MontréFALL: 23 incredible things to do in Montreal this October
We don’t have to be too sad that summer is over in Montreal, mostly because October is beautiful and is loaded with great things to do.
From food to concerts, outdoorsy things, Halloween events, and everything in between, here are a bunch of things worth keeping on your radar in October.
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We’re fusing in new things with some old-school Montreal classics. Have at it, folks. October is already looking eventful.
Oktoberfest
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It’s time to dust off those dirndls and lederhosen because Oktoberfest is returning to Montreal’s Atwater Market.
During the first weekend of October, a Bavarian-style festival will take over a tent at the downtown market. And to the delight of beer enthusiasts, 15 microbreweries from different regions in Quebec will be on-site showcasing their local flavours.
When: Saturday, October 1
Time: 11 am to 7 pm
Where: Atwater Market
Price: Free admission
Gardens of Light — Jardin botanique de Montréal
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There’s no denying Montreal is gorgeous during the fall and the city’s Gardens of Light help to amplify its beauty ten-fold.
Espace pour la vie is celebrating its 30th year of the magical Gardens of Light and this time around, the venue is hosting “Ode to the Moon,” transforming the site’s Japanese Garden into a mesmerizing spot to soak up the fall’s natural colours and the event’s setup array of different lights and hues.
The First Nations Garden takes guests into the “seasons of life,” highlighting the spirits of our planet’s elements.
The Chinese Garden also shines bright with hundreds of lanterns telling the story of Pangu, a primordial figure known for separating heaven and Earth in Chinese mythology.
All in all, the one-stop venue offers three magical gardens that are oozing with photo opportunities and spectacular sights until the end of October. If it’s not yet on your must-do radar for the fall, you might want to make it so.
When: Every day until October 31
Time: Sunday to Thursday, 9 am to 9 pm; Friday and Saturday, 9 am to 10 pm
Where: 4101 Sherbrooke Est
Price: $11 to $22
Michael Bublé
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Canada’s favourite crooner is back on tour, and he’s making two stops in Quebec, one of which will be at the Bell Centre, as part of his Higher tour.
When: Tuesday, October 18
Time: 8 pm
Where: Bell Centre
Price: $53.25, available online
Fright Fest
If you’re looking for thrills and frills this October, look no further than La Ronde’s Halloween events calendar. This year’s edition of Fright Fest, which kicks off on October 8, will feature fan-favourite haunted attractions with some new spooky surprises sprinkled in.
When: October 8 to 30
Time: 1 to 10 pm
Where: La Ronde
Price: All-day passes begin at $39.99
VéloVolant
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman people biking through the forest!
If you want to soak up Quebec’s fall foliage from a different vantage point this season, Au Diable Vert offers the world’s highest suspended bicycle ride, the VéloVolant.
Outdoor enthusiasts can peddle off an elevated platform and cycle over one kilometre of the suspended trail at Station de Montagne — an award-winning four-season outdoor venue, over 30 metres feet above the peaks of Jay Peak and Mont Sutton.
When; Every day until October 15
Time: 10 am to 4 pm
Where: 169 chemin Staines, Glen Sutton
Price: $35 – $50
The Smashing Pumpkins
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The Smashing Pumpkins are still out there… smashing pumpkins.
The band — which started in 1988 — is going to rock out at the Bell Centre at the end of the month alongside Jane’s Addiction and Poppy.
When: Wednesday, October 26
Time: 6:30 pm
Where: Bell Centre
Price: Starting at $74, available online
Clerks III – The Convenience Tour
Clerks III, the threequel to the cult 1994 film, will have a showing in Montreal in the middle of the month as part of the movie’s “The Convenience Tour.” Clerks star and director, Kevin Smith, will be hosting a Q&A afterwards.
When: Monday, October 17
Time: 8 pm
Where: L’Olympia
Price: From $65.25, available online
La Grande Dégustation de Montréal
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There’ll be a lot of swishing, savouring, and spitting going on when Eastern Canada’s biggest wine tasting event returns to Montreal at the end of October.
