Festival goers looking for epic, immersive experiences go to Montréal, where festivals and street fairs are a celebration of life. With more Toronto events getting cancelled due to funding or low ticket sales, Montréal is the place to vibe!
In Montréal, festivals are one of the best ways to experience the city’s joie de vivre. If you’ve ever been there during peak season, you know the feeling — the whole city seems to be in on the party. From food fests and comedy to music, fashion, circus shows, fireworks, and cultural celebrations, there’s always something happening in Montréal.
The last time I wrote about the best Montréal roadtrip, I encouraged readers to embrace the unexpected. This time, my goal was to experience two of the city’s most popular annual festivals, M.A.D. and MUTEK: one dedicated to fashion, the other to music. Conveniently, they overlap, so it’s like getting two festivals for the price of one.
This is your guide to enjoy the lively mood of Montréal, plus find the downtime you’ll need to pace yourself and keep the fun flowing.
Full-On Festival Fun with M.A.D. & MUTEK
When it comes to manifesting a Montréal getaway, these two performance-based festivals should be top of your list. Plan to stay at least a week: M.A.D. runs for about four days, while MUTEK stretches over six days.
Mad for Fashion in Montréal
M.A.D. is all about creativity and self-expression, bringing fashion, art, entertainment, and culture together in one vibrant celebration of style. With over 550,000 festival-goers each year, it’s major exposure for emerging artists and designers, and the best part, it’s free and all outdoors. Expect daily fashion shows, live DJs, an Art Zone, and a massive pop-up market.
Fans of FAT: Fashion Art Toronto will enjoy the fashion and art of the M.A.D. Montréal festival. Highlights for me included the opening cocktail party at the W Hotel, meeting talented up-and-coming designers like Mathis Guertin, and the high-energy performances on the M.A.D. main stage. Montréal crowds really know how to bring it — cheering, dancing, and calling for more fun.
MUTEK: An A/V Sensory Journey
If you follow Resident Advisor on IG or call yourself a technophile raver, MUTEK is your festival. Dedicated to live electronic music and real-time audiovisual performance, this annual Montréal event brings together over 120 artists from 26 countries across 17 programs. With nearly 80 performances over a week, it’s a test of raver endurance. Compared to other music festivals, MUTEK is pretty affordable. Free open-air performances happen daily, and ticketed shows are well worth it for everything they deliver.
Highlights for me included the mind-blowing immersive audiovisual experiences under the dome at Society for Arts and Technology [SAT] and the captivating performances at Théâtre de Verdure in Park Lafontaine. This innovative music fest is unlike anything I’ve experienced before — I highly recommend it.
Both MUTEK and M.A.D. are annual end-of-summer events held in central locations like the Quartier des Spectacles and MTELUS. Scroll down for my Festival Timeouts to recharge and keep your energy high in Montréal!
Stay Near The Action in Montréal
Most Montréal festivals are centrally located, so your hotel should be too. On this trip I was lucky enough to stay at two hotels I hadn’t tried before: the new Moxy Montréal and the classic Château Champlain. They’re less than a ten-minute walk apart, but the vibes couldn’t be more different. I recommend both, here’s why.
Moxy Montréal Hotel
I stayed at the Halifax Moxy last year, so I had a sense of what to expect. Moxy hotels are all about getting you out of your room and into their work-play spaces. This Moxy is perfect for recharging: it has a sauna and swimming pool with panoramic views, a huge second-floor lounge with loads of games, and a bar-restaurant for dinner and drinks. The fitness floor is impressive, with everything you’d want in a gym plus skyline views. Spread over 11 floors with just over 200 rooms, the Moxy has the intimacy of a boutique hotel.
The hotel is near Old Montréal and trendy Griffintown. I recommend you stop by Mano Figa, an Italian-style café with amazing sandwiches (and a coffee-tonic if you’re adventurous). Another nearby snack bar is Dispensa Italian Grocery, where locals line up for pizza slices, sandwiches, and slushy iced coffee treats.
I would absolutely recommend the Montréal Moxy. The staff are friendly, attentive, and quick to remember you. If you live out of a suitcase but crave connection, you’ll feel right at home here.
Château Champlain Hotel
The Château Champlain, by contrast, is a Montréal classic — bigger, busier, and with more history. My advice: book a park-view room overlooking Dorchester Square and Mount Royal. My room was spacious and spotless, with thoughtful touches like a robe, ample hangers, and plenty of storage, which is appreciated for longer stays. Even in a bustling city centre hotel, the room felt like a peaceful retreat and a great place to rest my feet before more Montréal adventures.
Location-wise, the Château is closer to the action, near the main shopping area on Sainte-Catherine Street. The Ville-Marie area is convenient for public transit, including train, bus, and metro stops, as well as the Montréal Eaton Centre and cultural attractions like the Museum of Fine Arts, the city’s largest art museum. I’d recommend this hotel if you’re after a downtown experience with more convenience.
Sussing Out Where to Stay in Montréal
Personally, I’m over Airbnb “rule books,” but if you’re set on a short-term rental, I suggest the Mile End and Little Italy neighbourhoods. They may look farther from the centre on a map, but they’re actually close, with many of the city’s best and newest shops, cafés, restaurants, and bars. You’ll also find fewer tourists and a more local vibe.
Festival Timeouts: Renew Your Aura in Montréal
MTL party nights can be intense. Take time to replenish and renew your energy during the day. Here are my four favourite festival timeouts in Montréal.
