Like the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the Empire State Building in NYC, Mount Royal (Mont Royal - pronounced mawn-row-yal in French) acts as a natural landmark and way to orient yourself in Montreal. It also rewards those who make their way to the summit with a wonderful view of the city. The Mont Royal summit has a lookout and park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, famous for his work on Central Park in NYC.
Getting to Mount Royal Lookout
Photograph of Mont Royal at Sunrise by Yves Marcoux / Getty Images.
Walk, bike, take a bus or drive to the Mount Royal lookout. See a Mount Royal map.
- Walk to Mount Royal Summit
Photo of Olmsted Road courtesy Mount Royal website
Several walking paths and Olmsted Road lead to parc du Mont-Royal (Mount Royal Park) at the summit of Mont Royal. Walking to the summit of Mont Royal is a gentle grade 6 - 7 km, approximately 45 min walk. Mount Royal is clearly visible from anywhere in downtown Montreal, so if you head up almost any hill and you’ll eventually run into one of these paths. Head up Peel Street and choose from a meandering path known as the “serpentine” road or a more direct route. Meet up with Olmsted Road via Park Ave. (Avenue du Parc) at the corner of Rachel From Côte-des-Neiges Road, via the Trafalgar staircase or Remembrance Road.
- Bike to Mount Royal Summit
Photo courtesy Mount Royal website
Olmsted Road is a wide bicycle path that starts at the George-Étienne-Cartier monument on Park Avenue. Rachel St. links it to Montreal’s network of bicycle paths.
- Bus to Mount Royal Summit
No. 11 bus (STM bus shedule) runs to the summit of the park from Metro Mont-Royal and Côte-des-Neiges Road.- Drive to Mount Royal Summit
Take Camillien-Houde Drive or Remembrance Road. Pay parking is located by Beaver Lake, the Smith House and the Camillien-Houde look-out (reasonably priced - under $8 for the whole day). Parking is available on some of the streets around the park.Mount Royal Highlights
Photo of Smith House courtesy Mount Royal website
- The Smith House is a heritage building that offers education and reception services to visitors. This entry point to Mount Royal Park also has the Café Smith restaurant-terrace.
- Beaver Lake (Lac aux Castors) has a man-made lake where you can also find a playground and pavilion with a restaurant-bistro, restrooms, telephones, and rental counter for outdoor equipment (seasonal).
- Lookouts - Camillien-Houde Drive, Kondiaronk (Chalet) and the Crags Trail.
- Bird feeder Circuit - Birdwatchers are a major visitor component at Mount Royal. The circuit runs along Olmsted Road from November to April.
- Mount Royal Park offers plenty of places to picnic, including around Beaver Lake and the chalet.
