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It's not a lot to see here. You will get a time slot for VR, but that's only about 10 mins. We had a lot of downtime just waiting. Went up to the 5th floor to see over the city. Took some nice pictures. The people here are very nice. You can go and take pictures outside and you should be good. It is a little pricey for a small museum.
The Biosphere was constructed in 1966-1967 to be the American Pavilion during the 1967 World's Fair. It's only one of 2 structures from the 1967 World's Fair that remain--the other one is the Canadian Pavilion which is now the Casino nearby. The Biosphere is now an Environmental Museum. I rode my Bixi rental bike over to this island from downtown--not a bad ride. There is a Bixi bike dock next to the Biosphere. Also close to the Biosphere is the Formula One Racetrack that they will let you ride your bicycle around when there is no car racing. Just a cool looking building is my assessment.
TICKETS AND CHECK-IN We had a lovely experience here at the Biosphère. We visited in the morning around 10 am, and checked in via our eTickets we bought the day prior. There's about 200 passes available per time slot daily, but no more than 50 are usually taken up at a given time (at least when we checked the day before). There is also no rush to check in on time as we were about fifteen minutes late to our time slot. I also assume that you can check in early without any problem as well. MUSEUM Scavenger Hunt The museum hosts eight different exhibits and offers a hunt to decode the three pentagonal messages found at stations around the museum. You use the code at the back of the messages to decode the message at the top of the museum. The message is on the glass itself, which we struggled to find against the cloudy skies the day we went. Exhibits The eight exhibits embody the effects of human pollution on the environment and on our own bodies, atmospheric changes throughout the millennia, a greenhouse, and more. It's a great learning experience into the ramifications of climate change and the imperative mess of our actions today to protect the future. The facility is also very child-friendly! AMBIANCE The place is very clean, and everyone was very kind when we were interested in the history of the museum and more. There is also a nice lounge at the top of the museum where we were able to get a great view of Montréal and the surrounding park.
Although many people feel there are not much to see inside the biosphere, this is a great place to take pictures of the biosphere at night. The night photos of the sphere with different colors come out very beautiful. When we went there last week, the night sky in Montreal was bright with a full moon. A combination of a full moon with the colorful biosphere rendered an amazing photo. In additional to the biosphere onto opp, the view of the night sky line of Downtown Montreal from here is just as a spectacular a photo spot. I took a photo of the skyline with the full moon on the side. The picture was fantastic with full of colors. Getting to the biosphere is a bit difficult as it is located on a man made island. You can either take a ferry from the mainland or ride an Uber. We chose a latter. Getting Uber to come back to the mainland was easy as well. We only waited less than 10 minutes for an Uber to pick us up and another 15 minutes for us to get back to our hotel in downtown.
Another great piece of art/architecture for the city of Montreal, maybe the best city in Canada.....? Very subjective, obviously. Other cities don't have a biosphere, so that's a plus!
If you're more of an off the beaten path traveler, don't waste your money on this. My wife, toddler, and I went here and literally stayed 20 minutes max. Here's why it's not worth it: 1) Trek: During the week on high season, one ferry leaves from the port from mainland Montreal every hour. The ride itself takes ten minutes to get to near the Biosphere, but can feel like a trek when all is said and done. 2) Area: It's on a manmade island that was built for the 1967 World Fair. The Biosphere was the US pavilion. The area has a park, a pool, and a handful of mediocre food options. 3) Price: It cost us $30+ for us to go inside the Biosphere for just a few lame exhibits. The coolest part is going to the second floor, but even that gets old after five minutes. If we could skip over one thing we did in Montreal, it would be this for sure!
Since I came to Montreal, I notice that the town is full of Arts and architectures. France are natural artist and when they migrate to this land they have learn and have influencer. long walk and enjoyed clean subway. We got there 4:45 PM and Biosphere close to 5 so we only have a chance to see the first level of the exhibition. As long as we don't miss any of our friend we are enjoy if the visitor has fun.
