As the city enters its chilliest month, don't just brace for the cold, embrace it. Despite recent holiday spending and inflation challenges, the city's lineup of events is wallet-friendly and rich in variety. From eye-catching public installations to the electrifying atmosphere of Igloofest, there's an unstoppable energy that defies the freeze.
As you don your toque and fill your pockets with hand-warmers, here are some ways to turn this time of the year into the coolest season to explore:
Catch a show at Igloofest
When: January 18 to February 10
Where: Grand Quai of the Port of Montreal, 200, rue de la Commune Ouest
Cost: $42.50+
Reason to go: January is Montreal’s coldest month, but as temperatures drop, Igloofest heats the nights in the old port, with all the lively entertainment of a Montreal summer festival but with a wintery twist. See local and international DJs perform for the “coolest dancefloor in the worldʺ and explore the Igloovillage, which has fun selfie spots, bars with hot drinks, food trucks, and fires to roast marshmallows and warm your hands. Igloofest also offers “Apres-Skiʺ events at lower prices featuring venues across the city if you’ve been out in the cold all day. Big names like Aarmin Van Buuren, Eric Prydz and Kaskade will perform no matter how cold it gets!
Practice your snow yoga
When: January 13 and 27
Where: 3824, chemin du Lac Supérieur, Lac-Supérieur, QC
Cost: Free
Reason to go: Snow Yoga, or “Sno-gaʺ, if you will—is more than just making snow angels slowly. Get your snow pants on and stretch out in the snow for low-impact winter exercise. Stay limber for other winter activities, or relax and stretch before night skiing at Tremblant. If you don’t like sweaty hot yoga, this is the perfect alternative.
Take in the lights at Luminothérapie
When: All Winter, 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Where: Place des Festivals
Cost: Free
Reason to go: Montreal’s Place des Festivals has been lit up again with colourful and playful installations that use motion and tactile sensing to play sounds and come to life. Each year, the installations change and offer new ways to laugh and be silly in Montreal’s cold winter months.
More at quartierdesspectacles.comSee Queen rock Montreal in IMAX
When: January 18 to 21, 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Where: Cinéma Banque Scotia Montréal and Cinéma Cineplex Forum et VIP
Cost: $24.95
Reason to go: Queen’s live concert album, Queen Rock Montreal was recorded at the Montreal Forum over two November nights in 1981. IMAX is playing the film for one weekend only at the very place it was recorded, now the Cineplex Forum Cinema, and the Scotiabank Theatre IMAX. Having it play up on the biggest screens in the city is the next best thing to a time machine to watch Queen play live.
Learn how to ice climb on Île St-Helene
When: January 14 to March 17
Where: Escalade FQME, 400, rue La Ronde
Cost: $75.67
Reason to go: Learn how to use ice axes and climb frozen cascades created specifically for this three-hour intro course. The lesson covers safety, techniques, and practices to prepare you for icy ascents. The beginner ice wall will be 8 to 12 metres high and all safety equipment will be provided and certified supervisors will lead the course.
Explore a toy story of the past
Antique toys, like a horse and steam engine.
Maison de la culture Ahuntsic | Facebook
When: December 12 to January 21
Where: 10300, rue Lajeunesse
Cost: Free
Reason to go: A unique temporary exhibition at the Ahuntsic Cultural Centre, featuring antique toys dating back to the 1830s and telling their story of how the craft transitioned from being handmade by artisans to the mass-produced plastic junk we have today. The collection features pieces from five countries and offers an insight into the industries that shaped the markets and minds of children.
More at montreal.ca
See a glowing drum flash mob
When: January 6, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: Parc Jean-Drapeau
Cost: Free
Reason to go: Imagine walking back to the metro after a [winter activity link] in Parc Jean-Drapeau on the first Saturday of 2024 and everyone around you starts playing big glowing drums. Baratanga will be bringing the rhythm to celebrate the start of the winter season in Montreal.
Catch a Canadiens Game at Centre Bell
When: Muliple dates
Where: Bell Centre
Cost: $71.39+
Reason to go: Cheer on the Habs on home ice, and hopefully watch them catch back up to Toronto after a slow start to the season. They usually do well at first then fail before getting the cup, so maybe it’ll be the other way around this year! Only you can find out, as seeing the Canadiens play on home ice is essential for an authentic Montreal winter experience.
Ride a snow scooter at RécréoParc
When: January to February
Where: 5340, boul. Marie-Victorin, Sainte-Catherine, QC
Cost: $10 to $23.50
Reason to go: RecreoParc offers outdoor activities year-round, and is opening an outdoor skating path, snowshoe, and cross-country ski trails. The illuminated trail offers an 850-metre skating track attached to two skating rinks. Two-hour skate rentals are $10, snow shoes are $17.50, and snow scooters are $23.50.
More at recreoparc.org
Have a relaxing spa day at Bota Bota
When: Open every day of the week
Where: Entrance between McGill and rue de la Commune Ouest
Cost: $70+
Reason to go: Take in sights of the old port covered in snow from a jacuzzi aboard Bota Bota, a 1950s ferry converted into a top-tier spa in Old Montreal.
