Montreal

La Ronde
One big amusement park on an Saint-Helen's island. You can see my brother(another CouchSurfer) happy as a little kid.
http://www.laronde.com

Tam tams
The Tam-tams in Montreal are drums of peace which resonate in unison every Sunday. It's an invitation to reverie, music and dance.
http://tamtamsmontreal.net

Parc Jean-Drapeau
Largest park in Montreal, go swim, do bike riding, walking, rollerskating, enjoy the gardens, the nature, the art.
http://www.parcjeandrapeau.com
Photos: Hélène Racine

Riding waves in Montreal
There is no ocean and no big breaks in Montreal? Then surf the river!
http://www.2imagine.net

Vieux-port de Montréal
Enjoy the sun on your bike, your roller blades or just walking. You can also go on boat rides in the rapids.
http://www.quaisduvieuxport.com

Jardin botanique
One of the world's largest and most spectacular botanical gardens with about 22,000 plant species and cultivars, 10 exhibition greenhouses and about thirty thematic gardens.
http://www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/jardin

L'international des feux Loto-Québec MUST-SEE
Fireworks competition featuring about 10 countries, like, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, Canada, etc.
http://www.internationaldesfeuxloto-quebec.com

Fête nationale
It's the Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Québec national day, a good reason to get drunk as there are parties everywhere, in bars, on the streets, in house, everywhere! Of course, there's also a good number of activities, shows, parades, etc. The most popular is going to Les Plaines d'Abraham, a huge park in downtown Quebec city, on the evening of June 23th.
http://www.cfn.org

Festival international de Jazz de Montréal MUST-SEE
If you like jazz, you have to see this, if you don't really like jazz, you have to see this. Shows everywhere, tons of people, incredible atmosphere.
http://www.montrealjazzfest.com

Festival Just for laughs MUST-SEE
All kinds of funny stand-ups or talent shows of artists from everywhere.
http://www.hahaha.ca

Festival Fantasia
For Fant-Asia, it was originally for horror and fantastic and Asian movies, but now it's also movies from all around the world that you won't see anywhere else.
http://www.fantasiafest.com

Les FrancoFolies
For French music lovers. Also world beat, rock, electronic, hip hop and many more of Québec, France, Belgium and other French spoken countries.
http://www.francofolies.com

Divers/Cité
This is the gay and lesbian pride days, there are parades, parties and sometimes they ring at your doorbell for no reason as they walk by hehe..
http://www.diverscite.org

Italian Week
Art, music, fashion, gastronomy... Italian style.
http://www.italianweek.ca

Fête des enfants/Children's Festival
Family celebration with free stuff and activities for all.
http://www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/fetedesenfants

St-Jean-sur-Richelieu Hot Air Balloon Festival
I think you get the idea.
http://www.montgolfieres.com
Photos: Stéphanie Lachance

Montreal World Film Festival
Movies from all around the world, from the best producers to the most independents of movies.
http://www.ffm-montreal.org
Photos: Sylvain Légaré

Montreal covers herself with her colourful apparel
Watch the leaves turn tellow, red and orange as automn is slipping over Montreal. You can go at the Parc Jean-Drapeau where the trees there are especially quite the sight.
http://www.parcjeandrapeau.com

The Magic of Lanterns MUST-SEE
Admire the harvest moon as you stroll through a Chinese landscape, sample Chinese pastries and enjoy the gentle strains of an erhu in the largest Chinese garden outside of Asia.
http://www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/jardin/en/propos/lanternes.htm

La grande mascarade MUST-SEE
It's what the name tells, a mascarade, macabre people walking around all weekend, parades, contests, partys, theatre, weddings, sacrifices.
http://www.grandemascarade.com

Festival SPASM
This is the most underground festival I know, it's about independant horror/fantastic short stories made by poor people.. that is, students hehehe. Seriously, it's all student made movies with low budget so if you don't like festivals with families and crying babies, you have to see this since the audience and organisation is all people between 18-30 years old. (You can also buy the DVD of each year's festival with all the short stories on it.
http://www.spasm.ca

Ice skating
Ice skating with someone can be the perfect romantic date, especially at night with all the city lights. You can go aint the Old Montreal (left) or beaver lake on Mount-royal (right)
Right photo by: Jonathan Clark

Fire on Ice MUST-SEE
Fireworks are great, but fireworks during winter reflecting over all the ice and the snow is absolutely divine. Enjoy those four magical nights.
http://www.quaysoftheoldport.com

Fête des neiges
Play in the snow as you did when you were a kid, see ice and snow sculptures, try old-style curling, attend to free shows.
http://www.fetedesneiges.com

High lights festival
One of the most liked winter festivals in Montreal. I don't really know how to describe it, but it's a little bit like the "Fête des neiges", only even more beautiful and a little bit less for the family as there are a lot of night activities with lights in the ice and everything. The street is an awesome sight.
http://www.montrealenlumiere.com
Photos: Jean-François Leblanc