Now in its 12th edition, La Grande Dégustation de Montréal is back and bigger than ever. Featuring 280 exhibitors from all over the world and over 1,600 ready-to-taste products, this year’s event revolves around three central themes: world tour, bubbles, and cocktails.
From October 21 to 22, connoisseurs and amateur enthusiasts alike can enjoy two full days of tasting spirits from 25 countries and 80 different wine subregions. Guests will have the chance to mingle with winemakers and distributors. It’s also the perfect opportunity to stock up for the holidays.
When: October 21 to 22
Time: Friday, 3 to 9 pm; Saturday, 1 to 9 pm
Where: Grand Quay of the Port of Montreal — 200 rue de la Commune Ouest
Price: $15
Gorillaz
Evenko
“Feel good, sha, sha-ba-da, sha-ba-da-ca, feel good.”
Gorillaz will be rockin’ out at the Bell Centre in early October as part of their North American tour.
When: Saturday, October 8
Where: Bell Centre
Price: $81, available online
Find the Key
‘Tis the season of good frights and cheap thrills, and what better way to celebrate that than going to one of Montreal’s premier escape rooms?
Find the Key is the perfect spot for a one-of-a-kind group activity and can be found in the downtown area. The facility contains four unique escape rooms and experiences that you and your group can participate in: The Unknown, Insomnium, The Cabin in the Woods, and Haunted Pirate Ship.
Of all the rooms, only The Unknown comes with an age warning and disclaimer. The experience has been described as “an escape room that turns into a nightmare.” It also holds the smallest guest capacity (2 to 4).
Find the Key has been internationally praised for its difficulty and originality on sites like Tripadvisor, World of Escapes, and Room Escape.
When: Every day in October
Time: Tuesday to Thursday, 4 pm to 12 am; Friday to Saturday, 10 to 1 am; Sunday, 10 am to 10:30 pm
Where: 1000 Atateken Street #101
Price: $20 to $25 per person
La Cuisine Privée
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When it comes to autumn dining, can you really do better than being surrounded by lush maple syrup forests in Montreal-area countryside?
Come on, a full stomach AND endless photo opportunities…
La Cuisine Privée has reopened its seasonal dining room, offering brunch and dinner service from Friday to Sunday during the autumn harvest seasons.
The bring-your-own wine restaurant is located inside a rustic chalet-style venue just outside the countryside town of Ormstown — just over an hour outside of Montreal.
When: Now until October 30
Time: Friday & Saturday, 5 to 11 pm; Sunday, 11 am to 2 pm
Where: 3240 chemin Erskin, Hinchinbrooke
Price: $40 to $54
Concerts Candlelight
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Iconic music, full-band concerts, flickering candlelight, and historic Montreal churches — what else could you want?
Appropriately named Candlelight Concerts, the magical musical events take place in over 85 cities worldwide at more than 1,000 timeless venues, including historic churches here in Montreal.
The concert will be highlighting covers from trending artists like Adele, Coldplay, Queen, and ABBA along with iconic classics by Tchaikovsky and Beethoven — all of which kick off this weekend.
When: Various dates in October; specifics online
Time: Various dates
Where: Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, l’Église Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs, Cathédrale Christ Church, and l’Église St-Jean-Baptiste
Price: $30 to $40, available online
Citrouilleville
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If you want to get in the autumn spirit, there’s a giant pumpkin village just outside Montreal that might need to make it onto your must-do radar.
Citrouilleville in Saint-Zotique is a village devoted to everything pumpkin. It has entire houses made of pumpkins, a corn maze labyrinth, fall-themed photo booths, tractor rides, and pumpkin picking. Plus, the whole site lights up at night, meaning primetime photo ops.
