Reviews of Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History (Tourist Attraction)

Teddy Chu

Great place to learn about the history of Montreal. The exhibits are located below the ground floors with excavated artifacts throughout the various buildings. Navigating through the buildings could be confusing even with the map. Plenty of things for kids to learn and touch. Overall, a good place to spend a couple of hours.

Lisa Arneill

This is a great museum for visitors who are looking to learn more about Montreal's history. You start your tour with a video and then you can meander through the basement of the building which features original city structures. For kids there is a pirate section that was a hit with my boys.

Allie

So glad we went here. The museum was shockingly un-crowded for a Saturday afternoon. The layout of the museum is excellent and super easy to navigate by the arrow stickers on the floor - if you follow them, you'll see everything! My favorite exhibits were the multimedia generations show (definitely see this!!), Crossroads Montreal, and Memory Collector. While I was excited to have the opportunity to learn extensively about the history of Montreal, I was extremely impressed with the archeological displays at the museum. For example, you can walk through a sewer tunnel that was preserved, and see what remained of the original foundation of the building that had been in the spot where the museum was eventually built! It does not seem common for such large pieces of old city architecture to be intact, so this wss a really unique aspect of the museum. I think my favorite part, overall, was the multimedia generations show. Colored lights and video of Montreal residents spesking about their childhoods and ancestors' origins in Montreal were artfully projected over a mosaic of angular screens. Things to know if you're thinking of visiting: - no food is being served during the pandemic - they have some child-oriented exhibits that seemed pretty fun - buy a ticket ahead of time, as the capacity is restricted (you buy for a time slot) - the multimedia generations show happens a few times each day, but make sure you check if the time is for the French or English version (easily found on the website)

Guillaume Rouleau

Always a fun place to visit, great exhibition on the starting point of Montreal. The non-permanent exhibition on Egypt was fun. I am sad to say that they changed their introduction video, which seems to now be very "King and Country" style instead of the old "Les racines française du Québec et Canada".

Shady Roufail

Loved their Egyptian exhibit. The rest of the place was fantastic and relatively cheap. Definitely recommend

Chris Grul

The Queens of Egypt exhibition was fantastic, detailed and highly informative

Kitty Howlett

Some of the permanent exhibitions are a little worse for wear, but the temporary exhibits are always so very interesting!

Fiona Low

Interesting exhibition on Italy’s history in Montreal. Slightly confusing layout ( got a bit lost) but was overall a great day. The AC was a great bonus. Not sure if it was worth the $72 for our 4 tickets.

Kaleb Boucher

Fun and interesting museum of the city's rich history. Centred around Montreal's early history in the 17th century to the 1900s, the displays are well out together, certainly a must go for history buffs, and can easily be done in a half day.

Teenoushh

There's a lot to discover here

J R

For those who don't like museums .. go and thank me later. This is a living museum. Brilliant layout and exhibits. You are walking through history.

Justin Tan

Master piece

zileti Prince

It's built on the original fortification walls of the city. They found the first Catholics cemetery and alot of other things. You do all the underground and get out at the first public place .

Kathy Muse

It is a very beautiful museum where adults and children have fun. I loved the 20-minute theater show. I highly recommend this site.

Immanuel Tan

Fantastic museum, innovative use of multimedia - in particular the Place du Marche.

Alex Bailey

After going here. I realize why there is division in Canada among the French and English speaking. The use of words. The placing of blame. The lack of accountability of certain historical events. Many historical omissions. I would say this really solidifies in my head as a source of division in Canada. This place needs to lose its public funding and undergo a full audit of it's material. It's all about victimizing the French settlers. From blaming the native population. To blaming the British.

Fabio Assis

Great place... you can learn a lot about Montreal's history. Well organized and with lots of information, you can easily spend hours there without even noticing.

Kate Hanley

Incredible immersive experience. I could have spent hours—infuetunayely we got there 45 mins before close. I’ll be back someday!

Denise Bellows

Really cool place! Our son enjoyed the pirate exhibit and the sewer exhibit was a peaceful place to prepare for naptime. Wish it was a little easier to navigate with a stroller, but they accommodate as best as possible in the unique space. If you have the option, use a carrier instead of a stroller for little ones.

Josh Kandies

A very enjoyable museum. My kids loved the privateers interactive exhibit.

Azriel Krongauz

One of the most thoughtfully organized museums I’ve ever been to. Archeological fragments are amplified by background “shadows” which show how the fragment fit into the former whole object. You get to walk over an actual historic site without disrupting anything: the floor is transparent with light dots symmetrically scattered to give you a sense of stability. You can even ENJOY walking through an ancient sewer! The lighting is amazing: it gives you a sense of being in a magical tunnel (instead of a really old place where refuse flowed ????)... Whoever designed this museum was very detail oriented and they did a fantastic job!

Kira

The guides were super nice and the place was absolutely beautiful with it's beautiful lights. The archeological site (the museum it's self) was just all around impressive, very informative, very clear and had an impressive amount of historical importance in Canada's history. Great for school trips, I would know since I came here myself with my school. <(￣︶￣)>

javvaji Shasidhar

One of the finest museums i have ever seen ???????? , it just takes you back to the 15th century of Montreal (birth time of the city) and the best part is 90% of the museum is in the underground????. Lots and lots of stuff to look after here are few of them.

Ken Schmidt

We spent several hours here. I enjoyed the interactive displays of the original for and chateau particularly.

Edgar Hünninghaus

One of the best history museums I've been to! It takes a more modern approach to presenting the past and doesn't feed you too much information. Will definitely bring more visitors from out of town!

Meaghan MacKenzie

Amazing!!! Fully accessible. Great air conditioning on hot days. Extremely interesting and beautiful. The price is a little steep but you won't visit another attraction like it so I think it is well worth the money. Parking in the area can be a real nightmare because it is located so close to the water.

thefivems

Great museum. I don’t normally like museums but this one was an exception. It wasn’t really interactive at all aside from 2 games at the end of the tour. Other than that it was great. If I’m ever in Montreal I’ll make sure to visit again. Great experience and worth my time.

Ivan Beacco

Really nice and extensive museum, it could be easier to navigate though...

James Olivier

Absolutely fabulous museum. One of a kind. Must see when visiting Montreal.

Robert McGrath

Great museum with some fun kid centered exhibits. Three separate areas you can get into with one ticket. Fun visit overall. Loved the underground section.

Louise Helene “Mahina&Luna” Beaudet

Great little video on the city history. The permanent expositions about Montreal are great too. The kids love the tunnel that gallows the old river. Really nice!

Susan Knight

Great historic museum. Be sure to take the guided tour if you can.

Brendon Williams

It was interesting. It's quite reading-heavy, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I got lost more than once though, and I'm not even sure I ended up seeing everything. It could be made clearer how to navigate the museum.

Alec Kennedy

One of the best curated museums I’ve ever been to. Explains the unique history of Montréal. They literally have the foundations of the first colonial buildings under your feet.

Elena Buckner Rusche

Our guide was knowledgeable and experienced. We went during a busy time and it was so crowded that it made it a bit difficult to enjoy the experience or focus on the knowledge.

Matt Griffith

This place is so cool! It blew me away being able to walk through excavated areas of Montreal from the 1500’s-1700’s. Whether you’re a tourist or a local, this place is a must see!

Michael Janssen

Let you look down through glass floors to the city below. Walking through a real sewer to move between buildings was the best!

Horia Vlad Guzu

The 25 minutes video presentation was my favorite which can be listened through the provided headphones in a few different languages. After a few hours walk, it is a good way to rest your feet while being educated and entertained. Also had 20% off (util September 15th I thing) upon presentation of Pokemon GO app.

T Blake

Went to see the exhibit on female Pharaohs and Queens and it was wonderful. Beautiful little museum.

Galaad Aerilys

A very nice museum in Montreal old Port. It mixes a permanent exposition about the history of the city with other temporary topics like Ancient Egypt. It's not too big, so you won't need to spend the day to visit everything, but it's large enough that you can spend the afternoon looking at archeological treasures. And if you're hungry, they have a restaurant with good food and a nice view of the Port!

Drew V

Had a great experience here. The museum looks small from the outside but it's actually quite large with the underground sewer walkways which lead to a few different areas. We also loved the Ancient Egyptian exhibit - i'd highly recommend checking it as it's only here for a limited time

Jonathan Combel

Visited the Queens of Egypt exposition, it was super rad. Also visited the telephone exhibit, much smaller scale - just one room - but pretty cool, too.

Curt Erixon

One of the most fascinating museums I have been to. You have to appreciated history because you are standing on it and seeing.

Ammar Hussain

Loved the fact how they built the musuem on actual historical site. Great immersive experience!

Sébastien Gignac

Nice museum. Well located. Temporary exhibits are quality ones but tend to be short. Montréal Archeology is impressive. Must see.

Babaganeush

Fascinating tour if you're a history buff. The underground sections were beautiful and interesting. A bit reading heavy, but tons of great audio content in English and French!

Adalberto Modes

I mean, if you like archeological stuff....they show a movie of the history of Montréal. That was the part I liked the most.

Craig Kirsner, MBA

This is a great Museum! My kids loved the pirate exhibit!

Maria Barrera

An amazing museum. As someone has written in his review, it is particularly relevant for people who are interested in Montreal's history. However, I would add that this place is excelent for anyone with a taste for history: the archeological exhibits related to Old Montreal offer a unique experience. To see the rests of the slender streets, the shops and the public works of the original city is to be transported in time. The multimedia exhibits are also very valuable in that context. The Pirate exhibits - geared towards kis - very imaginative. The shop, lovely and exquisitely curated.

Nghe Luu

I can't believe I learned here that the Michelin star rating for restaurants comes from the Michelin tire company as a way to encourage people to drive and buy their tires.

Chad

I really enjoyed my visit to the museum, being able to walk through/above the excavations was fascinating. I found it a bit confusing at first to find the exhibit upstairs in the first building as the access felt a bit like a back hallway, but otherwise this was a very well done museum. I really enjoyed the building with the glass floor.

Patrick Wynn

Not a tremendous amount of info, but you can see the foundations of the older buildings in the basement. Early Montreal history is the main topic covered, but it's really a small museum.

Ling

A wonderful place to know montréalais history!!

Louis Jezsik

Very cool museum! While I don't care much for their travelling exhibits, the basement of the building is fascinating. They have uncovered the foundations of several small buildings, around which you can walk and read about the history of these old buildings and how they're built.

Carla the Wanderer

Super neat how the museum itself is built around stonework ruins on the spot where Montreal began. Canada isn't old, and the indigenous people didn't build huge stonework civilizations to unearth, but this museum is able to take things back at least as far as the 1600s. It offers both English and French for all exhibits. One word of caution, though: It's two short steps away from being a literal labyrinth. Don't panic, just ask a staff member for help.

Laura Carolina

Very good museum. I spent a couple of hours and could have spent more. The main focus is archaeology and the development of the city of Montreal, but there are also sections about circuses (many costumes), a pirate ship for kids and a temporary exhibition about the Italian community (Dec. 2021). All panels are in both English and French.

Rach Hick

A bit confusing to find your way around at first, but it is much bigger than it looks on the outside and well-worth admission price. If you did a walking tour, that ticket may also give you 50% off admission (ours did!)

Joey Sheffield

The spectacle at the beginning was really good, and had options for Spanish and Italian as well as English and French narration. The exhibit is mostly underground, and it is nice to walk among the original fort walls. Bathrooms are hard to find.

John Lupfer

Really neat museum built over the actual archeological site.

Roland Rogers Arnold

Great staff bringing history up-close, interesting, and informative. Changing exhibits keep one returning. Salut!

Umi Shamji

A great learning experience! Especially if you want to learn more on Montreal’s history

Andrea Lin

The exhibits did a good job of presenting what info they chose to present... This is a fairly new museum and I was surprised their presentation was not more even handed as far as the First Nations perspective being presented (it simply was not). The look is cool but in some cases they favored tech and aesthetics over content, imo. I'm glad we went there though.

olga eser

Great museum, not too big so you can do it in some hours

Rosario Bellassai

Great multimedia history of Montreal presentation. The Egyptian exhibit is currently there and it is thoroughly fascinating! Buy you entrance tickets online to avoid the long admission lines.

seban babu

Its ok, u can learn the history of Montreal. Its not a big place though.

Sebastien Dovan

The building is an architectural gem, so having spent all that money on the building, you would think the museum might disappoint, but it doesn't. The underground section that displays archaeological excavations of old Montreal are fascinating.

Ramiro Rodriguez

This place is a must to do if you would like to know about the history of montreal!

David Beghin

Very interesting place, permanent exposition is very nice, and the wonder room exposition (temporary) is really amazing as well. Very clean place, very well organization, great disposition, accessible, for less than 15$/head

Molly Greenway

Awesome museum, very well curated. The fact that you are walking amidst where the actual history was preserved is so interesting, and you can feel the history beneath you.

Justin Wiley

Great exhibits and we had incredible guided tours with the very knowledgeable tour guides Alex and Maude. Ask for them!!!

Joel Williamson

We have visited this museum twice now and we were surprised to see that it has some updates from the last time! It is well worth the cost of admission. The new updates are beautifully presented.

Mohammed Ahsan

If you’re visiting Montréal and looking for her history, I suggest start here, the first French settlement. The only con is no Native (First Nation) history here.

Haider

Nice place, friendly staff.

Tommy K.

It was quite underwhelming. Went for the mummy exhibit. The exhibit is quite small and poorly signed. Most of the art wasn't very well explained. The section aimed for kids was great. I will most likely visit again for another exhibit.

Nikki Bhalla

The Wonder Room exhibit was so interesting!! And the lit aqueduct was mesmerizing. We found the rest of the museum a bit maze-like, but seeing the ruins throughout was interesting.

James Werner

This is a GREAT place - worth the money and time. The building was constructed over the areaological dig site for early Montreal, thereby preserving it better than any "warning" sign ever could. The introductory multi-media film/show in extraordinary, and worth alot by itself. When we visited in May 2018, there was a special exhibit of Egyptian articfacts that was very well curated and presented. My favorite part, however, was in the basement where you walk through intact building foundations from 17th-19th Century Montreal, and then walk though a preserved part of the old sewer system, sans odor and rodents.

