Montreal, Canada

The most common transit mistake visitors make in Montreal is expecting a tram network. There isn’t one, and never has been, despite what a surprising number of guides claim. What Montreal actually has is a four-line metro, a growing light rail system called the REM, and a bus network that together cover the city better than most people expect from a metro area this size.

Getting in from the airport

Right now the fastest way from Trudeau Airport into downtown is the 747 express bus, which runs 24 hours a day and costs 11 Canadian dollars. That single fare doubles as a 24-hour pass for the entire STM network, so if you land in the afternoon you can use the same ticket for the rest of the day’s travel. The trip takes 45 to 60 minutes depending on traffic. A direct REM connection to the airport is under construction but isn’t scheduled to open until 2027, so don’t plan around it yet. Once you’re downtown, load a reloadable OPUS card at any metro station rather than buying single paper tickets, it saves time at every subsequent tap.

The REM is changing how the city connects

The REM, Montreal’s newer automated light rail line, expanded again in May 2026 with a westward extension to Anse-a-l’Orme, bringing the network to 23 stations across 64 kilometers. It’s fully enclosed and heated, which matters more than it sounds like it should once you’ve stood on an exposed platform in a Montreal January. It won’t replace the orange metro line as the backbone for tourists, that line still loops through downtown and connects to Gare Centrale, but it’s worth knowing the REM exists if your hotel happens to sit near one of its stations on the South Shore or western suburbs.

Notre-Dame Basilica, day and night

The basilica itself is worth the visit purely for the Gothic Revival interior and its deep blue, gold-flecked ceiling, but the AURA sound and light show in the evening is the reason it’s become a two-visit destination. Tickets run about 37 Canadian dollars for adults, with discounts for seniors and students, and a combined basilica tour plus AURA ticket starts around 45 dollars. Book online, since anything purchased after 5pm has to go through the website or phone rather than the door.

Where to actually eat

Skip the well-worn Old Montreal restaurant strip for at least one meal and head to Mile End or Little Italy instead. Lawrence, a 24-seat spot in Mile End where the chef cooks solo, runs a seasonal tasting menu built around Quebec ingredients and has picked up a Michelin recommendation, book well ahead. For something more casual in the same neighborhood, Larrys does an excellent burger with a laid-back, all-day room. Near Jean-Talon Market, Bistrot Boisselet does French classics like steak frites without pretension, and Alep, open since 1976 across from the market, remains one of the city’s best spots for Syrian and Armenian food. Schwartz’s Deli is still the tourist magnet for smoked meat and it earns the hype, but expect a line even on weekday afternoons.

Little Italy and Mile End overlap around Jean-Talon Market itself, which is the better version of a farmers market: real vendors, real prices, and a genuinely local crowd rather than a staged photo opportunity. Go hungry and graze rather than eating a full meal beforehand.

Neighborhoods worth a detour

Saint-Henri has become the city’s best example of an old industrial district turning into something interesting without losing its edges entirely, breweries and cafes now share blocks with the original working-class row houses. Griffintown, by contrast, has been built up fast with condos and upscale restaurants and feels considerably newer and less textured, useful if you want modern comfort but not the neighborhood to pick if you’re chasing atmosphere.

Practical things to know

Winters are genuinely brutal, expect stretches well below freezing from December through February, and the underground city, a network of tunnels connecting metro stations, shopping, and office towers, exists specifically because Montrealers refuse to go outside more than necessary in January. Summers run warm and humid, and late May through early October is the easiest window for a first visit.

Tipping runs 15 to 18 percent at restaurants and is expected rather than optional, since service staff are paid a lower base wage on the assumption tips will make up the difference. French is the working language of the city and the province, and while English gets you through most tourist interactions without friction, opening with a French greeting in shops and restaurants noticeably changes how you’re treated, in my experience for the better every time.

Old Montreal at night is where petty theft and aggressive street performers asking for cash cluster, not because the neighborhood is dangerous exactly, but because it’s dense with distracted tourists. Keep bags zipped and in front of you after dark there, same as any tourist-heavy old town.

Buy a Montreal Museums Pass if you’re planning to hit more than two paid attractions, it usually pays for itself by the third stop and includes public transit for its duration in some versions.

One more practical note on timing: Mount Royal Park is at its best right around sunset, when the Kondiaronk lookout fills with a genuine mix of tourists and locals rather than tour groups alone, and the walk down through the wooded trails afterward is far more pleasant once the July humidity has broken for the evening.