City Stories Index · Canada · 2026 edition
Montreal vs Toronto
Not opinions, measured walking data. On what we can measure, Montreal leads 3–2. Character is a different question: Montreal is the old french port; Toronto is the fort that became a downtown.
Change the matchup
| What we measure | Montreal | Toronto | Leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 41 | 25 | Montreal |
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next; fewer is better | 322 | 248 | Toronto |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 2 | — | Montreal |
| Instagrammabilityscore /100, on the index’s fixed scale | 98 | 66 | Montreal |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+ | 14 | 27 | Toronto |
| International visitors% of player reviews written in a foreign language | 23 | 4 | Montreal |
Differences under 5% count as ties. Sample sizes and definitions on the methodology page.
What their stories are about
How many places with a story each city has per theme: Montreal in orange, Toronto in blue. All bars share one scale, so lengths are comparable everywhere on the chart.
MontrealToronto
10 places
industry & modern era13 places
11 places
arts & culture2 places
7 places
faith & churches0 places
3 places
legends & myths6 places
6 places
parks & leisure0 places
3 places
crime & dark history5 places
5 places
guilds & trade2 places
Montreal scorecard →
The old French port
Toronto scorecard →
The fort that became a downtown