Valerie Walker

An extraordinary museum. Start by going down to the bottom floor. You won't be disappointed!

MADHAV KOLANUPAKA

Great experience.. if you want to learn about Montreal..this is a go to place.. the immersive movie was very good .. the place gets crowded by afternoon.. have to walk up and down a lot.. seems wheelchair friendly but can't confirm.. definitely fun center for kids..

Phaidra Duchastel-Vassaramva

Fantastic experience for family, friends or a date! They change their expositions once it a while. On top of being highly interactive for all ages!

Matthew Abarbanel

An excellent museum detailing the lives of the early inhabitants of Quebec. The price is a bit expensive for adults, but this musuem is a must see if you are visiting Montreal, or even if you actually live here. The sewer was the best part

jlom ex

Very nice but no real souvenirs to buy. It's not clear if they have tours I saw 3 but never knew when they began or finished or if that is an extra cost

linh ta

Very fun. Lots of activities and full of facts for young and older kids. My 12 years old daughter, 6 and 15 years old nephews had so much fun. They commented that it was " way better than the one in Georgia". Great for the whole family.

Tani Kickham

Really well-laid out. Easy to follow. An easy 3.5 hr visit if you have the time! You get to view the remains in context of the purpose of the structure and time period. You learn about the social and political bonds of the local groups. The special exhibits are included in the cost of admission. The one I visited was about French food. The mix of video, full table settings, food, and kitchen gadgets kept me there for a while!

R.G. Carter

Beautiful gallery..moshe safdie stsirs.. great art works...so much canadiana!

Nick Pearson

One of my favourite museums in all of Canada Period!!! You get to walk around the actual dig site and learn of what fun knick knacks they found during the digging process. you also get to learn a fair deal of Old Montreal's history. I think my favourite lesson was learning of the Molson family and how influential they have been and currently are. They founded the Bank of Montreal! Arguably pushed the introduction of steam powered boats and have swayed our politics for years. a must visit if you go to old Montreal.. no even if you just visit Montreal you must!!

Omar Seraj Kazi

Brilliant place to learn about the history of Montreal. Definitely have to go!

Andy Luxton

Well worth going, start with a dynamic projectors show every 1/2hr, headphones tell the story in 6 languages. Then wait for an experienced qualified archaeologist to take you in a tour of the ruins expanding on much more than the informative displays. (Alternates between French and English speaking tours) Allow 2-3hrs to see everything. For kids move about and explore all the little nooks and crannies, big pirate ship area when we were there. The old sewers link you between the several different areas, lifts between the floors making it accessible for all. We did as part of the 3 day museum pass (with or without transport)

Lorena Gálvez

The best museum I have been to in Montréal so far. Just impressive!

Emma Kadri

The basement is amazing! Huge... you are below 3 buildings not only the one you get in. By mistake I came out another building. Worth the visit even if it is to see only the permanent exhibit.

Finhas Jhaveri

Nice museum, if you want to spend some time learning about the history of Montreal. Tickets are a bit pricey, so if you are really into it, it is worth it. Gave it 4 starts as it did have some interesting exhibits and experiences - the underground sewer, the pirates exhibit, the trains exhibit. If if you have the time and have nothing planned, visit it.

Josh B

This place is amazing. I'm actually an archaeologist working in the musuem field and have been to archaeology musuems and exhibitions all over North America, and this one is the best. It really shows how archaeology works, how history is learned through archaeology, and it uses new technology and design elements way better than most archaeology museums. It even has fun stuff for kids and lots of hands-on activities. It's all underground, too, which makes it even cooler. I can't say enough good things.

John Muczynski

Nice museum featuring displays about local history and archeology. When it family visited, I joined a group of people listening to a tour guide. He was fantastic. Not simply knowledgeable about the content of the museum, he was also a great story teller and an animated personality. We all enjoyed the museum and then ate the lunch we packed at the picnic tables in the air conditioned dining room.

Jeremy Cook

Pretty interesting underground museum

Karl Gruenewald

A lovely museum with exceptional architecture, particularly in the basement level where the careful layering of modern and archeological is on full display.

Joshua Espitia

Terrific museum, it's exhibits are informative and entertaining incorporating art and technology to communicate the history of Montreal. Highly recommend!

John Ahlers

BY FAR the BEST of all the museums/historical sites we visited! (and we hit a lot of them!) This is a true treasure, and I could have spent several more hours there than I did! It's amazing to see clear and physically examples of how Montreal has grown and literally rebuilt itself on top of itself.

Dhanush D

Awesome experience and could spend like 4 hours in here.

Marianne M. Mantovani

Very interesting! Great expositions and the video about the story of Canada is heartwarming

Johann Vargas

I love this museum, the Egypt Queens collection and the permanent exhibit were great!

Dan Check

Great museum. The introduction video was super informative and entertaining. Walking through the site was fascinating and seeing how things changed over time.

Alice Ching-Chew

Fantastic archeology museum chronicling the history on Montreal. A not-to-miss museum.

Mitch Orchard

Fantastic range of information displayed in creative, fun ways. Museums can be boring - this one isn't.

Karen Robertson

We used the MT pass to go see the special exhibit on Egyptian Queens. This alone was worth our time & money. Lovely museum and well organized!

Thibaut Mattio

More of an advertisement for Montreal than a history museum. We could almost believe Iroquois were the ones who exterminated the Colons.

Marnie Gillis

The museum was great. It loses a star because of the high admission price. The highlight was touring the 17th century underground sewer (sounds gross, was beautiful). If you end up on an hour long waitlist for brunch in old Montreal consider passing the time with a visit to this museum.

Sandy Bartlet

Not crowded. Excellent train and pirate exhibits with a bit of Montreal history on the side.

Anonymous

Gotta say I was blown away by the museum. I haven't been here since I was probably a kid with school and it's definitely gotten upgraded. Lots of tech, 5 pavilions (3 permanent of the history of Montreal, 2 for other exhibits). Really interactive so adults and children will be plenty entertained. The 20 minute theatre show is really cool too with 180 screen + light projections. Would highly suggest for tourist and Montreal dwellers alike!

Tony Leung

Probably the best one-stop experience in terms of understanding Montreal’s past and present. Never seen such an artistic, fun, contemporary museum of archeology with great curatorship. The blend of multiple presentation styles is ambitious, but very well done. The opening multimedia, immersive programme is well-designed. It’s also amazing that we could go underground to study from the actual remains of previous civilisations. History and archeology are never this appealing. Bring the kids too. They will be impressed I’m sure.

Ted Wallbridge

Interesting take on colonial history in the introduction movie, not very indicative of any attempts at reconciliation, but rather the early French settlers portrayed as victims of assault by the indigenous population. Beyond that, the exhibits themselves are very good. Time for an update to the story being told.

Zaphod thedog

very nice. and underground and inside. if it hot or cold or rainy out. Shows the old city runis and give a bit of History. in English and french

Kiri Donesley

Amazing tour guide. Fantastic displays. As an arcuaeology fanatic, this place took my breath away

wanyu liang

Very good museum to learn about the history of Montreal.

Brett Selby

Pretty decent museum, layout is somewhat confusing though. The sewer is cool!

Sky Croeser

This is an awful, awful, museum. The narrative presented is simplistic and racist. For example, much of the material on the early settlement of Montreal is presented in a very straightforward way as friendly settlers being supported, on the one side, by their Native allies (fitting the 'noble savage' trope), and attacked fiercely and without reason by the Iriquois (with no mention of why the Iriquois might have been opposed to European settlement, or of belligerence from the side of the colonisers). The exhibition on Marco Polo presented him as a hero without critiquing imperial and racist aspects of his narrative. While there were some fascinating artefacts presented, they often lacked context, and where context was given texts were often bizarre and factually incorrect (for example, the claim that "all nomads worship The Sky"). There's also little in the way of women's stories, and one of the few women you learn about through an interactive exhibit is a historical character who only seems to want to talk to visitors about her husband and son.

PAUL RITZ

There is a lot of history to cover here, so there are a lot of written descriptions. The younger crowd would like the pirate/corsair display and its interactive aspect.

Anthony Magalhães

Looks small from the outside. Don't be fooled! It goes underground and connects to the building next door. I would recommend dedicating a whole day if you feel like visiting the entire museum.

Plinio Benavides

Very well presented, the exhibitions are informative and outstanding artistically. Children will enjoy the section on piracy.

Ben Kerr

This museum does an amazing job showing the original colonial settlement of Montreal, and incorporates old pieces of the city into exhibits you can walk through and explore. Wander down an old sewer and then walk across a glass floor underneath which you can see the foundations and remnants of the first stone buildings. The museum is built right on top of all this.

Oleksandr Porechkin

Great place to visit. Very interesting exhibits.

Tim Shearer

Excellent, first time to Canada and Montreal and this was a great place to start. Came out feeling like I had an understanding of the region. Probably my favourite of the places we visited in Quebec.

Neo Kranz

It's amazing, a fantastic and creative museum. The information they give is really good.

Mezba Uddin Mahtab (A Bengali in Toronto)

Fun place, especially for kids. The Inca and the Pirates exhibit are not to be missed. Their Covid19 precautions are good as well.

Shaun Correa

Very mixed opinion on this place, after visiting today with my wife and 2 year old kid. General impression is that the place is well run, and the presentation quality of all the exhibits is really high. I've visited museums around Canada, US, Europe and Asia, and this is definitely one of the better presented ones. The standouts were the temporary exhibit on trains, and the very kid-friendly and interactive one on pirates. My kid loved them both! However, I feel this place needs to get a low rating because of the Montreal history sections. Though well presented, the actual telling of the history is very distiburing. It paints a very do-good image of the white settlers; especially the "white savior" tone around any reference to Christianity and conversion of the Indigenous population. In this day and age, I expected these topics to be covered with more sensitivity and, ideally, with perspective provided by members of the Indigenous community. Instead, this felt like a propagandist view of history, which was very disappointing. I plan on writing the museum and hope they address these concerns.

Richard Chong

Very interesting place to visit for locals or tourists. A good place to learn Montreal's history. You will know what is Montreal's first original name after this visit ????

Jean-Baptiste Le Bouquin

Free wifi and warm place. We did not visit the museum however.

Brett Alan

Very unique museum! Visited Montreal from Seattle and this was a great way to get acquainted and appreciate the history of the city, as this is a topic that I never knew much about in terms of one of Canada's largest cities and its beginnings. The entire experience took about 3 or 4 hours and we just had such a great time walking through everything.

Jessica Sanderson

The multimedia presentation was cheesey and kind of set me in a negative mood on Montreal history. The bubbly voice and the way some moments were put together glossed over anything negative and almost romanticized the history (some moments, at least to me, almost played as a bad joke about the mistreatment of other people). It was kind of neat to walk on top of the archeological site and among things. I liked the pretty sewer tunnel and the Egyptian exhibit was nice enough.

zamacity61

Amazing historical museum in Vieux-Montreal, taking the visitor through the history of Montreal from pre-contact to modern times... very well laid out, loved the re-imagined sewer/tunnel as well as the actual archeological dig site. A must-see if you like history.

Chris Bing

What a great little museum. Totally blends in with the history it's presenting as it's literally built on the foundations. The Customs House display is really creatively done with lit highlights showing the relevant part as the presentation proceeds. Walking through the old sewer was cool too (not often you get to say that). Fun pirate section for kids. Thought it was a little expensive at $20 each going in, but it was worth it. Multimedia presentation is fun but non-essential as you just get the same information as in the rest of the museum really.

Michelle Heyward Cooper

This was a very interesting spot if you enjoy archeology and want to learn more about the history of Montréal.

Austin Gilmore

Quiet but fascinating museum. Definitely need to go here if you're visiting, great underground archaeology site and presentation of the exhibit, although confusing to navigate.

Sleesh Top

Hello visitors. Recently I visited the museum of archeology and it was very educational. Highly recommend to visit this place if you wanted to learn a bit more about montreal aswell as the history behind it. Many artefacts aswell as other monuments to remember the past. Sadly the Egyptians exhibit is open so do not keep it Hope's up if u wanted to visit the Egyptian sections. However they do show the montreal exhibit aswell as the incas exhibit. For your information the picture below are of the montreal exhibition.

Rita Hokayem

Montreal's best museum. When you think of archaeological museums in Europe, you get a very different picture. The museum uses technology to make the history of Montreal more interesting. You don't want to miss the exhibitions. I was lucky to see the temporary train and pirates exhibitions. I missed Peru and Egypt (few years ago), but I'm excited for next year's exhibitions.

Polina Ryabko

The best museum in the city. The team is incredibly passionate and every exhibition has so much soul that I've teared up in the past. They even organized zoom meetings with archeologists during lockdown. Support these guys.

Enrico

Such a nice experience, definitely worth it!

biswajit chatterjee

Very nice museum..dating back to Montreal's foundation days..railway museum was worth the money ..great for kids and adult alike. Pirate ship keeps kids engaged

Chelsea Allen

This place is great. An amazing Montreal experience. I have taken a guided tour (the guide was fabulous) and also have gone self guided. Loving the history and the presentation.

Austin Behel

I thought it was a very nice museum with great In situ excavations. I felt they could have paid a bit more attention to the aboriginals in more of the exhibits, but I get that it is a museum focused on modern (western) foundations of Montréal. They still did a good job. I just wanted more! Lol

Matthijs

Interesting exhibit on the origins of Montreal. They also have a few ruins underneath the building which show the way in which the place evolved around the very first trading post it once was.

Kaushik Sharma

Interesting to see and learn the beginning of Montreal, at the original site where it all began. However, some entry points and passages are not very stroller friendly in terms of accessibility.

Dominic Parkes

Best museum I have been to in ages. If you want to understand how Montreal started and also look at the foundations of the city.

Thomas Abthorpe

Walking through the original foundation of Ville-Marie was absolutely amazing, it is an amazing walk through Montréal history. The night I was there, they had the Queens of Egypt exhibit, which was also great.

