10 Best Things to Do in December in Montréal, QC

This popular four-season destination less than two hours north of Montreal has been voted the best ski destination in eastern North America for the past 20 years. Mont Tremblant Ski Resort has recently completed 16 million dollar in upgrades including the latest snow making technology. Skiing highlights include 102 trails for experts and beginners alike, 875 metres high with a 645 m vertical drop on four slopes. There are 14 lifts over 754 acres with 500 + top ski instructors. Premier accommodations at Mont Tremblant include the Fairmont and Westin hotels. Easy transportation between Tremblant and Montreal can be arranged via Skyport bus service. Porter Air offers dire flights from Toronto too.

This nature park is also historically significant. Located along the riviere des Prairies, at the very heart of the history of Sault-au-Recollet, the park offers historical elements, such as the site des Moulins ruins, the maison du Pressoir and the maison du Meunier. During winter holidays, make the most of the toboggan hill and the marked hiking or cross-country ski trails.
While picnicking, hiking or bike riding, discover the overflow dam waterfall of the Riviere-des-Prairies electric power station. Above all, don’t forget your binoculars which you can use to observe the shore birds, among others. Fishing buffs can enjoy their favourite sport in the specially designated areas.

A 15-acre swath of the Montreal Botanical Gardens incorporates Japanese themes including cherry blossoms, koi ponds and zen gardens. A visit to the Japanese Garden requires an open mind and spirit. Visitors should go right to its heart; to meditate, to collect their thoughts, to feel and touch the beauty of the stone, water, plants and various architectural elements which make up the garden. It is a place where the slow-moving carp or « Koi » float in the shade of broad-leaved water lilies as if contemplating the sun’s reflection or the rain on the multicoloured stones or even, as if they were listening to the gurgling waters, laughing as they spill over artfully arranged cascades.

Early-risers may surprise great blue Heron as well as red-winged blackbirds and other fine feathered friends at their morning preparations.

Built in 1904, this is one of the world’s most popular Catholic shrines. The Renaissance-style dome was the world’s largest when completed in 1955. The shrine now holds a museum, a tomb, monuments, a 56-bell carillon and Stations of the Cross in a sculpture garden. Features summer organ recitals on Wednesday evenings.Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal is one of the world’s most visited centres of pilgrimage and underlines the significance that religion has played in the establishment of Montreal. Its founder, Saint Brother Andr�, started its construction in 1904. The massive complex includes a stately building whose dome reaches 97 metres (second only in height to Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome), a small original chapel, a votive chapel, a crypt church, a basilica that can accommodate over 2,200 people, and well-tended, colourful, diverse gardens.

This nature preserve in the northwestern section of the Island of Montreal offers visitors a peaceful look at local plants and wildlife. The parc-nature du Bois-de-Liesse, with its majestic hardwood forest, is a unique conservation park in an urban landscape. Its diverse ecosystem is home to a number of plants and animals that you can observe, including the American beaver, the map turtle and the flowering rush.In the park, the cardinal, chickadee , nuthatch and the Dark-eyed Juncos are also present in winter. Visitors will have ample opportunities to observe wood ducks floundering in Bertrand Creek and on weekdays you may have this paradise to yourself.

The McCord Museum houses historic artifacts and visual art from the 18th and 19th centuries. Fun exhibitions like the toy collection allow older visitors to revisit their favorites from childhood while younger visitors can enjoy special school holiday camps. Evening art and cultural based activities add to the appeal of this original teaching museum that offers an impressive online collection. The museum provides much information dealing with the art, culture and history of Native Canadians. Visitors can view native furs, carvings, embroidery, beadwork and 10,000 costumes. Also on display are the Notman Archives, a photography collection containing over 700,000 prints.

Montreal’s Place des Arts, a major downtown concert venue sits on 300,000 square feet at the Places des Arts metro station.

The largest multi-use concert hall in Canada, the Salle Wilfred Pelletier, is versatile enough to hold rock, opera, dance and symphony concerts thanks to state of the art sound and movement technologies. Seating almost 3,000 patrons, the Salle Wilfred Pelletier is the permanent home of the Grand Ballet of Montreal, Opera Montreal and the Montreal Symphony.

Nearby, Théâtre Maisonneuve, with seating for almost 1,500 patrons, looks like a contemporary version of a classic Italian theater. It’s a popular venue for comedy productions and smaller companies where soloists appreciate the intimate setting of the hall which also hosts larger scale film presentations.

Contemporary productions of the Grand Ballet can be seen here along with the McGill Chamber Orchestra, the Metropolitan Orchestra and Pro Musica.

Skiers can buy the L’EST GO card in advance entitling them to between two and eight lift tickets providing access to the area’s top four downhill ski destinations: Owl’s Head, Bromont,Mont Orford and Mont Sutton. The card offers up to 30 % off an easy and flexible way to enjoy the Eastern Townships’ ski slopes.Tickets are redeemable at any time during the winter season including the Christmas/New Year holidays.The card is articularly suited to occasional skiers who can explore the distinct features of all four
ski centres at very competitive prices.
The card can be purchased online at letsgo.ski (in unlimited quantities). Skiers aged 13 years and older must show a vaccination passport in order to gain access to the ski lifts and the ski chalets.

The Musee des Beaux-Arts, founded in 1860, is Canada’s oldest museum and boasts some of the finest paintings in the country. Among its permanent holdings are artworks from Canadian artists and those created by European masters. The museum also features native Canadian artifacts and a collection of period furnishings, along with drawings, engravings, silverware and works of art from ancient Asia, Egypt, Greece and South America. More contemporary exhibitions include an examination of Andy Warhol’s advertising, the images of local photographers as well as a look at art as a means to social and environmental change. An on-site restaurant offers light fare.

Built in 1829, the neo-Gothic Basilique Notre-Dame is built in the scale and manner of Europe’s great churches. It’s said that the protestant architect James O’Donnell, who designed the basilica, was so taken with the project that he converted to Catholicism. Fine woodwork, rose ceiling windows, blue vaulted ceilings and a massive church bell make this a great place to visit. A small, on-site museum displays various religious artifacts, paintings and vestments.The paintings, sculptures, and stained-glass windows that adorn the structure illustrate biblical passages as well as 350 years of parish history. Catch the Notre-Dame Basilica in the evening, when a sound and light show presents the founding of the city and its basilica.