Saint Patrick's Day parade
Unfortunately, I don't have any photos, my camera was broken at that time, but it's really worth it, especially the parade and the parties in the streets and all the bars.
http://www.montrealirishparade.com

Beer Festival
More than 350 products and 100 new beers to taste. Beer lovers, you have to try this.
http://www.festivalmondialbiere.qc.ca

Casino de Montréal
Even if you dont't like gambling a lot you can there to watch shows, listen to music or just take a drink with friends
http://www.casino-de-montreal.com

Biodôme
Kind of like a zoo, but you feel like you are a part of it. You walk around in the animals' habitats, like the Laurentian forest, Antartica, the tropical forest, etc. The temperature is regulated, so it's like going from a climate to another (don't worry, about Antartica, you don't walk in that section. It's nice because as you take your walk, large parrots fly over your head and monkey are jumping.
http://www.biodome.qc.ca

Insectarium
Come and see the little crawling things that live on almost every inch of the planet. You can also have a taste of those little guys, like chocolate grylloptera (or chocolate ants, I don't remember).
http://www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/insectarium

Planétarium
It's been a while sonce I've been there, but if my memories are right and according to the website, the Planétarium is mainly about nature and the balcance of it. There's also a nice presentation with a projection on the ceiling explaning all the constellation. Sorry I don't have any photos of what it looks like inside.
http://www.planetarium.montreal.qc.ca

Imax
The largest screen in Montreal. Of course, you won't go there to watch "Pirates of the Caribbean" as the movies are in 70mm (instead of the standard 35mm film), so the show will surely be documentaries, often with 3D glasses. Imax is not just another cinema, if you've never been there, you have to try it because since the screen occupies your entire field of view, your brain interprets what you see as if you were really there, so you feel like flying when there is a camera travelling over the water, the ground or the mountains.
http://www.centredessciencesdemontreal.com/en/imax/imax.htm

Montreal science center
This is like a science museum, every couple of weeks, they switch to a new subject, such as "Autopsy of a murder", "Sleep from A to Zzz", "Body worlds", or "Jules Vernes".
http://www.centredessciencesdemontreal.com

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
This is a art display of all kinds of about 30,000 objects (sculptures, prints and drawings, paintings, photographs, decorative art objects), all made by Canadians from the past and the present.
http://www.mmfa.qc.ca
Photo by: Brian Merrett

Improvisation theatre
Very popular among universities, especially at UQÀM (Université du Québec À Montréal), Improvisation theatre is a very cheap and fun kind of activity, to try as well to watch. There are several ligues, organisations, groups or just independants improvisators that perform in various bars, as the [www.medley.ca Medley]. It is a very popular activity to have a beer with friends while watching an impro match. The bar is filled with joyful people in the twenties and the ambience is alive with energy.
Ligue nationale d'improvisation: http://www.lni.ca
Ligue d'improvisation de Montréal: http://www.citronlim.com
Photos: Jill Elder

Shows: Concerts, humor, dance, etc.
If there is a thing in wich Montreal is diversified, it's the different culture in all kinds of shows there are. You will find any kind of music, theatre, dance and humor shows (and many more). To see the forthcoming shows, you can use the two main ticket selling companies:
Ticketpro: http://www.ticketpro.ca
Admission: http://www.admission.com
You can also check some of the most popular concert halls:
Métropolis: http://www.montrealmetropolis.ca
Spectrum: http://www.spectrumdemontreal.ca
Théatre St-Denis: http://theatrestdenis.com
Bell centre: http://www.bellcentre.ca

Grande bibliothèque
For book lovers. All kinds of books, all subjects, old, new, etc. You can also look on the website for an online research.
http://www.banq.qc.ca

Cinemas
How about relaxing after your day in front of a good movie? There are three big theatre complexes in Montreal: Cinplex entertainment, Cinema Guzzo and the Ex-Centris. The first two include typical movies as well as arcades and the last one, Ex-Centris, is mainly focused on independant movies.
Cineplex entertainment: http://www.cineplex.com
Cinema Guzzo: http://www.cinemasguzzo.com
Ex-Centris: http://www.ex-centris.com

Old Montreal
Take a walk, go shopping, visit old buildings and museums, take pictures, these are few of the many activities and sights there are. However, I don't go there often so I don't know any special places, but can assure you there are many.
http://www.vieux.montreal.qc.ca

Night club - 1 Place Ville Marie - 514.397.0737
There is no other terrace that can compare to that one; on top of the tallest building of Montreal, the Altitude 737 can be nice on the dance floor as well as outside, while babbling with a nice girl/guy and trying to appear as if you knew every spot you are pointing her. I've never actually been to that bar however, since I'm afraid it could be really expensive.
http://www.altitude737.com

