RESO Underground City + Downtown Montreal Tour

Get around like a local, delving into the culture, architecture, and history of Montreal from beneath the city on this informative walking tour of the RESO underground city in Montreal! Thanks to Montreal’s chilly winters, inhabitants have long found creative ways of getting around the cold—and that includes the RÉSO, the world’s most extensive underground pedestrian network, that stretches over 20 miles (32 kilometres). Join our underground city tour and experience the best way to navigate the RÉSO – with a passionate local, guiding you through the extensive system of subterranean walkways and tunnels, and sharing the fascinating history and hidden gems along the way! This tour is part inside and part outside. We walk through some interesting areas in the heart of Downtown Montreal! During your unique experience, your engaging guide will share intriguing stories about Montreal’s history, people and culture.

Our Montreal underground tour begins in the lobby of Hotel Fairmount The Queen Elizabeth, where you’ll meet your MTL Detours guide. They’ll give you an overview of how the RÉSO – the world’s largest pedestrian underground network – came to be, and then it’s time to hit the tunnels!

You’ll follow your friendly guide as they lead you through the maze of underground passageways that span many parts of the city and buildings of importance. You’ll make a stop to visit Place Ville-Marie, an impressive office and commercial complex and Montreal’s first skyscraper. As you walk, you’ll discover the abundance of shops and services that can be found in the underground city – everything from restaurants and liquor stores to public services like metro stations, banks, and post offices. We’ll peek outside to admire the impressive “The Ring” art installation.

Next up, a visit to Gare Centrale, Montreal’s central train station, which was built in the 1940s. Learn about the transportation hub’s history and the important role it had in the development of the city. Adjacent to Gare Centrale, we might head to the nearby 1000 de La Gauchetière, Montreal’s second-tallest building, to admire its popular indoor skating rink, self-proclaimed the “liveliest skating rink” in the city.

Your local Montreal guide will lead the way past Place Bonaventure to tell you a bit about the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and see its headquarters, before heading to Square Victoria. Visit a piece of history and snap a photo with an authentic Paris metro sign! Brought over when Montreal’s metro first opened in the 1960s, the sign is a tribute to the Canadian city’s French heritage. Then it’s time to hit some more cool tunnels!

If you didn’t get enough of Montreal history, architecture, and art in the first half of our walk, don’t worry, the later leg of our tour has plenty more of all three! We’ll visit the World Trade Centre Montreal and see a piece of the Berlin Wall that was gifted to the city in the 1990s. You’ll stop by Montreal landmarks, including the Convention Center and Complexe Desjardins, get a taste of Montreal’s multicultural side with a brief glimpse of Chinatown, and visit Canada’s largest performing arts centre, Place des Arts.

Finally, we’ll head to Montreal’s entertainment district – Quartier des Spectacles – and see where the world-renowned Montreal Jazz Festival and other major events take place each year. This is where your tour will finish, but not before your MTL Detours guide gives some personalized recommendations for things to do in Montreal, places to see, and the best food to try to make the most of your visit!