This attraction is included in the city pass, but It's not worth the city pass if you have children because children under 17 are free. It had some interactive things to do, but not much. It's more educational, but we whizzed it by for about less than two hours. They stress on how we need to tKe care of the environment, especially trees, and how scientists are studying the environment to make it better, especially since Montreal city is one of the most polluted cities in the world. We weren't too impressed with this place. Looking at the outside is more interesting than the inside unless you're an environmental enthusiast supporting their cause.
Despite being roasted in a fire back in 1976, the main steel spherical structure has remained well intact, even after so many decades since its construction in 1967 for the World's Fair. WARNING! I'm a science geek, but be prepared for some serious information overload. Each section is filled with interactive displays with lots to read all over the place. I get the general idea of climate science, global warming, pollution, ecosystems, etc...but this is a lot of data being thrown at the average human. If you're one of the dumber conservative citizens from my native country of America, you'll have a tough time with this fact filled institution. But hopefully you'll learn a thing or two, and at least enjoy the architectural beauty from inside and out. Which by the way, also took science to build. Its $15 to enter this entertaining an educational site. Luckily its entry is covered by the Montreal Passeport. If you're a carless tourist, take the metro to Station Jean - Drapeu. Live long and prosper.
Took the metro here. It's very cool but not a lot of exhibits so you don't need a whole day here. We did it all in less than an hour. There was a movie to watch about the environment and then some hands-on exhibits. We took the elevator to the top for the cool views and enjoyed the physical space of the place more than anything. Glad we did it.
The Biosphere is a beautiful piece of architecture designed by Buckminster Fuller. But inside this awesome structure is a mini environment museum that's great to take a walk through! There are some pretty cool projected exhibits like a 360 surrounding weather simulation and some art installations (see attached pics). The informational plaques and interactive screens are educational for kids and the staff are very friendly and give tours. It's a bit out of the way, but if you Uber there from downtown Montreal, it is fairly cheap. We got a student price which was great, but I think the full price is a bit expensive for how much time you'll want to spend looking around. They gave us a wifi password while we were there which was nice since we were tourists without data plan.
La visite au biosphère a été une belle surprise car nous y sommes allés sans grande attente, juste pour occuper un dimanche après-midi très froid. Nous avons le passeport 'Espace pour la vie' et la biosphère est l'un des lieux de visite. Il y avait un film dans une salle 360- les enfants ont adoré et j'ai trouvé ça bien fait. Après on a passé beaucoup de temps dans les expos au rez-de-chaussée car il y avait des activités interactives et des jeux qui permettaient de découvrir des éléments de pollution, de météorologie. J'ai trouvé ça bien fait et très adapté pour des enfants de 8-12 ans. Il manque un espace de restauration et certaines expo sont plus faciles à visiter en été. En effet quand on monte dans les étages supérieurs on accède à une plateforme d'observation qui donne une belle vue sur Montréal mais si on veut sortir voir certaines des expositions il faudrait un manteau en hiver, or ceux-ci sont généralement laissés en bas, 129 marches plus loin. On y retournera donc en été. Le parking était également très pratique et le staff relativement sympa.
I usually give museums and cultural establishments five star reviews, bit this is one place I really cannot justify it. It is a very neat building from the outside, but that is just about it. This is supposed to be a museum geared towards the environmental, but is is so sparse, there are just four rooms, one of which is a 4D movie, another some activities for the kiddies, and the other two are just as uninteresting. Very boring stuff (to me) On the top floor there's an observatory where you can see Montreal from all angles and this is what made the $15 admission a little for me. The view was great. Other than that, nothing special about this place.