Night club - 4483 Saint Laurent - 514.845.8443
If you like clubbing on hip hop music, there's another place, I've never really been fond of that place, but you can find the usual night club stuff there: Dancing, drinking, animations, drunken kissing girls, pool tables.
http://www.lebelmont.com

Night club - 57 Prince Arthur E - 514.844.1010
This bar is located on a very nice and popular street in Montreal and usually sells really cheap beer if you don't have a lot of money and arrive early. People are usually young there though if you don't like bars with 18 years old.
http://www.cafecampus.com

Night club - 104 Saint Paul E - 514.861.1270
That bar is mostly french and that is, the customers as well as the music. But even if you don't speak french, you'll see that the atmosphere is incredible! There is always a lot of energy, always shows. By the way, if you know the band Yelo Molo, they play at that bar quite often. But the website is ugly : )
http://www.lespierrots.com

Night club - 4557 Saint Denis - 514.849.5888
Nice little bar, not too big, not too small, you go there with a bunch of friends, like about 12 and you will feel like you know a lot of people in the bar, wich is nice! I usually don't like meeting girls in bars, but that one feels like a small party in a house so meeting people feels right.
http://www.audiablevert.net

Night club - 1405 Saint Laurent - 514.281.8058
I'm not from the city and when I started to go out in Montreal, we always went to the loft since there was alternative music and a lot of punk rock/ska. Now it changed a bit; I believe it's mainly hip hop, and there are no more punk tuesdays. But the terrace is still nice and there are two dance floors with two DJs. I think there is still alternative music playing in one of the dance floors.
http://www.clubleloft.com
(Don't have any pictures, sorry)

Night club - 1284 Saint Denis - 514.281.8058
A new bar that just opened in Montreal. I've never been there yet and will only go there if I have an invitation since it's supposed to be really expensive and there is always a huge lineup (and it just opened!!). Anyway, I don't know what to tell you, even their website does not tell much.
http://www.lamouche.ca

Night club - 3699 Saint Laurent - 514.284.5093
I don't know why I'm not going more often at that bar since it suits me: A more underground style, with electronic music, punk, metal, two stairs and a cool terrace, wich is opened during winter and heated!
http://www.saphirbar.com

Night club - 1149 Crescent - 514.288.5656
If you don't like bars filled with 17 years old on their first drinking night puking and doing stupid stuff, you might like this bar. The customers are mainly in their twenties, but dance like hell! Part of the club is also in the basement and the bar can be pretty packed, especially on thursdays and fridays, so arrive early to get good places.
http://www.thursdaysbar.com

Night club - 3709 Saint Laurent - 514.842.6838
A nice terrace on the roof, two separate rooms (one wich sometimes plays band and a place to dance) and differerent types of music depending on wich day you are going there makes a good bar to hang out if you don't know where to go. If you hang out on the terrace, it's a good spot to watch drunk people on the streets doing stupid stuff hehe.
http://www.tokyobar.com

Night club, Bar - 403 Ontario E - 514.843.5469
If you think Montreal has a lack of rock, punk, ska, hardcore bars, then you should go to this bar. I would always be there if it wasn't for the cover charge, they have a place in front for rock bands usually playing covers of known bands, a cool terrace with a bar in the backyard and a bar in the basement (wich people usually find out while going to the bathroom) that plays music to dance. On the photos is my friend's brother and they played Rage Against the Machine, Sublime, Pearl Jam and it was great!
http://www.barbaloos.com

Night club, Bar - 87 Sainte Catherine E - 514.844.5539
If that bar wasn't so popular, it would look like an underground bar, for example the bathrooms are full of graffitis (it's not vandalism, it's planned), they have gothic nights (or used to), they play Metal music, techno, hip hop, punk, ska, hardcore, they have quite intense special evenings (llike Halloween for instance) and of course, they have a terrace. You can also go there to watch a game or play pool, just dance, have a beer. Oh, and they installed a skateparl as well and the beer is really cheap, especially on tuesdays!!!
http://www.foufounes.qc.ca

(Night club), Concert hall - 4530 Papineau - 514.529.5000
That bar is mainly a concert hall and it sure looks like an old one from the fifties (look at the first picture), but they also have disco nights where you can dance on 80' and 90' music, called the "hasbeen, wannabes" nights. Nothing really special about it, but I like that bar's style.
http://www.latulipe.ca

Bar- 1738 Saint Denis - 514.285.1738
Formerly known as the Bebop, that bar is in the center of the Quartier Latin. There is a cover charge when there is a band but otherwise, it's free to come in. During the summer, there is a terrace with a projector showing I don't remember what on the wall. I have pretty good souvenirs about that place and I really like the atmosphere.
http://www.myspace.com/labsynthe

