Tours

Eat your way through Montreal’s Jewish culinary history, both past and present.

Renowned worldwide for its unique take on Jewish cuisine, Montreal is the birthplace of countless Jewish foods, both iconic and overlooked. Experience the rich and delicious Jewish food culture of Montreal’s Mile End and Plateau neighbourhoods by visiting decades-old food institutions alongside new businesses that are revitalizing the city’s food scene. We’ll also travel to backyards and alleyways to uncover this city’s hidden Jewish food history and taste nearly forgotten delicacies. And of course you’ll get to feast on the classics like smoked meat and bagels, so make sure to bring a healthy appetite!

• The seven food tastings include some of Montreal’s iconic dishes: a Schwartz’s smoked meat sandwich, Saint-Viateur and Fairmount bagels, and the Wilensky Special.
• This tour is not certified kosher, and cannot provide vegan, gluten, or allergen-free alternatives. Vegetarian alternatives are available on the tour.
• Moderate walking (tour is approx. 3.5 km and lasts 3 to 4 hours)

Click Here to book your Beyond the Bagel tour tickets

Discover the schools, synagogues, hospitals, and cultural organizations around St-Laurent Boulevard that continue to leave their mark on Montreal society today.

The epicentre of Jewish life in Montreal from the turn of the 20th century until the 1950s, today’s Plateau neighbourhood once teemed with tens of thousands of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Learn how they worked, worshipped, and supported one another as they built new lives in Montreal. Our visit uncovers the synagogues, schools, hospitals, and cultural organizations they established and that still leave a mark on Montreal society today. Immerse yourself in the Jewish stories held in the streets and buildings of this vibrant neighbourhood.

• Learn about the foundations of Montreal’s Jewish community as you explore the eclectic Plateau neighbourhood, which was the epicentre of Jewish life in Montreal in the early 20th century.
• See the beautiful Bagg Street Shul. This heritage site is the last operating synagogue in the Plateau neighbourhood.
• Pass by iconic Montreal culinary institutions, including Schwartz’s and the founding location of Moishes Steakhouse.
• Stroll along bustling St-Laurent Boulevard while you catch a glimpse of Montreal’s numerous murals and street art.
• Moderate walking (tour is approx. 2 km and lasts 1.5-2 hours)

Click Here to book your Making Their Mark walking tour tickets

Delve into the diverse stories of notable characters of the Mile End, including iconic authors, radical political leaders, and colourful religious figures who were often connected in unexpected ways.

A hub of Jewish culture since the 1920s, Mile End was home to cantors and community organizers as well as poets and politicians of all stripes. Mile End has been a centre of the Yiddish language for nearly a century, first with its left-leaning Jewish schools, libraries, and social clubs, and now with dozens of Hasidic synagogues, yeshivas, and storefronts. Our visit travels through the parks, streets, and back lanes of the neighbourhood, tracing the evolution of Montreal’s literary, musical, and culinary culture and exhibiting the diversity of Jewish life in this very diverse neighbourhood.

• Stroll through the Mile End, Montreal’s trendiest neighbourhood, and an important centre for Montreal’s Jewish culture today.
• Learn more about the works and lives of Jewish Montreal writers, such as Mordecai Richler and Ida Maze.
• Hear the sounds of Montreal’s largest synagogue, known as Montreal’s “Carnegie Hall” of Jewish music in the early 20th century.
• Discover the diversity of politics in Montreal’s Jewish community at the time.
• Catch a glimpse of two of Montreal’s major Jewish culinary establishments: Fairmount Bagels and Wilensky’s.
• Moderate walking (tour is approx. 2.5 km and lasts 1.5-2 hours)

Click Here to book your Rabbis, Writers, and Radicals walking tour tickets

Explore Jewish culture in the early 1900’s! Meet the famous poets, utopians, outcasts, and exiles who called the streets below Mount Royal home.

In the Shadow of the Mountain explores the vibrant Jewish cultural life established in between Montreal’s Francophone and Anglophone communities from the 1910s to the 1960s. Visit the parks, streets, and alleyways at the foot of Mount Royal and discover Montreal’s Jewish poets—from literary icons like Leonard Cohen to lesser-known but internationally-appreciated Yiddish writers such as Jacob Isaac Segal and Ida Maze. Through the stories of writers, activists, and other idealists, this tour explores the dreams that Jewish immigrants had for their lives in the new world, and contrasts these utopian visions with the sometimes harsh realities they faced in this city.

• Trace the development of Jewish literature in Montreal from famous Yiddish poets J.I. Segal and Ida Maze to English writers A.M. Klein, Irving Layton, and Leonard Cohen.
• See Leonard Cohen’s home in Montreal and other places he frequented.
• Stroll along Montreal’s historic and iconic boulevard St-Laurent and avenue Mont-Royal while you catch a glimpse of Montreal’s numerous murals and street art.
• Take a break from the bustle of downtown with a walk through Parc Jeanne-Mance, right across from Parc Mont-Royal.
• Visitors have the unique opportunity to gain insider knowledge on one of Montreal’s most vibrant neighbourhoods: Plateau-Mont-Royal.
• Moderate walking (tour is approx. 2.2 km and lasts 1.5-2 hours)

Click Here to book your In the Shadow of the Mountain walking tour tickets

You’ll try everything from karnatzel to kichel while learning about the culinary history of Jewish Montreal.

Starting with kosher third-wave coffee from Café Navire, take a guided journey through the Mile End and Outremont neighbourhoods, home to some of the city’s most vibrant Jewish communities. Along the way, you’ll explore iconic kosher bakeries and delis, and discover how generations of Jewish immigrants helped shape Montreal’s unique food culture.

