Notre-Dame Basilica Montreal and the Old Port Ferris wheel: a half day in Old Montreal

Notre-Dame Basilica and the Old Port Ferris wheel are the two places most people name first in Old Montreal. We rode the wheel in early June, when a friend who lives in Quebec City came to visit. In mid-July, the five of us, my parents included, toured the basilica.

Going on separate days, we found they’re only about a 15-minute walk apart, so a first-time visitor can see both in half a day. This post covers both of our days, plus the order we’d follow to put them together.

On October 25, 2026, the basilica unveiled its facade after 10 years behind construction screens. When we went in summer, the screens were still up. I’ve included what we saw then and the news since.

On the way: Crew Collective & Café

We reached Rue Saint-Jacques in Old Montreal around 2:35 p.m. on a Saturday in mid-July. Instead of heading straight to the basilica, we stopped first at Crew Collective & Café, a few blocks away. It’s in the Royal Bank’s former head office, which opened in 1928. The bank moved out, and since 2016 the old banking hall has been a café and coworking space.

Push through the wooden revolving door and the ceiling opens up high above a marble staircase. The tall arched windows, gilded patterned ceiling and brass fittings are just as they were when this was a bank. It’s worth stepping in to look around even if you don’t want coffee.

The café takes up the big central hall. The desks where people open laptops and work are in a members' area behind glass walls. Plenty of tourists stop in, so the line to order can get long on weekend afternoons. Notre-Dame Basilica is less than a five-minute walk away.

Visiting Notre-Dame Basilica by day

Notre-Dame Basilica (Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal) stands in the middle of Old Montreal, on the south side of Place d’Armes. The cornerstone was laid in 1824 and the church was finished in 1829. It was the first Neo-Gothic church built in Canada.

When we got to the front steps around 2:50 p.m., the left tower was wrapped in black screens and a construction wall stood in front of the entrance. From outside, the gray stone looks fairly plain. Open the door and the mood changes completely. The deep blue ceiling is dotted with gold stars, and below it the altar, layer on layer of wood carving and gilding, fills the far end.

Look up and the ceiling takes over again. Between arches that spread like ribs, panels of mixed green and blue run the length of the nave, with round rosette windows set in here and there. On the upper level at the back stands the Casavant organ, built by the Quebec organ maker and fitted with about 7,000 pipes, lit in blue.

The Casavant organ at the back and the star-studded ceiling

The stained glass along both side walls doesn’t tell Bible stories. It shows Montreal’s early history: people crossing snowfields, a settlement being founded, scenes from the city’s beginnings, one per window. Numbered panels below the windows explain each scene, so you can follow along without a guide.

Stained glass telling Montreal’s early history

Around the side of the nave there’s a second, smaller altar. We went in around 2:55 p.m. and came out around 3:40 p.m. A slow lap plus a rest in the pews took us a little under 50 minutes, so 30 minutes to an hour is plenty. It was a Saturday afternoon and there were a fair number of visitors, but the nave is big enough that it never felt crowded.

Step outside and turn toward the front, and you’re on Place d’Armes. In the middle stands a statue of Maisonneuve, the founder of Montreal, and across the square is the columned Bank of Montreal building. When we were there, a street performance was going on in the center of the square.

If you’d like the stories behind the square and the streets around it too, pick an Old Montreal guided walking tour that goes inside the basilica.

The new facade, unveiled after 10 years

The basilica’s facade had been behind construction screens since 2016. It was unveiled again on October 25, 2026, with concerts on the square and inside the basilica that day. The unveiling came after 10 years under the screens. The restoration of the front used about 10,000 stones. The original stone came from a quarry in Montreal’s Mile End area, and the replacement stone came from elsewhere in Quebec. The new stones are lighter in color than the old ones.

1. 1829Basilica completed
2. 2016Facade work begins
3. Oct. 25, 2026New facade unveiled
4. 2029200th anniversary of completion

Overall restorationAbout 20%

The work isn’t finished. The basilica says that, with the facade done, about 20% of the overall project is complete. Restoration of the remaining exterior walls and the interior will go on for several more years, and visits and Mass continue in the meantime. Compare it with the July photo above and the change is easy to see. Restoration updates are posted on the basilica’s official website.

