Attachments
11 Jan 2025
A variety of events and festivities all winter long
It takes more than a little snow to slow down Montréal's internationally renowned festival calendar, and this year's lineup is as stacked as ever!
- Who says an outdoor music festival can't be in the depths of winter? Igloofest itself returns for its 16th edition January 16 to February 8, 2025, with a lineup of international DJs and revellers in eye-popping costumes dancing the night away.
- One of winter's glittering high points comes with MONTRÉAL EN LUMIÈRE's takeover of the heart of the city with installations, performances and a load of family friendly programming. A cornerstone of the season, this year marks its 26th edition sure to be bigger and better than ever from February 27 to March 9, 2025.
- Keep the winter party going with the 22nd edition of Nuit blanche à Montréal on March 1, 2025, when cultural institutions expand their hours late into the night.
- Throughout February, Les Quartiers du Canal host Montréal Boréal—Le Jam du Nord, closing streets to traffic for four weeks in February and March of weekend winter fun.
- Proof that Montréalers love to go hard whatever the season, Apik converts Saint-Denis Street in the Latin Quarter into a ski and snowboard route you've got to see to believe.
Photogenic public arts and other outdoor surprises
During the winter months, Montréal transforms into a winter wonderland. From its public art pieces both permanent and temporary to exterior seasonal experiences, winter in Montréal is like living in a sparkling city-sized snow globe.
- Several of Montréal's outdoor squares and plazas convert into prime skating locations once the thermostat dips below freezing. Esplanade Tranquille in the Quartier des spectacles, the Old Port of Montréal skating rink in the glow of the Grande Roue de Montréal (with heated cabins for a viewtastic warm-up), Beaver Lake ice skating rink mid-way up Mount Royal and the Parc Jarry pond are all prime spots. For more, Patinoires Montréal app keeps tabs on the most active rinks throughout the city.
- Montréal's parks are prime for an invigorating winter walk, either on groomed pathways or off-road with snowshoes. Some favourites include Mount Royal Park, along the Lachine Canal, the islands of Parc Jean-Drapeau and the newest large-scale kid on the block Frédéric-Back Park.
c- Lumino returns for its 15th edition of epic lighting installations in the Place des Festivals from November 28, 2024 to March 9, 2025.
- Art Public Montréal's website lists over 25 self-directed walking tours on their website, from the treasures awaiting in Parc Jean-Drapeau to the public artworks on view in the Underground City. Make sure to walk past Spidertag's neon façade on the corner of Saint-Laurent Boulevard and Mount-Royal Avenue, the newly-installed mirrored ORB at Place des Arts and the temporary Cercle Polaire installation at Esplanade PVM by MAD Collectif and Cree artist Jason Carter.
- Spade and Palacio's original Mural Tour has long been a favourite for locals and visitors alike, gaining across-the-board kudos in storied outlets like The New York Times.
- Montréal's newest shopping destination Royalmount is home to more than just top tier boutiques like Yves Saint-Laurent and Gucci. With six permanent art pieces including a spiral slide (and who doesn't love that?), the complex's central urban park is perfectly set for a walk between purchases.
Unforgettable exhibitions and other indoor adventures
Montréal through the winter months is the epitome of coziness, with a full slate of warming museum exhibitions and ample opportunity for other fun in from the cold.
- The Pointe-à-Callière—Montréal History and Archaeology Complex's exhibition Witches—Out of the Shadows runs until April 6, 2025, putting witchcraft and its practitioners in the spotlight.
- The McCord Stewart Museum's winter exhibitions include Michaëlle Sergile's tribute to the lives of Black women in Montréal between the years 1870 and 1910 To All the Unnamed Women until January 12, 2025 and Costume Balls—Dressing Up History, 1870-1927 from November 14, 2024 to August 17, 2025.
c- Several of Montréal's museum spaces are showcasing Indigenous arts and artists this season including the Montréal Museum of Fine Art's new ᐆᒻᒪᖁᑎᒃ uummaqutik exhibition of traditional Inuit arts (paired with Indigenous artist Glenn Gear's ulitsuak | marée montante | rising tide projected nightly on the building's façade until March 30, 2025 and Manasie Akpaliapik's retrospective Inuit Universe at the McCord Stewart Museum running until March 9, 2025. The Indigenous art centre daphne also celebrates their recently newly opened location in the Mile End neighbourhood with continued world-class programming, and a series of bronze sculptures by Kahnawà:ke artist MC Snow and Kyra Revenko paying homage to Ohén:ton Karihwatéhkwen, the Kanien'kehá:ka ceremony of thanks, lines Peel Street downtown (with audio accompaniment available on the Portrait Sonore app).
- Up your selfie game with the 16 settings available at Musée Imaginarium in the heart of Griffintown—all tagged #mtlmoments, of course.
- The newly opened Pickle Centre offers 14 padded pickleball courts in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, with coaching and contests on the calendar.
- Gamers of all ages will flip for the immersive experiences of Moment Factory's ARcade at the Casino de Montréal, PLAYBOX Center's crane and VR games in the Centre Eaton de Montréal mall and laser tag and AR darts at Les Trois Monkeys.
