What to do and see in Montreal, Canada: The Best Museums

La Guilde, historical gallery and museum institution of Canadian art, has been preserving, promoting and encouraging fine crafts for more than one hundred years. Specializing in Inuit and First Nations art, La Guilde is a non-profit organization that is comprised of a permanent collection, one of the most influential in Canada, historically and culturally rich archives, an educational program with a broad outreach, and a gallery which draws together works by renowned and emerging artists. Situated in downtown Montreal, near the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, La Guilde's Gallery offers all of its customers high quality contemporary art.

Located in the heart of Old Montreal, Galerie d’art Blanche is dedicated to exhibiting the best of contemporary art, representing the work of twenty figurative and abstract sculptors and painters, all of whom have established reputations within the national and international art market.

Pointe-a-Calliere, the birthplace of Montreal and a National Historic Site, offers visitors the opportunity to explore history through an original underground circuit leading through archaeological excavations. At the start of their visit, an immersive multimedia show presents a high-speed view of the city's history, the remains come to life and the count down begins! The museum also offers year-round temporary local and international exhibitions. For Montreal's 375th anniversary in May 2017, Pointe-a-Calliere inaugurated a new pavilion highlighting Fort Ville-Marie.

The MMFA is one of Canada’s most visited museums and the eighth-most visited museum in North America, boasting more than 1.3 million visitors. The MMFA's original temporary exhibitions combine various artistic disciplines – fine arts, music, film, fashion and design – and are exported around the world. Its rich encyclopedic collection, distributed among five pavilions, includes international art, world cultures, decorative arts and design, and Quebec and Canadian art. The Museum has seen exceptional growth in recent years with the addition of two new pavilions: the Claire and Marc Bourgie Pavilion, in 2011, and the Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion for Peace, in 2016. The MMFA complex includes Bourgie Hall, a 460-seat concert hall. The Museum also houses the Michel de la Chenelière International Atelier for Education and Art Therapy, the largest educational complex in a North American art museum, enabling the MMFA to offer innovative educational, wellness and art therapy programmes

Located in a former fire station, this museum explores Montreal's history from the 1600s to the present.

This natural history museum at McGill University is named after business tycoon and philanthropist John Redpath.

Maison Saint-Gabriel, museum and historic site, opened its doors in 1966. Located in Pointe-Saint-Charles, this magnificent 300-year-old building is one of the finest examples of the traditional architecture of New France. Purchased by Marguerite Bourgeoys in 1668 to house the King’s Wards, it lay at the heart of the agricultural and educational activities of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame for three centuries.

!!! Prior to your visit, we ask that you please book your ticket in advance and familiarize yourself with the Museum’s new safety measures.!!! The Montreal Holocaust Museum tells the story of Jewish communities before, during and after the Holocaust. Through the life stories of Montreal survivors, the Museum invites visitors to reflect on the destruction caused by prejudice, racism and antisemitism.