MontrealThe old French port
Measured from 1,000+ plays across 7 walked routes: in Montreal, you pass a place with a story every 322 metres.
Ranked #1 of 3 Canada big cities
2026 edition · scores vs all indexed cities · measured 2026-08-21 · scored on 7 of 8 measures · how we measure
Depth28/100
41 places with a story
2 historical figures · 1h of stories
Density45/100
a story every 322 m
median along a route
Character48/100
arts & culture
typical story: 1912 · early 20th century
Pulse69/100
Instagrammability 98/100
peak month: Jul
Montreal, measured
The scores
Ranked against
| What we measure | Montreal | Score out of 100 | Rank | Global leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Depth | ||||
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 41 | 34 | #49 of 71 | London (United Kingdom) · 594 |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 2 | 13 | #59 of 68 | London (United Kingdom) · 184 |
| Hours of storieshow long its stories take to read, end to end | 0.5h | 37 | #37 of 71 | London (United Kingdom) · 7h |
| Density | ||||
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next | 322 m | 45 | #56 of 71 | Williamsburg (United States) · 100 m |
| Character | ||||
| Years its stories coverfrom its oldest story to its newest | 482 yrs | 48 | #49 of 70 | London (United Kingdom) · 1025 yrs |
| Pulse | ||||
| Instagrammabilityhow often players photograph this city | 98/100 | 98 | #2 of 54 | Sydney (Australia) |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3 or more | 14 in 100 | 40 | #39 of 69 | Houston (United States) · 32 in 100 |
| International visitorsshare of player reviews written in a foreign language | 23% | not scored here: most visitors write English too, so the measure cannot tell them apart | #30 of 47 | Venice (Italy) · 97% |
How to read this table›
How to read it: each score is out of 100, measured against a fixed scale that is the same for every city and every edition. Montreal's 41 on places with a story scores 34, and it scores 34 on any page you find it. The switch above changes who it is ranked against, not the scores: right now that is all 80 indexed cities (19 countries so far). Montreal is scored on 7 of the 8 measures: its overall score averages those 7, and the greyed measures stay out of the average rather than counting against it. Ranks compare cities of a similar size. What a city's stories are about has no better or worse, so themes and eras aren't scored. Instagrammability is shown as a score only; how it's calculated is on the methodology page.
The medal table
What Montreal wins
- Most arts & culture among Canada's big cities· 27% of its stories (shared)
- Most faith & churches among Canada's big cities· 17% of its stories
- Most instagrammable among Canada's big cities
- Most places with a story among Canada's big cities· 41 places
- Stories closest together among Canada's big cities· a story every 322 m
Won against the other big cities of Canada in the 2026 edition. See the full table on the country page.
Character
What its stories are about
- arts & culture27%
- industry & modern era24%
- faith & churches17%
- parks & leisure15%
- guilds & trade12%
Out of Montreal's 41 places with a story, the share whose story touches each theme. One story can touch several.
Character
Which centuries you walk through
- Early 20th century29%
- 19th century25%
- Post-war18%
- Early modern14%
- Contemporary14%
When Montreal's stories happen (68% of them mention a year).
Pulse
When people play here
Typical share of player reviews per month (median across 3 recent years). Peak: Jul.
Pulse
Who visits, by review language
- English77%
- French21%
- German1%
Language of 100+ written player reviews. A proxy for who visits; English hides several nationalities.
Depth
41 stories wait on its streets. Here are three
The King Edward Quay, built between 1901 and 1903 was, like the Jacques Cartier Pier (1898-1901), commissioned due to the ever-growing number…
When you overhear people talking about the "old days," what do they really mean? Greenspot is what that means in Montréal. Originally…
This beautiful Church, recently redesigned, was once home to the Methodists, the Protestant congregation who pioneered the Prohibition laws across the continent.…
Depth
Figures you meet on Montreal's streets
Jacques Cartier
at 4 places
Atwater Footbridge · Jacques-Cartier Pier · Montreal Science Centre
Leonard Cohen
at 2 places
King Edward · Maison de Mère d'Youville
Depth
Every Montreal place with a story, on one map
Each pin is a place whose story a Questo route tells. Tap one for the quest that tells it. See an empty street that deserves a pin? The form at the bottom of this page adds your story to the editors' queue.
Walk Montreal's stories yourself
Three of 7 routes here. See everything in Montreal
Where next after Montreal?
OttawaThe capital on the canal166 km away · a story every 645 m
Quebec CityThe walled city of North America233 km away · a story every 185 m
TorontoThe fort that became a downtown504 km away · a story every 248 m
MississaugaThe lakeshore industrial edge527 km away · a story every 216 m
VancouverThe city between mountains and sea3686 km away · a story every 350 m
SaskatoonThe city of bridges2509 km away · a story every 139 mHow does Montreal compare?
Put Montreal head-to-head with any city in the index, measure by measure, from real walking data.
Quick answers
- What is Montreal like to explore on foot?
- Montreal has 41 places with a story across 7 self-guided Questo routes, with a story every 322 metres of walking on average. Its stories lean towards arts & culture and industry & modern era.
- Which historical period defines Montreal?
- 29% of Montreal's dated stories come from the early 20th century period; its oldest dated story reaches back to 1535.
- When do people visit Montreal?
- Player activity in Montreal peaks in Jul, with a typical 47% of reviews arriving June to August (median across 3 recent years of Questo reviews).
- How is this measured?
- From Questo's own walked routes and player activity in Montreal: 1,000+ plays and 100+ reviews. Full method on the City Stories Index methodology page, 2026 edition.
Quote any line, attributed
For press and citation
- Walking a Questo route in Montreal, you pass a place with a story every 322 metres on average.
- 29% of Montreal's dated stories come from the early 20th century period.
- Montreal's typical story happens in 1912: the median year across its dated stories, which span 482 years.
- 23% of Montreal's written player reviews are in a language other than English (from 100+ reviews).
- Roughly 14 of every 100 plays in Montreal is a group outing of three or more people, measured from invited multi-device sessions over the last 12 months.
- Montreal's play season peaks in Jul; a typical 47% of reviews arrive June to August (median across 3 recent years).
Copy any line as it stands: for an article, a post, or an argument at dinner. Attribution: Questo City Stories Index (2026 edition), with a link to this page. Method and sample sizes on the methodology page.
Montreal ranks #53 of 80. Show it.
For city halls, tourism boards, local press and anyone who lives here: this badge is yours to use, free and without asking. It links back to the measurements behind it, and it updates itself when the next edition is published.
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</a>Know a story these streets are missing?
Every place, story and figure on this page comes from routes built by people who know Montreal. Add what's missing: as a Questo creator, or with a quick suggestion.