2 years ago
a new discovery and now one of my favourites museums in montreal! I can't believe it took me this long to visit. Everything is so fun to look at and read and learn, the views at the top are also very nice with comfortable couches to just sit relax and enjoy. I loved reading about the history of the building as well as walking through the small garden area. What's also nice about this place is that there isn't many people so you can enjoy at a leisure pace and peacefully. This is an instant add to my list of recommendations for people visiting the city. read more
Surely I can't be the only first-time Montreal tourist that confused the Biosphere with the Biodome. They're completely different attractions in separate locations, but in my limited memory bank, they sounded the same to me. The Biodome is basically an indoor zoo housed in the converted 1976 Olympic Velodrome, while the Biosphere is a climate change museum in a steel geodesic dome. It was originally designed by Buckminster Fuller as the US pavilion for Expo 67. The vintage appealed to us as well as other nearby sights, so Jamie W and I chose to visit the Biosphere on Île Sainte-Hélène, a separate island on the St Lawrence River. We had seen the distinctive structure from a distance in the Old Port, and it intrigued us as something built in 1967 to represent the future. The dated Jetsons-like architecture has been well maintained. There were two floors featuring interactive exhibitions and generic installations focused on climate change, sustainable development, and ecological action. They varied in their level of engagement. The highlight was definitely the Belvedere, the outdoor vista walkway on the 4th floor (Photo 8). Admission is pricey at C$25.50. RELATED - Exploring Montreal? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/5xJP7p11YR read more
3 months ago
3 months ago
It's not a lot to see here. You will get a time slot for VR, but that's only about 10 mins. We had a lot of downtime just waiting. Went up to the 5th floor to see over the city. Took some nice pictures. The people here are very nice. You can go and take pictures outside and you should be good. It is a little pricey for a small museum. read more
The Biosphere was constructed in 1966-1967 to be the American Pavilion during the 1967 World's Fair. It's only one of 2 structures from the 1967 World's Fair that remain--the other one is the Canadian Pavilion which is now the Casino nearby. The Biosphere is now an Environmental Museum. I rode my Bixi rental bike over to this island from downtown--not a bad ride. There is a Bixi bike dock next to the Biosphere. Also close to the Biosphere is the Formula One Racetrack that they will let you ride your bicycle around when there is no car racing. Just a cool looking building is my assessment. read more
TICKETS AND CHECK-IN We had a lovely experience here at the Biosphère. We visited in the morning around 10 am, and checked in via our eTickets we bought the day prior. There's about 200 passes available per time slot daily, but no more than 50 are usually taken up at a given time (at least when we checked the day before). There is also no rush to check in on time as we were about fifteen minutes late to our time slot. I also assume that you can check in early without any problem as well. MUSEUM Scavenger Hunt The museum hosts eight different exhibits and offers a hunt to decode the three pentagonal messages found at stations around the museum. You use the code at the back of the messages to decode the message at the top of the museum. The message is on the glass itself, which we struggled to find against the cloudy skies the day we went. Exhibits The eight exhibits embody the effects of human pollution on the environment and on our own bodies, atmospheric changes throughout the millennia, a greenhouse, and more. It's a great learning experience into the ramifications of climate change and the imperative mess of our actions today to protect the future. The facility is also very child-friendly! AMBIANCE The place is very clean, and everyone was very kind when we were interested in the history of the museum and more. There is also a nice lounge at the top of the museum where we were able to get a great view of Montréal and the surrounding park. read more
Although many people feel there are not much to see inside the biosphere, this is a great place to take pictures of the biosphere at night. The night photos of the sphere with different colors come out very beautiful. When we went there last week, the night sky in Montreal was bright with a full moon. A combination of a full moon with the colorful biosphere rendered an amazing photo. In additional to the biosphere onto opp, the view of the night sky line of Downtown Montreal from here is just as a spectacular a photo spot. I took a photo of the skyline with the full moon on the side. The picture was fantastic with full of colors. Getting to the biosphere is a bit difficult as it is located on a man made island. You can either take a ferry from the mainland or ride an Uber. We chose a latter. Getting Uber to come back to the mainland was easy as well. We only waited less than 10 minutes for an Uber to pick us up and another 15 minutes for us to get back to our hotel in downtown. read more
