The museums of Montréal

The birthplace of Montréal and a national historic and archaeological site, Pointe-à-Callière brings history to life through permanent exhibitions featuring innovative multimedia technologies. It also presents temporary exhibitions on the world’s great civilizations, near and far, plus a full calendar of cultural activities for the whole family. Pointe-à-Callière is also home to a gift shop and L’Arrivage Bistro. Click here for more info.

Originally built in 1705 by Montréal’s then-governor Claude de Ramezay as his personal residence, the Château Ramezay is the oldest private historical museum in Québec. Permanent and temporary exhibitions showcase Montreal’s cultural heritage and the city’s evolution. Visitors can explore period rooms, gardens and artifacts. Fun fact: Benjamin Franklin was a guest there in 1776 when the Château Ramezay served as the Canadian headquarters of the American Revolutionary Army, when Franklin to persuade Montréal to join the American Revolution. Click here for more info.

The multi-media, LEED-certified eco-friendly Phi Centre in Old Montréal, and the neighbouring Fondation Phi pour l’art contemporain, were founded by visionary Montréal patron of the arts Phoebe Greenberg. The Phi Centre includes an art gallery, cinema, theatre, performance space and production facilities, and presents exhibitions and shows year-round, while the Fondation Phi pour l’art contemporain is a private museum with no permanent collection and presents temporary exhibitions.

Open seven days a week, the Montréal Science Centre in the Old Port is a family-oriented museum that, via temporary and permanent interactive exhibitions, explores how science and technology shape our lives. There is a giant IMAX® TELUS Theatre with a massive 36,000-watt sound system, as well as a gift shop and food court. Wheelchairs are also available for free at the box office.

OASIS immersion presents all-immersive temporary exhibitions inspired by the people, places and trends that shape our world, in its all-immersive 2,000 m2 (over 21,500 ft2) museum-like location on the ground floor of the Palais des congrès de Montréal. The walkable, no-contact experience features three immersive galleries, two dazzling light installations and a lounge area with café and boutique. Plan on at least 75 minutes for your tour of OASIS immersion which offers starting times every 20 minutes throughout the day.

Founded in 1860, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is one of the top 15 most-visited museums in North America. Located in the historic Golden Square Mile downtown, the museum’s encyclopedic permanent collection contains some 43,000 works – from European Masters to the MMFA’s dazzling Napoleon collection – much of it on display in the museum’s five connected pavilions. The MMFA also creates and hosts travelling blockbuster exhibitions. The MMFA complex includes the 460-seat Bourgie Concert Hall, a movie theatre, boutique and bookstore, as well as the Beaux-Arts Bistro.

The museum has temporarily relocated to Place Ville Marie during its transformation.

Founded in 1964, “the MAC” or “le MAC” (as the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal is affectionately called by locals) is one of the world’s great contemporary art museums. The museum presents temporary exhibitions devoted to Canadian and international artists. The MAC also presents special events, including its popular Nocturne evenings featuring DJs and cocktails.

The Canadian Centre for Architecture is not just an architectural jewel in the heart of downtown Montréal, but a world-renowned museum of architecture and international research institution that believes “architecture is a public concern.” The museum was founded by Montréal philanthropist and architect Phyllis Lambert, and produces exhibitions, publications and a range of activities about how architecture shapes contemporary life.

The McCord Stewart Museum is a museum of social history that celebrates life in Montréal, past and present: its history, its people, its communities. It is home to one of the largest historical collections in North America, consisting of more than 1.5 million artifacts, including the Notman Photographic Archives. The museum organizes guided outdoor tours, and is home to a boutique and the Café Notman. Click here for more info.

Located at McGill University, the Redpath Museum of natural history opened in 1882, an architectural jewel that looks like it came straight out of an Indiana Jones movie. Its permanent collection contains some three million objects, including Ancient Egyptian mummies, a Charles Darwin exhibition, a spectacular minke whale skeleton in its Creatures From the Deep exhibition, as well as its jaw-dropping Gorgosaurus dinosaur in the centre of the museum’s Beaux Arts main gallery. Click here for more info.

Founded in 1906, the non-profit arts organization La Guilde preserves and promotes Inuit art, First Nations art, Métis art and contemporary Canadian craft practices. Their permanent collection has more than 1500 artifacts and works of art, including one of the most historically important collections of Inuit art in Canada. In addition to its permanent exhibition—which presents objects from their collection – La Guilde sells the work of emerging and established artists in their gallery.

Located at the corner of Saint-Laurent Boulevard and Saint Catherine Street West in the heart of the Quartier des Spectacles, the MEM – Centre des mémoires montréalaises is a museum and civic space dedicated to preserving the oral history of Montréal. The MEM’s permanent exhibition MONTRÉAL showcases some 100 unique life stories that have shaped the city, whose first-hand accounts answer the questions, “What is, who is Montréal?” There is also a superb café, gift shop and cabaret hall where various cultural activities and events are presented year-round.

Founded in 1963, the Cinémathèque québécoise is dedicated to preserving, promoting and celebrating the art of cinema in Québec and beyond. Cinephiles explore the world of film via screenings, retrospectives and educational programs. The Cinémathèque also presents exhibitions featuring artists past and present, as well as treasures from its collections.

Housed within the historic Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal, Canada’s first hospital founded in 1642, the Musée des Hospitalières de l’Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal opened in 1992 to mark Montréal’s 350th anniversary. Its permanent exhibition chronicles the origins of Montréal, the history of the Hôtel-Dieu, and the Hospitalières of Saint-Joseph. The unique collection also documents the evolution of medicine, nursing and health crises in Montréal over the centuries. The museum also presents temporary exhibitions, and offers group and school tours. Click here for more info.

From exploring our natural world to outer space, children of all ages can discover new worlds at the Espace pour la vie, the largest natural sciences museum complex in Canada, which comprises the 75-hectare Montréal Botanical Garden, state-of-the-art Planetarium, the hugely popular Montréal Biodôme (whose name means “House of Life” and is home to more than 4,500 animals from 250 different species), the Montréal Insectarium (one of the largest insect museums in North America), and the Biosphere (located in Parc Jean-Drapeau) to learn about the importance of an environmentally sustainable lifestyle through scientific exhibitions and demonstrations. 

This Foundation celebrates the life and legacy of renowned Canadian abstract painter Guido Molinari. Located in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbourhood, the foundation preserves Molinari’s artworks, archives and studio, and via educational programs and exhibitions of Molinari and other contemporary artists, the foundation promotes the appreciation and study of abstract art and its impact on contemporary culture. 

Contemporary art gallery and vast exhibition space housed in a former industrial building, l’Arsenal in Griffintown showcases cutting-edge contemporary art from both established and emerging artists whose diverse exhibitions offers visitors dynamic and immersive experiences that push the boundaries of artistic expression. 

The mission of the Montréal Holocaust Museum is to educate people of all ages and backgrounds about the Holocaust, while sensitizing the public to the perils of antisemitism, racism, hate and indifference. Their History of the Holocaust Told by Survivors permanent exhibition features artifacts donated by Holocaust survivors living in Montréal, home to the third-largest Holocaust survivor population in the world. The MHM will move into its new $120 million museum on Saint-Laurent Boulevard in the Plateau in 2026. Click here for more info.