Pointe-à-Callière – Musée d’archéologie et d’histoire

I would say this museum is so so, I was disappointed for the $ 20 it cost. The movie was good at the beginning, but I found the archeological parts hard to pinpoint from the pictures. I grew bored quickly and rushed through.

This is a very interesting museum. First, you see a half an hour history of Canada, with 8 languages through headphones. Then, you can look at some grave sites and tools and walls. Then, there is two floors of horses and a gift shop where everything’s pretty expensive. Interesting.

This is such a great museum! We like pretending we’re tourists in the city especially when we have friends in from out of town and every time it is special when we come here. I don’t know how many times we’ve seen that video of Montréal history projected on the ruins but it never gets old.

This is probably the best place to begin your visit of Montréal if you are a first-​time visitor, because it will introduce you to the history of the city and help you better understand the culture and people.
At first I wasn’t sure we were going to the right building, because the guide book said the museum had the foundations of Montréal, including the first buildings, but from the outside it was very modern. Sure enough, we were in the right place.
You can buy your tickets, but you can’t tour the whole museum until you watch a show, which lasted about 15 minutes. The show is set in an auditorium above some ruins from early Montréal, has lots of lights, big screens, and earphones that narrate in 8 languages. Basically it gives you a very brief summary of Montréal’s history and puts it in terms that children could understand — all told in a woman’s voice in first-​person perspective (she is the city).
After the tour you can walk around underground and see the early foundations of the city, as well as read about the history in greater detail. There are some artifacts from the natives and early settlers, and it really gives insight into the history and turmoil that Montréal went through.
From there you can continue on to a segment about pirates, which is totally for kids but still has interesting things for adults. I was tempted to play on the big pirate ship replica, but held back and instead read about the life and times of piracy and privateering.
There is also two rotating exhibits, when we went it was an exhibit for Agatha Christie and «Traces of Man». We toured the Traces while waiting for the show to begin and were pleasantly surprised. It features artifacts from Quebec’s natives up through modern-​day people, including cans from the 60s and a door from a passenger ship.
Definitely worth a visit, you can easily spend 2 – 3 hours here.

This should be anyone’s first stop on a trip to Montréal or if you decide to move to this great city. This place tells you everything, how it began, how it evolved, the important people who played a definitive role… the works. The intro video you watch first in the theater behind the ticket counter is a great primer and is engaging. The museum is built upon where the first French settlers landed and began their fur trading outpost, pretty much on top of where the city was founded. The permanent exhibits and that which is directly relevant to Montréal’s history are excellently detailed and laid out. I would recommend this museum to anyone.

Too often, tourist options = family-​friendly tourist options = bored adults surrounded by screaming kids.
Happily, Pointe-​à-​Callière, while family friendly, kept two 30-​somethings without kids entertained and educated.
Pointe-​à-​Callière tells the history of Montréal while also showing off the ruins from a historic site, which the museum is built on top of, as well as other artifacts from its first days.
We had arrived just in time for the free English tour of the ruins, so we rushed downstairs to make it. Our guide talked to us about the Native Americans that once lived in the area and how the French and British tried to claim the land for themselves.
My favorite parts were the five dioramas set up under the floor, visible through plexiglass tiles in the floor. The group of 10 or so of us collected around each, which were about 5-​feet-​by-​5-​feet, and each diorama showed a different time in the history of Montréal.
But the best part was that each showed what had happened at the exact site that we were standing on. And behind us, you could see the ruins that corresponded with what we were seeing in miniature, such as the foundation of the wall that once housed an outdoor market. A red square on each diorama represented the spot were were standing on.
And after the guided tour, we could walk around the ruins, which boasted other interactive elements.
We unfortunately didn’t have time for some of the other exhibits, but we did make our way up to the top of the tower to get a great view of Montréal and the river.
We also watched the 20-​minute video about Montréal in the theater behind the ticket booth. It was great that you wore headphones for the show, so that you could pick your language. The video was a bit (actually a lot) cheesy, but the highlight is the fact that it’s shown above more ruins and uses some fun light show techniques.
Other tips:
* The museum takes a dollar off the ticket price for each degree under 0 degrees Celsius it reaches that day.
* The free coach check is awesome. So nice to not have to lug our winter gear around the museum.
* There are also lockers you can rent.
Visiting Pointe-​à-​Callière put our trip to Montréal in perspective, and I left with a greater appreciation for this beautiful city!

