Things to do in Montréal: November 11 to 17

This week in Montréal, eat well at MTLàTABLE restaurant week, take an art walk downtown or a hike up the Mountain, meet hockey stars, dive deep into digital art, and see films, dance, theatre and live music from here and around the world.

Get a taste of the real Montréal during the decadent MTLàTABLE event, featuring 150 diverse restaurants offering multi-course prix-fixe menus at incredible prices, from $21 to $41, until Nov. 13. See what it’s all about in our Survival guide to MTLàTABLE and choose from restaurants to dine and party, places to brunch, where to taste dishes of the world, neighbourhood restaurants loved by locals, fabulous hotel restaurants, Languedoc wines and SAQ wine events, food-focused tours, an array of local cheeses and chocolate creations and more. Bon appetit!

#ThatAwesomeMoment when Patrice Brisebois subbed in for a little one-on-one on the @mcdonaldscanada rink. #hometownhockey

Une photo publiée par Rogers Hometown Hockey (@hometownhockey) le 22 Oct. 2016 à 10h47 PDT

Fun and free, the Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour sets up outside Place des Festivals downtown, Nov. 12-13, with autograph sessions with NHL alumni, live music (including Sam Roberts on Sunday), circus shows and more. Walk through the city streets and among the skyscrapers on tours created by Art Public Montréal. See Montréal’s natural side in quaint neighbourhoods and big parks, and step into the past in Old Montréal on multimedia tour Cité Mémoire. Indoors, the Grevin Museum’s Super Mario and Friends exhibition renders the Nintendo characters into lifelike wax. The Space for Life’s Botanical Garden, Insectarium, Biodôme and Planetarium feature tropical adventures and outer-space expeditions. In sports, the Montréal Canadiens take on the Red Wings on Nov. 12 and the Panthers on Nov. 15, while on Nov. 13  eSports pros play live at the Bell Centre. And if you simply need to get away from it all, why not relax at the spa.

For anyone looking for big drama on a big stage, look no further than Opéra de Montréal’s lush production of Mozart’s masterpiece Don Giovanni, at Place des Arts Nov. 12-19. Meanwhile, PPS Danse pays tribute to poet Léo Ferré in interdisciplinary performance Corps Amour Anarchie (Love Body Anarchy), at Place des Arts Nov. 11-12. Street dance meets contemporary dance in Tentacle Tribe’s Fractals of You, presented by Danse Danse at Place des Arts, Nov. 15-19. And darkly funny Logique du pire explores the notion of “the worst” through theatre and choreography at La Chapelle Nov. 15-19. In theatre: love and equality reigns in the true story of Prom Queen: The Musical at the Segal Centre; Teesri Duniya Theatre’s dark comedy The Refugee Hotel plays at the Segal too; and eco-odyssey The Watershed unfolds at Centaur Theatre, also where New Zealand circus theatre company The Dust Palace performs wild tale The Goblin Market, Nov. 15-17. And coming soon: the fantastical delights of Cirque du Soleil’s OVO at the Bell Centre Nov. 29 to Dec. 4 – tickets, including family packs, are on sale now.

International documentary festival RIDM brings over 100 new thought-provoking films to Montréal screens, along with talks, performances and parties, to Nov. 20. See new French-language films from around the world at Cinemania, all with English subtitles, to Nov. 13. Art astounds at the city’s museums and galleries, with this season’s main event, the BNLMTL 2016, Le Grand Balcon biennale at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Galerie de l’UQAM, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and more venues. Björk’s Virtual Reality visions come (almost) to life at DHC/ART’s exhibition Björk Digital – plus there’s more VR artistry at MUTEK_IMG, Nov. 9-13 at the Rialto in Mile End. Or immerse yourself in colourful multimedia project tim in the SAT’s 360-degree dome. On the old-school, printed-material front: find underground art at Expozine, Nov. 12-13 at Église St-Denis. Also not to be missed: the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts’ exhibition Focus: Perfection – Robert Mapplethorpe  and the McCord Museum’s Notman, A Visionary Photographer.

The Festival du Monde Arabe de Montréal shines the spotlight on music, dance and culture from the Arab world, from the music of Lotfi Bouchnak to the political humour of Bassem Youssef – see the festival schedule for details. The Coup de coeur Francophone music fest is a great way to discover Francophone Canadian artists, such as Yann Perreau, Ingrid St-Pierre, Philippe Brach and others. Later in the week, M for Montréal boasts indie-rock, pop, electro, hip hop and experimental music – from a DJ set by Hot Chip to Montréal rockers The Damn Truth – at the city’s coolest venues, Nov. 16-19. And world music surprises and delights during Mundial Montréal Nov. 15-18 – check out free afternoon showcases and evening shows featuring Betty Bonifassi, The Jerry Cans, Coreyah, Afrotonix, Villalobos Brothers and more artists.

On Friday night, Belgian singer-songwriter Milow makes November feel like summer again at Théâtre Corona, Dragonette bring their pop electro to Théâtre Fairmount, California alt-rockers Night Riots come to La Sala Rossa, Israeli dubstep producer Borgore is at New City Gas, and Ghost and Marissa Nadler get beautifully heavy at Metropolis. On Saturday, experience the incredible solo stylings of Lisa Fischer, long-time backup singer with the Rolling Stones and featured in documentary 20 Feet from Stardom, at Place des Arts, while dreamy electro-pop experimenters Wild Nothing play with Small Black nearby at the SAT,  Irish singer and songwriter James Vincent McMorrow plays Théâtre Corona , Honus Honus (of MAN MAN) is at Bar le Ritz P.D.B. and rapper Fat Joe owns the stage at New City Gas – or go dancing with Seven Lions and Pegboard Nerds at Théâtre Berri or soulful house producer Fritz Kalkbrenner at Théâtre Fairmount.

On Nov. 13, the Montréal Symphony Orchestra presents a musical version of Alice in Wonderland on stage at Place des Arts’ Maison symphonique. Beloved Brazilian musician Seu Jorge plays The Life Aquatic A Tribute to David Bowie on Monday, Nov. 14 at Place des Arts, and electronic producer Porter Robinson and opener Madeon play Metropolis. Pianist Denis Matsuev performs Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto no. 2 and more with the Montréal Symphony Orchestra, Nov. 15, 17 and 18 at Place des Arts. Eric Wilson of Sublime and Rome Ramirez perform as Sublime With Rome with hardcore ska-reggae openers The Skints on Nov. 16 at Metropolis, while Chicago duo Louis The Child and Quinn XCII play Théâtre Fairmount, and Québécois violinist Alexandre Da Costa launches his album with a free show at Phi Centre. And on Thursday, see The Beatles Story Band performs Orchestra! with 16 musicians playing hit after hit at Place des Arts and musician and electronic music producer Lane 8 with Iron Galaxy at Théâtre Fairmount.

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