If you're more of an off the beaten path traveler, don't waste your money on this. My wife, toddler, and I went here and literally stayed 20 minutes max. Here's why it's not worth it: 1) Trek: During the week on high season, one ferry leaves from the port from mainland Montreal every hour. The ride itself takes ten minutes to get to near the Biosphere, but can feel like a trek when all is said and done. 2) Area: It's on a manmade island that was built for the 1967 World Fair. The Biosphere was the US pavilion. The area has a park, a pool, and a handful of mediocre food options. 3) Price: It cost us $30+ for us to go inside the Biosphere for just a few lame exhibits. The coolest part is going to the second floor, but even that gets old after five minutes. If we could skip over one thing we did in Montreal, it would be this for sure! read more
4 years ago
Since I came to Montreal, I notice that the town is full of Arts and architectures. France are natural artist and when they migrate to this land they have learn and have influencer. long walk and enjoyed clean subway. We got there 4:45 PM and Biosphere close to 5 so we only have a chance to see the first level of the exhibition. As long as we don't miss any of our friend we are enjoy if the visitor has fun. read more
This attraction is included in the city pass, but It's not worth the city pass if you have children because children under 17 are free. It had some interactive things to do, but not much. It's more educational, but we whizzed it by for about less than two hours. They stress on how we need to tKe care of the environment, especially trees, and how scientists are studying the environment to make it better, especially since Montreal city is one of the most polluted cities in the world. We weren't too impressed with this place. Looking at the outside is more interesting than the inside unless you're an environmental enthusiast supporting their cause. read more
Despite being roasted in a fire back in 1976, the main steel spherical structure has remained well intact, even after so many decades since its construction in 1967 for the World's Fair. WARNING! I'm a science geek, but be prepared for some serious information overload. Each section is filled with interactive displays with lots to read all over the place. I get the general idea of climate science, global warming, pollution, ecosystems, etc...but this is a lot of data being thrown at the average human. If you're one of the dumber conservative citizens from my native country of America, you'll have a tough time with this fact filled institution. But hopefully you'll learn a thing or two, and at least enjoy the architectural beauty from inside and out. Which by the way, also took science to build. Its $15 to enter this entertaining an educational site. Luckily its entry is covered by the Montreal Passeport. If you're a carless tourist, take the metro to Station Jean - Drapeu. Live long and prosper. read more
Took the metro here. It's very cool but not a lot of exhibits so you don't need a whole day here. We did it all in less than an hour. There was a movie to watch about the environment and then some hands-on exhibits. We took the elevator to the top for the cool views and enjoyed the physical space of the place more than anything. Glad we did it. read more
The Biosphere is a beautiful piece of architecture designed by Buckminster Fuller. But inside this awesome structure is a mini environment museum that's great to take a walk through! There are some pretty cool projected exhibits like a 360 surrounding weather simulation and some art installations (see attached pics). The informational plaques and interactive screens are educational for kids and the staff are very friendly and give tours. It's a bit out of the way, but if you Uber there from downtown Montreal, it is fairly cheap. We got a student price which was great, but I think the full price is a bit expensive for how much time you'll want to spend looking around. They gave us a wifi password while we were there which was nice since we were tourists without data plan. read more
5 years ago
La visite au biosphère a été une belle surprise car nous y sommes allés sans grande attente, juste pour occuper un dimanche après-midi très froid. Nous avons le passeport 'Espace pour la vie' et la biosphère est l'un des lieux de visite. Il y avait un film dans une salle 360- les enfants ont adoré et j'ai trouvé ça bien fait. Après on a passé beaucoup de temps dans les expos au rez-de-chaussée car il y avait des activités interactives et des jeux qui permettaient de découvrir des éléments de pollution, de météorologie. J'ai trouvé ça bien fait et très adapté pour des enfants de 8-12 ans. Il manque un espace de restauration et certaines expo sont plus faciles à visiter en été. En effet quand on monte dans les étages supérieurs on accède à une plateforme d'observation qui donne une belle vue sur Montréal mais si on veut sortir voir certaines des expositions il faudrait un manteau en hiver, or ceux-ci sont généralement laissés en bas, 129 marches plus loin. On y retournera donc en été. Le parking était également très pratique et le staff relativement sympa. read more
