Title: My Experience with Montreal’s City Pass, Passeport MTL
Hey there, pals! So, this year marked yet another wonderful girls trip with my two besties from high school. Last time, we had an incredible journey to Iceland, and this time we’d planned to head across the pond to London. Sadly, ticket prices for our one free weekend were sky-high. Thus, we decided to switch gears and commute up north to Montreal – an affordable weekend getaway from the East Coast of the US.
As the planner in the group, I started researching if Montreal had a city pass like other metropolises we’ve visited. City passes offer a kind of bulk deal on attractions, either letting you choose certain ones for a set price or giving you access to as many as you want within a fixed timeframe. I usually go for the second option. That way, if we end up at a place we aren’t super keen on, we can bail without feeling like we’ve wasted money.
The city pass I found for Montreal is called Passeport MTL. We grabbed the 3-day pass for $113 CAD which included rides on public transit. The range of activities we were gunning for totaled more than $280 CAD. In reality, we visited places that cost around $220 CAD, so our city pass ended up saving us over $100 CAD!
One highlight from our trip would have to be riding a quadricycle (the priciest activity on our list), not something we’d have done without the pass but it was definitely a memorable experience. Fair warning, places like the SOS Labyrinthe and the Stewart Museum weren’t our forte, so if you don’t have a kiddo in tow, feel free to give these a miss even if they’re covered on the pass.
The Old Port area, while teeming with tourists and a bit pricey, offers a plethora of activities. For us, an afternoon was sufficient there, but it can be a really fun spot for younger explorers. A major winner among us was the kayaking venture – quite fun even though we weren’t guided as expected.
One drawback we faced with the pass was that metro stations weren’t always conveniently close to the attractions. We often ended up walking or even renting city bikes to get to and from places.
Besides using the Passeport MTL, we splurged a bit on some other must-dos like the Notre-Dame Basilica, the Montreal Observation Wheel, and a daredevil Montreal Ghost Tour, all of which we’d highly recommend. Plus, the maple candy and beaver tails are not to be missed – they’re total Canadian delights.
In the end, I’d say the Montreal City Pass is a good deal if you spend most of the time exploring the city sights. Or if you’re on an even tighter budget, going with a two-day pass and spending another day hiking up Mount Royal might be a solid plan.
That’s who I am, just a girl helping out scratch the wanderlust itch. So, pack light and travel far, friends! Don’t forget to share your views!