Old Montréal Walking Tour

Enjoy a private three-hour walking tour focusing on more than 360 years of history. With a private guide, you will discover how Montréal was settled by the French, conquered by the English and achieved the status of a great and fun metropolis in the 20th and 21st centuries — while exploring Old Montréal on foot.

Montréal was founded as Ville-Marie by Sieur de Maisonneuve in 1642. With simplicity and humor, your professional guide will lead you through a maze of streets and historic buildings to discover the birthplace of the city.

Walk on the cobblestone St Paul Street, Montréal's first paved street, to the picturesque Place Jacques Cartier and take a look at the Chateau Ramezay, a governor's residence built in the 18th century. Continue to Notre Dame Basilica, a splendid example of English Gothic Revival architecture, with a richly decorated interior, built on the site of the first church in Montréal.

Your guide will point out the importance and influence of religion in the colonization of New France and how it helped preserve a unique French culture after France lost New France to England in 1759. Old Montréal became, after the conquest, an important financial center. A number of these buildings, banks and insurance companies have been converted to boutiques, hotels and art galleries, which you will have time to explore on your own during your stay in Montréal.

Admission to the Notre Dame Basilica is included in your tour. For additional fees, at the end of your tour, you may wish to see the remaining fortifications of the walls that once encircled the city in the Pointe-à-Callière Museum, where you may also see a multimedia show and visit the archaeological crypt, the exact site where French settlers first set foot on the island.