What a wonderful way to learn more about the city! We stumbled across one of the visuals and looked…read moreinto it to see what it was about. We also ran into a volunteer for the exhibit who was very helpful and provided a map. After that we went seeking them out at various times in the day or evening. The exhibits took us around corners we might have otherwise missed and helped us look at buildings - and those who occupied them - in new ways. I've since recommended this to every friend who is visiting Montreal.

My wife saw advertisements for this tour so we decided to walk around to some of the stops and…read morecheck it out. The visuals are stunning and the tour itself is extremely entertaining and enlightening. I have honestly never seen a tour of this kind so it really blew me away. There were a few times when we were taking this tour that we ran into volunteers (or people who work for the company who created this tour) asking us if we had any questions about using the app on our phone or if we had any questions about the tour itself. I thought this was a great touch. The one small complaint I had was the amount of time it took to download the audio at each stop within the app. There has to be a way to compress the audio file to speed up the download time.

There's a Yelp entry for The Illuminated Crowd? I feel that Art is un-ratable, but not everyone…read morefeels this way, for example, my middle school art teacher who gave me a poor grade on my papier-mâché masterpiece (and in essence deterred me from going into The Arts. That's ok, I think I serve the world better as a scientist than as an artist anyway). But enough about my artistic potential or lack thereof, let's get back to this art installation. So The Illuminated Crowd is apparently the most photographed piece of public art in Montreal. The sculptor is Raymond Mason and material is resin. It was created in 1985. It's a crowd of people, and at the front it looks like everyone is staring and focusing on something in the distance, and as you go towards the back of the sculpture, things start to degenerate and people start attacking each other and some are on the ground wounded and mutilated. What's it all about? Well, that is up to you, the observer, to determine, no? The plaque at the base states that the artist is depicting "the fragile nature of man" and "the flow of man's emotion through space" but I feel that with art, the meaning is also up to the spectator, thus may mean different things to different people. I personally find this work haunting and creepy. I also see it as a sad commentary on humankind and of our potential for hurting each other. It's not the most uplifting of art pieces, but worth a view if you're in the area. It's on McGill College near de Maisonneuve.

Very moving and thought provoking - every human emotion in a concise space in the center of…read moreMontreal, Do not miss and do not overlook.

One of my favorite places to stroll around Old Montreal is Place d'Youville. It's a green…read morepedestrian area that crisscrosses historically-and-architecturally rich sites, right where Montréal began. Built above the bed of the Little Saint-Pierre River, which was canalized in 1832, this Place offers lots of history. An obelisk on the site recalls its first pioneers. On the south side, between Normand and Saint-Pierre Streets, you can see the former hospital of the Grey Nuns, part of which dates back to 1693. Buildings from the 1870s and the beginning of the 20th century underscore the importance of this business hub situated in proximity to the port. Between the Centre d'histoire and Pointe-à-Callière stands the site of the Grande Paix de Montréal, signed in 1701. Just a nice beautiful place to check out if you are in the Old Montreal area....away from the hustle and noise from the main tourist sites.

While walking from Old Montreal/the Old Port to Westmount recently, my kid and I walked through…read moreGriffintown and Ste-Henri and the outskirts of downtown. We encountered so many new city features and funky enclaves, it's so interesting to see all the changes in the city and to be present during the ever-evolving city scene. One of many cool and new features we stumbled across was this enormous sculpture/art installation titled "Dendrites", created by Montreal artist Michel de Broin and installed in 2017. The oversized work is located on Rue Nôtre-Dame at the intersection of the Bonaventure Expressway (or the local road, Blvd. Robert Bourassa). If you're walking or driving by this intersection, there's no way you can miss this piece, it's so large, and it resembles actual dendrites (for those of you who've studied anatomy and physiology). It appears to be two organic, freeform staircases comprised of weathered steel. The distressed patina of the metal along with the twisting shapes are reminiscent of tree trunks rising up and branching out from the ground. I love the interactive nature of art installations like this. To me, this is what makes them successful. I love that one can walk up the branched staircases integrated in this work and get various perspectives of the urban landscape surrounding us.

