Leonard Cohen Mural

Montreal is world famous for its colourful and eclectic urban street art scene, and hosts graffiti festivals every year. The largest city in Quebec has attracted thousands of street artists since the emergence of graffiti, muralism and street art in the 1970s. You'll get to explore this global hub of street art with an expert private guide on a fascinating, dynamic and mesmerizing two-hour walking tour.

On your private tour, you will:

• Explore the heart of Montreal's incredible street art scene with an expert private guide;
• Experience the colourful urban identity and counter-cultural arts vibe of the city; 
• Walk around the open-air museum that is the famous Boulevard St Laurent and surrounding alleys;
• Learn about Montreal's history as a trailblazer in the street art and graffiti scene from its early days in the 1970s to today; 
• Hear about the emergence of muralism and its uses in terms of national identity, political propaganda, and rebellion;
• Hear about the famous street artists that come to Montreal year after year, and have put the city at the heart of the global urban art scene; 
• Explore the famous MURAL Festival zone - where you'll see some of Montreals' most impressive murals; 
• Wander in wonder around the Entertainment District - Quartier des spectacles - admiring the astounding murals by Philip Adams and David Guinn, from the MU organisation. 

Montreal has become world famous for being the North American trailblazer in the urban street art scene. The city hosts two major graffiti festivals each year: UNDER PRESSURE and MURAL.

Under Pressure celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2021 and hosts live talks, skating and painting sessions, and music with a focus on community development and youth engagement. MURAL is a massive international celebration of the arts that attracts millions every year since 2012. You'll find over 80 murals and installations by an amazing array of street artists around the St Laurent strip.

On your two-hour private walking tour, you'll get to explore the famous St-Laurent Boulevard, the core visual identity of the city, that attracts major artists such as Roadsworth, Chris Dyer, Omen, and Bonar as well as collectives like HVW8 and En Masse - and so many more.

You'll learn about the evolution of muralism and its significance in Mexico in the 1920s, and discover how Montreal was the first Canadian city to embrace this form of art back in the 1970s. Street art is at the very heart of the city's cultural identity - and its many artists pay homage to the city's other passions including sport and Leonard Cohen!

You'll get to experience its incredible energy firsthand on this colourful private tour with a local expert guide. 

Explore the colourful, Bohemian and uber-trendy neighbourhood of Montreal's Plateau Mont-Royal and Mile End with an expert private guide on this fascinating 2.5-hour walking tour. Famous for its quirky shops and cafes, street art, and music, a private walking tour of Plateau Mont-Royal is a really wonderful way to see and appreciate the city.

On your private tour, you will:

• Enjoy exploring the friendly, Bohemian, artistic, colourful and extremely trendy neighbourhood of Plateau Mont-Royal with an expert guide; 
• Soak up the vibrant atmosphere and admire the colourful buildings; 
• Learn about the history of the area as you pop into boutique shops and sample delicious bites of food from street vendors like a Fairmount Bagel;
• Wander past bookstores, antique shops, libraries and vintage shops - soaking up the creativity that oozes out of the buildings;
• Walk through the charming and leafy Parc Lahaie with its European fountains;
• Hear about Montreal's cutting-edge place as a world leader in urban street art, murals, and graffiti as you pass Casa del Popolo and maybe catch some live music;
• Stroll down the famous Saint Laurent Boulevard with its eye-popping murals - a living museum of ever-changing art, over 7 miles long; 
• Hear how Montreal emerged in the 1970s as a hive of urban art, and now hosts major festivals like MURAL;
• Explore several hidden and well-known gems, including the amazing Leonard Cohen Mural;
• Walk along the stunning streets of the area where history and modernity co-mingle, including Avenue Laval; 
• Saunter around Saint-Louis Square - known for its literary heritage and amazing brightly painted Victorian rowhouses; 
• Admire yet more street art: L'Euphorie des Sages by Carlito Dalceggio; 
• End along Saint Laurent Boulevard to continue exploring! 

Explore Montreal's coolest neighbourhood, Plateau Mont-Royal and Mile End with an expert private guide. The area is both a living, an ever-changing open-air museum of some world-famous street art, murals, and graffiti as well as home to historic buildings and storied streets. It hums with quirky shops, trendy cafes and pop-ups, chic boutiques, and colourful old buildings dating to the Second Empire in the 19th century.

The Plateau is also a very leafy area with several pretty parks as well as European-style squares like Saint Louis, known as Petit Paris (little Paris) because of the large number of French immigrants who have made their home here.

You'll find many arts institutions situated here, such as the National Theatre School of Canada, the Quebec Conservatory of Music in Montreal, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and many theatres such as le Rideau vert, le Théâtre de Quat'Sous, La Licorne and le Théâtre d'Aujourd'hui, he Plateau is popular with students, artists, and musicians as a major centre for the arts.

Most of all enjoy the creative but laid-back atmosphere and attitude of this fantastic and fabulously pretty area - a must-see tour on your Montreal vacation.