Hands down my favorite museum in Montréal. What the place does really well is give an incredible amount of history in a quick, digestible format. The opening movie is very well done and the mélange of historical exhibits built on top of the old city ruins provides a unique experience. My group hired a tour guide, Virginia, for our experience. I cannot stress how great she was. She was professional, impressively knowledgeable, and moved the tour on at a good pace. Her little anecdotes and sharp wit enriched the experience exponentially. Well worth it to book her if you are planning to visit.

Disappointing. For what it was trying to offer and for the technology it had, this museum is a bit disappointing. The multimedia presentation was impressive technology-​wise, but narrative-​wise it lacked sophistication. Furthermore, that narration and the narrative of the story of Montréal was quite insensitive to histories of non-​profit whites who lived here. I would argue that the birth of Montréal doesn’t begin with assuming the city takes on the identity of a French/​Anglo persona. Rather, it should talk about how a space is made into a place with the confluence, conflicts, and negotiations of ideologies. I was quite turned off that the museum practicality began with just a slight mention of Iroquois settlements and didn’t try to see how that history was a part and parcel of what Montréal needs to struggle with today in managing the tensions of claims to be francophone majority and cosmopolitan multicultural.

Un des meilleurs musées de Montréal. La collection permanente est bien mise en valeur, le film d’animation «Signé Montréal» est super intéressant autant pour les touristes que pour les montréalais qui veulent en apprendre plus sur leur ville!
L’exposition Pirates et Corsaires est idéale pour les enfants.
La programmation d’exposition temporaire est toujours intéressante, souvent une ou deux grosses expositions sur des civilisations archéologiques (grecs, aztèques etc) et une exposition annuelle ayant à trait à un sujet plus québécois/​montréalais.

Point à Callière c’est le musée d’archéologie et d’histoire de Montréal. Située à deux pas du vieux port, au coeur du vieux Montréal, il est bâti sur un site archéologique. le musée dispose d’expositions permanentes et d’expositions temporaires réparties sur plusieurs étages. Le dernier étage abrite un café et un belvédère avec une vue imprenable sur le vieux port et le vieux Montréal. Le spectacle multimédia sur écran de 270 degrés vaut vraiment la peine, il permet de comprendre l’histoire de Montréal et plus largement celle du Québec. Le spectacle est diffusé toutes les demi heures. Il faut compter bien 2 à 3 heures pour faire le tour complet du musée.

Who knew there was so much history lurking underneath the sidewalks?
After several days of wandering the cobblestone streets of historic (and not so historic) Montréal, eating and drinking, it was time to get some learning in our systems. That, and it was a rainy Monday with a lot of other attractions closed.
From the outside of the façade, this museum looks pretty small. At first, I thought we went into the wrong one, as it appears more like a modern art gallery than a history museum. Just go in the main entrance, pay your fee and get ready to be amazed.
As many have mentioned, there’s a video presentation before exploring the city’s archaeological discoveries. It covers several centuries’ worth of highlights, including the triumphs and tribulations of the city. Spoiler alert: there’s definitely some tension between the French and British.
Wandering the underground ruins was incredibly interesting. There’s signage everywhere to explain what you’re looking at (in French and English) and arrows on the floor indicating which exhibit you’re nearing. If you get lost, it’s your own doing.
Americans like myself don’t really get much Canadian history lessons growing up. Or at least I didn’t in school, beyond knowing the names of all of the provinces. So this was a fun history lesson that helps put the rest of our Montréal visit into context. An afternoon well spent.

Interesting museum overall, with some great exhibits outlining the archaeological history of Montréal. Seemed popular with mostly families. The museum was fairly easy to explore within about 2 hours, so it is not very large, but definitely manageable. However the layout is a little confusing in some areas; we were often coming across dead ends or exits when trying to navigate toward the next exhibit, so make sure to pick up a guide map at the front desk.

J’ai été voir l’exposition d’Alexandre le grand. C’est vraiment agréable comme exposition. L’édifice est est très bien restauré.

I thought this was pretty cool as museums go. We saw the Greeks exhibit, and the whole thing was very well laid out and well explained. Really, it was super well curated.
The waits were absolutely insane though, and the whole space is surprisingly claustrophobic. The employees were all very nice and informative.
I think this place is DEFINITELY worth a stop if you’re visiting Montréal — you will learn a lot about history, and by history, mean OLD stuff.