Bar - 4234 Saint Laurent - 514.840.9090
Altough the a french name, the customers mainly speak english, wich I always though funny. Anyway, what I like about this place is the underground shows that take place there. You will hear a lot of electronic music there, but also acoustic, alternative and sometimes hardcore. Besides from the shows, it's also a nice place to hang out and fall asleep on a table (happened to me once hehe).
http://www.ledivanorange.org

Bar - 4040 Saint Laurent - 514.842.8088
If you like electronic music and discovering new personalities, you know where to go! Always a different DJ every night, they sometimes have really known DJ, from Champion well known in Montreal to a DJ from another country. Of course, it's not only big shots, you can see a lot of smaller DJs who can be really good. In fact, the full program is always on the website, usually with links to the performers' websites where you can listen to what they do before going to a particular evening.
http://www.laikamontreal.com

Bar - 1107 Sainte Catherine W - 514.844.6769
No, it is not on Peel street, it existed in every city in North America before that street was born! Not too big, not too small just the perfect size. You go there with a dozen friends and you'll have fun, guaranteed. They have all kinds of evenings: Karaoke nights, "sexy" saturdays, bands, and I think there is a special on shooters one evening. Oh, they also have food, cheap food and cheap beer.
http://www.peelpub.com

Bar - 1693 Saint Denis - 514.843.6360
I think this is the bar in Montreal where I drank myself to death most of the times. It is near my job in the Quartier Latin, The beer is not too expensive and does not taste like water, they serve fast food when you did not have time to eat and are scared of being sick because of an empty stomach, they have a second floor wich is a reggae bar with shows once in a while, they have a small stage on the first floor as well with shows and improvisation theater on some nights (very popular amongst the francophones of Montreal) and finally they have "les mardis de l'humour" with a standup comedy show for a small fee (about 5$).
http://www.pubsaint-ciboire.com

Bar - 1412 Sainte Elizabeth - 514.286.4302
This bar is really known in Montreal for it's awesome terrace; you actually feel like you are home having a beer in your backyard because it's not that big and there are plants and trees everywhere. This has its downside however, because it's really hard to get a good spot if you arrive late, especially for a large group. What we usually do is arrive early, have people reserve places for us or check as soon as somebody leave and jump on their place. You should go there on mondays and tuesdays since there are good specials for the pint.
http://www.ste-elisabeth.com

Bar - 1680 Saint Denis - 514.844.9458
That used to be my favorite bar when I first got in Montreal, that terrace is simply my favorite one, probably because there is a fountain and I love watching water flowing, especially when I'm drunk(This is my only weird thing hehe). Anyway, The terrace is HUGE, the bar is HUGE, everything is HUGE, except pitchers. You guessed, this place is popular so they don't have to sell beer for cheap, and it's not the best quality as well.. Anyway, they still have 4 floors, a terrace on the top, a lounge, a restaurant opened in sumer only, a basement with a disco, a kind of cool salon. To get the big picture, imagine a whole apartment block turned into a bar, so every room and floor is different, I don't even know how many different kinds of music there are. Anyway, you can arrive late there and always find a place but get there early if you can for the happy hour.
http://www.lesaintsulpice.ca

Brewery, Restaurant - 732 Sainte Catherine W, 1658 Saint Denis, 105 Saint Paul E, 1356 Sainte Catherine W - 514.788.6333
Beer lovers will tell you they love the home made beer at this place, but what I love the most is the waitresses. I'm telling you, not one of them isn't hot and this is the one place where they are the hottest in all of Montreal according to me. Anyway, back at the bar, this is more like restaurant that closes late than an actual bar, in fact, we've been thrown out often at 1am, so you go there to have supper and drink some good beer before leaving for another bar. The food is really good and they are well know for their famous "Flammequeche" or simply "Flamms". If you like alternative music, you will like this place, you might hear music like Jack Johnson, Sublime, Goldfinger, Fratellis, etc etc. while enjoying good company on the sunny terrace.
http://www.les3brasseurs.ca

Brewery - 2049 Saint Denis - 514.282.7448
I have a lot of beer lovers friends and I guess it's the favorite place of most of them, they have really good beer at reasonable prices, my favorite one is the banana flavored white beer (yeah I know, I drink the sort of beer that usually girls like), but one of their most famous one is their black "Stout". They have other really good flavors but I keep forgetting the names. Anyway, try the chocolate flavored black beer!
http://www.amereaboire.com

Brewery - 1749 St-Denis Street - 514.680.8052
Don't go there if you plan on getting wasted tonight, as it will cost you a lot of money! This is another place for beer lovers, they have A LOT of different beers, you will certainly find one that suits you. So then you go to that place to sip your beer and enjoy it, not to swallow pint after pint like cheap water-tasting beer from a night club.
http://www.lesaintbock.com