Visit Montreal’s historic centerpiece on this guided walking tour of Old Montreal. Discover the history, heritage, architecture and culture in this, the oldest area of the city of Montreal, dating back to New France. Choose between a shorter tour around either the east or west sides of Old Montreal or a longer tour around both. See famous sites such as Notre-Dame Basilica, Place Jacques-Cartier, Bonsecours Market, Montreal City Hall and Champ de Mars, to name a few.

Walking tour of Old Montreal with a knowledgeable local guide
See Notre-Dame Basilica, City Hall, Bonsecours Market and more
Hear stories and facts about the city's rich history, culture and architecture
Choose from three different itineraries to suit your preferences

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

Get an overview of Old Montreal on a walking tour of some of the city's top sights.

What's Included

Certified guide services
Local taxes

Gratuities
Hotel pickup and drop-off

Departure & Return

Departure Point

Notre-Dame Street West & Place d'Armes
Rue Notre Dame O & Pl. d'Armes, Montréal, QC H2Y 2W2, Canada
Meet your guide at the southwest corner of Place d'Armes, the corner on your front right when you are facing the church (intersection of Notre-Dame West & Place d'Armes). Plus Code: GC3V+Q5V Montréal, Québec.

Return Details

Bonsecours Market Street
Bonsecours Market St, Montreal, QC H2Y, Canada
Old Montréal East ends near Bonsecours Market
Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History
350 Pl. Royale, Montréal, QC H2Y 3Y5, Canada
Old Montréal West ends near Pointe-à-Callière Museum

What To Expect

Choose to explore the east or west side of Old Montreal on a short tour, or select both the east and west sides on an extended adventure.

Meet the guide and the rest of the tour group near the famous Notre-Dame Basilica, at the southwest corner of the Place d'Armes,, to begin this walking tour of Old Montreal, the historic centerpiece of this largest city in Quebec.

Notre-Dame Basilica is widely recognized as one of the most impressive landmarks in the world. It’s one of the crown jewels in Quebec's rich religious heritage and a focal point in Montreal’s history. In fact, the original stained-glass windows here paint a story of Montréal’s religious history.

Moving along, learn about this city’s rich history, French heritage, architecture and culture while roaming the maze of narrow streets. Visit some of Old Montreal’s public squares, like Place d’Armes, Place Royale and Place Jacques-Cartier, witnessing the monuments and works of art on display there.

Other points of interest include the 5-story Montreal City Hall; Champ de Mars, a public park that used to be the site of Montreal’s city walls; the former “Wall Street” of Canada, St-Jacques Street; and no visit to Old Montreal is complete without a picture of the Sulpician Seminary, the oldest building of the historic district.

The tour concludes at Bonsecours Market, a 2-story, domed public market which has served as Montreal's main public market for more than 100 years.

Old Montreal

Your tour will be spent exploring the sights and attractions of Old Montreal

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Notre-Dame Basilica (Pass By)

Meet your guide near Notre-Dame Basilica to begin your walking tour of Old Montreal, the city's historic heart. Admire the masterful Gothic Revival architecture of this basilica (the tour does not go inside the church).

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Wheelchair accessible
This tour operates in all weather conditions; please dress appropriately
This tour operates year-round
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed

Near public transportation
Transportation is wheelchair accessible
When doing both East & West tours on the same day, please note that the first tour starts at 11:00 a.m. and the second one at 1:30 p.m. You will have a 1-hour break in between both tours and you will end at 3:00 p.m.
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

about cancellations.

Frequently Asked Questions

The answers provided below are based on answers previously given by the tour provider to customers’ questions.

Q:What is the social distancing policy during History Walking Tour of Old Montreal?

A:The policy on social distancing is:

Social distancing enforced throughout experience

Q:What measures are being taken to ensure staff health & safety during History Walking Tour of Old Montreal?

A:The policy on staff health & safety is:

Guides required to regularly wash hands

Traveler Photos

Traveler Tips

Well worth it and the walk is at a reasonable pace, so most people should be able to take this tour.

I would highly recommend for friends and family to explore this beautiful city using the tour service.

Reviews

4.5

1,225 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 1,225 reviews

We enjoyed hearing the...

Connie_S, Aug 2022

We enjoyed hearing the history from both guides. Both were very knowledgeable and entertaining. Was easier to hear the afternoon guide. Loved hearing about the different architecture styles. Our expectations were meet with this tour.

Entertaining and informative with humour

Debbie_D, Aug 2022

Madeleine was wonderful and very entertaining and informative Very good humour and kept us out of the heat as much as possible

Great way to start your stay in Montreal

Gretchen_B, Aug 2022

A great way to begin your adventure in Montreal! Do both parts, east and west, and learn and see things you would never see on your own. Tour guide Elise was incredibly knowledgeable and amazingly informative!! Great eating and shopping recommendations!

Great tour

Luis_P, Aug 2022

Diane is an amazing guide. We loved her! Great as a first activity in the city both to know about the history of the place, and to know your way around during your stay.

1 traveler found this review helpful

Totally worth it

Matthew_L, Aug 2022

This was a great use of time and money. We got very in-depth stories of interesting locations we would have otherwise overlooked. The guides were really experts of the area.

Worth booking!

