Holiday Nightlife in Montreal

The magic of the season always shines a little more brightly at night, and Montreal evenings are virtually (and is some cases, almost literally) on fire with family friendly happenings this year. And a couple of choice holiday offerings for grown-ups only, as well…

To wit, Montreal’s Old Port explodes with seasonal spirit with the annual Telus Fire on Ice fireworks presentation, four loudly colourful nights of aerial pyrotechnics (on Saturdays from Dec. 13 to Jan. 3, starting at 8 pm) complete with a musical score comprised of video game soundtracks. This is a free event.

Stay in the Old Port and mosey over to the picturesque Bonsecour Basin where spectacular nighttime views of Old Montreal and the Montreal city skyline are yours to be enjoyed while skating on the Basin’s huge open-air rink renowned for its excellent-quality ice. Daily music themes (classical Mondays, world music Tuesdays, urban sounds Wednesdays, romantic Thursdays, 80s and 90s Fridays, rhythm Saturdays and French music Fridays) provide the soundtrack and warm beverages are available, sometimes for free. The ice is open every day starting at 10 am until 10 pm (9 pm Mon-Wed). Both one-day rates and season passes are available, and if you don’t have skates, no worries, they do.

A few minutes away, in downtown Montreal, the always-active Quartier des Spectacles will send imaginations dancing with Luminotherapy, an immersive, interactive installation comprised of 50 colourful, kaleidoscopic prisms set to an ambient music soundtrack projecting glimmering images onto the facades of eight prominent buildings. The result? Multimedia magic in your hands. From Dec. 10 until Feb. 2.

In Montreal’s Plateau Mont-Royal neighbourhood, the impressive annual Torch-lit Christmas March, which typically attracts upwards of 10,000 people carrying candles, will start off on Mont-Royal Avenue at 7 pm on Dec. 6 and make its way a few blocks south to the idyllic Park Lafontaine  – amidst live music and dressed-up characters – where up-close fireworks and other festivities will spark the holiday spirit.

The street’s namesake, the actual Mount Royal, is one of the city’s primo destinations for winter sports enthusiasts, not just during daylight hours but also when the sun sets behind its tree-covered summit. In addition to skating and cross-country skiing (there are 22 km of groomed trails), snowshoeing is also a popular pastime and snowshoes and poles can be rented onsite. Of particular note is the nighttime “By the Light of the City” guided snowshoe tour, which lasts 90 minutes and covers 3 km. Hot chocolate included!

If the warmth of the indoors is more to your liking, you’re not alone. You’ll have plenty of company, for example, at participating movie theatres around the city which, through the month of December, will be showing classic Christmas movies on Saturday mornings at 11 am for only, get this, as little as $2.50 per ticket – that ain’t no lump of coal. Holiday favourites such as A Christmas Story (Dec. 6), Polar Express (Dec. 13), Fred Claus (Dec. 20), It’s a Wonderful Life (Dec. 20, 22 24) and The Nutracker – The Bolshoi Ballet Live are all on deck. For tickets and other info, please go here.

Once the kids have been told their bedtime stories, and the sugar plum fairies are dancing in their heads, it’s time for some more adult-style storytelling in the form of the Centaur Theatre’s annual presentation of Urban Tales. From Dec. 10-13, seven actors accompanied by a live band will tell original holiday-themed stories (which this year draws inspiration from the seven deadly sins) in a cozy and comfy cabaret ambiance in this classic and classy Old Montreal theatrical institution.

And if rockin’ around the Christmas tree is more your speed, look no further than The Andy Kim Christmas 2014 benefit concert for the Starlight Children’s Foundation at the beautifully restored Virgin Mobile Corona Theatre on Dec. 13. It’s the annual concert’s first time in Montreal, and this year’s edition will feature performances by host Andy Kim (who many will know as the author of Top-40 hits like How’d We Ever Get This Way, Rock Me Gently and especially Sugar, Sugar) as well as cream-of-the-Canadian-pop-and-rock-crop guests Sam Roberts, Ron Sexsmith, Patrick Watson, Amy Millan (from indie band Stars) and more, so give yourself a great time for a great cause.

Photo credits: Susan Moss, TM photo bank, Eva Blue, TM photo bank, Marc Taro Holmes, Susan Moss.

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