The city’s most enduring symbol and the jewel of Montreal’s city parks is Mount Royal. This large greenspace occupies part of the mountain that lies in the midst of Montreal island immediately north of downtown, and includes the highest spot in the city. In fact, city ordinances don’t allow any building to be higher than Mount Royal. The park, most of which is wooded, contains:

• 2 belvederes, the more prominent of which is the Kondiaronk Belvedere, a semicircular plaza with a chalet, overlooking downtown Montreal
• Beaver Lake, a small man-made lake
• A short ski slope
• Sculpture garden
• The Smith House interpretive centre
• And a well-known monument to Sir George-Étienne Cartier (currently being restored).

The park hosts athletic, tourist, and cultural activities.  Mount Royal is where Montrealers go to get a breath of air on a hot day, to cross-country ski without leaving the city, to walk off a a bad mood, to picnic, to jog, to ice skate, or just to rest. To get to Mount Royal park you only need to start up any hill from downtown and you’ll eventually find yourself there. Or go to Mont-Royal metro station and take the 11 bus.  Mount Royal shares the top of the mountain with 3 cemeteries.

If you’re visiting Montreal on a Sunday, you won’t want to miss the free-spirited experience of attending a Tam-Tam Gathering at Mount Royal park. Every Sunday in the summer time, hundreds – or thousands, if the weather is nice – people gather to play tam-tams, a type of hand drum, and dance.

Spectators relax in the sun, play a game of hackey sack or toss frisbees back and forth. You’ll find all of this activity happening around the Sir George-Etienne Cartier monument, on the east slope of the mountain. The origins of this spontaneous gathering are unknown, and it is not organized by the municipal authorities.