I usually give museums and cultural establishments five star reviews, bit this is one place I really cannot justify it. It is a very neat building from the outside, but that is just about it. This is supposed to be a museum geared towards the environmental, but is is so sparse, there are just four rooms, one of which is a 4D movie, another some activities for the kiddies, and the other two are just as uninteresting. Very boring stuff (to me) On the top floor there's an observatory where you can see Montreal from all angles and this is what made the $15 admission a little for me. The view was great. Other than that, nothing special about this place. read more
4 years ago
I adore the simple, elegant design of this repurposed former US Expo 67 pavilion gifted to Canada and was happy to get a close-up look of the highly visible iconic structure located in Parc Jean Drapeau on St Helen's Island on the St Lawrence. Parking was easy. The surrounding environment was very serene, clean and green. I found myself mesmerized by this towering majestic globe, designed and built in a simpler time. Long passage of time has not withered its magnificence as it stood stoically there silently bearing witness to crises through the ages from Vietnam War then to Climate Change now. read more
The Biosphere is the only environment museum in North America. Located at the Parc Jean-Drapeau, accessing this place is super easy, as there is literally a stop designated to this area off the Metro. On Saint Helen's Island, this was the former pavilion of the 1967 World Fair. The museum offers various films and exhibitions, but the highlight attraction is the geodesic dome that was designed by Buckminster Fuller. Made out of steel, it's a pretty interesting sight to see and to take pictures! +geodesic dome designed by Buckminster Fuller +only envrionment museum in North America +right off the Parc jean-Drapeau stop off the Metro read more
The Biosphère was one of my favorite places in Montreal. While we got in for free after purchasing Montreal Passports for our honeymoon I would 100% pay the full price of $15 CAD. The roof of the biodome is absolutely breathtaking. The views of the city and river from there are worth the admission price even without the other wonderful exhibits. I loved the Expo 67 and Not an Umbrella exhibits but they even had hands on exhibits such as the ecolab to keep kids occupied while they are learning about ecosystem and why it's so important to care for the planet. read more
The biosphere is a bit far from the city center of Montreal. It kind of reminds me journeying to the Hall of Science from Manhattan to Queens. We actually took the cab from Habitat 67 to the Biosphere- so we sort of cheated ;) Anyways the biosphere is an AMAZING place to check out with kids. They have a lot of great exhibits and interactions! The prices are also pretty friendly and you can spend 1.5-2 hours there :) The surrounding area is also very relaxing and nice! Check it out for sure! read more
"A little in between hit and miss" Aside from the beautiful pictures you can take of this place, there is much more that could be added to make it a better experience (this is coming from a biomedical scientist). The latest fashion exhibit (October 2015) was kind of interesting because glamour gowns were created from things that we normally would discard (plastic bags, fish skin, hair, etc. ). The views from the top of the museum are nice, especially when the leaves are turning orange. This place would be great for the kiddies, since there were lot of interactive things to do. There is even an interactive microbiology lab. But, many older folks probably only would enjoy the structure of the building's "exoskeleton" and the views of Montreal. If this is your first time visiting Montreal, I would put this at the bottom of the list unless you really want to go. Since this was my second trip, I did not mind so much. read more
7 years ago
14 years ago
