on May 7th to 9th that is amazing for kids of 6 years and below with puppets, theater, dance and more.
Lachine Canal National Historic Site
This 14 and a half kilometer canal that starts from the Old Port to Lake Saint-Louis is amazing for a family boat tour.
McCord Museum
This place has cultural and historical artifacts dating back to 1887, they include; toys, art, photographs, and costumes. There are touch and play boxes set up in the museum on the last Wednesday of every month.
The Montreal Canadiens Hall of Fame
If your kid is a Habs fan, take him/her to the Ball Centre Shrine to learn about the city’s hockey team. This place has artifacts, interactive Q&As with virtual players and photos.
Montreal Holocaust Museum
This place has stories of the holocaust from Montreal survivors. There are hidden objects from the Croatian, France and Netherland camps.
Mount Royal Park
This is an ideal place to paddleboat, mountain bike, toss a Frisbee or explore Beaver Lake. This park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the man behind the New York City Central Park.
Muse d’Art Contemporain de Montreal
Take your kids to this Arts Centre to engage different contemporary artists.
NFB Cinema
The National Film Board of Canada’s CineRobotheque has over 12000 family films to choose from. You can even create a custom viewing program at no cost you can even buy the film that captures your hearts.
Pedal Around at Ca Roule/Montreal on Wheels
There are plenty of biking activities here such as tandem bikes, kid’s bikes, a waterfront bike path, a guided bike tour among others.
The Lachine Rapids
This is the place to get wet and wild with boat and raft tours down the Saint Lawrence from May to October.
Spend Your Day at the Quays of Old Port Montreal
This is a 2.7 kilometer stretch along the Saint Lawrence Rivers. It’s a tourist hotspot where you can find fun activities like excursions, paddle boating, water spa, restaurants, shows and more.
Free Fall with Sky Venture
Up for some heart-pumping activities? This wind tunnel reproduces the free fall portion of a parachute and is safe for kids over 4 years.
Caleche Tours
Take your young ones for some horse-drawn carriage rides down Old Montreal from Place Jacques Cartier up to Mount Royal. The tours take up to an hour and are available in French and English. A 30-minute ride costs $45 and a one-hour ride goes for $75. The tour starts daily from 9am to 11pm.
Laser Quest
The live action laser tag games are fun for kids of different ages. The setting has a maze and fog effects.
The Musee des Beaux Arts Collection
Take your kids to this world of art to learn about ancient Egyptian and Roman artifacts. The large exhibits are free to attend.
Stop at the Le Glacier Bilboquet for some Ice Cream
This place has been around since 1983 and has popular flavors such as Brou Ha! Ha! A vanilla with brownies, praline bits, caramel and chocolate-covered toffees); King Kong Cocktail (a banana shake with pieces of milk chocolates). There are simpler options such as the chocolate chip with maple and real mint.
Ollie, Flip, and Grind at Le Taz Roulodome and Skatepark
An ideal space for speed junkies, this is the largest indoor sports center in Canada and is ideal for skateboarding, skiing, and biking.
Family Friendly Festivals
There’s a lot of family festivals in Montreal and the best are:
- The Montreal Complement Cirque that takes place in July
- La Fete des Enfants de Montreal in August
- Montreal Jazz Festival of June and July
The Cirque du Soleil
This is a spectacular show for kids. Its newest release, the Amaluna, is a huge success that tells stories about a mysterious island run by goddesses and guided by the cycles of the moon. Get your kids prepared for amazing stunts and costumes.
The Bagel Battle
Montreal's bagels are famous and are known for their extra sweetness. Get to choose between the two best bagels in town from the St. Viateur or Fairmont.
Fairmont bagels are contemporary with chocolate chips, cinnamon raisins, and blueberries. St. Viateur ones are classics with poppy seeds, plain seed, and sesame seeds.
Parc La Fontaine
Take your kids to this 40-hectare park with two linked ponds, an open-air theatre, a wading pool and a fountain. Stay alert and you might spot quasi-albino “Champagne”s squirrels.
Toy Shopping at Mile End and Le Plateau
There are plenty of unique toys to keep the kids engaged. Be sure to check out the Boutique Citrouille and Frank Jeu on 4152 St. Denis. You can also check out the jigsaw puzzles and more games at Le Valet D’Couer.
Kids Butterfly Yoga Studio
Bond with your kids as you practice energetic breathing techniques and postures. Each class ends with a relaxation pose for the parents and kids.
Chinatown
Explore the city’s Chinese and Italian heritage as you wander through restaurants, kiosks, and shops.
Grand Prix Weekend
Check out drivers from all over the world as they go through the 4361 kilometer Gilles Villeneuve Circuit in June.
The Gothic Revival Notre-Dame Basilica
Built-in 1824 and 1829, this place captivates thousands of admirers every year. The sculptures, dazzling stained and glittering gold stained glasses illustrate biblical passages and are eye-catching. The evening’s sound and light show tell the Montreal story and how the church was created.