Place des Arts

Montréal

LoginSave

Montréal’s performing-arts center is the nexus for artistic and cultural events. Several renowned musical companies call Place des Arts home, including Opéra de Montréal and the Montréal Symphony Orchestra, based in the acoustically brilliant 2100-seat Maison Symphonique. It’s also center stage for Festival International de Jazz de Montréal. A key part of the Quartier des Spectacles, the complex embraces an outdoor plaza with fountains and an ornamental pool and is attached to the Complexe Desjardins shopping center via an underground tunnel.

The six halls also include the 3000-seat Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, where Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal and the Opéra de Montréal perform. The 1500-seat Théâtre Maisonneuve hosts variety shows, dance performances and circus arts, while the smaller Cinquième Salle hosts cabaret, experimental theater and small concerts.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • October 18, 2017: Visitors seated on the grass around a lake in Mont Royal Park during autumn.

    Parc du Mont-Royal

    1.04 MILES

    The charming, leafy expanse of Parc du Mont-Royal is charged for a wide range of outdoor activities. The wooded slopes and grassy meadows have stunning…

  • Montreal, Quebec, Canada - 18 May 2017: Sherbrooke Street West with the Facade of the Montreal Museum of Fine Art. 688955530 fine, arts, culture, exterior, classical, column, sightseeing, outdoor, view, building, construction, scene, american, famous, place, historical, heritage, architectural, chagall, totem

    Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal

    0.92 MILES

    Montréal’s Museum of Fine Arts is an accessible and beautifully updated oasis of art housed in architecturally striking buildings. A visit here is a must…

  • Notre Dame Basilica (Montreal, Canada).

    Basilique Notre-Dame

    0.6 MILES

    Montréal's famous landmark, Notre Dame Basilica, is a 19th-century Gothic Revival masterpiece with spectacular craftsmanship – a visually pleasing, if…

  • May 28, 2017: St Joseph's Oratory on Mont Royal with a woman praying on steps.

    Oratoire St-Joseph

    2.66 MILES

    The stunning Oratoire St-Joseph church built on the flanks of Mont-Royal commands grand views of the the Côte-des-Neiges area and northwest Montréal. The…

  • 1197761248

    Jardin Botanique

    3.48 MILES

    Montréal’s Jardin Botanique is the third-largest botanical garden in the world, after London’s Kew Gardens and Berlin’s Botanischer Garten.

  • Montreal, Canada. July 31, 2019 . Exterior of the basilica of Notre Dame in Quebec. Sunny day. 1219240147

    Place d'Armes

    0.55 MILES

    This open square is framed by some of the finest buildings in Old Montréal, including its oldest bank, first skyscraper and Basilique Notre-Dame. The…

  • The Old Port of Montreal on a sunny day. 613324236 Skyscraper, Photography, Vieux, City, River, Old Port, Canada, Horizontal, Crowd of People, Summer Solstice, Outdoors, Capital Cities, Monument, Crowded, Summer, Montreal, Street, Cityscape, City Street, People, Quebec, Pedestrian, Downtown District, 100326, 60595

    Old Port

    0.8 MILES

    Montréal's Old Port has morphed into a park and fun zone paralleling the mighty St Lawrence River for 2.5km and punctuated by four grand quais (quays)…

View more attractions

Nearby Montréal attractions

1. Musée d'Art Contemporain

0.08 MILES

This showcase of modern Canadian and international art has eight galleries divided between past greats (since 1939) and exciting current developments. A…

2. Maison du Festival Rio Tinto Alcan

0.14 MILES

A key concert venue during the Jazz Festival, this multistory building hosts concerts year-round in the Salle l'Astral. It also has a small gallery with…

3. Galeries d’Art Contemporain du Belgo

0.21 MILES

More than a decade ago the Belgo building was a run-down haven for struggling artists. It has since earned a reputation as one of Montréal’s most…

4. St James United Church

0.25 MILES

The excellent acoustics at St James United are coveted for organ and choir concerts, as well as performances at the international jazz festival. The…

5. Place Sun-Yat-Sen

0.34 MILES

Dedicated to Sun Yat Sen, the ideological father of modern China, this small square was opened in 1988. The space was later refashioned by eight craftsmen…

6. Chinatown

0.35 MILES

Although this neighborhood, perfectly packed into a few easily navigable streets, has no sites per se, it's a nice area for lunch or for shopping for…

7. St Patrick’s Basilica

0.37 MILES

Built for Montréal’s booming Irish population in 1847, the interior of St Patrick’s Basilica contains huge columns from single pine trunks, an ornate…

8. Cathédrale Christ Church

0.38 MILES

Montréal’s first Anglican bishop had this cathedral built (modeled on a church in Salisbury, England) and it was completed in 1859. The interior is sober…