This is one weird museum – just eat at the restaurant and get out of there. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
First, that audio-​visual presentation was so weird. We are still making fun of it’s weird «I Am Montréal» voice-​over and proclamations and I think we will be for a really long time.
Second, the «archeological dig» is actually mostly just the foundation of the building that was there in the 1800s. Pretty uninteresting stuff, honestly.
As with many interactive museums, most exhibits were at least partially broken, and the entire thing was just so simplistically presented that I didn’t feel like I learned anything at all. For instance, I saw or heard at least 4 times in the museum that «even though the Iroquois and settlers shared a religion, they still fought.» What the heck, on so many levels.
There was literally a sign next to a valve pipe that said something like, «Pipe from water system of bank.» hahahahaha
A total waste of time and money, though hilarious.
Even the gift shop was a disappointment with a whole section of dreamcatchers, along with some Beatles memorabilia. Just a strange place.

This museum was a hit with both my history teacher best friend and her easily bored girlfriend. As an archeology buff, I loved the underground part of the museum. It was an excellent introduction to the city. We ended up spending twice as long as expected there, partially because we doubled back for the film. I would recommend just waiting to watch it (hit up the Plateau exhibit) if you arrive after it’s already started.
All was well until the museum store. I’m Black, and the staff followed me around like a hawk to make sure I didn’t steal something. It was obnoxious and racist. There were 8 – 10 other customers in the store the whole half hour we were there and yet, 2 out of the three employees circled me like moons in orbit. It was so awkward that my (white) companions noticed and started staring back at them as they stared at me. I left the store empty handed as I was too uncomfortable to shop. If this is how the treat an adult woman, I would hate to bring brown teenagers into this store.

AAA membership makes adult ticket price $ 16 (instead of the $ 20)! Staff is very friendly and they have guided tours regularly. It’s very unique that the museum was built above the archaeological site and everything is well preserved. The guide for the English tour really knew her stuff and you could tell she loves Montréal. There was also a visiting Marco Polo exhibit as well. Overall, this museum is well worth a visit (especially if you are looking to escape the rain =P)!

A terrific introduction to Montréal. Bonus points for the amazing Marco Polo exhibit (nothing to do with MTL, as far as I could tell, but fascinating on its own).
The main entrance is in the building with the tower (this is not obvious from the street). You can get a historical overview from the video presentation «Yours truly, Montréal» (shown every 30 minutes), but it’s pretty hokey unless you’re a child or easily impressed. There was also a temporary exhibit about the history of the diverse neighborhood called the Plateau.
The museum is built over the foundations of much older buildings (thus the «Archeology» in the name), and uses those ruins to good effect. The first underground gallery is about the history of the city, which leads into an exhibit containing the remnants of the 17^th-​century sewer system. If you like geeky things, this is absolute heaven. Even if you don’t like geeky things, it’s still pretty cool, and the wall-​mounted information is clear and very informative. There are further ruins to explore, with accompanying videos.
A kids’ exhibit (essentially a giant ship) looked amazing, offering places to play (and, possibly, learn something). The Marco Polo exhibit winds up in the modern building across the street from the entrance.
The design of this museum is very clever and lets you explore and imagine what life was like here hundreds of years ago. It’s a bit expensive, but if you like to learn new things while on vacation, this is money and time well spent.

A nice museum conveying the story of Montréal’s history. The view from the top floor of the city is spectacular.

This is an awful, awful, museum. The narrative presented is simplistic and racist. For example, much of the material on the early settlement of Montréal is presented in a very straightforward way as friendly settlers being supported, on the one side, by their Native allies (fitting the ‘noble savage’ trope), and attacked fiercely and without reason by the Iriquois (with no mention of why the Iriquois might have been opposed to European settlement, or of belligerence from the side of the colonisers).
The exhibition on Marco Polo presented him as a hero without critiquing imperial and racist aspects of his narrative. While there were some fascinating artefacts presented, they often lacked context, and where context was given texts were often bizarre and factually incorrect (for example, the claim that «all nomads worship The Sky»).
There’s also little in the way of women’s stories, and one of the few women you learn about through an interactive exhibit is a historical character who only seems to want to talk to visitors about her husband and son.

This is by far the best museum in Montréal. We loved the interactive and historical atmosphere. The use of technology was very well done and the archeological sites were well preserved and displayed. We can’t wait to come back to Montréal and see the expansion.

Museum’s for me tend to be something a tourist visits when discovering a new city.
We had a work function here and it was quite delightful to visit this neat little museum tucked into the corner right adjacent to Old Montréal. We started off the day with a light breakfast in the upstairs cafeteria which consisted of eggs, fruit and some french toast. After you could go out on their balcony and get some views of the old port. On our day there was a cruise ship within eye’s view!
They have done an admirable job in keeping some of the history and original rock and brick of the past. Artifacts behind glass are nice to gaze at to think of how time was many hundreds of years ago! Next was a Pirate ship and tour and explanation for the kids which was done in interesting and curious fashion.
Finishing off the trip was a visit to their 2-​D theatre in which you get an 18 minute history lesson of Montréal (available in French, English and Spanish)! It’s a nice finishing touch to make you leaving with a positive impression of Montréal.
I’d recommend this as a tourist attraction but some may be disappointed as it’s a small museum. I’d recommend not coming in here with huge expectations and you may be surprised or disappointed depending on your mood and temperament!