Oh, Montreal, seducer of tourists, you made sure that if poutine didn't sweep me off my feet, your Montreal Museums Day did. How did I ever find myself back home in NYC? Montreal Museums Day (la Journée des musées montréalais) was the day when 29 museums opened their doors free of charge to the public, with 5 free bus routes to take people from museum to museum, and this happens once a year. I was dying to visit as many museums as possible, but since I was traveling with a group, they voted to stick to our original itinerary :( and decided to visit the Biosphère to see the penguins. IMPORTANT NOTE: Don't confuse the Biosphère with the Biodôme. They are two separate museums. If you see any pictures/reviews of animals and/or penguins, that's the Biodôme. The Biosphère has no animals. We didn't know that, and hopped on a bus to the Biosphère. Even though we got our museums mixed up, getting on that bus and finding ourselves in front of the Biosphère was so worth it. First, I thoroughly enjoyed the ONE | Outfits from a New Era exhibit, which displays dresses created out of garbage, such as airbags, batteries, books, fish skins, and even cans of Arizona Ice Tea, and an outfit made of hair!! Very creative and eye-opening, and a clever way of encouraging awareness of the vast amount of garbage we throw out. Second, after the exhibit we got on the elevator and went all the way to the top, where the views of Parc Jean-Drapeau (the park where the Biosphère was located) and the skyline of Montreal were, put simply, amazing. Also, if you ever wanted to know what it was like to be in a circular cage, this is the place to be in! Would I go back a second time? Probably not, and why? I think I have seen all there is to see in the Biosphère since the exhibits were few in number. I was surprised there weren't more, and was in and out in a few hours. But if you're in Montreal and don't come to check this out, well, you've missed out. Merci beaucoup, la journée des musées montréalais!!! read more
The people of Montreal must be huge fans of Star Wars to have a replica of the Death Star in the middle of the city. We went to Montreal for a weekend and came here on a rainy Saturday. It is the Environment Museum on Ile Ste Helene in Parc Jean-Drapeau (I got it confused with the Bio Dome and thought I was going to see penguins). Admission is $12 and you have 3 parking options (1 hour - $5; 2 hours - $10; All day - $15). You can do the entire place comfortably in a little over an hour. The museum is broken out into 8 halls on about 4 floors with interactive activities, lectures, and exhibits about the environment (and our effect on it). The highlight of the visit was their current exhibit: "One - Outfits from a New Era". It looked like a fashion show with outfits made out of consumer products: batteries, car parts, book pages, etc. Very cool exhibit! read more
8 years ago
If you happen to find yourself in Montreal and need to kill some time or get the kids out of the house than this would be a good thing to do, my wife and I found it pretty cool and it's interesting to interact with all of the virtual reality's they have here, and if you're a student you get $5 off of your ticket of entry. read more
The biosphere is esthetically pleasing to the eye. It's a spherical wonder seen from afar and adds character to the Montreal skyline. The Environment Museum within this inciting steel skeleton is good in concept, but is lacking in execution. The Environment Museum seems to miss the mark. It doesn't cater to any one specific demographic or any specific type of learner effectively. It appears that it's intended target audience are school-aged kids, but I can see them losing interest very quickly. Very quickly. It's missing the modern interactive experience that younger audiences are accustomed to and the integrated learning approach that has become standard in the medical and science field. The interactive activities available may be too laborious for the average museum patron who intends to be spoon-fed information. The price for admission and parking is questionably justifiable for those of you with younger kids. read more
8 years ago
8 years ago
An amazing place to learn and enjoy your time around Montréal. Do not forget to take a look around the city from the top. Videos and a lot of cool activities can take half day! Good for kids and adults! read more
Pretty cool place, my husband and I stopped here to see what it was. A lot of information on every floor/in every room. It was cool, but it wasn't really my cup of tea. It's very kid-friendly and if you're a science guru then you should definitely check it out. Views from the top of the building were beautiful! read more
This is a great park. We didn't actually get to go inside because it was closed when we went. But even just seeing the biosphere is pretty awesome. It makes for great pictures, especially when some random people are holding an umbrella in front of you. lol Its a pretty cool place to see, and definitely worth the trip over on the train. read more
9 years ago
From the outside, you would think it's a very interesting big museum. They offer a show which lasted for 25mins about the environment. The other halls also features some exhibits about science and environment. Overall, I don't think it was worth a visit. I've been to a lot of science museums which are far more interesting than this place. read more
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More info about Biosphère
Parc Jean-Drapeau
160 Chemin Tour-de-l'Isle
Montreal, QC H3C 4G8
Canada
Vieux Montréal
Directions
(855) 518-4506
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