• Savour five tastings from beloved kosher spots, including Montreal icons Cheskie’s bakery and Deli 365.
• Explore the Jewish history of Outremont and Mile End, two of Montreal’s oldest and most vibrant Jewish neighbourhoods.
• Learn about how matzah got its shape, and how the Steinberg’s supermarket chain helped shape the city.
• Enjoy a small-group, family-friendly experience where all tastings are under kosher supervision (see our FAQs or Additional Information on the tour booking page for more information about kashrut certifications)
• If you do not keep kosher, don’t worry! This tour is still for you! The Jewish Montreal Kosher Food Tour lets visitors of all backgrounds taste various delicious foods that showcase our city’s unique Jewish cuisine and that also happen to be kosher. 

Click Here to book your Jewish Montreal Kosher Food tour tickets

That depends on what interests you! Each of our tours explores different time periods and themes. If you are interested in Montreal’s cultural, political and literary history, then In the Shadow of the Mountain or Rabbis, Writers and Radicals are great options! If you are looking for an introduction to Montreal’s Jewish History, Making their Mark is a great place to start. Our most popular tour with families is Beyond the Bagel, great for those with big appetites and a hunger for knowledge!

• Making their Mark, In the Shadow of the Mountain, and Rabbis, Writers and Radicals meet outside of H. Fisher & Fils at 4129 Saint-Laurent Blvd.
• Beyond the Bagel meets outside of the Rialto Theatre at 5723 Park Ave (intersection Bernard).
• The Jewish Montreal Kosher Food Tour meets outside of Cafe Navire at 1273 Ave Van Horne.

The Museum of Jewish Montreal does not offer onsite parking. Metered street parking is available, but limited. Please allow plenty of additional time to find parking if you require it. You can download the Mobicité app from the App store and Google Play to refill your meter remotely.

The Beyond the Bagel tour is not kosher. But our Jewish Montreal Kosher Food Tour is kosher.

Here is information about Kashrut / Kosher Certification for the Jewish Montreal Kosher Food Tour:

• All food destinations are under kosher supervision. Food comes directly from these locations. 
• For the most updated kashrut status of each stop on our tour (in order of visitation), please see the following websites: 
  • Cafe Navire – MK (Pareve, Dairy) – pareve with option to have dairy 
  • Mehudar / Mehadrin – MK (Fish, Meat) – fish and pareve on an early stop on the tour
  • Cheskies – MK (Pareve, Dairy) – only pareve items served from here
  • District Bagel – MK (Pareve, Fish, Dairy) – only pareve and fish served items here
  • Mehudar / Mehadrin – MK (Fish, Meat) – meat served at a later stop on the tour
  • Deli 365 – MK (Meat) – meat served at the final stop of the tour
  • In addition, pickles from Putters – MK (Pareve) are served on our tour. We use a new bottle each time and serve with paper plates and plastic utensils.
• The Museum will regularly check and update the kashrut status of each location on the tour, but guests are invited to also inquire with each business in advance of the tours in case you have specific questions. See links above. 
• If you have further questions about kashrut and the items we are serving, please email tours@imjm.ca. Response time can sometimes take 2-3 business days, especially when emails are sent over the weekend.
• Some of the foods will be purchased early in the tour and then served later at a different location with paper plates and plastic utensils. If the food has been pre-bought at any location, it will be served to guests from sealed and marked containers. If guests would like to look at any of the containers of food that we’re serving, please feel free to ask the tour guide.
• For the first half of the tour we will be serving mostly pareve foods. Guests will be served meat dishes closer to the end of the tour.
• Handwashing stations will be available at the two locations where we have bread.
• Tour guides have a list of the appropriate brachot (blessings) for each food item, upon request from guests. 
• Our tour guides do not always know about every custom or observance you may have so please feel free to tell them if you need to mention it. Please be aware in advance that not all guides have the same personal observance or background as each guest. Feel free to contact us at tours@imjm.ca with any questions. 

As a not-for-profit charitable corporation, our guides do not accept tips for their tours. If you enjoyed your experience, please consider leaving your tip in our donation box or making an online donation here. All gifts will help us continue our important work researching Montreal’s Jewish history and creating new cultural experiences for the public.

Tours will run rain or shine, unless there are severe weather conditions.

• Tour ticket exchanges must be requested 48 hours in advance.
• Only cancellations made 24 hours in advance of walking tours will be refunded. For our food tours, only cancellations made 48 hours in advance will be refunded.
• In the event of severe weather conditions or in the presence of lightning, cancelled tours will be offered an exchange or refund.
• Please contact us at tours@imjm.ca for our private and group tours cancellation policy.

Cutoff times vary by season and situation. During the summer (May – Aug) we recommend purchasing tickets at least 12 hours ahead of time, however once a tour has other guests booked on it, tickets can be purchased until the tour start time. Please note that Beyond the Bagel food tour tickets must be purchased at least 24 hours in advance, and our Kosher food tour tickets must be purchased at least 48 hours in advance year-round. You cannot book a tour if the ticket sales cutoff time has passed.

That depends! Teenagers and children of all ages are welcome on our tours, however our tours can last upwards of 2 hours and are historical in nature, which some kids love and some kids don’t.

No, for safety and insurance reasons our guides cannot lead tours from vehicles. We are happy to recommend local bus tours.

No, we only offer the tours viewable on our website. Our tours follow a meticulously researched and created narrative and route, linking stories with historic sites and buildings.