This is such an incredible museum — seeing the history of one specific area in what is now Montréal from pre-​European contact to the present, one can learn about the building blocks that make the current city. With a combination of original pieces and video, this is a great way to learn about the long and unique history of Montréal.

«You’re going to an archaeology museum?»
This was the question I was asked by my significant other when she learned I would be visiting Pointe-​a-​Calliere during my trip to Montréal.
Having done my research on the attractions I wanted to visit during my trip to Montréal, I decided that Pointe-​a-​Calliere looked interesting enough to add to my itinerary.
The Museum gives visitors a great chance to explore the history and evolution of the City of Montréal. Built over the remains of Montréal’s original buildings, Pointe-​a-​Calliere gives visitors a lot of information in a very short amount of time.
Starting in the main building, there’s a 20 minute video in a huge auditorium that gives a fun overview of the history of Montréal. There’s headphones to listen to the narration, which is offered in over ten languages. Some reviewers have claimed the video seems like it was made by the Office of Tourism, and that’s very accurate. It’s almost sales-​pitchy.
After the video, head downstairs to the ruins of Old Montréal. The stone foundations of the city’s original buildings are in the basement, and lining the walls are artifacts uncovered at the site. As an FYI, it’s pretty confusing to get to where you should start your exploration of the site. The museum could do with better signage and maybe some more staff.
An underground tunnel leads across the street to the museum’s second building. While I visited, the special exhibit theme was all about the Beatles in Montréal. A cool exhibition with lots of memorabilia, but I’d have enjoyed it more if I was a Beatles fan. That said, lots of older folks were rocking out to the videos and audio recordings being played.
If you’re a history nerd like I am, you’ll enjoy this museum. If you’re a casual museum-​goer or tourist, this may not be for you. Having said that, if you’ve got time in your itinerary, definitely check out Pointe-​a-​Calliere. It’ll help you understand how Montréal came to be the city that it is today.

Absolutely LOVE the Tea Roads exhibition.
but thats about it. i’ve been hitting up a museum each day ive been in montreal. somehow this museum just didn’t hit the spot like the others (or maybe im just tired out from the 4+ museums ive been to!!!). still, its a great museum, particularly if youre really into the history of montreal. plus, the tour guides are wonderful. enthusiastic, knowledgable, engaging, funny, and they encourage you to ask questions.!!
+ Multimedia show on the history of montreal is okay. headphones are provided so its easy to watch/​understand regardless of the language you speak.
+ Where Montréal was born was pretty interesting. hour long tour/​presentation. twas the guide that made it wonderful.
+ like i said above, Tea Roads exhibition & tour is great (disclaimer: i cannot do without tea in my life and im a slight history nerd so for all others, it may not be as intriguing). tour/​presentation is 20 mins
they actually plan the tours/​presentations quite well. 1pm for Tea roads. then 2pm for the multimedia (history) presentation. which is a good intro to the 2.30pm where montreal was born tour.
i’d suggest hitting up the fine arts museum and notre dame basilica first. then if you have extra time do this museum.
$ 12 for college students with ID
$ 20 for adult.

Le Musée d’archéologie et d’histoire de Montréal est situé non loin du vieux port car par définition ses fondations sont construites dans le vieux Montréal. Le musée comporte des expositions temporaires et des expositions permanentes à commencer par l’histoire de Montréal.
Nous avons pris le billet pour tout faire qui comprenait une visite guidée sur l’histoire de Montréal et l’accès aux expositions temporaires sur le thé et les Beatles. Pour ces deux expositions, je les ai trouvées plutôt bien faites surtout celle des Beatles où il était bon d’entendre et de voir certaines représentations avec des morceaux que je n’avais jamais entendu.
L’histoire de Montréal qui constitue le cœur du musée commence par un spectacle ou plutôt une animation visuelle juste au dessus des fondations de Montréal. On retrace alors toute l’histoire en accéléré pour terminer sur une quasi publicité de la ville !
La visite était assurée en anglais car nous avons loupé la visite en français; pas bien grave car notre guide était super sympa et avait un anglais très compréhensible. Nous né sommes pas rentrés dans les plus fins détails de l’histoire de la ville mais j’ai trouvé que le contenu était parfaitement adapté à tout public, ni trop vulgarisé, ni trop pointilleux, bref une véritable satisfaction d’avoir fait cette visite.

