Montreal Biodome, Insectarium and three more: a summer on the Espace pour la vie pass

Five museums, one name: Espace pour la vie

The Montreal Biodome is an indoor ecosystem museum in Olympic Park (Parc olympique), where animals and plants share the same spaces. It is one of five natural science museums run by the City of Montreal. The others are the Planetarium, the Insectarium, the Montreal Botanical Garden and the Biosphère, which sits alone on an island. Together they go by the name Espace pour la vie.

On the third Sunday of June, our first day at the Biodome, we bought a family annual pass. It gets you into all five as many times as you like for a year. Three days later we did the Insectarium and the Biosphère, in July the Planetarium, and at the end of September the Biodome once more. Instead of cramming everything into one day, we spread it over the whole summer.

If you are in Montreal for only a short time, pick one or two rather than trying to see all five, and spend the rest of your time in other parts of the city.

Montreal Biodome (Biodôme)

The Biodome opened in 1992 inside the velodrome built for cycling at the 1976 Olympics. One building holds five ecosystems of the Americas: a tropical rainforest, the Laurentian maple forest, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Labrador Coast and the Sub-Antarctic Islands. The temperature changes each time you move from one to the next.

We went in around 3:10 p.m. on Sunday, June 21, and came out around 4:50 p.m. The first stop was the tropical rainforest. A red macaw sat on a branch, and a school of yellow-striped fish moved through the water below. It was a Sunday afternoon, and busy.

A macaw and fish in the rainforest

The Laurentian maple forest, modeled on Canadian nature, was fun too. It recreates a Quebec forest and stream, and the light and temperature shift with the seasons. This is where we saw otters moving across the rocks.

The Gulf of St. Lawrence section is built around a large saltwater tank. At the glass, sturgeon pass slowly and orange rockfish stay still among the rocks.

Sturgeon and rockfish in the Gulf of St. Lawrence tank

Puffins are a bird I like, so it was good to see them in person. On the Labrador Coast they sit in groups on the rocks, and right next door, in the Sub-Antarctic Islands, penguins climb up and down the rocks.

Puffins on the rocks and a closer look at the beak

The Biodome is on the small side. Compared with the Singapore zoo we used to visit on an annual pass, it is much, much smaller. At first our kid was disappointed that it was smaller than expected. But when we were about to go somewhere else the next time, our kid asked to go to the Biodome again. A loop takes under two hours, and it is worth seeing once if you are in Montreal.

Going back on a weekday afternoon

On Wednesday, September 30, we walked back into the Biodome around 4:45 p.m. Maybe because it was a weekday and close to closing, it was quiet, unlike the busy first day. On the rainforest path, there was nobody but the two of us.

The rainforest path and a fish tank on a weekday afternoon

With the annual pass, we could pick a quiet hour like this and make a short visit. We stopped at the Gulf of St. Lawrence tank again too.

Planetarium (Planétarium)

On Saturday, July 18, we spent the day at Notre-Dame Basilica in Old Montreal, then headed over to Olympic Park and went into the Planetarium around 6:15 p.m. It is right next to the Biodome, the building with two silver cones rising at an angle.

Inside are two dome theaters, the Théâtre du Chaos and the Théâtre de la Voie lactée (Milky Way). We watched one show in each, back to back, as if they were a single program. The shows use the whole 360-degree dome as a screen; ours covered black holes and constellations, with a presenter explaining live. There are separate English and French showings, and the program changes by time slot, so decide on the show and the language first, then book. Between the two, we looked around an exhibit of meteorites. A dome show is a good thing to try once.

When we came out around 7:50 p.m., the ground fountains in the plaza out front were running.

Ground fountains in the plaza outside the Planetarium

Insectarium

June 24 was Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, Quebec’s holiday, and we walked into the Insectarium at 10 a.m. The insect museum shares its grounds with the Montreal Botanical Garden. After a long rebuild, it reopened in a new building in 2022. It was a great place.

