Our comparison of museums in city destinations that remain close enough to engender no small amount of competition endures as we juxtapose Montreal with Toronto. As we did with Sydney and Melbourne, we began this Canadian version with the larger metropolis, which in this case is Toronto by a long shot. With a GMA population over 5.5 million, the Ontario capital is huge. Of course, it could take you hours in what many regard as some of the worst traffic in North America to get from end to end.
Montreal on the other hand, has a more diminutive metro populace of 3.6 million. The city however, is rather devoid of massive hordes of people. Busy yes, but not in a nuissance-like oppressive way. Montreal inhabitants like to joke about the fact that the metropolis is more like a small town, at least in the city core, where it remains a distinct possibility to run into someone you know at any given random moment in time. Culture has a notable home here. Montreal is awash with an inordinate amount of museums, festivals and park space – much more so than most destinations in North America, let alone Canada.
Here are eight terrific museums in the province of Quebec’s main city.
Canadian Centre for Architecture
Founded by philanthropist, architect and Bronfman family heiress Phyllis Lambert in 1979, the Canadian Centre for Architecture is a splendid museum and research facility in the former mansion of the president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, a beautiful national historic site.
Old Montreal is a neighbourhood of peerless delight and certainly the most attractive in all of Canada. With so many attractions to take in, one of them has to be the exceptional Pointe-?-Calli?re Museum. Winner of dozens of international awards, the gem has eclectic exhibitions on archaelogy and the history of Montreal, from First Nations to the modern age.
Across the street from the iconic entrance of McGill University, known as the Harvard of Canada, the McCord is a museum that honours, preserves and disseminates the rich history of the country. Film buffs may recognize it as site of the penultimate scene with Samuel L. Jackson in The Red Violin.
The very first art institution in Canada, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is a national treasure. One of the most familiar architectural icons in the city, it boasts a wonderful permanent collection and shares works with some of the best museums in the world. Across the street is the Jean-No?l Desmarais Pavilion, with modern design by Moshe Safdie that surprise, surprise, houses modernist art.
Mus?e d’art contemporain de Montr?al
Smack in the middle of downtown and adjacent to the terrific Place des Arts complex is the Mus?e d’art contemporain de Montr?al. The best contemporary art museum in Canada is actually the only one with express focus on visual and performance art.
Expo ‘67 brought Montreal to the world and certainly, vice versa. Buckminister Fuller’s spectacular geodesic dome, built for the world’s fair, still looms large from Parc Jean-Drapeau on ?le Sainte-H?l?ne, just south of downtown Montreal in the Saint Lawrence River. Since 1990, the dome has been home to the Biosph?re Environment Museum, a wonderful gem on the recreation island available via bicycle path from the city.
Part zoo, part science experiment, the superb Biod?me recreates exotic habitats for animals from every part of the globe. Originally the velodrome for the 1976 Summer Games, the site which still sits in the shadow of Olympic Stadium has been one of the most popular museums in Montreal since 1992.
The Redpath Museum is one of the most diminutive in all of Montreal. However, the little jewel on the beautiful McGill University campus is worth a trip. With excellent exhibits on paleontology, ethnology, geology and much more, the museum evokes the romance of a musty, dusty old library in some wealthy baron’s manor.
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These are great choices! I would have personally added the Marguerite Bourgeoys Museum , it is a cherished part of Montréal’s cultural heritage.