22 things to do in Montreal this weekend: June 1 to 3
Summer is finally (and beautifully) here!
It’s June 1st and the city is alive – it’s hot and sunny and there are a bunch of things happening around the city. We’ve got you covered Montreal, here’s 22 things to do this weekend.
La Ronde
La Ronde opened for the 2018 season two weeks ago and it was a blast. Test your bravery on the Goliath, Le Monstre, Ednör or Le Demon. Check out this season’s newly expanded Splash area and the new ride, Le Tourbillon. Forget lunch and supper, fill up on popcorn and cotton candy – it’s the weekend, you earned it.
When: Until October 28
Time: 10:30 am – 8 pm
Where: 22 Chemin Macdonald
Price: Available online or at the box office
Comedy At The Art Loft
Comedy At The Art Loft is the hottest underground comedy show in Montreal. It’s the city’s only weekly bilingual show and is run out of a private loft on Rue Saint Laurent and always packed with people. It feels like a college party, except a comedian is speaking into a microphone and making you laugh. Every week features a variety of talented headliners, hosts and local comics. This week’s headliner is the very funny Jacob Greco. There will be a DJ and snacks. BYOB and 420 friendly. Very 420 friendly.
When: Every Friday
Time: Doors open at 9 pm, show starts at 10:30 pm
Where: 4152 Boulevard Saint Laurent
Price: 10$ at the door (cash only)
Parc Safari Zoo
Get your animal fix by heading to Parc Safari, an easy 40-minute drive off the island. The park offers an optional Safari Adventure upon entering, you can drive up and see a variety of exotic animals from your car including zebras, ostriches, buffalo, llamas, and camels. Inside the park, take a walk down the Forest Trail where you have an amazing vantage point view of monkeys, cheetahs, hyenas, and bears. Don’t forget the lions, but we didn’t have to tell you that.
When: From now until October 8
Time: 10 am – 5 pm
Where: 280 Rang Roxham, Hemmingford
Price: Prices vary depending on age. Tickets available at the entrance or online
The Notre Dame Basilica has teamed up with Moment Factory’s Multimedia & Entertainment Studio to light up the historic building in Montreal until the end of the year. The immersive showcase features lights and sounds to showcase one of Montreal’s most oft viewed pieces of architecture.
When: From now until December 29
Time: Varying times between 6 pm, 7 pm, 8 pm and 9 pm depending on the day
Where: 110 Rue Notre Dame Ouest
Price: Adults: $24.50, Seniors: $22.20, Kids:$14.80, Students: $18.75
Tam Tams
Sundays in Montreal in the summer is synonymous with Tam Tams. It’s a giant outdoor party with dancers, sports and drummers all gathered around the Sir George-Etienne Cartier monument. If the weather is nice on Sunday (still worth it even if it’s raining) head over to the mountain and enjoy a longstanding Montreal tradition and vibe. 420 friendly.
When: Sundays until September 30
Time: Noon
Where: Mont Royal Park
Fringe Festival
Montreal’s Fringe Festival features over 500 artists who will be delivering over 600 live productions across town in June.
This weekend’s festival includes Lucky, Greasy: A Lesbian Love Story, Carmilla, Dance Side of the Moon, Rootless Tree and Queens of the Crypt.
The shows are a variety of comedy, drama, burlesque, dance and a lot of them involve audience interaction.
The best part – every show is only $10. Times and locations vary, check the website for specific details.
When: June 1, 2 and 3
Time: Varies according to show
Where: Varies according to show
Price: $10, available at the door or online
Montreal Beachclub
Montreal Beachclub is the host of North America’s biggest outdoor club. Located in Pointe-Calumet, an easy 45-minute drive from Montreal, Beachclub can host up to 10,000 guests. The club is beachside and forms an intriguing fuse of the beach and electric dance music.
The 2018 season kicks off this weekend with the headliner, DJ Flux Pavilion, and the venue will host food trucks, bar kiosks and of course, the beach.
When: June 1
Time: Friday: 10 am – 6 pm, Saturdays and Sundays: 12 pm – 7 pm
Where: 701 Rue 38, Pointe-Calumet
Price: $12 to enter the beach and $20 for DJ Flux Pavilion, available online
Bota Bota’s Drift Away After Dark
Montreal’s nautical spa, Bota Bota is hosting “Drift Away After Dark,” an after-hours event which will take place on the first Friday of ever month. Thankfully, today is the first Friday of a month!
Head to Bota Bota for an alternative to a night of party and relax with a resident DJ, a massage and a hot tub overlooking the city.
When: June 1
Time: 11:30 pm – 2 am
Where: Spa Bota Bota
Price: $35 per person
Piknic Electronik
When: Sunday June 3
Time: 9 am – 5:30 pm
Where: Parc Jean Drapeau
Price: Available online, starting at $14.50
Voiles en Voiles
Climb aboard life-size replicas of both royal and pirate ships from the 18th century in Montreal’s Old Port (how fitting). They are over 100 feet in length and range from 2 feet high for the young pirates to 35 feet for Peter Pan wannabes.
The obstacle course features 61 different activities between the Royal Ship and the Pirate Ship. Activities include ziplining, rock climbing, and bouncy castles.
When: From now until October
Time: 10 am – 1o pm
Where: Place des Vestiges, Old Port
Price: Prices vary depending on selected activities, tickets available online
Village au Pied-du-Courant
Dozens of collaborators and designers have teamed up together to create a man-made beach village under the Jacques Cartier Bridge. The village hosts bar kiosks, restaurant outlets and a performing stage where Montrealers and tourists can fuse their urban love and beach style together.
Friday is the village’s official launch for the 2018 season!