Jialing Zhang

Well organized. Lots of things for kids to do

Luis Miguel Gonzalez

What a great place to start a visit to Montreal. The video presentation at the foyer is amazing. There are great options for children, like the Pirates exhibition. The new option to walk the first sewer of Montreal is simple wonderful. There are always thematically diverse exhibitions. The museum shop is one of outstanding quality, great for gifts and great Montreal related memorabilia. Welcoming staff and great location are only two of multiple reasons why this museum should be in your list if you are walking the Montreal's Old Port area.

Dave Rodecker

Interesting building to freely walk around in. See the original house, stories and burial grounds of Montreal.

Daniel Ruthman

If you're ever in Montreal, this is definitely a MUST. At first, I was skeptical of dishing out money for a ticket because of how much else there is to do in the city, but it was well spent. I got to see some incredible exhibits, take in beautiful river views, and learn more about the city in a relaxed and interactive way. This was by far one of the highlights of my trip!

Jhonny Aventura

Wow... doesn't look a big place.. but this is the best.. the underground museum is very impressive.. the tour guides are very informative.. the French culture and history is a new discovery for the rest of the ????.. I will come back .. a lot to see

Andrey Tsirulnikov

We learned a lot about Montreal history

Sophie Bond

One of the best museums I've ever seen! Fantastic layout, interactive, informative and very unique. Would highly recommend to anyone visiting Montreal - especially as one of your first stops.

L

I love the design and interactivity of the space. My group of friends and I felt like we learned more about Montreal from the introductory video than I could have gotten on a tour. We loved it!

Tim S

This was a really cool stop. It was neat reading about Montréal's history but the Egypt exhibit stole the show! What an amazing place and a great location!

Steve Kester

I hate giving bad reviews to museums, but this was terrible. The layout of this museum is broken up and confusing. The map was worse. When we were given our tickets, the attendant should have asked if this was our first visit. It was. Then she should have told us how to navigate the place. We spent the entire time trying to get from point A to point B. The museum is actually in separate buildings split by a road. It was raining and there is a way to get form one building to the next under the road in the basement. We found ourselves trapped on some stupid pirate ship for little kids. Finally we found an employee who agreed that the map and layout were terrible. We gave up in frustration and left, which took forever to find an exit.

dorval josué

This museum is probably the most good ones around the world, this museum explains a good amount of Montreal's past with a bunch of cool things to look at while wondering around the building. ( pay to enter , free for members , )

Carlos Mejía

Great museum. Didn't know you could celebrate birthday parties in there. Now I know ????

Danielle Paquette-Harvey

Nice museum, very interesting, the Egyptian exposition was exquisite! And a small exposition for kids too on pirates. My 4 year old son liked it and my 8 year old daughter loved both. Good activity for adults and for families

Nick Wheeler

Came for the alpaca exhibition, it was very good. Always nice activities plat out here.

nemisisbeta

This place often has some awesome stuff! The entry is 25 per person pretty much but if you havent been bere before its good. They have permanent exhibitions which can be cool. There are; pirate things, a sewer display which feels rather atmospheric to visit, there is also a awesome little village display too. Miniatures anyway. Xp

Luca Zanotto

Very nice and interesting, both the temporary and permanent expositions. Only the ticket a bit too expensive

Kent L

How can you say an educational museum is anything less than 5 stars. Lots of exhibits and information. Hours of fun and learning. Wear comfortable shoes and head over after lunch. You fed the belly now it is time to feed the brain

Asad Baig

Very interesting exhibition. I would go again.

Katrina Lorn

Absolutely amazing! So much to do and see, even for the adults! Exhibits are well designed, lighting in the sewer was super cool.

Alexandre “Alexime” L.B

Great exhibitions as always. Love the temporary train exhibition that was presented

Prudvinath Malepati

It was amazing to learn history of Montreal through this museum. The staff here were really helpful. Don’t miss the 17 minute show that’s included with admission tickets.

Sophie Benitez

Is you enjoy the museum this is a nice spot to visit. The permanent areas about the history of Canada is interesting for the presentation.

Andrew Xiao

Interesting and well planned. Integrates historical site and artifacts into the infrastructure of the museum. Worth a visit to learn about the history of Montreal.

Julia O'Neill

They have great packages for kids birthday parties. Had a pirate themed party yesterday that was educational and amazing fun for the kids. Great memories made here. Highly recommend.

AgnesUpNorth

This place is beautiful. I did not get to spend as much time as I wanted but I did go through the underground old sewage system. Wow. There are a lot of information but it is not overwhelming in my opinion.

Valerie Charbonneau

Great place for tourist and locals alike. Great intro movie, interactive sites and generally very historical, especially given its on the site where Montreal was founded. The new addition of magical and well executed and the featured exhibitions are often very interesting. The current hockey exhibition is really neat. Must see in MTL.

rocaus suacor

Fantastic location - great for history buffs, very interactive

Kelly Schott

What a fun museum! I loved the ability to go underground and see the architecture of old Montreal. Great things to do for kids and younger people as well as fun and informative exhibits for older people. There are stairs and ramps as well as accessible elevators for those who need them. Well worth the trip and admission if you want to explore a little more about the city.

Andrea Antunes

The sewage tunnel and the intro movie are excellent but the rest of the exhibits are just Ok.

Liisa Reimann

It was cool seeing some of the ruins and i liked some of the creativity in display, but i found it dreadfully revisionist (" the good european settlers wanted to live in world of harmony with the natives, but the natives went and ruined it by attacking and killing them") to the point that it was offensive. (And I am a white european!) I truly expected more...

Jean-Francois Bouvier

Nice museum at the heart of old port. Went to see exposition on trains, ended up being very interesting. I would recommend to anyone who wants to learn about Montreal's history.

Erin Arauz

Beautiful, engaging, educational and just a wonderful experience for couples, families and individuals who want to learn about the history of Montreal, also only a few blocks from old port of Montreal that has food, shopping and other activities. A must do while in Montreal

Liisa Shafer

Love this Museum! This museum is the perfect place to discover or add to your knowledge about Montreal. Give yourself at least three to four hours to explore the museum. There are sections that would be quite boring for very young children, but they have a pirate room that would be fabulous for little kids. Start your visit by watching the movie. This 17 minute multimedia show called Generation MTL is well made and very informative regarding the history of Montreal. The movie sets the tone for the rest of your visit to the museum. The museum is completely bilingual and everything is offered in both French and English. There are many permanent collections but one that I enjoyed the most was called Memory Collector, which is a tribute to North America’s first collector sewer, and a feat of civil engineering. Very cool to walk below the earth in a historic sewer tunnel! While we were there the museum had two special exhibits that I particularly enjoyed. The first was called Dinner is Served! The Story of French Cuisine, which was informative and fun and certainly worth the visit. The second was called Into the Wonder Room, which is a look into the mysterious and unique world of cabinets of curiosities. Very peculiar and interesting! Make sure you end your visit by taking the elevator up to the Belvedere which offers spectacular views of Montreal. Make sure you check out the bathrooms. The museum shop is definitely worth a visit and had a huge variety of anything from candy to art to jewelry to history books and objects for all budgets. This shop was a museum exhibit on it's own!

Ryan Cormack

Very nice museum. Quite a bit to see. My kids liked the pirate exhibit the most.

Michel Condoroussis

I did not realize how large this museum was. There are many exhibits that span multiple buildings in the area, all connected underground. There is a lot aimed at children also so they should have a great time. If you are from Montreal be sure to bring your Access Montreal card for a nice discount.

Stefan DiMauro

Love this place. Always find something new when we come back each year. Love learning about my home city any chance I get. The fort Ville-Marie new exhibit is particularly good - and you get there by walking through a long duct with a nice light show to add.

Catherine Clifford

Fabulous exhibit of the literal foundations of early Montreal. Amazing preservation of the city's history. And the Egyptian queens exhibit was icing on the cake. Montreal's citizens should be proud to have such a great museum.

Charlotte Bueckert-Dyck

Ticket pricing is ridiculous. Learning about Montreal's history is for the elite, I guess. This museum's depiction of Quebec history is antiquated and embarrassing. Paints the Iroquois as pesky antagonists, conveniently leaving out any mention of French or English colonialism or violence against First Nations people, except in defence against random attacks. "Will the natives give us any peace?" Hydro Quebec has a death grip on this museum, and if you want to learn anything about real Canadian and Québécois history, skip this.

Jared Hanninen

Definitely worth a visit, some really interesting exhibits, and go for the guided tour of Montreal's history in the basement/ruins of the original limestone buildings.

Sourabh Jain

Really amazing place to learn about the history of Montreal though archeology and awesome tech rendering. They offer limited tours in English and are included in the entrance price.

Nikos Tsimiliotis

They should have more direction signs about where you are and where you can find other sightseeing in other sections. I loved the movie about Montreal's history!

Erin Acker

This was a beautiful museum. The underground recreation and preservation of Montreal past was fascinating to walk through. The current exhibit “Into the Wonder Room” was worth the price of admission on its own. Would happily revisit if I ever return to Montreal.

Laura Meinert

This was unexpectedly my favourite thing in Montreal. Huge museum with a variety of exhibit types. The "movie" they have in the beginning was incredible, make sure you partake!! This is very much worth the price and a must see.

Division 8

The place was really cool with the sewers and old foundation. I would really recommend that you take the tours they have, as it explains a lot.

Isuru Vidanalage

Had a great educational experience! I thought we could finish up in 1-2 hours but end up exploring more than 3.5 hours. Their cinematic show about the history is beyond great. Sounds system are from Bose. No wonder it is good. Highly recommend it! Great educational experience about origin of Montreal, France and British influences. Additional features about history of pirates and circuses

Terrence Ho

It's a beautiful museum and a different way to experience Montreal from the beginning. You'll get to see the infrastructure and foundation of the early settlers and what was built on top of what is now present day Montreal. This location is wheelchair accessible with ramps and elevators. There are certain parts of the exhibits that may not be.

Fani H

A different kind of museum, stories and history told through different mediums. I would highly recommend checking this place out, even if your group aren't the museum-inclined.

Cristóbal Ochoa Luna

Not a big museum, it is good and interesting to learn something about old Montreal history. Also it has nice temporary exhibitions.

Madeleine Watt

Fabulous! It's way bigger than it first appears. Very interesting and interactive. They added more indigenous history since I was last there and it is a welcome addition. Make sure you ask the museum staff where to go next when you see them, because that place is a maze and you don't want to miss a room. I can't tell you how many times I looked for the exit and found a new exhibit section!

Ricardo Ugalde (Ricky)

I have always loved the museum, the experience and the expositions. This was my first museum I visited in Montreal, one of the main things I always recomended was the movie to introduce you to beautiful Montreal. This time however was an exception as they have decided to update the movie but rather than make it better it went sideways .. now it's only in French and English.. I don't think they thought about tourists coming soon .. it feels like a guilt trip rather than the beautiful experience from before.. I was so proud to see it it made me cry of happiness .. now I felt sorry for the production as it's still nice produced but it's not as deep as before ... They took away something .. anyway go take a look for yourself..

Sylwia Ewa Elsodany

Museum was quite interesting. You need more time for visiting. Plan in advance to see as much as you can before you get hungry. In the museum is a cafe where you can get something... You can also leave it and come back later - it's in heart of the old Port. Museum contains some archeology Egyptian exposition e.g. mummies. You can find here some Canadian history as well.

Murrium Zaheer

Walking through the underground sewer with the light show was amazing. Definitely worth checking out if you are visiting Montreal!!!

Bluekimchi Andrea

I was here for the Queens of Egypt exhibit. It was very well done. It was a heavy traffic time and very crowded. Staff tried valiantly to direct guests, yet everyone seemed to go in whatever direction they desired, once admitted to the space. Other than this, it is worth a visit. The Queens of Egypt exhibit ends at the end of October though. The museum also has a Bistro that closes at 4pm.

Elsa Winterstein

Great museum with clever modern displays. Learned a lot and really enjoyed all the exhibitions.

Ali Khansari

Parfait! When modern technology helps relive the past. A must see for anyone visiting Montreal!

Sky Tri

My favorite, by far, museum in Montreal, visit it everytime. I enjoy learning and discovering more about the origins of my city, where it all began, 1642!

Eduard P

Very nice place to take the kids. Find more about the beginnings of the #Montreal community and it's transformation over time. Warmly recommended for a rainy day activity. Enjoy Montreal history in a very nice decorum.

Sara Fanous

Has an 18 minute movie at the start explaining the history of montreal, then you go around and see all the interesting exhibits with descriptions. Was pretty good, takes around 3-4 hours of you read the explanations.

Fa Duenjuta S.

One of my favorite museum by far. A bit complicated floor plan tho.

Sean King

I learned a great deal about the founding and development of the city of Montréal. Educational and interesting!

Keith C

This place was great ....gets you out of the heat on hot days ....and would recommend watching the intro movie about the history of Montreal very well done

James Milks

The new exhibit Passion: Hockey was very interesting, with an emphasis on Montreal Canadiens history. The guides are interested in the topic and did a good job of informing our group.

Michael La Posta

So much to see here at Pointe-à-Callière! Expect to easily spend half your day here, there's that much going on. Some of the expositions are permanent, some aren't, so your experience will vary, but the ancient walls and foundations that make up a good part of this museum expositions, which are on permanent display, are really quite special. You'll even pass by the first cobblestone street in Montreal, dating back to the late 1700's, and get to walk through a portion of the first collector sewer! Definitely worth the price of admission, and a great site to add to your list of must see Montreal attractions.

AJ West

The best museum in Montréal. We got a tour guide who was genuinely obsessed with the story of the city and surrounding areas. She gave so much context to the struggle of French Habitants. Thank you!

Marcus Markiewicz

Very cool, kids friendly with a lot to see. It looks small on the outside but it goes under buildings around. Very worth the trip.

Dor B

Great museum for kids and adults. Lots of interactive exhibits and great movie of the history of Montreal.

Amanda Donaldson

I was visiting from the U.S. and this place was definitely one of the highlights of my trip. They've preserved some of the remains of the old buildings; you can walk through some of them, and walk OVER others on a see-through floor. I really enjoyed learning about the history of Montreal through the exhibits and the video presentation. Thank you for a wonderful experience!

