Exploring Montreal’s Mount-Royal

By alantvuong on August 30, 2020

As part of my trip to Montreal last summer to attend îleSoniq Music Festival with a buddy, we decided we wanted to visit Mount Royal Lookout which is at the top of Mount Royal. This very large hill is located right in the middle of Montreal for which the city is named after. There is also a large man-made lake called Beaver Lake here and the famous Mount-Royal Park. It was quite huge and here is how we spent our day here and why it should be added to one the attractions that you should visit when in Montreal.

Getting There

From our Travelodge Hotel, it was about a 50 minute walk/stroll to get to Mount Royal Park. That does seem like it would be a pain to get to without using a taxi or transit, but we actually went to it twice in 2 different days. We would just leisurely sight-see and take pics as we made our journey to the park and time just passes by quick.

causally making our way to Mount Royal

Tam-Tam Jams

Every Sunday during the summer locals gather at Mount Royal Park for what is known locally as the Tam-Tam Jams. We had a late start but decided to check it out the Sunday before we explored around downtown Montreal. At the Tam-Tam Jams, we saw large crowds of people sitting around watching different people with hand drums and other musical instruments. People were singing and dancing and the crowds really seem to enjoy what was going on.

watching the Tam-Tam Jams

Surrounding the Tam-Tams are lots of local people selling their arts, crafts, jewelry and more. It got really busy and crowded, but the whole experience was really neat and should be experienced. Best off, it’s free to attend and watch this weekly local tradition.

crafts and jewelry for sale at the Tam-Tams

Mount Royal Park

lots of stairs to get to George-Etienne Cartier Monument

Located at the entrance to Mount Royal Park, is the George-Etienne Cartier Monument. The monument also features a winged Goddess of Liberty above a George-Etienne Cartier figure standing above 4 other figures. At the front of the monument are 2 lion statues guarding the area and a few stairs. The monument is wheelchair accessible from the back if you were to get on the grass which wasn’t an issue for me. This is where we had to start on our journey up to Beaver Lake and the lookout.

more accessible from the back

Beaver Lake

Beaver Lake is a man made lake constructed in 1938 and got its name from a beaver dam that was discovered there during construction. It is nearly at the top of Mount Royal Park. The pathway leading up to Beaver Lake was quite wheelchair accessible and the slope is a gradual incline. I had my buddy push me up it, which was mostly easy for him to do. A powerchair would not have any issues on the pathway though.

smooth pathway to get to the top

Once we got to Beaver Lake, it was definitely worth the beautiful view. The water looked so pristine and blue even though people were not allowed to swim in the lake. We saw people in boats and other water activities going on. It was a great spot for us to relax, take a break and enjoy the scenery before continuing up to the lookout.

made it to Beaver Lake

Mount Royal Lookout

stairs for a shortcut to the top

There is an option to walk up a bunch of stairs to get to Mount Royal Lookout a lot quicker, but for obvious reasons, we took the longer pathway up. After a short break at Beaver Lake it was probably about another 10 minutes or so to get to the lookout. In total from the bottom of the park to the very top at the lookout, it took us almost an hour to get to our final destination.

accessible raised viewing platform

The view at the lookout was definitely worth the hike up. We saw such a spectacular panoramic view of the city and downtown. They do have little telescope machines that take money to see the views better but I couldn’t get the proper angle to use them. I didn’t even need to use them as I am already enjoying my view from the lookout. They did have a raised deck with a wheelchair slightly behind the viewing area if it was too crowded and I couldn’t see behind people but when we went it wasn’t too busy.

beautiful views from the lookout

We also noticed that there were tour bus drop off spots at the lookout but we were happy that we went on our own for free. After spending about 30 minutes at the lookout, we decided to take the road back to the bottom of the park. This way did seem a lot faster but we had to use the side of the road. There weren’t too many cars on the road, so we felt totally safe going that way.

taking the road back down

Mount Royal is somewhere you should definitely visit when in the city. It is not only an iconic hill right in the middle of downtown of Montreal, it is a great gathering spot for Tam-Tam Jams, it has the beautiful Beaver Lake and it has the spectacular views of the city at the lookout. Best of all, it is free to visit and wheelchair accessible so everyone can enjoy this whether disabled or not.