Underground City Guided Tour with Metro Rides Montreal

RESO, the Montreal Underground City

The RESO is a network of indoor pedestrian passages, about 32 kilometres long, that connects metro stations, shopping centres, office towers, hotels, universities and concert halls across downtown Montreal. It began in 1962 with Place Ville Marie and grew as new towers were linked to the Métro, creating a sheltered city where people can walk in shirt sleeves while it is minus twenty outside. Despite its name, much of it is at street level or in bright atriums rather than dark tunnels.

Finding your way can be confusing on your own, which is why a Montreal Underground City tour with a guide is such a good start to a visit. Your guide shows you how the different complexes connect, explains the colour-coded signs and gives you a RESO map. It is also one of the best things to do in Montreal in winter or on a rainy day, because nearly the whole route stays indoors.

World Trade Centre Montreal and the Berlin Wall

The World Trade Centre Montreal was built around an old street of the city, the Ruelle des Fortifications, which follows the line of the 18th-century city walls. Covered with a long glass roof, the lane is now a bright indoor promenade where historic stone facades stand inside a modern building. It is one of the most surprising spaces in the RESO.

Here you find a real section of the Berlin Wall, given by the city of Berlin to Montreal in 1992 for its 350th anniversary. The concrete slab still carries graffiti from the western side, and your guide explains its story and why it ended up in Montreal. On the way you also pass the Lipstick Forest at the convention centre, a grove of bright pink concrete tree trunks that has become one of the city's favourite photo spots.

Central Station and 1000 de la Gauchetière

Central Station, opened in 1943, is the main railway station of Montreal and a key hub of the underground network, with trains to Quebec City, Ottawa and Toronto and a direct link to the REM. Its long art deco concourse shows how the station was designed as a gateway to the city. Your guide explains how railways shaped downtown and how the underground grew around them.

Next door rises 1000 de la Gauchetière, the tallest building in Montreal, whose height was limited so it would not rise above Mount Royal. Inside its glass atrium is an indoor skating rink that is open all year round, which surprises most visitors. You view the rink from above as you pass; skating itself is not included, but it is a great idea for later in your stay.

Place Ville Marie, Cathcart and The Ring

Place Ville Marie, completed in 1962, is the cross-shaped tower that started the modern Montreal skyline and the RESO itself. Below its esplanade, Cathcart is a glass-roofed hall full of food counters and seating, a busy lunchtime meeting place for people who work downtown. Your guide shows how the underground levels connect the tower to the station and the shops below.

The walk ends at The Ring, a giant steel circle about thirty metres wide installed on the esplanade in 2022. It frames the long view up McGill College Avenue towards Mount Royal and has quickly become a symbol of the new downtown. It is the perfect last photo of the tour, and from here your guide shares local tips on where to go next, including how to use the Métro on your own.

Riding the Métro and the REM

Part of this tour is a ride on public transport, with the required fares included. The Montreal Métro opened in 1966, just before the 1967 World's Fair, and runs on rubber tyres, which makes it quieter than most subway systems. Each station was designed by a different architect, many with stained glass, murals or sculptures, so the ride is also a short art tour.

You also ride the REM, an automated light metro that opened its first line in 2023. Driverless trains glide on elevated tracks and across the river, and the ride gives you views of the skyline that most visitors never see. Your guide explains how to buy tickets, read the maps and connect between the two systems, which makes the rest of your stay much easier.