7 Things to Do in Montreal in the Summer

On summer city breaks in Montreal, bask in the sunshine at plaza cafés throughout the city. Lively Place Jacques-Cartier, in the heart of Old Montreal, is an ideal place to sip an afternoon coffee, surrounded by 17th- and 18th-century architecture and serenaded by street musicians. 

Relax over a glass of local Vandal-Cliché wine or order a crisp summer salad and sandwich on crusty French bread at brasserie terraces throughout chic Plateau Mont-Royal. In the Montreal neighbourhood of Little Italy, diners stroll past grape arbors and potted tomato plants en route to dinner on shaded trattoria patios, where the air is aromatic with garlic and fresh basil.

Whatever your interest, Montreal has a summer festival for you. The city’s largest and most popular is the Festival International de Jazz, which welcomes 1 million visitors each year. Pop Montreal is one of the world’s finest independent rock festivals, while techno music rules at Mutek. Montreal’s Just For Laughs attracts some of the world’s best comedians, who lighten the already festive mood of summer nights in Montreal. 

When summer arrives, Montreal’s public markets are piled high with fragrant, fresh strawberries and raspberries, juicy peaches and crisp apples, all plucked from vines and orchards just outside the city. 

Visit the Maisonneuve Market in Hochelaga-Masonneuve to browse fruit stands within an elegant beaux-arts building. The Art Deco Atwater Market on the Lachine Canal adds freshly-caught seafood to the mix, and Little Italy’s Jean- Talon Market specializes in raw-milk, farm-fresh cheeses and handmade crêpes, perfect for summertime picnics.

Delay a return to your Montreal summer hotel to watch the sky overhead burst with a summer-long fireworks competition, L’International des Feux Loto-Québec. Held from June through August, the contest bathes the sky with a dazzling kaleidoscope of color staged by pyrotechnic experts from five continents. 

Spectators crowd around La Ronde on Île Sainte- Hélène to see the fireworks launched; others gather on rooftop terraces each weekend in Old Montreal to see the sky light up.