Guide to bike tours in Montréal, from city sights and history to riverside excursions

This is how we roll

Look no further than the picturesque, tourist-central Old Port of Montréal, for long-running and knowledgeable Ça Roule Montréal On Wheels. A trusted bike shop and bike rental location as well as an extensive tour operator, Ça Roule has created themed tours on extremely comfortable bikes for any level of bike rider (including ebikes as well as tandem bikes for anyone unable to ride a bike). Two professional, licenced guides lead each group – never bigger than 15 people through city streets and along bike trails, pointing out details that you won’t find in a guide book.

Along with private or customized tours, tours for young families and guided bike rides, choose tours such as Montreal Plus 3hrs from Old Montreal and downtown, and covering the urban core to La Fontaine Park and Mount Royal Park, or Vista Architecture, a history-rich ride from the Old Port, past Habitat 67 and over the Saint-Lawrence River to Parc Jean-Drapeau’s Biosphère, and more. Each tour includes snack breaks at local favourite cafes and restaurants.

Pedal the Plateau

Another excellent tour operator that also runs a rental and repair shop, plus leads walking tours, is Fitz Montréal Bike Tours, located in the urban-residential Plateau neighbourhood. If it’s your first visit to Montréal, take a tour of the city’s highlights (there’s even a family friendly option to accommodate younger kids), bike from Parc La Fontaine to the Mountain to the river, or book a private tour for longer or shorter rides.

If you want to learn more about what makes Montréal tick, explore the city’s most happening neighbourhoods in The Hidden Gems Bike Tour, taking you from the Plateau and Mile End to Jean Talon Market, with stops to see murals, parks and off-the-beaten-path highlights of Montréal’s creative spirit.

Get the inside track

Located centrally near the Plateau, in-the-know Spade and Palacio extends their focus on speciality small-group walking tours – Mural Street Art, Beyond the Market and Beyond the Basilica – to include a Beyond the Bike Lanes bike tour, cycling from downtown’s entertainment district, to the Village, to the waterfront and on to explore the lively Plateau neighborhood.

Relaxed and community-minded, the bike tour emulates the same attention to detail as their walking tours do, with attention to local food, street art and culture, including a gourmet catered picnic in a beautiful park with local craft beer.

Down by the canal

A tour, rental and repair specialist in the city’s south end, My Bicyclette (Ma Bicyclette in French) can be found near the Atwater Market along the Lachine Canal national historic site and multipurpose path. All spring and summer, they offer customizable private tours to take you along the banks of the canal, into Old Montréal and downtown.

Electric and communal

With two rental locations, at Parc Jean-Drapeau and in the Old Port, Écorécréo is another go-to bike pro – and they offer bike rentals, quadricycle self-guided tours and canoe, kayak and pedalboat rentals to see historic Bassin Bonsecours too.

Add zip to your ride at Jusst, specialists in new electric bikes and scooters choose from morning, afternoon and evening scooter sightseeing tours, each with a specialized itinerary. Or opt for something completely different with Velofestif Montréal, pedal-party vehicles equipped with 15 spots with 15 sets of pedals, made for people ready to roll together with stops along the way for food and drink.

Get the lay of the biking land with maps from Vélo Québec, Ça Roule and Route Verte.