Are you looking for things to do in Montreal? Our Olympic Park scavenger hunt is a 2/3-hour self-guided walking tour with challenges around Montreal’s Olympic Park!
Walk from the Botanical Garden to the Maurice Richard Arena, by way of the Olympic Stadium and the Saputo Stadium. In fact, you’ll face challenges at every step. Each challenge will tell you where you are going next, as well as a bit of local history and trivia.
- Olympic Park
- Olympic Stadium
- Montreal’s Botanical Gardens
- Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium
- Montreal Insectarium
- Biodome
- Saputo Stadium
- Space For Life Museums
- Pierre-Charbonneau Center
- Maurice Richard Arena
- Maisonneuve Park
Indeed, we live in Montreal and know it very well! This Tourist Scavenger Hunt is dear to us as we get to share our “neighborhood” with you. We hope you’ll enjoy it!
- Starting point: at the corner of Pie-IX Boulevard and Pierre-de-Coubertin Ave, at the exit of Pie-IX metro station.
- Distance: 3.5 km / 2.2 mi
- Duration: 2:30 – 3h
- Method: Walking
- Required:
- A well-charged smartphone with a data plan
- Suggested:
- Bottled water
- Local map
The island of Montreal was “discovered” by Jacques Cartier during his second trip to America, where he happened upon the Iroquoian village of Hochelaga. Samuel de Champlain who explored the St. Lawrence River 70 years later discovered that these Iroquois had left. He established, then abandoned a trading post in 1611 in what’s now Old Montreal.
Montreal was finally founded in 1642 by Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve. Maisonneuve’s name was given to many landmarks throughout this city including a large park north of the Olympic Stadium in the east, as well as an important east-west artery that runs through the city center.
Montreal, the center of the hinterland at the time, passed from the French Empire to the British Empire in 1763. It was then inflated by new Scottish and English Bourgeois, as well as British-American loyalists fleeing the American Revolution.
Industrial Revolution
Montreal became important in the late 1800s when rail connections to New York, Toronto, and the Maritime Provinces were established. In 1860, it was the largest British municipality in America until the end of WWII, when Toronto took over.
Finally, it is the 2nd most populous city in Canada and the 1st in Quebec. It stands on an island in the St. Lawrence River which connects Lake Ontario to the Atlantic Ocean. In fact, Montreal is also the largest French-speaking city in the Americas. Also, it is considered the second-largest French-speaking city in the world after Paris.
Did you know that Montreal celebrated its 375th anniversary in 2017?
