When it comes to winter destinations, Montreal tops the lists of many travellers from all corners of the world. The Canadian metropolis and its surroundings were made for winter, and Montrealers have packed the coldest season with the hottest attractions. With the opening of the award-winning new Four Seasons Hotel Montreal and MARCUS Restaurant, the first Canadian outpost by celebrity Chef Marcus Samuelsson, the city is now more desirable than ever.
Here are 5 thrilling reasons to visit Montreal between January and April:
Winter Festivals
Igloofest(January 16 to February 8, 2020) turns January’s cold weather into an excuse to dance with thousands of Montrealers in the Old’s Port’s Jacques-Cartier pier every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. Dance to electronic music by top international and local producers, DJs, hip hop artists and more in an electro winter wonderland. Montréal en Lumière(February 20 to March 1, 2020) is the city’s biggest winter festival, merging gourmet food and drink events with arts, culture and an exciting outdoor activity site at Place des Festivals, located close to the Hotel. Enjoy themed restaurant meals and feasts by international celebrity chefs, outdoor music, ice slides and Nuit Blanche, an all-night celebration of art, culture and urban life.
Art Souterrain (Underground Art)
Expect a creative surprise around every corner in Montreal’s underground city during this annual visual arts and design festival. Spread over 33 kilometres (20 miles) of warm and cosy underground pedestrian walkways, the festival’s 11th edition features artwork under the theme “True or False” and offers visitors guided tours and other activities. February 20 to March 22, 2020.
Imagine Van Gogh
Montreal hosts a spectacular and immersive exhibition of the works of Vincent Van Gogh. The exhibition, presented by Paul Dupont-Hébert and Tandem, is on display in a sprawling former shipyard converted into Arsenal Contemporary Art Montreal, located in Montreal’s Griffintown. It takes viewers on a creative and utterly original journey inside the artist’s paintings. Through February 2, 2020.
Mount-Royal Park
Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (New York’s Central Park) and inaugurated in 1876, Mount-Royal Park is a breath-taking urban green space featuring 200 hectares (400 acres) of biodiversity and natural beauty. Rising in the heart of the city, minutes away from Four Seasons Hotel Montreal, the mountain is stage to a host of recreational winter pursuits, including snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, tobogganing, and skating on Beaver Lake.
Montreal Canadiens
Founded in 1909, the Canadiens are the longest continuously operating professional ice hockey team worldwide, and the only existing NHL club to predate the founding of the NHL. The Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup more times than any other franchise, with a grand total of 24. Take in the heart-thumping action of a hockey game at the Bell Centre, one of the world’s most electrifying sports arenas.