Marie-Alice Mandich

Really enjoyed the Egyptian exhibit. Nicely done with music and digital murals to create a whole experience and immerse into what would have been life back then.

Alejandro Victoria

What a fantastic museum! Looks small, but looks are incredibly deceiving in this case! It took a couple of hours to get through the entire place, but could have spent another 2 reading all the information.

Suzie Ellwood

I visited in September, returning after having been several years ago, and really enjoyed it. The experience of learning the history of the city that sometimes happened right where we stood is very cool. I also appreciated the content on the Indigenous peoples of the area as well.

Zack Helms

Beautiful and engaging presentation’s of the city’s history.

Todd Sennholtz

Excellent museum for adults and kids. My wife and I visited to specifically see the Peru exhibit and we were not disappointed. Museum is well laid out on several levels. Staff was very friendly and helpful. Bathrooms very clean. There were activities for kids in the archaeological portions. All of the exhibits were in French and English. Great gift shop. Definitely worth a visit.

Lianna M

Amazing and perfectly educational. Great video about Montreal history, definitely check it out!

K Gold (KGold)

Good place to visit if you're on the harbour. They have different events on throughout the year so it's never the same.

Ruth Reynolds

Small but contains a fair of exhibits. My husband and I enjoyed our self tour.

Patrick D

Visited the museum during my trip to Montreal recently. Lots of interesting exhibit and fascinating history as well as displays that are good. The museum is divided into sections a talks about a few topics such as history of the city of Montreal, VIA Rail, etc. A lot of reading is what one would expect from their visit but overall it was fun!

melinda britton

Fun and interesting way to spend a few hours- really enjoyable.

Muk Around

Not a bad little museum however they need to open up the displays a bit as people tend to get bottlenecked in many different places waiting to see things.

Brian Cotton

Fantastic, surprising discovery. Was sceptical at first but once you discover all 5 areas connected by underground vintage tunnels it's quite interesting. Very clean, knowledgeable staff and accurate depiction of past. Will recommend.

R3d-F3ar-86

Very nice, modern and educational! Great for families. Even has a bistro and a rest area.

Dwayne Wright

Very neat idea to feature "Hey, come check out the sewer!" as a marketing plan. A free museum built directly on top of the historical site with some context added. Those looking to learn the city's history will enjoy it most. Also had a fair bit of kid-friendly exhibits.

Marky_marc

Very interactive, especially the pirate exhibit which was exceptionally well presented. The train exhibit was pretty interesting too.

Damon Roth

Wow! One of the best museums I have ever been too! The displays were amazing well thought out and respectful :) to be able to see that far in to the cities past was a highlight for our trip :) Deffintlty recommend!!

Mansour Ganji

The Egyptian section was awesome. with original statues multi thousand years old. But the rest wasn’t interesting at all. mainly just the history of Montreal.

Antonia Massara

This museum is a must to see in Montreal! I really loved the pathway through the ruins.

Ernest Bieniasiewicz

A nice museum to know a Little bit of history

Marc Starvaggi

There was a temporary exhibit on Egyptian queens when I came. It had a nice selection of artifacts, but they felt loosely related and I thought it could have been arranged in a manner that felt more meaningful. The permanent exhibition on the history of Montreal was interesting. I liked that the exhibition was underground where the events discussed took place, it fit thematically. The walk through the street/sewer was nice. I think the way the panels discussed the relationship with the Native Americans may have glossed over some of colonialism's more exploitative practices, but it was in general an informative experience.

Emilia S.

It was a great experience to learn about the history of the city you live in. I recommend everyone an interesting form of gaining knowledge. A place definitely worth visiting! Very nice staff and service. We didn't have time to watch the movie, we'll probably be back again. Thank you! Oh and the MTL Passport works fine here. Awesome job guys!

Robin C.

Beautiful and full of wonderful exhibits and collections from all over the world!

Susan-Rae Bell

What a Novel Museum! They have incorporated underground level Archeological excavations of earliest Montreal settlement and city as the basis for this museum! You walk amid some of them, others are directly beneath glass floors. Well explained in French and English and with interactive displays. Fascinating!!!

Elnellin Evendim

A table exhibit was delicious! Interesting and accurate historical overview of French gastronomy with a plethora of original artifacts and new media items to engage the public

Nick

Was too hard to get back to the exit. But it was fun, recommend going

Kevin Cook

Overall, the museum was a phenomenal experience. You're can get through it all in about 1.5-2 hours on your own, or longer if you take one of the guided tours. While overall I think the strength of the museum is the archeological location, the other artifacts leave a little too be desired. The production value more than makes up for that with its use of videos, projections, lights, ambient sound, and other techniques. Well worth your time if you're interested in some early archeological ruins and high quality productions.

erika holbrough

Several buildings to visit, would be good for a full day visit. The redone galelrts are amazing.

andrew sutherland

Really one of the most boring museums I've ever been to. Don't you dare bring your children, you'd be a better parent if you let them stay at home and play with knives

Megan Watson

Very amazing and historical museum!!!we spent a lot of time here, there were very much to know.Happy to visit here.

Vince BD

it is great to have a student discount and to see all the history of the old port!

Brittany Thomas

This museum is relatively interesting. Do not go when exhausted or tired because a lot of parts are hard to figure out. It is a nice overview of the history of Montreal. The queens of Egypt exhibits were okay. I'm glad I went but I wouldn't chose to go again and I wouldn't pay full price for it.

Lorraine Wentz

Sooooo much more than I expected! The Inca exhibition left in complete awe. It was so informative but perfectly interactive for my younger children. Thank you so much for a wonderful experience!

Viviane Sampaio Maia

Come here prepared to spend a lot of time. There are a lot of exhibitions, the permanent ones are related to the building and old Montreal. You can see and walk through the old foundation and sewers of the place. The temporary exhibitions are really well produced and interesting.

Victor França

Really nice to get to know more about the story of Montreal! Definitely recommend it!

Sanesh Tiwari

It’s such a shame that it was only during my 4th trip to Montréal that I visited this museum. For $16 (youth pricing), this museum does huge justice to its name and playing a role in preserving Montréal’s rich heritage & culture. Expect to spend at least 2hours to cover the entire exhibition which ranges over 3 floors, 1 basement across 2 buildings. The informative staffs at this museum also made our visit worthwhile with their friendly nature who were never hesitant in sharing with us a brief history of the various topics that were related to the particular exhibit we were in. Kudos to the museum for doing an excellent job in its maintenance.

Mike Brown

A must see experience while in Montréal. Such a rich and important history and amazing ruins.

Sarah Chadwell

Interesting concept, mixing history museum with archeological dig. Great view of the city up the tower.

Bobby Kennedy

Stunning excavations of Old Montréal that you can explore and learn the history of the city.

Shayden Swain

Great exhibits and presentations. Very informative and accessible for all age groups, especially if you have not been to Montreal, as a Canadian or not. Kids section is huge with sections of a boat and tables (if that applies to your situation). A little expensive maybe? But I did end up spending 4-5 hours here. Lots of very cool things to see and learn about!! Pictures are small sample of the of exhibits.

kyle ouellette

Amazing experience. Learned a lot about Montreal history and the staff were friendly and helpful, made the trip more enjoyable.

Chris Johnson

This is a must see museum. They have done an incredible job locating the museum on the very site of the archeology dig! The way they show the actual artifacts is very well done.

Stephane

A must-see if you love archeology! I loved walking through the underground of old Montreal.

Marie Delong

Such a cool place. The tunnel is so peaceful and looking at all the artifacts is def worth wandering around.

Philippe Côté

Good spot to bring the kids, pirate ship and old underground galleries. They are expanding and the new museum will be huge!

Andrew Pidcock

Peruvian exhibit so cool. If only they'd had the beaded wrist wraps in the gift store

Rose Daugherty

Excellent display and informative coverage of the history of the area. Great value for the money

Dims

Went for the pirate exhibit. Loved the tunnel which greets you, which in fact was the largest working sewer at one point in time. Exhibit showing history of Montreal uncovered from several digs around the area, with some artifacts. Pirate boat was ok with a wheel kids can interact with, you can actually go aboard a makeshift pirate ship. Was expecting a little more like live pirates, but cirque de soleil it's not. Locomotive exhibit showing the influence it had on the city and travel was great with a running model train kids can admire. Back to the future display was a plus. Expect to spend 2 hrs here. Kids and adults can admire the exhibits together.

Bryce Harmon

Great exhibits. Spent hours here looking at old Montreal digs and artifacts. Pirates room was a bit loud and obnoxious, but I imagine it's for children anyways. Still, everything else was great.

Bobby McCanne

I learn something new every time I visit. The guided tours are amazing, they really explain how everything happened historically with great enthusiasm.

Alexandre Silva

Amazing! Worth visiting.

Osama Baig

This place is simply exceptional. I loved learning about the rich history of Montreal and especially walking through the underground tunnel which is preserved. Overall, this is a must visit site if you are a fan of history. Also we got free entrance when visiting on a Sunday, I highly recommending checking this place out with kids, family or friends!

Michelle Wang

Awesome staff and cool place for everyone!

Catherine Barteldt

Reinvents the boring museum experience- totally beautiful, and tourist friendly. Montreal history is fascinating, and the underground experience absolutely unique!!! (Bonus points for Ancient Egyptian Queen mummies.)

Alya Naseer

I went during the time where the admission was free and I found it absolutely fascinating! I never thought that I was a fan of museums but the presentations and artifacts available in this museum were astonishing and memorable. Definitely a place to check out!

Julie Caouette (Misskawet)

A nice visit to make for tourists and locals alike if you're interested by history. I found the basement quite fascinating. I wouldn't make the trip just for a visit here but it's worth a look if you are in the area.

Angela Rodriguez (Marketing - EN/FR/ES)

There are several free exhibits, including the archaeological vestiges of Montreal, and a main paid exhibit. The ticket also includes the multimedia show about the history of Montreal which you should try and catch since it's totally worth your time. Vestiaire and lockers (also bathroom and water fountain) available at the ground floor of the main building and the basement of the annex building. They connect underground if the weather is not great and you don't want to go out. The gift shop is a great spot to find special gifts for someone visiting Montreal, I'd say only second to the one at the Museum of Fine Arts, but even the style of the gifts is different.

Eric Lindow

This museum is a 'must-see' for people interested in history and/or archaeology. It wanders above and below ground through multiple buildings as it explores the remains of the actual sites where Montreal began. The orientation movie provides an entertaining if somewhat superficial introduction to the history of the city. After that you descend to walk through or above (on glass floors) what the various digs have uncovered. The museum staff has done an excellent job of explaining what you are looking at and how each portion fits into the site spatially and temporally (as well as historically through a distinctly French-Canadian perspective). Be prepared to spend some time exploring as the museum expanded in 2017 and now has 7 different sites in what is something of an underground labyrinth. The pictured tunnel called the 'Memory Collector' is one highlight. What was originally a small river, converted into a sewer nearly 200 years ago, has now been opened up as a 110 meter long passageway. You are immersed in an evocative sound and light show as you walk to the site of the original fort at Montreal.

Mikael Tenhunen

Immersive and interesting exhibit about the origins of Montreal. It's a shame that the history is only told through the the colonizers' perspective. Worth a visit.

Viktoriya M

Great place to discover! Interesting exhibits and big archeological site. Good place to visit with kids. I was surprised how interesting it is. Really well made.

JOON Noel Park

Here is one of the attractive places in Montreal with kids. Tbere are so many historical resources and new experiences connecting between past and present. The space composition is wonderful.

Leila

Beautiful museum. It has a bunch of stuff to see and you can also bring your kids :) there are many kid friendly spaces/activities.

Darryl Rich

Our favorite museum in Montreal. It gave a lot of history about the city and its founding, plus you were able to see the different layers of rubble of Old Montreal on which the museum and Custom House was built. The exhibits were in both English and French and was well laid out. The only thing I would recommend skipping is the intro movie, which said little. Go early, it gets crowded.

Fann Chen

I loved this museum! Initially I wasn't sure about what to expect but it really surprised me. Some really nice displays and it was amazing seeing the history of Montreal. Especially because there are actual remnants of what was left behind! Highly recommend it to everyone who has an interest. Didn't really deal with staff that much so I don't have much to say there but the guy at the front desk was friendly enough. He even gave us a suggestion for how we should visit the museum which was lovely. We didn't end up going with the tour but that would've been good too I suppose!

Jason Renaud

Very nice museum, friendly staff and very worth the admission price. I was not aware there was so much to see, from the history of Montreal to the train exhibit. Highly recommended.

Christine Alemany

The museum gives you access to an archeological site that is being studies. I recommend that you join a tour that one of there researchers give so that you can understand the history of the area. Also, walk through the former sewers that were interested. They have art installations that include music, lights, and 3D projections.

Alexandra Velenosi

Absolutely loved this museum! It is so fun to learn more about Montreal's rich history and culture, in addition to fun temporary exhibits. Plus, there is a beautiful look-out point on the top floor. It's a must in Montreal, whether you are a local or a tourist! Fun and interesting temporary exhibits are available too!

Baba Ku

Cool building top expensive to enter

Mike Wigmore

Cool to see Montreal’s history, especially the walk through the sewer.

Ravi Aggarwal

It is very well run. Friendly staff. It provides an overall history of Montreal in a fairly straightforward manner. The storm and water system were interestingly displayed and it was good to see how the various stages of growth of Montreal is displayed with layers of rock, lime, sand etc. I recommend a visit.

Alexander

WOW. Great job. So fun to explore. I didn't even see half of it. Although pricey, layout a bit confusing and belvedere access closed during winter. Still, a GREAT way to spend a few hours and learn Canadian history and literally immerse yourself in Montreal's past.

Chester Chow

Lot of information and historical facts. Worth the admission fee. Staff provided information and direction.

