Autumn Colour in Montreal
Mount Royal, the gardens and the day trips
Autumn colour in Montréal starts in the parks, and 19 places on this map are tagged for it. Mount Royal Park and the two cemeteries on its slopes, Notre-Dame-des-Neiges and Mount Royal, carry most of it in the city. The Botanical Garden has its Chinese, Japanese and First Nations gardens, and Parc Maisonneuve and Parc Jean-Drapeau are close to the Olympic Park Metro stations. Further out, Parc national du Mont-Orford and Parc national du Mont-Tremblant make longer day trips.
23 places
October When
The places
Landmark · Downtown and Quartier des spectacles McGill University Campus McGill's downtown campus, entered through the Roddick Gates on Sherbrooke Street at McGill College Avenue. The gates carry a restored clock that chimes.
Park · Mount Royal Mount Royal Park The city's large park on the mountain, run with Les amis de la montagne, with wooded trails, lookouts, Beaver Lake and the walk to the cross. The park marks its 150th anniversary with activities from June 2026 to May 2027.
Landmark · Mount Royal Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery A large cemetery on the mountain with a main entrance on Chemin de la Côte-des-Neiges between Avenue Forest Hill and Avenue Ridgewood.
Landmark · Mount Royal Mount Royal Cemetery A historic cemetery on the mountain, with a main gate on Chemin de la Forêt. Its operator publishes separate summer and winter gate hours.
Park · Olympic Park and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Montreal Botanical Garden A Space for Life garden with themed gardens, greenhouses and an arboretum, including cultural gardens built by Chinese, Japanese and First Nations designers. In October its hours extend into the evening and Chinese lanterns light up the Chinese garden.
Park · Olympic Park and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Chinese Garden A garden inside the Botanical Garden based on classical Chinese landscape design. Its pavilions were shipped from Shanghai and assembled in Montréal in 1990.
Park · Olympic Park and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Japanese Garden A 2.5-hectare garden inside the Botanical Garden where stone, water and plants form an idealised landscape. It has a stroll garden, a dry garden and a tea garden.
Park · Olympic Park and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve First Nations Garden A garden inside the Botanical Garden that opened in August 2001 and shows the links between Indigenous peoples and the plant world. It sits between the Arboretum and the Japanese Garden, north of the Chinese Garden.
Park · Olympic Park and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Parc Maisonneuve A large city park next to the Botanical Garden, known for open lawns, a multi-use track and the sheep that mow its lawns. In winter it has skating and cross-country ski trails.
Park · Parc Jean-Drapeau Parc Jean-Drapeau A park made up of Île Sainte-Hélène and Île Notre-Dame in the St. Lawrence River, with trails, gardens, a beach and several attractions. It was a site of the 1976 Summer Olympics.
Landmark · Parc Jean-Drapeau La Ronde An amusement park on Île Sainte-Hélène run by Six Flags. In autumn it opens only for Fright Fest and Pumpkin Festival days.
Park · Parc Jean-Drapeau Floralies Gardens Gardens on Île Notre-Dame left from the 1980 Floralies internationales de Montréal. They have flower beds, trees, shrubs, canals and public art.
Day trip · Quebec City Vieux-Québec (Old Quebec) The walled historic district of Quebec City, with the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac hotel, built by the Canadian Pacific Railway and opened in 1893, as its best-known building. The hotel stands on the Saint-Louis Forts and Châteaux archaeological site.
Day trip · Quebec City Parc de la Chute-Montmorency A Sépaq park at the Montmorency Falls just outside Quebec City, with a cable car, a panoramic circuit and viewpoints at the base and top of the falls.
Day trip · Quebec City Plains of Abraham (Parc des Champs-de-Bataille) A large public park in Quebec City run by the National Battlefields Commission, with trails and a museum at its main entry point.
Day trip · Eastern Townships Parc national du Mont-Orford A Québec national park run by Sépaq in the Eastern Townships, with hiking trails from about 2.5 km to 16 km in winter and sectors at Lac-Stukely and Lac-Fraser.
Day trip · Eastern Townships Route des vins de Brome-Missisquoi A wine route around Dunham in Brome-Missisquoi, described by Cantons-de-l'Est tourism as the first wine route in Québec. It lists more than twenty vineyards.
Day trip · Mont-Tremblant Village de Mont-Tremblant The base village of the Tremblant ski resort, set out as a pedestrian village at the foot of the mountain.
Day trip · Mont-Tremblant Parc national du Mont-Tremblant A Sépaq national park in the Laurentians whose Diable sector is 138 km from Montréal. The Diable visitor centre is at 3824 chemin du Lac-Supérieur, and the Pimbina-Saint-Donat centre is at 2954 route 125 Nord.
Viewpoint · Parc Jean-Drapeau Tour de Lévis A heritage tower on Mont Boullé, standing since the 1930s. A 157-step staircase leads to an observation terrace with 360-degree views of the park islands, the St. Lawrence, the skyline and the Montérégie hills.
Park · Parc Jean-Drapeau Mont Boullé The wooded high point of Île Sainte-Hélène, with a 6 km trail network, ponds and viewpoints over Montréal, the South Shore and the St. Lawrence. It's steps from Jean-Drapeau station and has a children's play area.
Day trip · Eastern Townships Parc de la Gorge de Coaticook A nature park around the Coaticook River gorge, with hiking trails and a suspended footbridge. The park also has 23 km of marked trails, disc golf, camping and lodging.
Church · Eastern Townships Abbaye de Saint-Benoît-du-Lac A Benedictine monastery on Lake Memphrémagog, home to about thirty monks. Visitors can use the gift shop, take a guided tour, walk the prayer paths of almost 2 km or pick apples in the 3,500-tree orchards.