Try motion capture VR
When: Open every day of the week
Where: 48, boul. Brunswick, Pointe-Claire, QC
Cost: $55+
Reason to go: Most Montrealers who want to experience VR have done so already, but Sandbox VR kicks it up a notch. Attendants will strap a compact PC to your back and arm you with responsive weapons to explore custom virtual adventures wirelessly. Motion sensors will track your leg and arm movements to let you and 5 friends roam freely. The games offered are all exclusive and made by an in-house studio for Sandbox VR’s 43 locations across the world. This is a perfect indoor activity to fight Pirates, Dragons, Zombies, and Robots. They even have Star Trek and Squid Game.
Visit the world’s largest tubing park
When: January
Where: 440, Chemin Avila, Piedmont, QC
Cost: $39,99+
Reason to go: If you want to go tubing or sledding this winter, this is the place. Boasting 61 different slopes and 5 different rides to choose from, Piedmont is the sledding destination. Floodlights let you keep going til 8 p.m. and you can even take a bobsleigh down a 262-foot drop.
Hear Bugs Bunny at the Symphony
When: January 13 and 14
Where: Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, 175, rue Saint-Catherine Ouest
Cost: $64.99
Reason to go: If you can’t wait til March to see an orchestra, you can watch Looney Tunes projected onto the big screen while the FILMharmonic Orchestra plays all of the original scores live.
Play at Pinball Arcade
When: Fridays, 5 to 10 p.m.
Where: 923-B, av. Girouard
Cost: $15
Reason to go: Get all the extra balls you want at Montreal’s largest Pinball Arcade on Fridays. Featuring a large rotation of a rare pinball machine collection, the games change out each time you go. Go Full Tilt and or free for 5 hours.
Celebrate 40 years of Madonna
When: January 18 and 20 8:30 p.m.
Where: Bell Centre
Cost: $136 to $160+
Reason to go: The original “Material Girlʺ is playing two nights at the Bell Centre, to finally catch up with her postponed shows from a severe infection that landed her in the ICU in June. She performed for 27 sold-out nights touring 11 European cities since October and started the North American leg of her Celebration Tour in New York City on December 13. The tour will feature a journey through time, celebrating four decades of her music and performances. Madonna first played in Montreal in 1987, making a lasting impact on the city, but her ties to Montreal go even deeper: Celine Dion is a distant cousin of hers, along with Biebs and Justin Trudeau.
Check out a DJ on ice night
When: Thursday Nights, January 11 to March 3
Where: Bonsecours Basin
Cost: $10
Reason to go: Rent some skates, or bring your own to get your groove on at the prettiest skating rink in the city. Featuring a different DJ each week as part of their DJ on Ice night events. The rink will come to life with energetic tracks to get you moving and colourful lights illuminating the rink and Ferris wheel as the city’s lights shine in the background.
More at oldportskatingrink.com
Watch Drag Race at a drag bar
When: Starts January 4, 2024
Where: Bar Le Cocktail, 1669, rue Sainte-Catherine Est
Cost: Free entry
Reason to go: Live the laughs and soak in the sassiness of Ru Paul’s Drag Race at Bar Le Cocktail, which airs the show every Thursday.
Shop at a massive vintage clothing pop-up
When: January 13 and 14, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: 81, ave. du Mont-Royal Ouest
Cost: Free entry
Reason to go: Vintage retailer Kapara is hosting a giant pop-up event for January self-care. The theme “New Year, New Meʺ is a great way to start 2024, as sometimes finding a new clothing style can give you a unique look to better express the newest version of yourself. You won’t just find these items anywhere, they’re curated out of name-brand favourites with classic looks. If you’re new to vintage shopping or a seasoned thrifter, occasional pop-up sales offer some of the best selections, but you’ve got to keep an eye out or you’ll miss them!
Go to a Taylor Swift party
When: January 27, 10 p.m.
Where: 5240 Avenue du Parc
Cost: $20.46 - $27.63
Reason to go: Theatre Fairmount is hosting a “Swiftie Dance Partyʺ where, if you don’t have $1600 lying around to blow on T Swizzle tickets, you can sing your favourites along with a room full of other Swifties. Taylors Version hosts DJ nights where they play every era of Taylor Swift’s hits. The tour of nine cities is stopping in Montreal at the end of January. Be… fast and get tickets!
Find a new café
Reason to go: Montreal has hidden bean brewers with top-notch baristas who make the best latté art. Trying out a new café in January may lead you to the perfect study spot or weekend pick-me-up. Quebec drinks more coffee than the rest of Canada, and we prefer local-made roasts to big corporate blends,
- This Quebec Snow Tubing Park Is The Largest In The World With 80-Metre Drops ›
- 31 Free Things To Do In Montreal This Winter ›
- 5 Quebec Winter Activities To Make The Most Of Snowy Days ›
- You Can Rent A Rooftop Montreal Ice Rink With 9 Friends For $25 Each - MTL Blog ›
- Montreal Weather Is In For A Winter Storm This Weekend With 'Significant Snowfall' - MTL Blog ›