David MacKinnon

Probably one of the best museums of Montreal

ABIOLA OLOYE

Loved the exhibits, loved that we didn't need a tour guide to understand the story surrounding the exhibits and loved the audio-visual experience at the beginning of my visit. It was well worth my time

Chris Martin

Really well done museum with good organization and presentation to help you understand the history of Quebec and Montreal

Franktown House Flowers

A favourite Montreal museum. Even more so now that we have experienced their annual 18th Century-style market.

Josh Tzventarny

An interesting dive into Montreals history, looking at the people who helped build the city.

Victor Migneco

If you like Nouveau France history, this is a must see. Recommend starting in the lower level, where some of the original 1700s fortifications have been rebuilt in stone, brick and timbers. Interactive displays will keep all ages interested. Our teenage sons who normally hate museums were intrigued. Go through the rest of the museum for the current exhibits and enjoy the history. Great bookstore also!

Charlene K

An interesting museum that is cool to see coming through Montreal. I've been here twice in the last 10 years and I've enjoyed how information is shared. It's clear that the designers try to make the museum fun and engaging. If you are interested in Montreal's history it's well worth the trip.

Zhenya Amditis

It was confusing to follow how the museum was set up. I couldn't follow the signs at all. Some of the technology was very interesting as it showed how the area which over time. It was also cool too be able to walk over the archaeological site.

Gene Willman

It was quite a pleasant surprise we really enjoyed the museum!

Dusty More

Awesome. Very detailed, and an excellent presentation of the history of the city. Audio visual displays were well crafted. The tunnel was everything you hoped it would be, only wishing it went further! What a beautiful way to explore the history of the city and its role in Canada's history

Samuel Crisanti

Worth the stop! Great for a snowy day. People 18-30yrs old are considered young adults and get a discount.

Ricky Ng-Adam

Pretty amazing. An amazing historical site with tons of history. Loved the impressively long sewer tunnel. Try to get a guided tour to get a real appreciation. The side exhibits such as "Italians Montréal" are well made.

Eric Weichel

Lovely little family-friendly museum of history and art in the Old Port: some exhibitions, such as the fantastic Inca show on at the moment, combine accessible info with scholarly vigour ♥️

Fernando Sanchez

My 2 little boys loved this place. Very interesting stuff.

Nandini Gupta

Really nice place. Interesting. If you're into museums it's not too bad.

Heba Alakki

Interesting museum to learn about the history of the city. A must see

Forrest Guyton

As far as North America goes. It's some of the oldest, best preserved beginnings to a major European settlement. I also love the old sewers.

Coral Widdowson

Very cool and fun place to visit with the family. Enjoyed all the exhibits. We decided last minute to visit and only had 90 minutes due to closing. It was a little short on time so we rushed through the last exhibit but still enjoyable. We are visiting from the West Coast so it was nice to learn a little more about the details of Montreal's history.

MariabelonesART

Small museum with a very nice architecture and ambiance, also good information about the city first settlement. We enjoyed the 2 hours visit. I don't think is a place to visit more than once, though.

Saleh Rogers

There is basically nothing there just old walls!! I wish I've spent the 20 bucks on a burger or something... Totally not worth it!!

britt

Great museum for both kids and adults. The museum is very interactive and very well curated. Definitely recommend checking it out

Marwa Yahia

I loved this museum. It's an awesome and the technology which is used made the history of Montreal more interesting. I highly recommend visiting it. You will have a great learning experience about the history of Montreal. You can reserve your ticket online for $24 for adult, youth (13-30) $17, child (5-12) $8 and kid less than 4 years is free, or you can get a family ticket by $50.

Mark Pitman

Interesting to walk the original sewers of Montreal and see the old foundations as you learn the history of the settlement of Montreal.

Tim Hingston

Amazing to walk in the original sewers and over the original stoneworks of the original Montreal. Unsteady floors but we'll with the visit of you are able to handle walking.

Eduardo Alberto Herrera Pérez

Interesting historical museum showing how the city of Montreal came to be. I was impressed with the interior design and its tunnels.

Ali Noor

Best MTL Museum,Montreal Full story, Archaeological site,Historical,More than 3 hours to spend, easy to park your car, good for all ages,great trip for families

Rob Hall

Interesting underground museum experience. 20 CAD is too expensive for what it is. Good introduction video to the evolution of the city

Jeremy

I loved it. All the exhibits were amazing. Also with covid all the precautions were followed and the staff were super helpful. My favourite parts was the first settlement on the island along with the existing aboriginal population. Also the train one was amazing.

박도윤

A lot of interesting things.

Der Stein

I loved the multimedia show about the history and how the museum is designed. That's how you should present archeology to the modern world, using the technology of today, it's awesome!

daniel coombs

Very well done. Good day out. Learnt lots about Montreal's history.

Jerlis Irina Lopez Garcia

It's amazing, the best place to know about Montreal's history

Rob Fishwick

Absolutely beautiful space that really deserves at least half a day to fully appreciate. So much to see and learn. Great place to bring the kids! Be sure to bring them to the pirate section :)

kristin Corrigan

Fun adventure, great for kids. Lots of interactive exhibits to explore and learn about.

Susan Ceballo

One of the most impresive museums we visited while in montreal. First the staff is extreamly nice and very willing to help with queations. Area B was really probably my favorite. They have electronic recreations of how the area on top of which you are standing changed through the years. The same goes for other areas. Queens of Egypt exhibition is also very complete and informative.

Andres Lopez

Very good place for kids! If you want to spend an excellent day with your children, I recommend this place, I think it takes you at least 2 hours to go all over the place, which takes you back in time and shows you everything about Montreal and its origins! the story about the cross of mont royal and market place !! this is one of the museums that are really worth it, you can go alone, as a couple or with children it is excellent !! very good work

Chen Wang

It is a nice view from the top floor and the underground exhibition is awsome. However, there are not too many relic.

Ashleigh Verdier

Really enjoyed the immersive and engaging experience of how Montreal was founded. Never would I expect that you could make walking through an old sewer so cool, but they did it. It's a great way to get acquainted with the history of the city and region. The wonders and oddities exhibit was especially neat for a collector of the bizarre such as myself. Also enjoyed a brief tour of the TV show sets, although I'd never heard of the show it was really cool to see the kitsch. Would not recommend bringing a stroller with a baby, while they had elevators to accommodate it, it's difficult to get around some of the narrow passes. Bring your Bjorn!

Shubham Jain

I found it quite boring as I am not into archeology but if you are interested in these you have quite a lot of things to see and also go to the topmost floor the view from there is great.

Татьяна Федорова

The best historical and archeological museum in North America.

Aaron Greller

Expensive, but a good way to explore the history of the city. We lingered and spent about 3 hours, but you could do it in less if you don't stop to read every panel.

Qutesmilee

Loved the video in the theater-save it for last! It was very neat! Loved seeing the first sewage system and the exhibition was very well displayed

Mathias Ranft

Very cool place. It has a lot of different rooms where every visitor can be entertained. You can learn a lot about Montreal's beginnings there, which is one of the most interesting things about the museum. They also have temporal expositions such as the Peruvian incas, which is pretty cool and interesting too.

James H

Interesting museum showing the archeological history of montreal. At this time it is featuring the Inca civilization and culture.

Nora Jean Boulware

What a marvelous museum! We learned so much. The way the museum is set up it makes it easy to get around. We will recommend it to all our American friends who come to visit Montreal. The movie to introduce you to the history of Montreal was very informative & tastefully done. The hologram show was interesting & different. I regret I did not take more photos. Thanks Montreal.

Isaac Lourenco

A must for anyone who's interested in the history of Montreal, in archeology, architecture and urbanism. Probably the best historical museum in town.

Pogfrog 06

Family friendly and will take up to 3-4 hours. Perfect to go on a rainy or sunny day. Teaches a lot about Montreal’s history old and new. Exhibits can be interacted with and fun.

Daniel Aubichon

Wonderfully organized and great exhibits. A great way to spend an afternoon.

Mm

I had my student card with me to have the student rate and the girl at the ticket office didnt want to give me the student rate because i didnt have a bus card. Very poor customer service they will try to rip you off and they gave the wrong direction for the exposition.

Jason Michaud

Bistro L'arrivage is amazing! Good food at a good price.

Julio Eccheli

The museum is interesting but is a bit confusing to move around. It could have a more friendly way to sign where we should walk around.

Guillermo Castellanos

We love it. The expo os la petit vie is super cool for the family

Kurt McCoy

I found the archiology to be a compelling and digestable approach to history. The sewer excavation with its featured colored lighting display left a lasting impression of "that's Montreal!

Marc Yott

We booked my daughter's birthday over three weeks before the event. Less than a week before her party, we receive an email indicating we no longer have the reservation. When we did reach the museum, it was a computer error. Unreliable and unprofessional are the two words I'd use to describe the museum's management. Unacceptable.

Alexandre Rozon

Great museum, love the underground part, the tunnel, the show at the beginning.

Amelia Does Dinner

Would I Recommend - ✔ YES Would I Return - ✔ YES The experience is one-of-a-kind! Being surrounded and immersed in the actual ruins of Fort Ville-Marie (First French Settlement in Canada) is truly impressive. Highlights: ????️ An Indigenous fire pit pre-dating the city’s founding ????️ A well dug by Jacques Archambault in 1658 ????️ A guardhouse ????️ Some of a fort’s palisades ????️ Foundations of a metal-working shop ????️ Part of a stone wall from Callière's Residence ????️ Early cobblestone streets ????️ First Nations (Indigenous peoples) artefacts ????️ A cemetary site and record of names/cause of death for the first settlers. ????️ Remnants of the different buildings that occupied the spot after ????️A portion of North America's first collector waterway tunnel/drain built between 1832 -1838 ????️A dipiction of how the City of Montreal (pre European to post European- French/British occupation) was founded is clearly timestamped via illustrations and artefacts. It's truly a Must See Exhibition for any visitor! Notes: ✔ There is a changing list of temporary exhibitions - Queens of Egypt, the Bell Exhibit, Amazonia etc. So check out their website to see what's current. ✔ Restaurant on site, but the museum is very close to lots of cafes for a quick bite. ✔ Your Ticket gives you in and out museum access for the day (just don't lose it - Barcode on ticket must be scanned for entry to certain exhibits).

Eduardo Rosas

What an amazing experience, to learn about the history of Montreal, and some unique expositions too, loved the Hello Montreal! Definitely worth it to explore it all. The food in the restaurant in the building is not the best, but who cares, of course you don’t visit this for the food, just eat somewhere else.

Jose Quiroz

Lovely place, a full visit would be about 4 hours, but 2 will do. Excellent displays is history and culture, and having the real ruins and artifacts in there in their original location is a big plus. All the exhibitions are extremely well made and there's a nice belvedere at the top, although it may be a bit difficult to find.

Mark Ashton (Paint by Numbers)

Went with friends and we loved the place. Rich historical knowledge gained. Would recommend to visit if you want to learn about montreal History.

Anesha Premraj

Very Montreal history focused, but had some fun add on exhibits like the pirates vs. privateers. We had a blast but the information got a bit repetitive.

Mike M

Very cool history of Montreal movie experience. Also awesome archeological exhibits to move through.

Lee Demers

The only museum I have been to that has an old archaeology dig site you can walk through. And what you can't walk though, you can walk over with the glass floors. One of the highlights is walking through the decommissioned sewer line between two of the exhibits.

Louis Malinowski

The multimedia screening gave a good overview of the history of Montreal but you would need to have a very keen interest in archaeology to enjoy the rest of the museum. We completed it in under an hour.

Rysia Andrade

The ABSOLUTE BEST museum in Montreal!!!! Their marriage of tech and archeology is stupendous. The video presentation at the beginning was extremely well done and creatively brilliant (though it would be nice if the entrance between the theatre and the museum was more clearly marked). The best parts are the neon displays of different structures within the old ruins and the COLLECTOR (an old sewer-like system beautifully re-imagined with tech). Do not leave the museum until you've seen everything!

Paige

Went here with my family on a day trip to Montreal. It was well worth the stop. There were some pretty neat displays and it was fun to walk through. The museum shop was also awesome and quite reasonably priced which was nice.

Bilal Akil

Perfect for kids and family. You will spend at least 4 hours . Tons of walking and stairs ( good exercise ). I Highly recommend for a good educational activity.

Maria Garcha

This museum takes advantage of its historic location and takes you on a journey through Montréal’s past. Many of the exhibit halls are located below street level and feature portions of the old walls once surrounding the city. You can walk through a king stretch of the old sewer system that now connects two exhibition spaces. In one exhibit hall, you can walk on glass floors to look down on excavated parts of the old city. There are also many interactive displays which are made more Covid friendly because the staff provides each visitor with a little tool to use to press buttons instead of touching with your hands. Very beautiful and innovative museum

Travis Napoli

Really more digital and children's activities. Not geared for adults and had very few actual exhibits. The ruins were interesting but if you're looking for interesting nonsecular exhibits go to Redpath at McGill. They had security gates everywhere that didn't work made things awkward. It was mostly miniature models and screen or pictures of other exhibits. Neat looking building but if I could do it again, I wouldn't.

Matthew Rowe

Fantastic museum, very impressive history of Montreal and other exhibits from within the original building. My 6 year old found lots to see and do.

Gregory Smith

One of the best places we visited while in Montreal. Extremely well done exhibits and educational.

Burnt Rice

Great museum if you want to walk around a "basement" and see the history of Montreal. Basically the French took it from the Native Americans.. Then the British took it.. Then French took it back .. The england won again. I must admit French Canada's history is not as interesting as other empires . aka the spanish crown

Veronica Lee

Amazing museum. Like stepping back in time. Very immersive experience

Josh Wiseman

Very well done. Informative exhibits with alot of the original structures and foundations incorporated in.

Grant

A stellar museum with more than meets the eye - I really enjoyed the variance in exhibits; everything from the deep history of Montreal to artifacts from the past to stories of the future. An engaging museum that’s worth your time and in a great location.

