Montréal

Summer, from June to early September, is warm and often humid, with café terraces, parks full of picnickers and the big festivals: the Jazz Festival around late June and early July, the MURAL festival in June and comedy in July. Late September and October bring crisp days and brilliant red and gold on Mount Royal. Winter is long and properly cold, often below minus 20°C with wind chill, but it's also when the city shows its spirit, with skating, snowy parks and Igloofest, an outdoor electronic music festival in the Old Port on winter weekends from mid-January into February. Spring arrives late; March and April are sugar shack season in the countryside nearby.

The STM metro has four colour-coded lines, numbered 1, 2, 4 and 5 (green, orange, yellow and blue), running on quiet rubber tyres, plus an extensive bus network; buy an OPUS card or occasional fares at stations, or a short-term pass for a few days of travel. From Montréal-Trudeau airport, the 747 bus runs around the clock to downtown; a REM light-rail station at the airport is under construction and expected in 2027. BIXI bike share has thousands of bikes, many electric, with its full network running from spring to autumn. The city has a large network of protected cycle lanes. Downtown, Old Montréal and the Plateau are easy to walk, and in winter the underground city links many central stations. Driving and parking in the centre are best avoided.

• Montréal is a French-speaking city. Greet people with "Bonjour" first; most staff in the centre switch happily to English, and many shops greet you with "Bonjour-Hi".
• Quebec and federal sales taxes are added at the till, so prices you see on shelves and menus are lower than what you pay.
• Tipping of around 15 to 20 per cent is expected in restaurants, bars and taxis.
• In winter, dress in layers with a warm hat, gloves and waterproof boots; pavements can be icy and wind chill is severe.
• Watch for cyclists in the bike lanes, which often run between the pavement and parked cars.
• The Passeport MTL bundles entry to several major attractions and can save money if you plan to see many.
• Some restaurants are "apportez votre vin" (bring your own wine), especially on the Plateau; buy a bottle at a SAQ shop or dépanneur first.

Montréal takes food seriously. Try poutine, chips with cheese curds and gravy, at a casse-croûte or a late-night spot; smoked meat sandwiches piled high on rye, a tradition from the city's Jewish delis, with Schwartz's on boulevard Saint-Laurent the best known; and Montréal bagels, smaller, denser and sweeter than the New York kind, boiled in honey water and baked in wood-fired ovens. Look out too for tourtière, a spiced meat pie, maple sweets of every kind, Quebec cheeses and craft beers from local microbreweries. The city's dining scene ranges from French bistros and Portuguese grills to Haitian, Lebanese and Vietnamese restaurants, and the markets are full of seasonal produce.

Old Montréal has characterful boutique hotels in old stone buildings, convenient for sightseeing but quieter at night. Downtown has the big hotels, close to the metro and the underground city, which helps in winter. The Plateau and the Quartier Latin have guesthouses and apartments in a more local setting, with plenty of restaurants. Book well ahead for the Grand Prix weekend in June and festival dates in summer.

Long before Europeans arrived, the island was a meeting place for Indigenous peoples; when Jacques Cartier came up the river in 1535, he found the Iroquoian village of Hochelaga. French settlers led by Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve and Jeanne Mance founded Ville-Marie in 1642 as a missionary outpost, and it grew into a centre of the fur trade. In 1701, the Great Peace of Montreal was signed here between New France and some forty Indigenous nations, with the Wendat chief Kondiaronk among its architects; the Mount Royal lookout bears his name. After the British conquest in 1760, the city became the commercial capital of Canada, with grand banks and warehouses still visible in the old town, and a magnet for Irish, Jewish, Italian, Greek, Portuguese and many other immigrants. Expo 67 and the 1976 Olympics brought the metro, the islands' park and much of the modern city.

French is the official language of Quebec, and protecting it is central to the province's identity. Signs are in French, menus often too, and the local accent and vocabulary differ from those of France. A few words go a long way: "bonjour", "merci", "s'il vous plaît" and "excusez-moi". Montréal itself is more bilingual than the rest of the province, especially downtown and in the west of the island, but starting a conversation in French is a simple courtesy that's always appreciated.

Rather than hibernating, Montrealers lean into winter. Skate on Beaver Lake on Mount Royal or at the Old Port's rink, go cross-country skiing or snowshoeing in the city's big parks, and dance outside in snowsuits at Igloofest. When it's too cold, the underground city, museums and cosy bistros take over. Days are short and temperatures can stay below freezing for weeks, so plan indoor options and check the forecast before outdoor activities.

Use the metro, buses, BIXI and your feet; the city is built for it, and it keeps traffic down in crowded neighbourhoods. On Mount Royal, stay on marked trails to protect the forest, and take your rubbish home from the parks. Support independent shops, markets and local producers. In residential areas such as the Plateau, many short-term rentals are restricted, so choose licensed accommodation, which in Quebec displays a registration number.