Montreal tours and excursions

Walking tours

Héritage Montréal offers a number of 'Architectours' of the city's historical architecture and neighbourhoods. Guidatour offers daily tours of Old Montreal, departing from the Basilique Notre-Dame.

Tel: +1 514 286 2662; +1 514 844 4021.
Website: http://www.heritagemontreal.qc.ca

Bicycle tours

Guidatour offers guided cycling tours. It covers 15km (9.5 miles) in three hours and takes in the Old Port, the Latin Quarter, La Fontaine Park, The Plateau, Mount-Royal Park, the Underground City and Old Montreal. Other cycling tours are available on request. The free-spirited can find maps of the city's network to plan a personalised journey at Voyagezfute.

Tel: +1 514 844 4021.
Website: http://www.voyagezfute.ca

Lachine Canal

Leading west from the Old Port is the historic Lachine Canal. Dating from 1825, it originally allowed boats to bypass the Lachine Rapids and was only re-opened for pleasure craft in 2002. Today, there are now 14km (9 miles) of bicycle paths along the canal and a couple of interesting historic sites. For fresh air, you can walk alongside the canal or for a rush of adrenaline sign up for a jet-boat or rafting trip.

Tel: +1 514 284 9607; +1 514 767 2230.
Website: http://www.raftingmontreal.com/fr

Laurentian Mountains

This region, to the north of Montreal along Highway 15, is one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world and now a major North American skiing centre and popular spot for hiking and cycling. Nonetheless, there is still a huge amount of untouched wilderness to be explored - particularly in the Parc du Mont-Tremblant, about 130km (81 miles) from Montreal.

At 935m (3,068ft), Mont-Tremblant is the highest mountain in the region and a major ski and outdoors centre. Trendy Mont St-Sauveur offers terrific night skiing and is popular for its proximity to Montreal - about 60km (37 miles).

Tel: +1 450 224 7007; +1 800 561 6673.
Website: http://www.laurentians.com