Myunghwa Song

When you visit you can learn history of Canada by watching short film, which gives you to understand well, the this building is related by aisle in the basement to the other building which sells souvenirs . As I visited this place I bought a ring which represents my emotional while I wearing. I used to do my best my various aspect s of life such as mom , wife, sister, daughter and daughter in law. I am getting used to building myself up proactively. I recommend you to visit many places and free, as i know , every month first sat or sun will be free. But you should check your one way. Hi there , having fun and enjoying this each moments

Barbara Urban

Enjoyed the place a lot but found the exhibt/floor plan handout difficult to follow. Elevators in both buildings poorly marked. That is to say,I could not tell which floor I needed to get off on. I wasted a lot of time going to the wrong floors. It would help if next to the floor button it gave some kind of hint

Nicholas Kunze

One of my favorite museums that I've visited on a yearly basis. However, the current Train exhibit is lacking. Would be good for a children's trip though.

Daniel Gosson

From the outside it doesn't look like much, but there is so much happening in this museum. While the museum content (especially the multi media show) overly romanticized things too much, all of that can be forgiven once you get under ground and see the ruins (especially the old sewer). One of my favourite museums so far.

Michael M

Beautiful place and Great temporary exhibits that keep it interesting

Susan Davis

Entrance is at the back of the museum. This museum shows archeology done here in Montreal. Begin with the movie. It's very well done with special effects. You can see the early sewers and old pottery that has been excavated under the city. The pirate portion is designed for kids and families. Washrooms and picnic tables are available here. The pirate portion does not clearly differentiate between pirates and privateers. Cool minatures of aboriginal settlements. Interesting museum, but we felt it lacked detail.

Jamie Rickard

The 20 minute history of Montreal is really well done. It's a great museum of kids and adults and you can easily spend most of the day there. The cost of admission if fairly reasonable as well.

Zachary Jones

We had a very rainy day while visiting Montreal so we decided to give the museum a go. We had a great time learning about the history of Montreal and how the the city was designed and built. I was also very happy to see before the amazing 3d film they show you before entering the rest of the museum. In this they acknowledge Indigenous and first nation people and how we were learning in a museum on land that had been taken from them.

Ian MacDonald

Fascinating look at the archaeological origins of Montreal. A must-see museum for anyone with an interest in the history of the city.

Dawn Lim

Lovely, well curated museum. Bonus: It's free until Jan 2, 2022!

graciela escalante

Amazing place,my son enjoy very much

Jeff Kryger

We randomly stopped in when we saw they had a special exhibit on the Queens of Egypt. While not very large overall, the exhibit was well laid out, everything was presented well and all of the artifacts had details in both French and English. Certainly learned a lot. The gift shop was stocked with tons of books related to the exhibit, as well as various aspects of different parts of Canadian history and culture. We didn't have time to tour the rest of the museum (there are like 6 different sections that make up the full museum), but were impressed with what we did see.

Phil Deely

Interesting artifacts and subterranean remnants. Orientation film is pretty cheesy. Worth a quick visit.

Frank

Really cool active museum with walkable exhibits. Interesting notes on the “friendship” of the local natives and the French colonizers.

Haley (haley)

Super nice museum not too big but a good way to spend an hour or two! The sewer tunnel is the best part haha or one of them at least ! Nice history on Montreal and some real archeological sites

Michael Yim

A must visit to learn the history of Montréal. Many good exhibits and display for everybody.

Matthew Norman

Really cool and interesting exhibits about the history of Montreal. A good 4/5 hours worth of content and a lot of hands on activities to do.

Ira Abrosimova

Love it! The kids really enjoyed the "pirates" and the "trains" exhibitions.

Ayman S.

They have various expos. Not that big but pretty well organised and neat place. Very interesting expos and good to have in our cultural city. Went once 5 years ago and another time for.the egypt theme. Prices are reasonable.

Nathan Morris

Collection more about the architecture and structure of the city over time but there are a number of artifacts. I was most intrigued buy the coins from Spain and Mexico showing how trade up from New Orleans was more common than I assumed. It was interesting to note that from my room in Hotel Omni we could observe excavations of one of the presumed Hochelaga locations! There are a number of metal stairs so could be challenging for those with mobility issues in the side areas but there is an elevator for the main section.

Neal Patel

We have a yearly pass and are supposed to get privileges for when checking in. There supposed to be a special line for us but apparently that only works once your inside, once inside even when you go to the special line there no one to actually serve you you have to try and get them to see you to serve you in priority. Exhibits are nice and available in both French and English there is a good rotation of special exhibition so having a yearly pass is worth while as a family or the 2 year pass if your just 1 adult. Staff is very kind and informative and good with kids. If not for the experience at the start I would change this to a 5 or at least a 4.5. It is a great small museum.

Marissa L.

Lovely museum for all ages. Great place to learn about the history of Montréal.

Emily CV

Museum visit pandemic style = masks and lots of hand Sanitizer. The train exhibt is good, but the pirate ship in the basement is were kids have the most fun. Strollers are possible but not recommended.

J Rutherford

This museum is one of THE MOST coolest places to visit to learn about our amazing and ancient history! They built part of the museum ON TOP of relics and foundations found in earlier escavations.

Estelle Fulgham

The museum is great, i love it it have a lot of cool exhibits.

Bob Reed

Wonderful museum in the heart of Montreal. Tons of material artfully displayed throughout several buildings. Definitely worth a visit.

Mary Shannon

Reception was nice and professional. Great experience with kids to learn about the history of Montreal. Amazing preservation of early Montreal and a self-guided tour. Good for a cold, snowy or rainy day or even if you have and an hour and a half to kill.

Caroline H

Beautiful museum. The curation was well done and technologically dazzling. However, the tickets were a little expensive. Even worse, the exhibits had a lot of settler/colonizer propaganda and very little info on the First Nations peoples except for one plaque showing the nations who have signed the peace agreement. (What did they even get out of the "peace" agreement after these people invaded? Land theft?) The colonizers had the "noble" cause of wanting to spread Christianity. Right. The museum needs to do way better on this front, at this day and age. It's long overdue to right these wrongs against First Nations peoples!

Nirujiga Theivendrampillai

Love this place and wish we had more time to explore!! It was very interactive and displays were beautiful and informative. I don't want to spoil too much but it's definiately fun for all ages ???? My favourite was the curiosity museum (which isn't a permanent fixture). The staff were extremely sweet and kind, the girl at the front of the Curiosity exhibit let us in even though there was 10 mins left till close and we were struggling to find our tickets which I really appreciated because it was my favourite part ???? will def visit again when I'm in Montreal!!!

Geeg Wiles

We didn't make it inside this day, but the little things that surround the building were fun!

Kent Bolke

What an amazing place. Not what I expected at all. Not a boring museum.

Adam & Michelle

This is our family's favorite Museum in Montreal. And if you live here the membership program is awesome.

Eric Shimoda

Interesting spot to start discovering the history of Montreal. The museum was split by topical matters vs chronological which was difficult for me to follow clearly. Building is nice and good descriptions of events that took place.

Jono MacDougall

Genuinely one of the better museums I've been to. If you're in Montreal, go see it.

Chaitravi K

Its a nice museum. Very informative and has actual archaelogical sites inside the museum. Had really fun exhibitions when i went there in july

Carlo Petrovitch

Took a guided tour with a group. Very informative. Without the guide would not have gotten as much out of the visit. The movie is excellent.

Jackie DeGroat

We were blown away by the underground archeology exhibit--a brilliant way to immerse visitors in history. The children around us seemed to love it too! (Although the Pirates and Privateers exhibit was probably the most exciting for the younger visitors). Beautiful, well-maintained and creative.

Érica Vieira

If you are visiting Montreal, you should visit! Amazing place.

Alexandre Richard

Great place for archeological exhibits. The recent exhibition of the Inca empire has a virtual loom that allows you to make your own virtual textile patterns...kids will love it! Being so close to the old port in the historical district is always a plus.

Peyman Sayyadi

I was surprised to see so much quality and art in this museum as it's not much known in Montreal. Even if you don't care about historically and archaeology, you can enjoying beautiful architecture and design. What they can improve is cellular connection in underground parts, a better cloakroom and some older graphics.

Osman Sheikh

I was expecting more historical artifacts in there. But it still a must visit.

Ashley Johnson

Beautiful museum with so much history. It was very inexpensive to visit and we learned so much about the city of Montréal.

Matt Agnew

Very clever museum built amongst excavated remains of the old city. The pirate exhibition was big with Miss 7. Dont know why another person was complaining about things not being in English; I saw nothing that didn't have a translation to English, though on one or two you had to wait for the French version to finish. Only let down by one or two exhibits, mainly in the pirate area, that didn't work. Overall, highly recommended.

teeth eaters anonymous

A very interesting museum, not bad at all! I love the underground aspects, and the placement of the museum is just perfect. If you’re a tourist wanting to learn about Montréal, this place is for you!

Han Li

This could have a very boring archaeology museum as usual. Remains of old building, fragments of ancient pottery, some random parts of a musket, a jar, or an arrow, a boring underground sewer system. However, with all the creativity and romance of the museum stuff, curators, archaeologists or whoever designed it, this place is beyond remarkable. In short, I understand everything! In other words, they have gone a long way to bridge the gap between our cognitive capability and that of archaeologists, which most museums may not bother to care. Enjoy the museum yourself. Expect some readings but they have tried many ways to represent the same information. The guided tour is a very good start and then you can review some details by yourself. For little ones under 3, I don’t think it will work for them. My 3-year old will really enjoy the pirate ship at the end of the museum, I think Section F?

Jacob Mac Whirter

Very cool! Tours offered in English and French. Exploring the real life Montreal ruins was very cool and worthwhile.

Rei Ocasio

It was a pretty good museum with some items dating back to 1600's. Nice interactions in some areas and screen displaying information about the history.

Dustin Hill

Quite informative but for the price 22$ CDN I believe that there are other museums and exhibitions that are better.

Mark Stafinski

Quite the clean and organized space here. The permanent and visiting exhibits are separated on opposites sides of the street. The North side looks at Montreal’s archaeological finds. Impressive progression even if you’re a local!

K vK

Super cool! The pirate exhibit is awesome.

Guy Maurice Desrochers

Well worth the trip. Make sure you have afew hours to see everything. Very interesting

James Robinson

Great museum. Very interesting and well designed

Katherine Bouvier

The museum is fabulous, nice collection of artifacts – if you're traveling to Montreal, please go, you won’t regret it! We also enjoyed walking up and down Rue St-Paul as it had a great atmosphere. We walked early in the morning when there were few people, however later the tourists actually add to the atmosphere.

Alexander Araujo

By far one of the coolest museums I've ever been to!

John Howard (SweetTea3)

Went on a Sunday and everything was closing a bit earlier. Would suggest another day. But the exhibits were phenominal, it was all MTL based history and Archeological finds. Such a great place to learn of the storied 300+ year history of the city. Pictured is the new Sewer exhibit. Which I could probably live in if allowed.

Sarah “SJ” Letkeman

Very unique and informative, they preserved the remains of the old buildings inside the museum and we explored them thouroughly.

Brian Kapeluch

This place is really interesting. They've basically built a structure over an archaeological site. It is designed to allow you to see parts of what they uncovered. It is worth a visit.

Emily

This was an absolutely amazing museum. Coming from Australia, this was our favourite museum in all of Canada.

Matt

Great displays showing the history of formation of Montreal. So historic and educational. I recommend this place. Also the top of the tower has great views.

Fabrice P. Béland

Amazing in all regards. Puts all American museums that I have visited to shame.

Andjela

Such a beautiful museum ! Had so much to see and the architecture and history behind it adds to the experience. Prepare to spend time here because you will want to go through everything and take it all in. Can't wait to come back here again

Daisy Xu

I have to say I'm deeply disappointed by their event planning department specifically with Christine Lavertu. When we tried to schedule a site visit with her for our upcoming wedding, she turned us down immediately without giving any alternatives. Very rude and arrogant. Later in the rely, she gave us this huge attitude of "we’re too busy with a upcoming BIG event to deal with you". It’s probably for the best. We don't want to work with people like this anyway

Ninoska Giannavola Macaluso

I was really surprised about the quality of the museum, I'll give 25 points sur 10, full recommended. It takes around 3h30 to enjoy the different expositions

William Humphries

This is what a museum should look like (take note, Ottawa History and Science & Tech Museums!!). Interactive, engaging, hitech, fascinating. Fun for everyone. Well done.

Diego Casso

Excellent place to get amazed with Montréal's history. Excellent staff, perfect exhibitions, and lots of fun.

Joe Pounds

Cool museum with interesting exhibits that showed off architecture and culture from Montreal's history.

l33tster

Loved the museum! Unfortunately I seemed to be the only one out of my group who did though it was a matter of taste I figure. In a brilliant area close to the Basilica, old port, court, town hall and some other government buildings that were all quite stunning to behold. The museum had friendly staff offering full bilingual service. The place is really well kept and has a large amount of exhibits easily accessible to English and French alike, great presentation with in-depth descriptions. We caught a film on the history of Montreal as well - very interesting projection media/backdrop, engaging film as well. You wear headsets that allow you to select the language. Im gonna have to come back and spend a bit more time to take it all in. Cheers

Chris House

Not too impressed as far as Canadian museums go, for example, in Ottawa and Toronto, but a nice history of Montreal is presented. Mainly for those that want to see some of the ruins (pieces of walls, roads, sewers) of buried old Montreal.

James Holloway

Good museum that does very well to highlight the rich history of Montreal. Many activities to engage with and also involve kids. At times a little confusing to navigate but overall good experience.

Dennis Voß

The multimedia introduction presentation at the beginning was amazing. Well done! The museum itself offers a wide range of information. Some were repeated a few times and the directions are not clear/confusing. Nevertheless, a good museum.

Tessa Blanc

Lovely to have a museum related to the social sciences--history, geography, anthropology--and to archeological artefacts. They are wonderfully welcoming and the guides are friendly and well trained. A great place for summer, and you can go in during the morning, then explore Old Montreal nearby, and finally return for a different exhibit in the afternoon. The museum's bistro is pretty cool, too. I felt the Egyptian Queens exhibit was a little bit disappointing because I would have liked to have more information about each queen, but overall it was still a fascinating exhibit and I learned a great deal. The 175 bus from the Berri-UQAM station stops right in front of the museum, so no need to take your car and fuss over parking!

