Winter holiday activities for all in Montréal

All kinds of magical holiday events and fun things to do in December make Montréal shine throughout the season. Discover festive lighting installations along Sainte-Catherine Street downtown and illuminated interactive artworks in Place des Festivals during this year’s Lumino event. Look up on building facades in Place des Festivals and throughout the Quartiers des spectacles to see joyful new projection art. And experience an interactive ice skating experience, Au Bord du Lac Tranquille, on the Esplanade Tranquille skating rink, where trails of light stream behind you as you boogie to the rink’s Disco Fever soundtrack (Annually in December).

Outside Place des Arts, The Great Christmas Market, one of several holiday markets in Montréal, transforms downtown’s Place des Festivals into a winter village of wooden chalets and twinkling lights, where you’ll find creations by local artisans, speciality foods, mulled wine, music and more (November 22 to December 30, 2024). 

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts also becomes illuminated for the season: when night falls, see Inuit artist Glenn Gear’s new work, ulitsuak | marée montante | rising tide, projected on the facade of the Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion on Sherbrooke Street. A few blocks away at the McCord Stewart Museum, don’t miss Ogilvy's classic holiday window displays Enchanted Worlds inside the museum and The Mill in the Forest outside on Victoria Street. And don’t miss seeing the massive The Ring installation aglow at Esplanade Place Ville Marie downtown.

Also at The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, families can moonlight as elves in Santa’s workshop when they take part in the creative activity, You + Me. Accessible throughout the day as part of regular admission to the museum, participants will be guided through making two watercolour images, which are then merged together as a toy that creates an optical illusion (November 2, 2024 to January 6, 2025).

Holiday gift shopping becomes illuminated too as Centre Eaton de Montréal and Place Montréal Trust in the Underground City also transform in December, with decorations, gourmet and shopping surprises, live music and more. While Complexe Desjardins transforms into Santa’s Kingdom, with concerts, visits with Santa, an illuminated fountain and holiday fun, along with all kinds of holiday shopping.

Also at Centre Eaton de Montréal, for one night only, the iconic and newly reopened Art Deco restaurant Le 9e will host Candlelight: A Christmas with Charlie Brown, a magical musical experience for ages 8+ presented by Fever (December 21, 2024). 

In Old Montréal, visit the peacefully illuminated square outside Notre-Dame Basilica, while inside see gorgeous multimedia show AURA; and on weekend evenings search out the historical projections of  Cité Mémoire on building facades. And Christmas-lovers of all ages will be enchanted by the immersive Victorian Christmas exhibit at Sir George-Etienne Cartier National Historic Site.

Don’t miss Holidays on the Pointe at the Pointe-à-Callière Museum until January 8: see Christmas show “Who is the real Santa Claus?,” attend creative workshops and snap family photos among the glittering Christmas trees and wood huts outside the museum. Nearby, visit Château Ramezay’s Around the fireplace... Holiday Traditions exhibition, where kids can hang a Christmas stocking at one of the Château’s fireplaces and pick it up on New Year’s Day.

Get a bird’s eye view of Montréal in all its festive glory, night or day, from the Mount Royal Park lookout – a classic Montréal holiday experience for all ages. Or go for a 360-degree view of the city on La Grande Roue de Montréal, the climate-controlled observation wheel in the Old Port of Montréal – also a prime place to watch the ice skaters in action at the illuminated Old Port of Montréal outdoor ice skating rink. Rent ice skates and skate in the Old Port, in city parks from Mount Royal to Parc La Fontaine, and even indoors at Atrium Le 1000 downtown, decorated for the season and playing holiday tunes!

Enjoy music, festive lights, hot chocolate and more at Christmas in the Park at Jardins Gamelin downtown and in Parc des Compagnons and Parc Lahaie in the Plateau neighbourhood – watch for free concerts by local musicians, holiday-themed games, Christmas tree and bough sales, and more all season. Experience the festivities and shop local for gifts this season at Montréal holiday markets, including the Village de Noël de Montréal at Atwater Market and at Jean-Talon Market. Mount Royal Avenue also sparkles this month with Noël sur l’Avenue’s free Christmas concerts and family activities along the avenue, which is also a great place to shop for gifts! 

Holiday concerts and theatrical events return in abundance this year! Always glorious, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal presents The Nutcracker at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier from December 12 to 30. Also at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, and kicking off the season on November 30,  Montréal’s FILMharmonic Orchestra presents Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas in Concert. Led by Maestro Erik Ochsner, with original score by Danny Elfman, this concert is sure to be a treat for the whole family!

From early December, Montréal choirs perform Christmas songs for free every Saturday and Sunday during Les Choralies at Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel. Attend music events at Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal, including Handel’s Messiah on December 12 and a Christmas Concert at the Oratory on December 13.

For high-energy holiday-season entertainment, go see Cirque du Soleil’s acrobatic and immersive ice skating show CRYSTAL at the Bell Centre, from December 26 to 29. And enter the magical world of Disney at innovative experience Immersive Disney Animation, featuring iconic scenes from movies and more, at Arsenal Contemporary Art Montreal from December 15 to May 5, 2024.

The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal celebrates the holidays with sing along concerts like Celebrations in Song and Music on December 17 and more this season and throughout the winter. The Orchestre Métropolitain performs a Holiday Melodies concert on December 5 and 6 at Maison symphonique. Relaxed and acoustically refined, Bourgie Hall concert hall at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is also a source of beautiful concerts this holiday season, including A Charlie Brown Christmas concert by the Taurey Butler Trio on December 18 and 19, 2024.

Quebec singer-songwriter Pierre Lapointe performs seasonal songs in concert Chansons hivernales at Place des Arts on December 1. At Place des Arts: Ensemble Caprice performs Handel’s Messiah at Maison symphonique de Montréal on December 22.

Have a happy holiday season in Montréal!