Matthew_L, Aug 2022

Great way to get a snapshot of the city's history. It highlighted many unique stories and places we would not have found on our own. The tour guide, Elise, was wonderful and generously gave us further restaurant and sightseeing suggestions for the rest of our trip-those recommendations made our trip even more amazing. The certified guides have over 200 hours of training on the history and culture of the area. We were glad we did one tour of the WEST end and one of the EAST end.

Too many plugs to businesses

Joseph_T, Aug 2022

The guide was knowledgeable and articulate. I felt he too often had to give plugs to some local businesses and thought the tour covered too few historic locations as a result. The tour started off a bit too slow with a ton of time spent at starting location.

Great guide

Jane_T, Aug 2022

George was great! Very knowledgeable about the business history of Montreal. Would recommend this walk.

Memorable

Glenn_K, Aug 2022

The most memorable part was the Chateau de Ramsey that the Americans occupied in 1775. Mathieu was a great guide and very knlowledgeablle

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Hi Glenn, Great, thanks for letting us know what your highlight was. We will also let Mathieu know he was appreciated. Best,

Guided walking tour Old Montreal

Ellen_H, Aug 2022

Amazing architecture, variety of buildings none looked out of place a mixture of old and new . Huge number of eating places . History at every corner

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Hello Ellen, Glad to hear you enjoyed the atmosphere in Old Montréal. Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review. All the best,

Best way to see old Montreal

Lisa_M, Jul 2022

Stamatia was a great guide. Loved listening to the story of our ancestors. Interesting facts about the architecture. Everything was so clean!

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Hi Lisa, Thanks for writing in and telling us how you liked the tour, and Old Montréal's architecture. We will try and keep it clean for then next time you visit! All the best,

Fun and informative

Gail_H, Jul 2022

We had a wonderful tour in the morning with Elise. She was so vivacious, enthusiastic, and informative that we signed up to continue in the afternoon. The tour was fun and interesting. Elise was full of suggestions for places to eat and historical locations to further explore on our own. As first time visitors to Montréal, this was a great use of our time.

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Hi Gail, Happy to hear you found the tour fun and informative, and that Elise was able to transmit enough energy to you to keep going for the whole 3 hours! We agree that it's a great thing to do at the beginning of a trip to get your bearings. Thanks for taking the time to share a review. All the best,

Fun facts

Amy_R, Jul 2022

In the past 30 years, this would have been my 10th visit to Montreal, but first tour as an adult…learned so much about history of Montreal as well interesting facts etc. Highly recommend this tour to ANYONE! Both guides: Mathieu (East in French) and André (West in English) were knowledgeable and easy to understand and listen to!

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Bonjour Amy! Merci d'avoir pris le temps de nous laisser un bel avis. C'est très apprécié! And we look forward to your next visit to Montréal. All the best,

Elise was extremely...

Steven_F, Jul 2022

Elise was extremely friendly, informative, and knowledgeable. I have already recommended this tour to friends who will be here in early September.

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Hi Steven, Thanks so much for not only taking the time to write a review but also recommending us to friends! We definitely appreciate it. Hopefully see you in Montréal again soon. Best,

Highly recommend

Gina_B, Jul 2022

Jean Michael was an excellent tour guide. He was knowledgeable and fun and easy to understand. Highly recommend

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Hi Gina, Thank you for the review! Glad you enjoyed it. We will let Jean-Michel know he was appreciated. Best,

Great tour!

Julia_F, Jul 2022

Our guide was excellent. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour and leave Montreal with a much better understanding of its history.

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Hi Julia, Great to hear you were able to learn more about our city thanks to our excellent guide. :) Hopefully we see you again on another tour soon. All the best,

Incredibly outstanding guide and tour

Kathy_H, Jul 2022

We had the best guide ever Stamtiva was beyond fabulous. She brought the history of Montreal alive she also was incredibly concerned about the grips well-being. We stayed in the shade on an extremely hot and humid day. Also stopped for water and bathroom breaks. Pointed out good places to have a quick lunch. Cannot say enough good about our phenomenal guide

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Hi Kathy, Glad to hear Stamatia kept you comfortable on what can be very hot humid Montréal summer days... We will be sure to let her know she was appreciated. Thanks for writing in!

Historical Walking Tour

Deborah_T, Jul 2022

Our guide was interesting and knowledgeable. We didn't even notice the time and steps fly by. He shared history about indigenous peoples to Montreal to current culture in Montreal.

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Hello, If the time just flew by, then that's a good sign! Glad you found it interesting. And thanks for taking the time to let us know. Best,

Great walking tour and...

Rebecca_M, Jul 2022

Great walking tour and introduction to Old Town Montreal. We loved it! It was the perfect way to kick off our Montreal visit

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Hi Rebecca, Thanks for taking the time to give us a review. Glad you loved the tour and hopefully the rest of your time in Montréal was just as nice. À la prochaine,

A pleasant experience

Lulu_Z, Jul 2022

This tour a nice way to get an in-depth look at the old Montreal. Our guide Bruno is very knowledgeable and the tour is well organized. A pleasant experience in the charming city of Montreal.

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Hello Lulu, Thank you for letting us know you liked the tour and found it to be well organized. Hopefully see you again soon In Montréal! Best,

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Questions?

Product code: 3321WALK

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