When: Weekends until October 31
Hours: Saturday, 9:30 am to 8:30 pm; Sunday, 9:30 am to 5 pm
Address: 560 avenue 69, Saint-Zotique
Price: $13 to $17, free for children under two
Sentier des cimes
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The term “going up north” has taken on a literal meaning.
Canada’s first-ever Treetop Walk has taken over the Laurentians, giving guests a 40-metre wooden spiral staircase climb that offers breathtaking views of the northern mountain range and nearby landmarks, such as Mont-Tremblant.
The highest point of the tower hike — officially called the Sentier des cimes — is equivalent to that of a 12-storey building.
When: Every day in October
Time: 9:30 am to 7 pm
Where: 737 Rue de la Pisciculture, Saint-Faustin-Lac-Carré
Price: $19 to $29
Parc de la Chute Montmorency
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Okay so we’re kind of cheating here because this isn’t in Montreal BUT, at 83 metres high (272.3 feet), Montmorency Falls is a full 30 metres taller than Niagara Falls — so it’s a must-see.
Located just 15 minutes from Old Quebec, these falls are located where the St. Lawrence River stretches into a bevy of bases and cliffs.
The falls have an electric gondola that helps you trek to the top, which is primetime for snapping pictures of the entire Montmorency region.
When: Every day in October
Time: 6 am – 11 pm
Where: 2490 Avenue Royale, Quebec City
Price: Free
Mosaïcultures Québec 2022
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If there’s one excursion to add to this fall’s must-do list, Quebec City’s animal kingdom garden might be the king of the jungle.
Until mid-October, the Mosaïcultures Québec 2022 at Parc Bois-de-Coulonge in Quebec City is showcasing a dazzling display of more than six million plants and flowers that pay tribute to the “life that vibrates on our planet.”
The exhibit is marketed as a “hymn to the Earth,” and features works that are “a pleasure for the eyes but also a reminder of the fragility of life.”
When: From now until October 10
Time: Various
Where: Parc Bois-de-Coulonge – 1215 Grande Allée O
Price: $12.50 to $60, available online
Dancing Lights That Flew up to the Universe
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In celebration of its 15th anniversary, the PHI Foundation for Contemporary Art is presenting Dancing Lights That Flew up to the Universe, a new exhibit from acclaimed Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama.
The exhibition introduces visitors to the “spiritual and philosophical depth of the artist’s work,” says the PHI museum, including two striking “infinity mirrored rooms.”
Both mirrored rooms will be filled with hanging light globes that alternate colours before going dark. “The viewer is absorbed into darkness for a moment before the glowing spheres slowly flicker back on, initiating again a cycle akin to life and rebirth,” says PHI.
When: From now until January 15
Time: Various
Where: PHI Centre
Price: Free, reservations required
Uplå
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You can take your family adventures to new heights in the fall, thanks to North America’s biggest trampoline park which opened outside of Montreal this past summer.
Uplå is a labyrinth of 20-foot-high suspension bridges and trampolines that connect to a network of unique and colourful treehouses, all of which are suspended in the air at the foot of Mont-Saint-Grégoire.
What’s wild about Uplå is that the park is open year-round, rain, shine, or snow. We’ll have to wait a few months to see what North America’s biggest trampoline park looks like covered in snow.
When: Every day in October
Where: 45 Chemin du Sous-Bois, Mont-Saint-Grégoire
Price: $20 to $30
VAN GOGH – Distorsion
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Have you wondered what it would be like to walk through a masterpiece?
The wonderfully colourful world of Vincent Van Gogh has been brought to life at OASIS, and visitors can walk freely through animated renderings of classic works like Almond Blossoms, Starry Night, and many more.
When: From now until October 16
Where: OASIS immersion — 301 Saint-Antoine
Price: $24 to $32, available online
La Grande Roue
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When the weather cools, enjoy an amazing panorama view, 60 metres high atop the largest observation wheel in Canada.
When: Every day in October
Time: 10 am to 11 pm
Where: La Grande Roue, Old Montreal
Price: $22 to $28, available online
Quinn Farm
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