Order a Drink at Gibeau Orange JulepBeside the Decarie Expressway looms Gibeau Orange Julep, a three-storey fiberglass orange that has been frothing its secret-recipe drink since 1945. Order one and toast the orb that locals refuse to let die.Food & DrinkEasy30 min
Pick a Bagel SideBuy a sesame bagel at St-Viateur Bagel on Saint-Viateur Street, then one at Fairmount Bagel a few blocks away, and commit to a lifelong allegiance like every Montrealer must. There is no neutral ground.Food & DrinkEasy40 min
The Sandwich They Won't CutAt Wilensky's Light Lunch on Fairmount, order the Wilensky Special salami-and-bologna roll. House rule since 1932: always with mustard, never cut in half. Do not ask. Wash it down with hand-mixed soda fountain cola.Local DetailEasy30 min
Peer Through the Bronze Skull on Sherbrooke StreetOn Sherbrooke Street in front of Salle Bourgie, find David Altmejd's bronze face with a gaping hole through its head and tiny hands crawling across it. Peer through the hole and decide who is watching whom.Photo HuntEasy15 min
Join the Sunday Drum MobEvery warm Sunday, hundreds of strangers gather around the George-Etienne Cartier Monument in Mount Royal Park to pound drums until sunset. Nobody organized it. Bring a tambourine and become part of the noise.SocialEasy1 hr
Find the Nine-Storey PoetCrane your neck at the Leonard Cohen mural on the Cooper Building, 3981 Saint-Laurent Boulevard. Kevin Ledo painted him nine storeys tall, hand to heart, watching over the city that made him.CultureEasy20 min
Steamie at the Pool RoomOrder a steamie, a steamed dog buried in coleslaw and chopped onion, from a counter institution like the Montreal Pool Room lineage on Saint-Laurent. It is two-ish dollars of pure local breakfast-of-champions.Food & DrinkEasy20 min
Watch Riopelle's La Joute Fountain Ignite at DuskAt Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle in the convention-centre district, wait for Riopelle's La Joute fountain to ignite. On the half-hour after dusk a literal ring of fire erupts through the mist and bronze beasts. Stand close.WeirdMedium30 min
Get Lost in a Green AlleySlip into one of Mile End's ruelles vertes, the resident-reclaimed back alleys off Saint-Viateur stuffed with gardens, painted fences and stolen patio chairs. Find one, sit down, pretend you live there.Hidden GemMedium35 min
Salute the Giant DodoIn Michel-Belanger Park downtown, a 20-foot bronze dodo by Myfanwy MacLeod looms beside a bank, an extinct bird memorializing the misunderstood. Bow to the dodo. Nobody else will.Photo HuntBold25 min
Run the Lachine Canal at dawnLace up and join the locals on the flat, water-hugging path along the Lachine Canal, starting from Atwater Market before the morning crowd arrives. Nine kilometres of calm water, old factories and zero hills to ruin your excuses.ActiveMedium1 hr
Hike up to the Mont-Royal belvedereClimb the wooded trails of Parc du Mont-Royal to the Kondiaronk Belvedere and earn the whole skyline in one sweaty glance. The squirrels are unbothered by your panting; do try to match their composure.ActiveMedium1 hr 15 min
Row a boat on Beaver LakeRent a little rowboat at the Pavillon du Lac-aux-Castors on Mont-Royal and let the kids captain a lazy lap of Beaver Lake. Steering is optional; gentle bumping into reeds is practically the point.FamilyEasy45 min
Step inside the Biosphère domeWander into Buckminster Fuller's giant geodesic globe at Parc Jean-Drapeau, where the kids go free and the steel frame throws shifting sunlight everywhere. Everyone ends up just standing still, heads tilted back, staring up.FamilyEasy1 hr 30 min
Hunt for free samples at Jean-Talon MarketLead the family on a tasting mission through Jean-Talon Market in Little Italy, sniffing out cheese counters and fruit stalls handing out little bites. The unwritten rule: a real taste means you might actually buy the maple something.FamilyEasy45 min