Tony Connolly

If you're interested in aviation this is a must to visit some very rare and historic planes on show a guided tour is offered at no extra charge the guides are very knowledgeable they will answer any of your questions.veterens and seniors receive an entry discount.

Heather Mirizzi

The multmedia video was well done and the archaeological exhibits were fascinating. The pirate and curiosity exhibits were fun and entertaining

Gala Bosch

The permanent exhibition is amazing very well curated and explained. There were also other very interesting and beatifull exhibitions in place. I would very much recomend to go to learn about the history of Montreal. The museum us actually built in a historic site and some of the historic parts are part of the exhibition.

Sabestin Remark

Cool place and pretty educational. Really live up the Quebec motto.

Karin Bedard

Nice place to have a party

Paloma S

Loved learning all about Montreal and how it was constructed! It was honestly such a great experience, I would definitely recommend coming here. Be sure to schedule you day around this as it took us around 2 hours to view the museum :)

Ben Kasapiano

Montreal was founded on this spot in 1642. It's part archeological where you can see parts of the runs of the original builders. Until November there is the Queens of Egypt exhibition. It's very well planned out and has a lot of interesting pieces and facts. I go to see every new exhibition they have . I highly recommend this place!

Marysia P

Tickets were a little expensive, especially for a family but it was a great place to learn the history of Montreal literally from the foundation up.

John Sanchez

Amazing value. Loved the fact that it's an actual archaeological site.

Alice Kulyn

This museum has something for everyone. You start your visit with a multimedia show, followed by a trek down in the bowels of the original building. Many artifacts to see. Many lessons to learn along with seeing where the original fort of Montreal was situated, below your feet, after walking through an old sewer tunnel that is bathed in a light show. Then take the elevator to the Belvedere, the top floor, for a unique outside rooftop view overlooking the old Port. The museum is spread out over 4 buildings and usually includes special temporary exhibits. There is also a recreation of a pirate's ship for small children to scamper over. The buildings are at the Western end of the Old Port, located across the street if the cruise terminal (also worth seeing), and away from the crowds of place Jacques Cartier.

Michael L

A must visit to learn about the history of Montreal. Made me appreciate this city that much more. What a gem.

Satish Kanta

The site of the first fort build by the founding pioneers of Montreal.Traces,preserve and showcases its rich history through different mediums,both traditional and hi-tech visuals.A perfect place to introduce yourself to Montreal

Bill McManus

If you visit only one museum in Montreal, visit this one. Plan on spending a good part of your day there. You can leave and get a bite to eat outside at one of the many eateries along the water front and come back in (the museum is in old port Montreal ) or eat in their cafe. Mind you, this review is from someone who enjoys archeology and museums.

Peter Wright

Really well thought out historical museum High quality displays. Good for kids and adults alike. Gives an excellent understanding of the history and development of Montreal as a city built on the efforts of pioneer families and their interaction with the native tribes. You can see the early foundations of the city Under your feet and get to walk through an early sewage collection tunnel which exhibits great craftsmanship

KC

What a great museum! Only got to see half of it but very interesting history of Montreal. Will take a few hours to see it all. Some good exhibits for kids too.

T. Schmidli

Very educational and entertaining. They always have interesting seasonal exhibits, as well as awsome permanent ones. Great for tourists and locals alike!

Brian Ross

Surprisingly large museum that covers the history of its lot and the buildings that were once on it. Also covers the history of New France and the first settlers in the area, and their relations with the natives. Great time!

Heather Church

Awesome experience of montreal heritage.. Even during covid.. Worth the trip.. Very informative

Danielle Blackwood

Great experience. The museum is filled with Montreal culture. A must see for your first trip to Montreal... I was born here and i never went until now.

Samad Rahmatullah

Definitely the best museum I visited. Super interesting and well presented. Lots of activities for kids as well.

michael morin

It was great. If you love museums you will love this. Particularly involved with the history of Montreal and surrounding area.

David Reed

It's a well put together museum, though it's quite expensive if you don't happen to go on a day when it's free (as I did).

Rishiraj Chakraborty

The section A exhibition, wonders of something and the multimedia show are the best. Overall it's pretty cool.

Maria N

Cool exhibitions, terrible layout for anyone who is even slightly claustrophobic.. it's basically a huge maze that every new attraction you get to puts you more and more in the middle.. when watching the movie at the start it tells you to leave through the back if you or your child need to use the bathroom.. however there are no bathrooms in that direction, it only enters you into another maze of exhibitions.. only other bathroom was in one of the archaeology exhibits with glass floors that made me extremely dizzy.. they need to work on being more family friendly and conscious of when/how/where they place things.. even as a history buff.. was very disappointed

ewa spoczynska

Apart from very interesting permanent exhibition on history of Montreal, including original discovered ancient site, there are always great temporary exhibitions about history of our civilisation. This time we visited "The Queens of Ancient Egypt ", and it was as usually excellent!

visionksn

20cad for a ticket, we joined the tour for the museum (english) at 2p.m. During an hour, a tour guide explained history of Montreal. Also, there’s a room for pirates stuff. We spent more than 2 hours there. Good place!

Camila Braganholi

Great museum, with the very interesting history of the foundation of montreal. It's really worth the visit

RJB

This museum should be on your list of things to do in Montreal. There is a lot to learn about the origin of the city here and it's presented in a very elegant way and the price of admission is very low. The Queens of Egypt exhibition (ending November 4th) is put together nicely and it's well managed by the museum staff (letting a certain amount of people through at any given time). If you're a fan of ancient Egypt or enjoyed the King Tut exhibition that's been going around the world (currently in L.A. I think) then this is a nice addition to that experience.

Dave K. A.

Loved this museum! It's amazing that you can physically walk through the layers of Montreal's history. This is a rare experience to have in a young country like Canada. The exhibits were well organized, and very interactive.

Raymond Wang

Much larger than what meets the eye. There are plenty of exhibits underground. Good to look at and good history lessons, but clearly blurred some facts to make it family friendly

Gerald Moir

The bossiest museum I have been in anywhere in the world. First, a severe woman tells you you must start in a movie theater. If you skip that and go downstairs, a boy accosts you. People who use the stairs rightly, he said usually, begin at the beginning. When you finish an unremarkable

Patricia Duchesne

Interesting. Hands on history. Variety of exhibits. Something for everyone

deb mortimer

only reason I didn't give it a 5 star rating is....I found the signage or direction from the staff a little weak in order to start......you have to enter a elevator in order to get to exhibit level .......might want to improve signage to make it a little more vistor friendly

Dave Smith

Pretty cool place to visit. Interesting to see how Montreal developed from this historical site. Suitable for kids too. Allow 3-4 hours.

Carling Amanda

Very beautiful and interesting museum :) We went for the 2:30 english tour and our guide Alexandre was amazing!! He was so energetic and full of excitement, knowledgeable and he really got you interested in the areas history. Would definitely recommend making a stop here!

Dave Gordanier

Great local history example featuring area specific civic projects and Infrastructure, notably water and sewer installation and a hidden river

Hugo R Morales

This museum offers a very interesting sample of the history of the city of Montreal. It also proposes the mix between being a modern and rooted space, in the heart of the Old Port. It is a space dedicated to temporary exhibitions of city culture, regional history, family collections and areas of contact with regional anthropology. In addition, it subtly exposes the Québécois character of belonging, shows the great migrations of cultures and ends with spaces accessible to all. The architecture of the building itself is a beauty. It is certainly a pleasant experience to repeat.

J Rhind

The MUST see museum for your trip to Montreal. Very interesting info on how Montreal was settled and grew to what it is today. Only issue was the kids in the Customs House. Students go to museums but screaming and running around was too much and couldn't see the Customs House at all due to 60+kids having lunch and not allowing space

Zeeshan Ayub

Great displays for history enthusiasts, and very well informed staff to answer questions

X X

Great museum one the best in the world. The Egyptian exhibit was great lots of mummies and artifacts, with good explanation of what I was looking at. The lighting is very impressive on the exhibits. It's only $15 if you are under 30yrs.

Kaitlyn Pilloud

One of the top museums I have ever been to. AMAZING experience from start to finish with a well laid out self-guided tour. I learned so much and the displays were INCREDIBLE. Definitely a place I will revisit and suggest to my Montreal-bound friends.

Rachel Jenkins

One of the most interesting and fascinating museums I have ever visited. I highly recommend it and will most definitely be going again.

Steven Lamothe

Such a nice place to visit if you like history and a cool place to relax. The museum is built on actual ruins so it allows a sense of immersion rare for modern museums. It’s also close to all the other major attractions. I would recommend wholeheartedly.

Connie Curran

Really nice museum which combines the history of Montreal with the archeological dig at the museum. Really fascinating look back through the centuries.

Patrick Lac

Very nice museum and the pirate ship is great for kids. The train exhibition is also great for kids.

Rafal Denisow

Amazing place to meet history!

Brendan Lemire

I went with the whole family and kids 12, 8, 4 &2 and we all had a blast. The pirate and train exhibitions were a big success.

John Richardson

Nearly living history. Being able to walk through and just over the foundations of Montreal's first buildings made the artifacts and information feel more relevant. Hats off to Montreal for being able to preserve this site.

Tri Pe

Very nice but couldn’t go more than an Hour without feeling suffocated and needing to leave. I don’t mind a mask but then the air is dry and warm and you work up a sweat and ALL water fountains in the buildings shut off due to covid. Meanwhile we are all touching the same railings!

Kristen Roberts

Love this museum! You can get lost in the exhibits for hours and its in the heart of Old Port so when you are done there are plenty of other things awaiting just outside.

William Hua

Very interesting place. You could easily spend a few hours here if the history of Montreal interests you.

Ekaterina E

Great short film about Montréals history. Was very nice to visite this muséum for free.

Austin-Nikolas Zalazar-Aslett

Very intriguing experience.

Kamna

This is a must visit for anyone interested in history. They had just started giving tours the day we went and we actually had a guide walk us through origins of Montreal. The exhibits were not all working as some interaction was restricted due to COVID but we enjoyed everything that was available and spent over 4 hours there. Must go if you are in town.

K

Dedicated mainly to the history of Montreal, this museum is actually two buildings, but there is an underground passage built into an old sewage system that connects the two together. This unique design is ingenious, because it allows the patrons to see the foundation of the city, and fully understand and appreciate just how old Montreal is. It can also be done in about an hour to an hour-and-a-half, if that is all the time that can be afforded. There are also different exhibits that rotates, which is the main use of the second building, so this is one of the few city museums that warrants repeat visits.

Noah Reilly

I'm not very into history, but the way the building was built around the foundations of the old town was very interesting

Mike Mikhail

This is not a museum. It is a playground for toddlers. The main attraction is a lit up sewer. A waste of 15 dollars, go buy some bagels instead.

Aaron Fox

Fun place if you're interested in architecture and history. You will learn a lot for a very cheap price. Okay for a date place if you're dating someone with a brain

Serge Grégoire

A MUST to visit All the history of Montreal ,who celebrated in may 2017 ,the fondation 375 years ago

Willowspritew W

Exhibits are good, note that there are two buildings. The yearly 18th century market is always fun and is out in the streets in front of the buildings and its surrounding areas

Dave

Great for history and archaeology buffs. The entire old foundation has been excavated and is on display - beneath the building - along with multimedia displays. Note that an electronic ticket kiosk is to the right when you enter, in case the desk line-up is long.

Jacob Groen

Very interesting and highly recommended. Besides giving a lot of good information it is obvious by omission and language that Montreal is quite insecure about language and the role of the church, both of which are not being approached honestly.

Mac Armstrong

As someone who has studied history, and is an archaeologist, I was really impressed with this museum, as they presented everything extremely well. Built along the Old Harbour, the Montreal Museum focuses on early history of Mount Royale during the contact period to the present day Montreal, situated above the head of the visitor. Yes, unlike many other museums, you actually get a chance to take a step back into history and stand among the excavations below ground, seeing everything from Indigenous camps, to the early New France barracks, to the foundation of some of the later trading warehouses that would have been situated along the waterfront. All this takes place among several levels of carefully preserved excavations, with the later government buildings, such as the Old Customs House preserved overhead. While one may think this would mean that the museum is dark, damp, and cold, that is far from the truth, as most of the museum is warm and dry, and has a lot to offer. Its kid friendly, and an interesting place to visit when touring Montreal. Best of all, they provide a very good overview and visuals for how and why the location was excavated, and why this is relevant to the public. More museums should be done this way!

Abeer Al Riyami

Excellent place to learn about the history of Montreal. Staff are very knowledgeable and smiling . Lots of interactive displays to keep young adults and children engaged.

Rose Pelleter

It is huge. Lots of information. Very cool to walk around an actual archeological site.

Josh Jones

I had never been to a museum dedicated to archeology! I thought it was a very unique and enriching experience!

Linda Bever

Amazing history, I never realized how the area was so important to so many countries. So much to see, you actually walk thru the remains of a village. This is the most impressive museum I have ever seen.

Cameron Shin

Really cool museum, very interactive. It was really interesting walking around the old foundations of Montreal

Daniel Milbrandt

This Museum is so incredible. It is the site of one of the original buildings in Montreal. There is parts of the original walls and foundation. If you are interested in learning more about the history of Montreal this is an incredible place to go. Highly recommended.

Akki 007

very informative exhibition regards history of Montreal. Membership cost $50 which gives you 2 entry worth 25 each

Will Nickerson

Great educational experience. A lot of interesting facts about the beginnings of Montreal as a settlement until now.

Mahdi Dolatkhah

It is great place for history lovers. You can find out everything about history of canada especially Montréal in this museum.

Gavin Watson

Wonderful experience. A real feel for the history of Montreal and this site in particular. I loves walking through the tunnel.

S Josh

This is the most interesting museum in montreal

Megan Smith

Good way to spend an afternoon. The underground ruins were interesting to look at, and the sewer exhibit got a lot of ooh and ahhs. We saw the temporary pirate exhibit for kids which was very interactive, and the Italian history exhibit, which was essentially a tribute to Italian Nonnas. Not sure it would've been worth the price without the temporary exhibits, so choose when you go wisely.