#1 Morning Farmers’ Market & Mount Royal Panoramic View
Tap into mother nature’s restorative power with this aura reset. Start your day at Atwater Market as soon as it opens. It’s a smaller food market, but full of fresh flowers, fruit and veggies, and beautiful breads and pastries. Spend about 30 minutes, have a coffee and croissant, then head up Mount Royal for a panoramic view of the city. Between the market blooms and fresh mountain air, your senses will feel fully reinvigorated.
#2 Art Therapy Meets Coffee Therapy: Mindful Museum Timeout
After a late-night, step into the calm of an art museum. Both the McCord Stewart Museum and the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) offer soothing spaces to recharge, and they’re close to each other. When I visited, the McCord’s Pound the Pavement exhibit stood out — street photography capturing Montréal perspectives from a past that feels long gone. It runs until Oct 26, 2025, before Africa Fashion takes over. The MMFA, with its five distinctive pavilions, has plenty to see. I was impressed with the exhibition on Berthe Weill, the Parisian art dealer who championed many avant-garde artists.
Museum days call for coffee and mood-boosting treats. Café Olimpico is the place to try the latest trend, Remix Coffee — pricey but worth it. Indulge in another trendy treat at San Sebastián café: classic Basque cheesecake with a chocolate pour over.
#3 There’s Nothing Like Water for a Festival Detox
For this festival timeout, use water for a different kind of immersive experience. Start in Old Montréal with an early morning thermal journey at Scandinave Spa, followed by a meditative boat tour aboard Le Petit Navire.
The spa’s Nordic hot-cold-rest circuit is ideal for easing hangovers and reviving sore legs. With no talking allowed, it’s also a chance to rest your voice after shouting over DJ sets. Continue your restorative journey with water onboard an electric boat for a peaceful tour of the Old Port. Le Petit Navire tours offer a unique perspective of Montréal while keeping your feet happily at rest.
#4 Treat Your Tummy in Montréal: Take a Beat to Replenish
Festivals aside, Montréal’s food scene is reason enough to visit. When your energy dips, snacks and sweet treats are the quickest way to revive. Step away from downtown to discover popular foodie destinations in the Plateau Mont-Royal neighbourhood.
Start in Mile End at Wilensky’s, a family-run lunch counter famous for its grilled bologna sandwich with cheese and mustard, paired with an old-school egg cream soda. Anthony Bourdain gave it his stamp of approval, so you know it’s a memorable stop.
For something sweet, head to Kouing Amann Bakery, one of Montréal’s oldest pastry shops. The star here is their irresistible Breton butter cake. Or, drop by Les Chocolats de Chloé for handmade chocolates that even locals line up for.
Round out your day with dinner on the Plateau at Bouillon Albert, a casual French restaurant that locals love for its relaxed vibe, fair prices, and satisfying meals.
Montréal’s Best Chocolate Fix
Before moving on to more Montréal food and drink recommendations, I must say more about Les Chocolats de Chloé. This artisanal sweet shop is a local favourite and easily one of the city’s best. The secret to Chloé’s success is her commitment to fresh, seasonal ingredients and to preparing everything by hand.
There’s plenty of treats to choose from, but the truffles stand out with dynamic flavours like pastis, lime, litchi, basil, fig balsamic, and piment fumé. In summer, the shop adds house-made ice cream to the lineup, and in fall you’ll find jams and hot chocolate mixes. It’s also a great place for souvenirs or gifts (if you can resist eating them before you return home). I left with a bag of chocolate-covered marshmallows, chocolate orange rinds, and a chocolate bar. If you love chocolate, you must go to Les Chocolats de Chloé!
Insider Tips & Local Foodie Favourites
These places come highly recommended by locals, food friends, and Montréal’s IG community, even though I didn’t get to try them all myself — I wanted to!
Drinks or Dinner: El Pequeño Bar, Poincaré Chinatown, Atwater Cocktail Club, Réservoir Brasseur, Pumpui Épicerie, Mellön Brasserie Brewery, and Nili
Snacks & Sweets: Bossa Sandwiches, Pasta Pooks, Dalmata Ice Cream, and Bernie Beigne donuts
Keep this list handy as a shortcut to great food, drinks, and quick bites while festival-hopping in Montréal.
Getting To Montréal from Toronto
There is no shame in taking the bus. Megabus often offers deeply discounted tickets, and while the ride is long, going by coach is far more affordable, especially if you decide to travel last minute.
Megabus drops you right downtown — the Moxy Hotel is literally across the street. It doesn’t get more convenient than that. Insider tip: From now until Nov 29, 2025, Megabus is offering discounts on several in-demand travel routes in Canada, including trips between Toronto and Montréal starting at $14.99. Check online with Megabus for details, as terms and conditions apply.
Getting Around Montréal
Compared to Toronto, Montréal’s compact city centre, along with the easy-to-navigate métro and BIXI bikeshare system, makes getting around a breeze.
I found the underground métro the most convenient option. I rarely had to travel more than a few stops to reach anywhere I wanted to go. Here’s what worked for me: I bought a 3-day metro pass for midweek and then switched to a weekend pass. The ticket agent suggested this instead of buying a travel card.
Why Montréal Will Give You Life!
Montréal is a wonderful place to immerse yourself in culture, creativity, and fun. Its relaxed vibe reflects a more European approach to living than Toronto, while embracing a dynamic modern energy. The city is a destination for festivals year-round, from music and art to comedy and sports, many of which are free or affordable. Montréal offers countless ways to recharge, celebrate, and feel alive.