When: Friday to Sunday
Time: 5 pm – midnight on Fridays, 3 pm – midnight on Saturdays and 3 pm – 11 pm on Sundays
Where: 2100 Rue Notre-Dame Est
Price: Free to enter
Clerel and Only the Righteous at Honey Martin Pub
Clerel and Only the Righteous are local musicians who know how to bring it. They play a motown style of music – very unique and mellow vibes. They’re playing at Honey Martin Pub on Friday which will be a perfect intimate setting for the type of music Clerel and co. bring.
When: Friday June 1
When: Honey Martin is open from 3 pm – 3 am, the band starts at 10 pm – 2:30 am
Where: 5916 Sherbrooke Ouest
Price: Free to enter
Foonzo Arcade Bar
Foonzo is a retro arcade bar that features hundreds of old school video games, consoles, and board games. If the weather on some days this weekend aren’t boding well with you, head to this nostalgic little bar. It’ll make you feel like you’re jamming out in a buddy’s basement in the 90s. They offer a variety of classics on everything from N64, Playstation, Super Nintendo, Sega, Gameboy, and Xbox. When was the last time you beat a friend at Mario Kart? Could be today.
When: Foonzo is open year round
Time: 5 pm – 3 am
Where: 1245 Rue Drummond
The Maisonneuve Bike Path
Bike season is in high gear in June. The Maisonneuve bike path runs throughout Montreal and has a gorgeous path from NDG to the East End. Enjoy the sights and sounds of the city as the bike path runs parallel with it all. Get in some weekend exercise and then bike down to the Old Port and completely neutralize it by stopping off at any of their tasty restaurants.
When: The bike path is open year round
Where: Runs parallel with Boulevard Maisonneuve
Notre-Dame Basilica
Celebrate Sunday mass at Montreal’s most viewed structure at 11 am and hear a 25-person choir accompanied by the organ. Or, take a walking tour of the basilica which is an absolutely gorgeous spectacle. It is filled with hundreds of wooden carvings, several religious statues, and gigantic stained glass windows.
When: The Notre-Dame Basilica is open year round
Time: 8 am – 4:30 pm on weekdays, 8 am – 4 pm on Saturdays and 12:30 pm – 4 pm on Sundays (mass starts at 11 am)
Where: 110 Rue Notre Dame Ouest
First Fridays
The largest food truck festival in the province makes your Fridays a whole lot tastier. The city’s food trucks gather at Olympic Stadium showcasing an array of mouthwatering local food allowing Montrealers to sample dishes from over 50 food trucks. You can expect to find everything from tacos and churros, to mac and cheese and lobster rolls. The event takes place on the first Friday of every month from May until October. It’s free to enter but the food samples have varying costs.
When: Friday June 1
Where: Olympic Stadium
Montreal Digital Spring
Quartier des Spectacles is hosting a unique digital art festival all season long. These include a media lab, live musical performances, and sculptures. Be sure to check out what’s going on in Quartier des Spectacles every weekend in the spring.
When: From now to June 21
Where: Quartier des Spectacles
Rage: Axe Throwing
Blow off some steam (or prepare for a zombie apocalypse) by tossing some axes. The indoor range has 11 lanes where you can comfortably throw a variety of axes monitored by supervisors and instructors. The facility can host up to 60 people so bring your friends, a lot of them. You get an hour worth of axe throwing so make sure to stretch beforehand!
When: Rage: Axe Throwing is open year round
Time: 10am – 11:30pm
Where: 1436 Rue Amherst
Admission: $40-$55 per target, per hour. Tickets available online.
Musée Grévin Montreal
If the weather doesn’t hold up, stay inside and check out a unique museum. You may not be able to sneak off to Hollywood or New York City to see your favourite celebrities, athletes, and artists this weekend, but you can still see them, in wax form. If the rain’s too much today, check out Montreal’s only wax museum. The figurines are displayed beautifully through the 4-floor museum and it admittedly gets kind of creepy staring into Elvis’ eyes.
When: Open year round
Time: 10am-6pm
Where: 705 Rue Saint Catherine (4th floor of the Eaton Centre)
Admission: $19.50 for adult, $13.50 for children, $15.50 for youth and students and $18 for seniors available online and at the door.
Amaze Escape Room
You already escaped the work week – now try your luck at escaping from a prison, a military facility, a lost temple, or a laboratory. Make a reservation, choose your adventure and then you have anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to get out of any respective room. Each mission is reserved solely for your group and you’re given a walkie-talkie in case you need hints/get scared.
When: Amaze is open year round
Time: 2pm – 10:30pm
Where: 3550 Rue St. Jacques
Admission: $15-$30 depending on your chosen mission (per person). Make your reservation first online.
Pablo Picasso Exhibition
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts latest exhibit explores Pablo Picasso’s influences in African art with “From Africa to the Americas: Picasso Face-to-Face, Past and Present.” The major exhibition offers a new perspective and an interesting rereading of modern art history. The exhibition features still life, paintings, portraits and structural pieces. Keep this exhibit in mind if the weather on Saturday and Sunday isn’t in your favour.
When: From now until September 16
Time: 10 am-5 pm
Where: 1380 Rue Sherbrooke
Admission: Available at the door and online
Restaurant Chez Grégoire
Take a drive this weekend and get the best poutine Montreal has to offer – it’s just not in Montreal. It’s an easy 30-minute drive from the island and is worth every second. Grégoire’s has been dishing out poutines for decades; the casse-croute uses shredded cheese curds and an in-house gravy to make sure every bite of the poutine is as decadent as the last.
When: Grégoire’s is open year round
Time: 8 am to 11 pm
Where: 975 Boulevard Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Mercier
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