Markus Woodson

Definitely a must go if you are visiting Montreal. The amount of history in the city is amazing and there's no better way to experience it than to walk through the old dug up city itself. Amazing that it was preserved for so long. Be prepared to spend hours here as it is very large and informative.

TJ Sw

Wouldn't want to miss this exhibit! The "we are montreal" video presentation skipped over a lot of the native american history but was extremely well done! So interesting to go downstairs and see the old ruins. Make plans to see this.

Adrian van Wyk

Amazing museum, but very busy with lots of people.

Jon A

Impressive . . . yet deeply problematic. The physical aspects of this museum are modern and impressive. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of its approach to history, religion and the interaction between European settlers and indigenous peoples. In a number of disturbing ways, this “museum” (which purports to be a contemporary manifestation of scholarship and scientific anthropology) is a less a museum than a vehicle for religious and Euro-centric propaganda. To start with the positive, this museum wonderfully uses modern technology and presentation techniques to bring history to life. The renovation and development of its buildings has been extremely well done, and the walk through the first sewer (yes, you read that correctly) is surprisingly powerful and effective. But it’s impossible to escape the fact that this museum is less focused on presenting a balanced and scientific perspective on the history of Montreal than on resurrecting a “manifest destiny” perspective in which early settlers did God’s will in taming the wilderness and bringing proper religion to North America. Quite literally, one of the first exhibits is an explicitly religious video (on an extremely large screen and with a grand musical score) which shows divine intervention preventing flood waters from destroying the nascent first settlement. Throughout the progression of exhibits, the settlers are uniformly presented as peacemakers, helping to unite the otherwise warring native tribes for universally beneficial trade. The main exhibition follows a timeline approach and ends with a triumphant exclamation regarding Montreal’s ultimate evolution into a modern francophone metropolis. While many of the individual exhibits appear factual and informative, the overall theme of the museum falls far short of that goal. This is “history” as drafted by a self-satisfied tourism booster, not an historian, anthropologist or even modestly self-reflective modern adult. Interestingly, the “real” contemporary Montreal is a vibrant, multi-cultural melting-pot with a significant focus on actual science and technology. This “museum” fails to do it justice.

Trenton Breeze

The museum gives you a good basic understanding of Montreal's history. It's set up is really cool as you get to walk through the ruins

Dong Nam Nguyen

awesome museum, a great way to discover the historic part of mtl

Natasha B

Great history about the city of Montreal. Very well displayed. The train museum was kinda cool but not that interesting (I guess we're not train people). Pirate ship was a long wait as they limit the numbers in the smaller space I guess, but the kids enjoyed it once we got in.

Anthony Edwards

It's much bigger on the inside than it looks like from the outside. they've done a great job of creating a museum under the buildings to bring to life the founding of Montreal. The displays use a variety of interesting and interactive display techniques. I found my time in the museum visit as a fun, interesting and educational visit.

Olga Karpenko

Perfect experience with kids

Paul Gibula

Incredible. Very innovative layout and design.

West island Traveler

Very nice exhibit with detailed explanations on the walls. Clean and well kept locale with the option of using the stairs or elevator to go the the various floors. Has a gift shop

Amy D Hess

This museum is really unique, I’ve never seen anything like it and I can highly recommend it if you’re in Montreal! There are several different floors all dedicated to the early days of Montreal, wonderful exhibitions!

Gary Hayes

Always interesting to visit. We never miss visiting this museum each year. I will be become a member and I live in Ontario!

A. B.

Interesting and not too crowded

heather dunne

Loved it! So much history - well presented. Tunnel, great variety of exhibits, interactive activities. Pleasant informative staff. A must see!

Martin Wilkins

This is a.must see in Old Montreal. Great historic summary of Quebec which I was not even aware of having grown up in Quebec. Well done! ????????????

Philipp Leberer

Some cool media and installations. But I found it focused too much on the few early years which stories are repeated several times. Nothing about the later struggle between English and French colonial powers. Felt like a promotion show for Montreal many times

Philippe Trahan

Unfortunately not the whole exhibit is open right now but kids loved it

S Park

Small museum but worth it. I feel it is very under rated. Great for the kids. Fascinating stuff.

Stephen Baggaley

Well worth a visit. It flows through the history of canada and is thoughorly educational. You can learn more here than through a walking tour and it's cheaper.

Rachel Green

the inca exhibit is a rich exploration in time of an area (Peru) that was the birthplace of some very advanced civilisations. the collection currently on display is quite decorative, weavings of deep colours and complex patterns, terra cotta pots and jewelry made from various metals, ingeniously crafted. well worth a visit!

Lado Sozi

Nice museum, especially during the heat warning. Cool inside literally. Recommend in case your plan is to introduce your 8-10 years old to Archeology, History, etc. Thank you, museum.

Peter Bell

Well worth a visit. Gives a detailed account of how Montreal evolved from a 1st nation village via French missionary settlement to today's vibrant city. uses archeological artefacts to document.

LeroyMTL Cantin

Have not been to the museum in about 4 years. Really enjoyed the updates they have made. Everything is very well presented with some nice interactive elements. The circus exhibit was a lot of fun. Perfect for our family with older kids. The only section that is appropriate for younger children is the pirate section. We saw a lot of under 5 year olds running around and screaming, not really benefitting from the overall experience.

Basil Mathew

Remarkable history, captured in a remarkable way!

Juliette Fong

Has expanded since last visited, interesting exhibits; pity the bistro restaurant was closed by the time I got upstairs. Menu showed it has yummy options.

Ganonymous Last

Very interesting building with its construction and excavation of previous historical buildings. Great idea. Excavations to walk through with explanations. Multimedia presentation interesting and in multiple languages. Multiple types of displays like interactive video screens, and models. I'd hate to be there with a crowd and the limited interactive displays because it would be hard to find that party of history out of it was busy. The history seemed in my opinion to be told from a very french Canadian perspective, like they were always repressed by the English and the English were the bad guys; although they don't go so far as to say that in their video, they left out parts of Canadian history that made it seem so and misses the balanced viewpoint in my opinion. Pirate area good for kids, although adults have their wander through too. Their museum expansion plans look impressive. They had a special temporary exhibit for aztek artifacts: with the temporary exhibit I would give it four stars. the museum as it sits today 3 to 3.5 stars; perhaps more if future expansions help add additional experience and more information. It was $20 entry, I'm a budget traveller so this was one of the more expensive places I went, OK with the aztek displays but getting on the high end in my opinion as far as prices for tourist attractions. If recommend as far as Montreal history and something unique you won't see elsewhere.

Julia Romodina

Adults and children had a blast! Very cool museum. The underground part and Pirates exposition are the best.

Bryan Hendry

Lots of great old stuff!

Lan Trinh

Queen of Egypt exhibition was a bit short due to lack exhibited items. The museum should have seats to rest our feet. Overall the exhibitions are interesting.

Kira Zala

A beautiful Museum with its primary exhibit focusing on the evolution of Montreal from a trading port to the large metropolitan we know it to be today. The Museum is phenomenally designed containing structural remnants of Ville-Marie. If you are fascinated by historical city planning and development; this museum would be an excellent choice. The Museum curators are also well informed and passionate about the exhibits. This is a must see for anyone visiting Montreal.

sundernag hosamani chandrashekhar

Nice maintenance of history good to visit

Jared Anton

A must see place in Montreal. It was fascinating to see how they have preserved so much of the city's history. We especially enjoyed a walk through the old sewer. I highly recommend making this Museum a major point of any vacation here.

Pablo Castro

Great place. 9 year old daughter really enjoyed. She loved to see the evolution of Montreal city over time. Would have been better if just fewer people, but was expecting it, it is spring break for kids after all!

Maarten van Hell

It is a wonderful museum, it could use some better guidance to get you from one exhibit to another. For the Bistro restaurant, make reservations! The exhibits are amazing and will come back for the next ones!

Louis G

Amazing! Every Montrealer should visit at least once. Plan for several hours for the full experience. Do not miss the Memory Collector, Where Montreal Began and Multimedia Show permanent exhibits. Also, the Italian Montreal temporary exhibit currently underway is really good. Admission prices are very affordable. This museum is great for tourists and locals alike. Highly recommend.

Julianne Tan

Great way to learn about the beginnings of Montreal... Enjoyed the exhibitions very much!

Sarah Fenno

Wasn't what I expected going in, but ended up being one of the coolest museums I've ever been to - very educational and the preservation of the history is like I've never seen before!

Maryam

My husband and I came to Canada for the first time. The Montreal Museum of Archaeology was the first museum that we visited. The museum was great and we enjoyed a lot. After two hours of visiting, we were tired and decided to eat our snacks but one of the museum associates came to us and had an inappropriate behavior. He wanted us to wear masks and not to eat. He was so harsh and not respectful. We didn’t know the museum’s rules otherwise we wouldn’t eat. We had lots of many experiences with other museums but this time the staff’s behavior was not acceptable. We were so disappointed.

Joseph Mandy

A must see for those visiting Montreal for the first time. The history of the city in a capsule excellent presentation.

B

Nice exhibits, confusing layout. Got there and took about 15 minutes without any line for them to figure out how to scan my tourist pass? Then the person helping her went to help another (qc) guest before solving my issue. Kind of rude. Other staff were helpful in directing. Video was the highlight. Great pirate ship for kids.

Tara McMahon

Very enjoyable visit! The displays are very informative while being cleverly put together and visually interesting. There are some that are very child friendly and interactive and some more adult appropriate. Would recommend a visit to those who enjoy history or even just fun visuals. Staff were friendly and helpful in either French or English.

Hugo Haumichtot

Museum offers a view on 17th century foundations of Mtl and is also good for children.

Bill Bomik

Should not miss this wonderful in situ museum regarding Montreal's history.

R Reik

This museum is really cool. My kids loved the pirate exhibit, and we all enjoyed the temporary "Wonder Room" exhibit and the exhibitions in the lowest level. Finding your way around is a bit confusing at times, but overall I was pleasantly surprised at how cool this museum was.

Jincheng Xu

Where Montreal start, their film is a great demo

Katerina Nieboer

I went as a kid and liked it however returning as an adult I’m really disappointed with the narrative described in the museum. Felt more so like propaganda about how “nice” the colonizers were and ignored a lot of the destruction etc. and the negative effects on Indigenous peoples. Felt very disappointed with the choice to go full pro-colonizer especially during the current social context. Would not recommend.

Andrey Polyanskiy

Good museum, small but good exposition. Excursions can be in English and French. The French one was very interesting.

Rebecca O'Brien

Good for all ages. Learnt about the multicultural history of Montreal. See the the film if you can, its a fun multimedia experience

Richard Carter

Love this museum. Very unique. I always visit it when I come in from Toronto. Go to their web site. They have really great shows or exhibitions that never come to Toronto!! Well worth a look see. Don't like to drive all that way to Montreal???? I always take the train from Union Station Toronto.

John Annesley

very interesting and informative. Gave a good but initially confusing time line of Montreal ,s development. same for building changes over time. Wonderful time line sequences by moving your finger. Intend to go back when we have more time.

Fernande simeon

It was okay If you want to learn about Italian story. It was not for me.

Matthew Law

The building looks small from the outside but there is a lot to see and gives a lot of good visuals on the history of Montreal. There is an interactive video at the beginning with many different languages.

Stephanie Tan

I may be biased but I love strolling along museums. This is home to a permanent exhibit of the history of Montréal as well as varying special exhibits. The place is well maintained. You won't get lost because information can be found easily. The staff are friendly and very willing to help you with any concerns or questions.

Milo Batmazian

Good place to discover Montreal's early beginning. A bit confusing, not an easy flowing environment to go around in.

Glenn Phillips

Modern and spacious with some great exhibits! One thing I have an issue with is their opening hours.

Mark Tartamella

Went to see the Ancient Egyptian exhibit and was blown away by the number of artifacts on display. Very informative. And of course the collaboration with Ubisoft was an excellent choice! You can learn about Egyptian customs and architecture with the engine powering the recent Assassin's Creed game (which takes place in ancient Egypt). Makes this outing fun for the whole family. The only thing that was a little off-putting was the length-to-price ratio. $20+tx per adult for two floors of history, resulting in about a 20-30 minute visit, might be a little steep for some. However, I highly recommend going anyway just based on sheer quality the venue provides each time they have an open exhibit.

D Or A McLean

There is such a great number of things to see in Montreal it's easy to run out of time. Don't miss this outstanding collection of Montreal's history. We were fortunate to have Nicholas given us a guided tour. He was very happy to share the history of this great city. Take your time and enjoy the ruins , glass floor, sewer and so much more that makes this a one of a kind museum.

Steve Jones

A lot to see and fascinating displays. Hard to keep your bearings since there was no clear flow path.

Jason Slater

Love this city, great history, nice people and good music in summer. This museum has lots of good collections, worth the trip.

Tim Buchanan

It is free entrance for all until June 20. I entered for free and was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the exhibits and the how beautiful the structures were.

Steve Shidel

Very well executed museum. The movie at the start was far above average.

Kevin White

The collections deal with the fasinating history of the ethincally and linguistically mixed city and they attract some impressive temporary exhibitions. When I visited the major exhibitions were "Montréal Love Stories," about the romantic trajectories of immigrants and visitors to the city and an outstanding major travelling exhibition on the French colonisation of North America. There is also an audio-visual presentation on the history of the four major communities (French, English, Irish, Scottish) which built modern Montreal, which was a little cheesy but probably good for kids. All in all a great modern museum.

Justin Magas

One of the best places to visit while in Montreal! Amazing museum, it would take maybe 2-3 hours to go through everything leisurely but going for only one hour is also feasible.

Yi Ting Lee

It’s was raining so we decided to visit a museum to kill time and we made a good decision! I love this museum so much! I really enjoy it!

Andrew Cusick

Very good view of the city's history, coupled with the actual archaeological evidence. Beautifully displayed. Slightly let down I felt by little mention of the late 18th Century and the conflicts with British and USA. I guess this is being politically sensitive, but a bit like viewing Berlin without mentioning the Wall. Having said that, fascinating and informative for all ages.