RESO, also called the Underground City, is a network of interconnected tunnels in downtown Montreal…read morethat house a variety of attractions. I've seen something like this similar in Houston, partly for people to escape the heat - so I'm assuming RESO is a way to escape the cold Montreal winters. RESO has evolved to somewhat of a tourist spot; it wasn't on the top of my to-do list but I had some time before heading to the airport and figured it would be a good place to check out. I think RESO has a lot going for it - part of its infrastructure is attached to the Metro, so it's easily accessible once you get off a station. The network contains a decent variety of shopping and dining, though from a food perspective most of the options are quick-service; if you're looking for something sit-down you should look elsewhere. Shopping is typical mall offerings, and they also have a lot of seating areas. Since part of RESO's function is to protect from the cold, I can see people utilizing this as a place to convene. Overall, RESO was just fine. It's confusing to navigate, and I'm sure I didn't see all of it - so a return visit may be warranted. It's not at the top of my list, though, as I feel there are more exciting things to see as a tourist in Montreal.

Google's location for the Underground City took us to Centre Eaton, which is technically part of…read moreit, but not the whole thing. Centre Eaton is good for shopping. The World Trade Center is better for sightseeing. The information center gave me this map. It was so freaking helpful.

Sunday's at Tam Tams is a given. If you're here in the summer, it's always a blast…read more Two drum circles for your free entertaining pleasure. On a side note, that pink inflatable chair looks comfy. This was the second drum circle, a little smaller but just as feisty and frantic. I was also watching two guys have the most intense hacky sack session. I ventured up (north) through the woods and walked through people doing yoga, acro yoga, slack lining, throwing frisbees, etc. Just lots of chilling, picnicking and hanging out with good food and drinks. I even found my way to the elusive/exclusive medieval sword fighting battle grounds. All I can say is you can't help but stare. Grown adults and kids combine to battle (ie. play fight) with full on gear and costumes.

A must see event if you're in Montreal on a Sunday. You'll love the feeling you get losing yourself…read morein the music and dancing... or maybe that's just a contact high. It definitely feels like a step back into the 60's with the barefoot dancing, hempen clothing, smell of marijuana, Hare Krishnas, and all. If you like people watching, this is definitely a place to go. Hippies and squares alike can come together in enjoyment of a pleasant afternoon and dance to the music. Maybe try your hand (foot?) at slack line walking, if you're brave try the free cookies from the Hare Krishnas, check out the many wares people sell - mostly jewelry, clothing, pipes and other tchotchkes. Downsides: I didn't see any facilities (not that I think one could accommodate the hundreds of people present) and as a result, a number of people took care of business in the wooded area. There is also a good bit of second-hand smoke (tobacco and pot) floating around, so if you're sensitive to that or are concerned about your children being near that, maybe enjoy from afar. Easy to find/hear from the area surrounding east Mont Royal. If walking's a bit much for you, the #11 bus will take you there from Mont-Royal Metro. Definitely check this out on Sundays!

Lots going on, central meeting place.in the city, cool park unless you are trying to have an…read moreorganized event. Then people are coming in from all sides in all states. There was some Shakespeare in the Park but so many other loud areas with people doing all kinds of crazy stuff, sports, kids screaming, loud adult arguments, even old school ghetto blasters, lol. Wouldn't let kids run around there either, not fenced in or safe from stranger danger. One toddler actually ran up on stage during the play, lol.

Many times, I've been to this park. On my way to or from the Plateau. It's beautiful because you…read morecan see the Mount Royal from almost any section of the park. I've had picnics here and many people play tennis on the large tennis courts. During the year, many events take place in this park, because of its proximity to downtown and easy access by car or bus....Line 80 passes right in front of it, so you can get on/off the bus right at the park. Jeanne Mance Park (Parc Jeanne-Mance), formerly known as Fletcher's Field (Champ de Fletcher), is an urban park in the Plateau. Named after the co-founder of Montreal, Jeanne Mance, the park is located along Park Avenue, opposite Mount Royal, and just south of Mount Royal Avenue. It has an area of 14 hectares. It is considered to be one of Montreal's large parks.

These two statues that are opposite sides of the park are an interesting artistic take on some of…read morethe tension that exist between English and French Canadians. This artwork cleverly incorporates the surrounding buildings in its statement. Both the Notre-Dame Basilica and the Bank of Montreal play a part. The former represents the religious influence of French Canadians and the latter represents English financial power. When looking at the statues pay attention to the emotions of the man and woman. Don't forget their pets. There are many things going on with the choreography of this art piece with characters, but also the surrounding physical and cultural environment.