Notre-Dame Basilica tickets and booking

To see the inside, you need a daytime visit ticket. Attending Mass doesn’t require one. Prices are in Canadian dollars, before tax.

Prices from the official website as of November 2026. AURA prices vary by date and time slot.

If you have kids with you, the family pass costs less than buying separate tickets.

2 adults + 1 child

SeparateC$42

Family passC$33

2 adults + 2 children

SeparateC$52

Family passC$40

Do you need to book ahead?

Daytime tickets are sold online through the Notre-Dame Basilica official website, or at the basilica’s ticket office. The ticket office is open only during visiting hours, and after 4 p.m. you can buy only online or by phone. On summer weekends, buying ahead lets you skip the ticket line. Tickets can’t be refunded or exchanged, so buy once your date is set. If you’d like commentary as you go through the basilica, you can also book an Old Montreal guided walking tour that includes it.

Visiting hours and Mass times

Notre-Dame is still a working church. All Masses are in French, and weekday Mass is held in the Chapelle du Sacré-Cœur at the back of the basilica.

On Sundays, morning Mass pushes the start of daytime visits to 12:30 p.m. If you’re going as a sightseer on a Sunday, plan for the afternoon. If you’re attending Mass, the doors open 30 minutes before it starts.

AURA, the evening light show

In the evening, the basilica becomes the stage for AURA, a light and music show. Light is projected onto the ceiling and altar and set to orchestral music, turning the church into something like a concert hall. The show runs about 45 minutes, and as the table above shows, it costs more than twice the daytime visit.

We’d seen a similar light show before, so we skipped it this time. After walking through the basilica, though, we got more curious about AURA, and we plan to go back for it. By day you see the real colors and the light coming through the stained glass; AURA shows the same space in a completely different mood, so the two are quite different experiences. If you can only go once, go by day. If you’re in Montreal for a few days, both are worth considering. Show times and prices are on the official AURA page.

Riding La Grande Roue de Montréal

On a Saturday in early June, around 5:15 p.m., we arrived on the Old Port side and walked down Rue Saint-Paul between the stone buildings. When we reached the riverside, the Ferris wheel came into view across the water. Rain clouds hung low in the sky, and the wheel’s reflection in the water looked sharper for it.

The wheel stands on Île Bonsecours at the far end of the Old Port, and you reach it over a wooden bridge. We had booked our tickets online a few days earlier. We boarded around 5:55 p.m. and got off around 6:20.

Each gondola holds only your own group. Four of us, our friend and the three of us, shared one. Benches run along both sides, so we could move around and look out in every direction. A small screen above the door lets you adjust the temperature and the music volume inside.

A gondola to ourselves, and the temperature control screen

A little way up, we could look straight down at a blue-and-white striped tent on the pier below. It was the Cirque du Soleil big top. A few days later, we saw a Cirque du Soleil show inside that same tent.

Near the top, the downtown towers come into view all at once. In front of them stretches the long Bonsecours Market with its green dome, and behind the towers Mount Royal shows faintly.

On the other side is the St. Lawrence River. Across it, the round dome of the Biosphere rises above the trees of Île Sainte-Hélène, and downstream you see the marina and the Clock Tower, with the Jacques Cartier Bridge beyond.

The St. Lawrence, with the marina and Jacques Cartier Bridge downstream

Back on the ground, we walked up into Old Montreal again. Around 6:35 p.m., as we passed City Hall (Hôtel de Ville), evening sunlight started breaking through the clouds.

Ferris wheel prices and hours

The gondolas are glass and climate-controlled, so a ride works in midsummer or midwinter. You can buy tickets on site. According to the official site, tickets aren’t tied to a date or time and are valid for one year, so you can ride whenever the wheel is running. Conditions can differ from seller to seller.

