Culture and Languages
Montréal is a safe, vibrant and exciting city. It is also a bilingual city, where you will find French and English movie theatres, newspapers and TV and radio channels, and a multicultural city with a strong arts community, interesting architecture and a vibrant food scene.
Montréal hosts many free or affordable festivals and cultural events all year long. Some of the city’s most popular events are the International Jazz Festival, FrancoFolies, Mondial de la bière, Igloofest, Formula 1 Grand Prix, World Film Festival, Shakespeare in the Park, Fashion and Design Festival and Just for Laughs. Montréal also features many outdoor concerts as well as the latest Cirque du Soleil shows. To check out the city’s calendar of events, go to www.tourisme-montreal.org/What-To-Do/Events.
Montréal is also known for its museums and its many green spaces, where you can enjoy a picnic on the grass, take a stroll, go jogging or bike around. In the winter, you can go cross-country skiing, skating or snowshoeing in parks for free.
Watch Tourism Montréal’s Montréal in two minutes video to learn more about Montréal’s main neighbourhoods.
From Montréal, you can easily visit other places like Ottawa, Toronto, Niagara Falls, Québec City and New York. All of these cities are accessible from Montréal by bus, train or car.
Transport: Getting around Montréal
Montréal is easily accessible by foot, bicycle, public transportation or car.
Over the years, Montréal has earned a reputation of being a green city where the environment is a priority for many of its residents. In fact, a third of Montréal households do not own a car. Public transportation is very important to Montrealers, but many also use their bicycle to get around. Thanks to our Bixi service, you can rent a bike anywhere in the city. There are many Bixi stations close to our school, so why not give active transportation a try? It is also quite common to see people rollerblading, skateboarding and walking around the city.
The YMCA International Language School is located in the centre of Montréal in front of the Peel Metro Station (Stanley Street exit). You can purchase a monthly metro pass in any of the city’s metro stations. Visit www.stm.info for more information about Montréal’s metro system, buses and their schedules.
Eating Well in Montréal
Thanks to the cultural diversity of its residents, Montréal has food from all over the world. You will find lots of interesting products in the city’s many specialty stores, supermarkets and corner stores as well as at the Atwater and Jean-Talon markets. Montréal also has restaurants from all cultures and for all budgets. To find a restaurant, visit www.restomontreal.ca.
Maps of Montreal
Here are a few maps of the city that might be useful to you:
Please read our FAQ section to learn more about Montréal, like the weather, currency and cellphone use.