At the far end is a glass greenhouse, the Grand Vivarium, where butterflies fly freely among the visitors. Two spotted butterflies clung to one leaf, and a swallowtail with green bands sat on another. The butterflies were brightly colored.

Butterflies in the Grand Vivarium

The highlight for us was the ants. At first we saw a line of green bits moving along a branch and couldn’t tell what it was. Up close, they were Mexican leafcutter ants (Atta mexicana), each carrying a piece of leaf bigger than itself across the branch. We watched them right in front of us, not through glass, which was a surprise. The line of leaf pieces was a sight.

Leafcutter ants hauling leaf pieces across their branch bridge

Before the greenhouse, the indoor exhibits had an orchid mantis that looks like a flower petal and a wall packed with colorful beetle specimens. We finished with the outdoor insect garden and left around 11:45 a.m.

Orchid mantis and the beetle wall

Montreal Botanical Garden (Jardin botanique)

We first stopped at the Montreal Botanical Garden on day one, around 5:40 p.m., after the Biodome. In a little over 30 minutes we walked the aquatic garden, the Chinese Garden and the Japanese Garden, with the Olympic Stadium tower showing above the lawns. Three days later, on our Insectarium day, we took a short walk around the water lily pond at about 12:40 p.m. On that first visit we also walked through the Indigenous Peoples Garden (Jardin des Nations-Autochtones), right beside the Chinese and Japanese gardens in the middle of the grounds. Many maps and guides still use its former name, the First Nations Garden. Opened in 2001, it uses woodland and wetland landscapes to show the cultures and plant knowledge of Indigenous peoples in Québec.

The Chinese Garden in June, and the stadium tower beyond the lawns

Garden ponds on our Insectarium day

The garden was lovely in June, but it’s worth a visit in any season. We came back at dusk on a Saturday in late October and walked for two hours.

From early September to November 1 (as of 2026), the garden runs a nightly light festival, Jardins de lumière. In the Japanese Garden, patterns of light play over the trees by the pond; in the First Nations Garden, small lights hang among the trees like stars; in the Chinese Garden, lanterns float on the same pond we saw by day in June. Unlike daytime visits, a timed reservation is required, and even passport holders need to reserve a ticket to get in.

I wrote up the festival’s hours, prices and route through each garden in a separate post. If you’re in Montreal in the fall, read the two together.

Read nextJardins de lumière at the Montreal Botanical Garden: a dusk walk at the end of fall colorTwo hours of light patterns in the Japanese Garden, starry lights in the First Nations Garden and lanterns in the Chinese Garden, plus hours, prices and bookingRead the post →

Biosphère

The Biosphère is the odd one out. While the other four sit around Olympic Park, it stands on Île Sainte-Hélène in Parc Jean-Drapeau, out in the Saint Lawrence River. It was built in 1967 as the United States pavilion for Expo 67, a round steel-frame dome 76 m (250 ft) across, designed by Buckminster Fuller. Today it’s a museum about the environment. We reached the island around 4:15 p.m. on June 24, the same day as the Insectarium.

The exhibits cover nature and the environment: climate, water, ecosystems. You get a drop-shaped ball at the entrance and feed it into the exhibit stations as you go. One room had a wetland scene running across an entire wall. Much of it is video and sound, and it’s an educational stop.

The wetland video room and a round-screen interactive exhibit

Afterward we walked a little along the island’s waterways and left around 6:05 p.m. On the lawns stand the YY sculptures (Les six paires de YY), the emblem of Parc Jean-Drapeau. They’re plant sculptures shaped like the park’s logo, six pairs spread across the two islands in honor of the 1967 Expo.

Which ticket to buy

Espace pour la vie sells a separate ticket for each museum. All five charge the same, so the math is easy once you decide how many you’ll visit. Prices are in Canadian dollars, tax included.

Official rates as of 2026. Resident rates require ID showing a Greater Montreal address.

