Montreal in 3 Days on a Budget (Daily Costs)

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3 days covers Old Montreal, Mont-Royal, and downtown, on real transit money

This route runs the classic Montreal core: Old Montreal and Notre-Dame Basilica, the Mont-Royal lookout and Mile End’s bagel rivalry, then downtown’s museum and markets. Expect $80-115 a person per day shoestring or $155-260 mid-range, tax included (Quebec adds 14.975% at the register: 5% GST plus 9.975% QST). The full free-and-cheap list behind these picks is in the main Montreal guide . Want a fourth day for the Olympic Park and Space for Life, or a fifth to slow down and add neighborhoods? See the 4-day and 5-day itineraries.

Book these before you go

  • A timed slot for Notre-Dame’s evening AURA light show if you want it (about $33.50); it does sell out
  • A room ahead of the F1 Canadian Grand Prix (May 22-24, 2026) or Jazz Fest (Jun 25-Jul 4), both of which spike hotel rates hard
  • Nothing else on this route needs advance booking, it’s mostly free or walk-up

Day 1: Old Montreal and Notre-Dame

Old Montreal’s cobblestone streets, Place Jacques-Cartier, and Bonsecours Market’s silver dome (1847) cost nothing to walk. Notre-Dame Basilica’s deep-blue-and-gold interior, depicting Montreal’s founding rather than biblical scenes, runs about $16 for a day visit; the evening AURA sound-and-light show is a separate ticket, about $33.50. Afternoon, walk the Old Port waterfront, free, with winter skating or summer waterfront activities depending on the season. Place Jacques-Cartier is the city’s most pickpocket-reported spot in crowds, not a dangerous one, so keep bags zipped and watch for the usual distraction tricks. Dinner: budget a metro ride ($3.75) back toward your hotel and eat wherever’s cheapest nearby, this is the one day with no named restaurant to chase.

Day 1 real costs: Notre-Dame day visit ~$16, 2 STM rides ~$7.50, AURA (optional) ~$33.50. Tax adds 14.975% to anything taxable.

Day 2: Mont-Royal and Mile End’s bagel rivalry

Morning, hike or walk up Mont-Royal, Frederick Law Olmsted’s park (he also designed Central Park), to the Kondiaronk Belvedere for a free skyline panorama. St. Joseph’s Oratory, Canada’s largest church, is free to visit its shrine (by donation); only the small museum inside charges roughly $4-5. Afternoon, walk the Plateau and Mile End, free, row houses with spiral staircases and murals. Pick a side in the decades-old bagel rivalry: Fairmount Bagel (1919) or St-Viateur Bagel (1957), a block apart, both wood-fired and boiled in honey water. Dinner at Schwartz’s Deli on Boulevard Saint-Laurent, smoking meat since 1928, a sandwich runs about $9.75.

Day 2 real costs: Oratory museum (optional) ~$4-5, bagels a few dollars each, Schwartz’s sandwich ~$9.75, transit as needed.

Day 3: Downtown, the RÉSO, and Jean-Talon Market

Morning, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA), about $31, free for anyone 25 and under. Duck into the RÉSO underground city, free, about 32-33km of tunnels linking the metro, malls, and hotels. Afternoon, browse Sainte-Catherine Street or head to Jean-Talon Market in Little Italy, one of North America’s largest open-air markets, free to walk even if you buy nothing.

Day 3 real costs: MMFA ~$31 (or $0 if 25 and under), transit ~$3.75-7.50, market snacks a few dollars.

Cluster Days 1 and 2 by neighborhood and you’ll walk most of it, saving on metro fares. Book the AURA show now if you want an evening at Notre-Dame, it’s the one thing on this itinerary that sells out.