How to Visit Montreal With Kids

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By JillZ
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Montreal Botanical Gardens

Montreal, Quebec is full of historic charm, but chances are that you won’t be spending too much time touring old buildings and museums if you’re visiting with your children. Traveling with kids will change the focus of your trip, but you’ll get to experience and enjoy some activities that you would never contemplate trying if you were on an adults-only vacation.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Prepare for the heat. Despite its northern location, Montreal is hot and humid in the summer and temperatures often climb into the 80s and even 90s. Pack comfortable, cool clothes for everyone. Don’t forget the bathing suits.
Step 2

Choose a hotel with a pool. Water has an incredible restorative effect on children. An hour or two in the pool can turn a cranky, overheated, whining five-year-old creature into a happy little person in no time.
Step 3

Take the Metro. Unless you are very familiar with driving Montreal’s streets, the Metro is the easiest way to get around. Most tourist destinations are accessible from the Metro and special Tourist Cards are available for sale at Metro stations.
Step 4

Visit the Shed 16 Labyrinth at the Old Port. The Labyrinth is located in a old warehouse-type building on the docks and is the home of a maze for half of the year (May through October). While it’s not elaborate, it’s a lot of fun and will keep kids and their parents busy and entertained for a few hours. Before you go through the maze, you’ll be shown a short film that explains the theme for the year and what you’ll be looking for in the maze. As you go through the maze, you will find clues that point you in the right direction. In some spots, you’ll need to climb over or under obstacles and may even need to slide down a sliding board, so you’ll need to be able to walk easily.
Step 5

Go to the Biodome and Botanical Gardens. The Biodome often has Disney World worthy lines in the summer, so you’ll probably want to visit the Biodome first and then take the shuttle bus to the Botanical Gardens. The Biodome is a walk-through exhibit containing a number of different ecosystems – tropical, local forest, marine, arctic and Antarctic. There are also hands-on kids’ activities on the lower floor.
Step 6

See Old Montreal – at least part of it. Pick a particularly interesting museum or building to tour, one that will keep your kids engaged. Don’t overdo it with the museums. Decide with your children ahead of time exactly how many stops you’ll make. Make sure to stop for ice cream or another snack during the day and leave when the kids start fading.
Step 7

Take a riverboat tour if your kids enjoy boats. A short tour on the St. Lawrence River will you a unique view of the city and is an activity that your kids will be sure to remember.
Step 8

Relax at the beach. Parc Jean Drapeau, located on an island in the middle of the St. Lawrence River, offers a lake and three pools for swimming. When the beach opens for the day, you may notice employees cleaning picnic tables and the trash cans. Yes, it’s that clean. The Parc offers changing rooms and snack bars and is a nice change of pace after a few busy days of touring. The La Ronde Amusement Park is also on the island. So is a casino, but you’re not going to have any time to gamble, now are you?
Step 9

Go underground. Montreal's underground mall is just like any other mall, but your kids may enjoy visiting it for a while.

How to Visit Montreal With Kids

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