Prices from ticket sellers as of November 2026. They can vary by date and product.

By day you can see far out over the river and the islands. After dark you get the downtown lights and the illuminated Jacques Cartier Bridge. To see both, ride around sunset. The wheel can pause in bad weather such as strong wind, so check the official Ferris wheel site before you go.

Prices are from the product pages on November 4, 2026, shown in US dollars; GetYourGuide shows your own currency at checkout. If you’re walking around Old Montreal anyway, A is enough. If you have an evening free, B adds the city lights.

A half-day route linking the two

The basilica stops admitting visitors at 4 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays, while the Ferris wheel turns until late evening. So the natural order is the basilica first, then down toward the river, with the wheel last. Here is the route from our two separate outings, joined into one afternoon.

1. 1:30 p.m.Crew Collective & CaféCaféAbout 20 minutes
2. 5-minute walk
3. 2 p.m.Notre-Dame Basilica, daytime visitPaidAbout 50 minutes
4. Right outside
5. 3 p.m.Place d’Armes to Rue Saint-PaulA slow stroll past the old stone buildings
6. About a 15-minute walk
7. 4 p.m.Old Port waterfrontA walk along the river, about 30 minutes
8. Across the wooden bridge
9. 4:30 p.m.La Grande Roue de MontréalPaidAbout 30 minutes, including the wait
10. About a 10-minute walk
11. 5 p.m.Walk up toward City Hall for dinnerFree time

On a Sunday, the basilica opens to visitors at 12:30 p.m., so keep the same order and shift everything a little later. From November through March, when the sun sets early, a ride around 4 p.m. gets you the sunset sky and the city lights coming on.

Good to know

Admission and booking at a glance

FAQ

Can I visit Notre-Dame Basilica without a reservation?

Yes. During visiting hours you can buy a daytime ticket at the basilica’s ticket desk. Lines form on summer weekends, so buying ahead is easier. AURA has set seating for each show, so booking in advance is the safer bet.

How much does Notre-Dame Basilica cost?

A daytime visit is C$16 for adults and C$10 for children 6 to 16, and free for kids 5 and under, before tax. For two adults and one child, the C$33 family pass costs less than separate tickets.

Can I sightsee during Mass?

Weekday Masses are held in the chapel at the back of the basilica; Saturday evening and Sunday Masses are in the main church. On Sundays, visiting starts at 12:30 p.m. because of the morning Masses.

Is the Ferris wheel better by day or at night?

Go by day for the long views over the river and islands, and at night for the city lights. Ride around sunset and you get both, plus an easy end to a half day in Old Montreal. Buying a Ferris wheel ticket ahead makes it easier to time.

In short

The basilica is plain gray stone outside and blue and gold inside, which makes it a shame to see only from the street. We’ve ridden Ferris wheels in other places, but here the gondola is heated and air-conditioned and you can connect your own music, so it was a relaxing way to take in the view. It also struck me as a good ride for a rainy or cold day. If you’re in Montreal, the view is worth seeing once. Walk down Rue Saint-Paul from the basilica, ride the wheel around sunset, and a half day in Old Montreal comes together on its own.

Location and getting there

All three are close to the orange line of the Montreal metro (STM). If you drive, use the paid parking at the Clock Tower Quay (Quai de l’Horloge) next to the Ferris wheel or near the Science Centre entrance.

Routes are simplified and don’t follow the actual streets.

If you want to see the square in front of the basilica in the morning before the crowds, staying within walking distance helps. In Old Montreal, Le Petit Hôtel Vieux-Montréal Notre-Dame is on Rue Notre-Dame, the same street as the basilica.

Before you go

Montreal’s airport (YUL) is about 30 minutes from Old Montreal by car, so this half-day route can work on the afternoon you arrive.

Sources

• Notre-Dame Basilica (official): hours, prices, Mass
• Notre-Dame Basilica (official): AURA
• La Grande Roue de Montréal (official): hours and tickets
• Tourisme Montréal: the Montreal Ferris wheel
• Crew Collective & Café (official)