Match the ticket to the number of visits

The annual passport costs C$155 for a family (two adults and up to three children) or C$87 for one person. With a one-museum family ticket at C$68, just three visits come to C$204, already more than the passport. A solo adult comes out ahead with the individual passport from the fourth visit (C$102). For families like ours who live in Montreal, or anyone staying a few months, it pays to buy the passport on the first visit.

How many in one day

All five in one day is too much. We never did more than two in a day. The Biodome and the Insectarium each took us an hour and a half to two hours, and the Planetarium about an hour and a half, set by the show times. Spread them over several days and take your time.

The Insectarium is about a 10-minute walk from the Biodome and the Planetarium, so you can string three together in one day. On a short trip, though, that means spending all your time in one corner of the city, and Montreal has plenty more to offer: Old Montreal, Mount Royal Park, the markets. With a child, I’d recommend picking either the Biodome or the Insectarium and spending the rest of the time in another neighborhood. A hotel near a Green Line (Line 1) station gets you to Olympic Park in one ride.

Visiting with your parents

If you’re traveling with your parents, the Montreal Botanical Garden is our top pick. The gardens change with the seasons and are made for slow walks. Planetarium shows run in English or French, so check the language of each showing in advance. The Insectarium is fun for adults on their own, too.

Good to know

Entry and reservations at a glance

When we entered on the annual passport, staff checked ID almost every time, to stop people from lending their pass to someone else. Bring a photo ID.

FAQ

How long does the Montreal Biodome take?

One loop takes an hour and a half to two hours. We stayed about 1 hour 40 minutes on our first visit and about 45 minutes on a quiet weekday late afternoon.

Do you need to book the Biodome?

It isn’t required, but it’s recommended. Daily capacity is limited, so on weekends and school holidays it’s safer to reserve a time. The Planetarium does require booking a show time.

Biodome or Insectarium, if you only have time for one?

Both are good with kids. Of the five Espace pour la vie museums, the Insectarium was the one we enjoyed most. Go to the Biodome for puffins, penguins and otters, and to the Insectarium for free-flying butterflies and leafcutter ants up close.

Which is best for visiting with older parents?

The Montreal Botanical Garden. If you go to the Planetarium, check the show language first, since shows run in English or French.

The short version

Thanks to the annual passport, we visited all five without rushing, spread over many days. If you’re traveling, don’t try to tick off all five. Pick the one or two that appeal to you most.

If you have a couple more days, Quebec City is an easy add-on. The same summer we spent a weekend there, with a full day for the Tadoussac whales and an evening stop at Montmorency Falls.

Read nextQuebec City weekend itinerary: a day for the Tadoussac whales, an evening at Montmorency FallsDrive times, the three-hour big-boat whale cruise, Montmorency Falls and a short walk in Old Quebec, plus where to stayRead the post →

Location and getting there

Pie-IX station is closest to the Botanical Garden’s main entrance and the Olympic Stadium side. The name on the sign is Pie-IX, after Pope Pius IX (Pie IX), and locals say it “pee-nuhf.” For the Biodome, Viau station, one stop east, is closer.

The four museums around Olympic Park are all on the Green Line (Line 1) of the Montreal metro (STM). For the Biosphère, change to the Yellow Line (Line 4) at Berri-UQAM and ride one stop. If you drive, Olympic Park parking was C$6 per 15 minutes, up to C$27 a day, and more on event days.

Parc Maisonneuve, just north of the Botanical Garden, is where the Montreal Marathon 5K finished in October. We wrote about race day in our Montreal Marathon 5K post.

Before you go

Planetarium show times and passport time slots are both booked online. If you plan to book on your phone once you’re in Montreal, sort out mobile data before you leave.

Sources

• Espace pour la vie (official): Passport
• Espace pour la vie (official): One-museum admission fees
• Espace pour la vie (official): FAQ (locations, reservations)
• Espace pour la vie (official): History of the Biosphère
• The Canadian Encyclopedia: The Montreal Biodome