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The Main Media Inc. 2026

✦ Built By Field Office
    The Main

    Montreal's Cultural Directory

    Help us improve! Share your thoughts on how we can make your experience better.

    Leave feedback

    For partnerships and collaborations:

    partnerships@themain.com

    Content

    • Articles
    • Food & Drink
    • Arts & Culture
    • History Lesson
    • Bulletin
    • Events

    Guides

    • All Guides
    • Best Restaurants
    • Best Cafés
    • Best Bars
    • Best Brunch
    • Best Bakeries

    Explore Montreal

    • Browse Directory
    • Restaurants
    • Bars
    • Cafés
    • Bookstores

    About

    • About us
    • Subscribe
    • Shop
    • Advertise
    • Pitch us
    • RSS Feed

    Legal

    • Terms of service
    • Membership Terms
    • Privacy Policy
    Follow us
    InstagramTwitterTiktokLinkedin

    The Main Media Inc. 2026

    ✦ Built By Field Office
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      Subscribe today to get 3 free articles per month.ROYALMOUNT Wants to Be Your Dining Destination for a Whole MonthGet 50% off your first 5 rides with Lyft
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      • Romantic Restaurants
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      • See all Guides
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      • Le Plateau-Mont-Royal
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      • Mile-Ex
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      • Boutique / Store
      • Bar
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      • Beyond Montreal

        Travel, adventure, and global perspectives.

      • Design

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      Arts & Culture

      Things to Do in Montreal This December

      The best things to do in Montreal during December fill the calendar with ballet, punk rock, immersive art, and more than enough holiday spirit.

      ByThe Main

      December 1, 2025 · 13 min read

      Things to do in Montreal this December
      Photograph: JF Savaria / @jfsavaria

      Discover the places mentioned in this story

      Palais des congrès de MontréalPlace Ville MarieMcCord Stewart MuseumPointe-à-Callière (Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History)Esplanade TranquilleLe Verre BouteilleMTELUSLes Sans-TaverneBâtiment 7Sep LaiBar Le StudPlace des ArtsRialto TheatreJA DeSève CinemaClub SodaLa Maison Symphonique

      The best things to do in Montreal during December turn the city into a hub of festivities: Holiday markets arrive with purpose, skating rinks open under strings of lights, and suddenly everyone's got plans that involve hot cocktails and group dining. The city leans into the cold, filling the streets with illuminated art installations, packing concert halls with seasonal traditions, and reminders why winter here is a season worth experiencing, not hiding from it.

      Seriously. We're not kidding. The cultural calendar refuses to slow down.

      Ballet companies stage their annual spectacles, museums unveil major exhibitions, indie bands play packed rooms, and the city's bars and clubs throw parties that acknowledge the absurdity and joy of making it through another year. Between the big institutional offerings and the DIY spirit that keeps Montreal's creative scene thriving, December delivers enough to keep you busy straight through to New Year's Eve.

      Free account required

      For readers who care about Montreal

      Create a free account to read this story and access 3 articles per month, plus our weekly Bulletin.

      Independent. Local. Reader-supported.

      or

      Already a member? Sign in

      The Main

      Comments

      Welcome to The Main's comments section!

      Share your thoughts and join the conversation. Please be respectful and constructive.

      No comments yet. Be the first!

      Advertisement

      Follow on Google
      What to do this weekend (04.16–04.19)
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      What to Do This Weekend (04.16–04.19)

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      Kaitlyn DiBartolo

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      Remembering Gabor Szilasi, the Refugee Who Became Montreal's Greatest Witness
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      Remembering Gabor Szilasi, the Refugee Who Became Montreal's Greatest Witness

      The Hungarian-born photographer spent seven decades documenting this city's streets, faces, and disappearing present. He died on April 10, 2026, at 98.

      How a Visit to the Mountains of Ghana led to Batik Boutik's Rise
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      The Plateau's New Noise Rules Are a Blueprint Other Boroughs Can't Ignore

      With a new bylaw, mediators instead of cops, and the first updated noise standards since 1977, Montreal's watching to see if the Plateau's new approach to venue conflicts will hold.

      Arts & Culture

      Things to Do in Montreal This December

      The best things to do in Montreal during December fill the calendar with ballet, punk rock, immersive art, and more than enough holiday spirit.