I was given some free tickets a few months back to visit this museum and decided to finally visit with a friend, we left none too impressed.
My major complaints is that directions are none too clear and unless you have a guide you might find yourself doubling back several times. Far too many expositions were under construction and many of them were defective.
I wish I didn’t procrastinate a few months and visited the samurai exposition but had to settle with the Beatles exposition, which I’m not a fan of. However, I’m sure there are plenty of fans of that group and they would be ecstatic to be 1 foot away from the belt that Ringo Star was wearing while he passed by Montréal.

Première fois que je mettais les pieds ici et je me promets d’y retourner. J’y ai vu l’exposition sur le thé et celle des Beatles. La projection multimédia nous donne un bon aperçu de l’histoire de la ville, et les ruines sont très intéressantes à visiter.

J’y suis allez à deux reprises.
La première fois il y a un peu plus d’un an, pour découvrir l’histoire de Montréal, j’ai trouvé le musée vraiment intéressant et complet.
La deuxième fois ce fut pour l’exposition des samouraïs. Et c’était vraiment cool voir tout ces objets et tous les détails expliqués. J’ai vraiment adoré.
Il y a régulièrement des expositions (comme les samouraïs) qui sont intéressante, et ce n’est vraiment pas cher.
Donc si vous voulez découvrir l’histoire de Montréal de sa fondation jusqu’à aujourd’hui c’est la bonne place =).

Informative museum about the history of the city of Montréal.
Check out the underground tour after the small 3d presentation video

Ce musée m’a séduit, sur un sujet qui n’était pas gagné d’avance, l’Histoire et l’Archéologie de Montréal.
Le musée étant physiquement situé sur l’emplacement d’origine de la ville, la partie la plus intéressante de la visite se passé dans les fondations du musée, ou 400 ans d’histoire de la ville s’entremêlent sous nos yeux, décryptés de façon tout à fait réussie.
Le film d’introduction sur l’histoire de la ville est déroutant (la 2nde guerre mondiale en 5 secondes chrono) mais techniquement bien fait.
L’expo Histoires d’amour de Montréal n’est pas formidable, j’ai apprécié certains témoignages vidéo, le reste sans plus.
Les expositions temporaires sont par nature provisoires. Lors de mon passage en juillet 2012, les Samourais d’une part, les Etrusques de l’autre. Pourquoi pas.
Enfin, le belvédère donne effectivement l’occasion d’un magnifique panorama sur le vieux port.

J’ai adoré ma visite au musée Pointe à Callière.
Ca commence par un diorama aux jeux de lumière travaillés qui nous fait remonter le temps pour nous raconter Montréal, de sa fondation à aujourd’hui.
On y aborde l’histoire entre colons et amérindiens, batailles de pouvoir entre l’armée française et anglaise, puis évolution et constitution de l’identité de la ville jusqu’à nos jours.
Enfin, je vous conseille de suivre la visite guidée, in english only, mais les montréalais ont un accent si aisé à comprendre !
La visite nous fait évoluer sur les fondations de Montréal. On se retrouve au-​dessus d’anciens caveaux, au pied d’une tour historique, au coeur de l’ancienne place du marché, dans les premiers égoûts etc.
Des panneaux et des maquettes achèvent de concrétiser la représentation de la ville aux différentes époques.
La visite guidée fourmille d’anecdotes, et rend la balade plus vivante.
A faire absolument !

Si vous né devez voir qu’un seul musée à Montréal, ce sera celui-​ci. Il s’agit d’une représentation historique et archéologique de la ville depuis l’époque amérindienne jusqu’à aujourd’hui. Le must du must? Vous circulez sur un vrai site archéologique! Ainsi plus vous descendez les différentes couches, plus vous remontez le temps. Vous traversez ainsi près de dix siècles! Mais attention, ce n’est pas QUE un site archéologique que vous visitez. A vrai dire le site sert surtout de matériel à toute l’exposition. Pour chaque époque vous allez rencontrer des trouvailles de fouilles, des repères et même des animations. Je vous conseille très fortement d’attendre une visite guidée, elles sont menées par des étudiants en archéologie qui connaissent bien leur sujet et qui sont très pédagogues.
Il y a aussi très régulièrement des expositions temporaires. Perso, j’ai vraiment accroché sur la partie permanente qui à mon sens est vraiment celle que vous devriez privilégier si vous n’avez pas trop de temps devant vous.