a new discovery and now one of my favourites museums in montreal! I can't believe it took me this…read morelong 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.

Surely I can't be the only first-time Montreal tourist that confused the Biosphere with the…read moreBiodome. 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

What a wonderful way to learn more about the city! We stumbled across one of the visuals and looked…read moreinto it to see what it was about. We also ran into a volunteer for the exhibit who was very helpful and provided a map. After that we went seeking them out at various times in the day or evening. The exhibits took us around corners we might have otherwise missed and helped us look at buildings - and those who occupied them - in new ways. I've since recommended this to every friend who is visiting Montreal.

My wife saw advertisements for this tour so we decided to walk around to some of the stops and…read morecheck it out. The visuals are stunning and the tour itself is extremely entertaining and enlightening. I have honestly never seen a tour of this kind so it really blew me away. There were a few times when we were taking this tour that we ran into volunteers (or people who work for the company who created this tour) asking us if we had any questions about using the app on our phone or if we had any questions about the tour itself. I thought this was a great touch. The one small complaint I had was the amount of time it took to download the audio at each stop within the app. There has to be a way to compress the audio file to speed up the download time.

There's a Yelp entry for The Illuminated Crowd? I feel that Art is un-ratable, but not everyone…read morefeels this way, for example, my middle school art teacher who gave me a poor grade on my papier-mâché masterpiece (and in essence deterred me from going into The Arts. That's ok, I think I serve the world better as a scientist than as an artist anyway). But enough about my artistic potential or lack thereof, let's get back to this art installation. So The Illuminated Crowd is apparently the most photographed piece of public art in Montreal. The sculptor is Raymond Mason and material is resin. It was created in 1985. It's a crowd of people, and at the front it looks like everyone is staring and focusing on something in the distance, and as you go towards the back of the sculpture, things start to degenerate and people start attacking each other and some are on the ground wounded and mutilated. What's it all about? Well, that is up to you, the observer, to determine, no? The plaque at the base states that the artist is depicting "the fragile nature of man" and "the flow of man's emotion through space" but I feel that with art, the meaning is also up to the spectator, thus may mean different things to different people. I personally find this work haunting and creepy. I also see it as a sad commentary on humankind and of our potential for hurting each other. It's not the most uplifting of art pieces, but worth a view if you're in the area. It's on McGill College near de Maisonneuve.

Very moving and thought provoking - every human emotion in a concise space in the center of…read moreMontreal, Do not miss and do not overlook.

What an absolutely hidden gem here in Montreal. If I were to make a museum about a town I love,…read morethis is exactly how I would have done it. With lots of interactive exhibits following from indigenous to colonization to modern times. Full of interesting facts about infrastructure, transportation, immigration and so much more. The temporary exhibit was a multimedia experiment full of amazing stories about people in Montreal that don't have your typical life or job. Love, love, love this museum and everyone should experience it.

If you've already been to the Museum of Vancouver, it's kind of the same vibes. The Mem is a space…read morethat showcases the diversity of Montrealers' identities and their histories through interactive activities and exhibitions. The café/gift shop inside the building is really good and you do not want to miss the lobby!

This is probably the best Contemporary Museum I've visited. My friends and I have a tradition that…read moreevery year during the Jazz Festival we would travel down to Montreal. We've been doing this for about 5 years and this year we decided to go to this museum. I've been to many museums in Boston, NYC, and LA. However, besides the Broad in LA- this museum is very well curated. What I love the most is that many of them are interactive and keeps you curious. I highly suggest you visit museum when you have a chance!

It will be my pleasure to update this review at some future date, several years from now…read more As a fan of contemporary art I was looking forward to this museum only to learn - too late - that it's under renovation for the next couple of years. The site I was directed to (in Montreal's underground mall) is a tiny sample of their usual offering, so small in fact, that paying anything to enter struck me as an utter money grab. (My entry fee was waived as I had the Passport MTL). Even with essentially free admission for me, what was on view here was less than compelling and I had to work hard to engage my interest. My recommendation is to wait until they're back in their permanent home. Finding this place wasn't worth the time it took but, of course, I thought I was headed to the real deal, not a temporary exhibit.

While walking from Old Montreal/the Old Port to Westmount recently, my kid and I walked through…read moreGriffintown and Ste-Henri and the outskirts of downtown. We encountered so many new city features and funky enclaves, it's so interesting to see all the changes in the city and to be present during the ever-evolving city scene. One of many cool and new features we stumbled across was this enormous sculpture/art installation titled "Dendrites", created by Montreal artist Michel de Broin and installed in 2017. The oversized work is located on Rue Nôtre-Dame at the intersection of the Bonaventure Expressway (or the local road, Blvd. Robert Bourassa). If you're walking or driving by this intersection, there's no way you can miss this piece, it's so large, and it resembles actual dendrites (for those of you who've studied anatomy and physiology). It appears to be two organic, freeform staircases comprised of weathered steel. The distressed patina of the metal along with the twisting shapes are reminiscent of tree trunks rising up and branching out from the ground. I love the interactive nature of art installations like this. To me, this is what makes them successful. I love that one can walk up the branched staircases integrated in this work and get various perspectives of the urban landscape surrounding us.

Great Jazz festival that happens every year late June to early July…read more Artists from all over the world come to several stages to perform for free or for a fee in some cases. This year, we saw many great artists along with thousands of other music lovers from all over. Metro Place des Arts or St Laurent for easy access.

Let it be known that you're going to Montreal in the summertime and the next thing you'll hear is…read more"Are you going for the jazz festival?" I was not. Regardless, when I realized my trip coincided with the festival I researched artists, venues, and dates only to come to the realization that a whole lot of Montreal's jazz festival takes place for free at multiple venues in a fairly concentrated area of the city. Assuming you can find the schedule (at staffed kiosks in the area) and locations and understand the program (no joke, it was a challenge), you can learn when and where everyone is playing and identify the free performances. Multiple nights on end I found myself at large outdoor spaces filled with folks there to enjoy the free offerings. Was it jazz? Let's just say that jazz is in the ear of the beholder because not once did I experience music that I consider to be jazz though that seems somewhat beside the point. Free live music is almost always enjoyable and this is no exception. The outdoor spaces are clean, the sound is good, and the large crowd is considerate even as they come and go. Were I returning to Montreal during another summer I'd most certainly plan my visit to coincide with the jazz festival and again attend several events.

Art! Love the selection and variety of galleries from every corner of the world. This place is…read moreworth the journey.

This place is a phenomenal spot for both visitors and artists. Always updating and changing,…read morenumerous galleries of differing shapes and sizes. Art studios of differing sizes both open and closed. + 3 bars and live entertainment! + 3 restaurants in the building. (I tried one, excellent experience) + Movie theatre with 15 seats available for private events Not for profit organization supporting the local community and artists.

These two statues that are opposite sides of the park are an interesting artistic take on some of…read morethe tension that exist between English and French Canadians. This artwork cleverly incorporates the surrounding buildings in its statement. Both the Notre-Dame Basilica and the Bank of Montreal play a part. The former represents the religious influence of French Canadians and the latter represents English financial power. When looking at the statues pay attention to the emotions of the man and woman. Don't forget their pets. There are many things going on with the choreography of this art piece with characters, but also the surrounding physical and cultural environment.