      ByThe Main

      December 1, 2025 · 13 min read

      Things to do in Montreal this December
      Photograph: JF Savaria / @jfsavaria

      Discover the places mentioned in this story

      Palais des congrès de MontréalPlace Ville MarieMcCord Stewart MuseumPointe-à-Callière (Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History)Esplanade TranquilleLe Verre BouteilleMTELUSLes Sans-TaverneBâtiment 7Sep LaiBar Le StudPlace des ArtsRialto TheatreJA DeSève CinemaClub SodaLa Maison Symphonique

      The best things to do in Montreal during December turn the city into a hub of festivities: Holiday markets arrive with purpose, skating rinks open under strings of lights, and suddenly everyone's got plans that involve hot cocktails and group dining. The city leans into the cold, filling the streets with illuminated art installations, packing concert halls with seasonal traditions, and reminders why winter here is a season worth experiencing, not hiding from it.

      Seriously. We're not kidding. The cultural calendar refuses to slow down.

      Ballet companies stage their annual spectacles, museums unveil major exhibitions, indie bands play packed rooms, and the city's bars and clubs throw parties that acknowledge the absurdity and joy of making it through another year. Between the big institutional offerings and the DIY spirit that keeps Montreal's creative scene thriving, December delivers enough to keep you busy straight through to New Year's Eve.

      Free account required

      For readers who care about Montreal

      Create a free account to read this story and access 3 articles per month, plus our weekly Bulletin.

      Independent. Local. Reader-supported.

      or

      Already a member? Sign in

      The Main

      Comments

      Welcome to The Main's comments section!

      Share your thoughts and join the conversation. Please be respectful and constructive.

      No comments yet. Be the first!

      Advertisement

      Follow on Google
      What to do this weekend (04.16–04.19)
      Arts & Culture
      The Main

      What to Do This Weekend (04.16–04.19)

      From jazz at a new downtown venue to Laotian pop-ups and a bookstore turning 50: April 16 to 19, 2026.

      Meet the Cinephiles Keeping Analogue Film Culture Alive
      Arts & Culture
      Kaitlyn DiBartolo

      Meet the Cinephiles Keeping Analogue Film Culture Alive

      Philippe Spurrell keeps rare prints out of dumpsters while Robert Miniaci reinvents the projectors that screen them. Together, they're proving the old ways still have life in Montreal.

      On the Red Carpet at the Mile End Kicks Premiere
      Arts & Culture
      The Main

      On the Red Carpet at the Mile End Kicks Premiere

      Inside the local premiere of Chandler Levack's love letter to Montreal's indie rock golden age at Théâtre Outremont on April 9.

      Remembering Gabor Szilasi, the Refugee Who Became Montreal's Greatest Witness
      Arts & Culture
      The Main

      Remembering Gabor Szilasi, the Refugee Who Became Montreal's Greatest Witness

      The Hungarian-born photographer spent seven decades documenting this city's streets, faces, and disappearing present. He died on April 10, 2026, at 98.

      How a Visit to the Mountains of Ghana led to Batik Boutik's Rise
      Arts & Culture
      Kaitlyn DiBartolo

      How a Visit to the Mountains of Ghana Led to Batik Boutik's Rise

      Maya Amoah's Batik Boutik brings Ghanaian wax print and batik craft to the world while keeping the artisans who make it at the centre of the story.

      The Plateau's New Noise Rules Are a Blueprint Other Boroughs Can't Ignore
      Arts & Culture
      The Main

      The Plateau's New Noise Rules Are a Blueprint Other Boroughs Can't Ignore

      With a new bylaw, mediators instead of cops, and the first updated noise standards since 1977, Montreal's watching to see if the Plateau's new approach to venue conflicts will hold.

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      Does Montreal Still Want to Play in the Big Leagues?
      Arts & Culture
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      Does Montreal Still Want to Play in the Big Leagues?

      The return of the Expos is more viable than ever, but whether Montreal has the appetite for it is another question entirely.

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      The Main

      After 40 Years on Bernard, Dragon Flowers Has a New Address

      Tamey Lau's beloved Mile End flower shop has moved to Saint-Laurent, but everything that made it a neighbourhood institution is coming with her.

      Project Hail Mary Makes the Case That Cooperation Beats Survival
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      Project Hail Mary Makes the Case That Cooperation Beats Survival

      Hope isn’t a quality most blockbusters lean on anymore. Project Hail Mary builds an entire mission around it, and against all odds, it works.

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      The Most Predictable Oscars in Years Were Still Pretty Damn Good

      One Battle After Another swept, PTA got his due, and Montreal snuck onto Hollywood's biggest stage.

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      One of menswear's sharpest emerging voices talks building a career from a dorm room and why he's staying in Montreal to pursue it.

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      Miracle's maximalist Christmas bar is back in Old Montreal after three years

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      Miracle's maximalist Christmas bar is back in Old Montreal after three years

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