Things to see in Montreal

Canada's largest natural science museum complex, Space for Life, offers four different attractions. The newest opened in spring 2013; the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium housed in a $48million building featuring two silver cones pointing skywards like telescopes. Inside, in the Chaos Theatre, visitors can journey into space against the backdrop of a Philip Glass symphony soundtrack. The planetarium also contains a permanent exhibition of meteorites and interactive terminals, videos and multimedia games. Also on the site is a Biodôme where you can learn about flora and fauna in five different ecosystems, an Insectarium offering a diverse and colourful collection of insects, butterflies, moths and spiders, and the Botanical Garden covering 73 hectares (180 acres), which includes a Chinese garden, Japanese garden and a Tree House displaying information on Quebec's forests.

The Old Port was once one of the most important trading ports in North America. With most shipping activity now taking place downriver, this area has been transformed into an excellent recreation and exhibition area, filled with walkers, cyclists and rollerbladers on the riverside promenades between the Clock Tower and the locks at Parc des Écluses. The Montreal Science Centre , on King Edward Pier, is a science and entertainment centre geared towards a family experience, with exhibitions, the Immersion Movie Game (interactive video game on a giant screen) and an IMAX cinema.

Since it was established in 1860, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has been at the forefront of promoting Canadian and international art. The permanent collection is split between the original beaux-arts building, which houses Canadian, Inuit and First Nations art, as well as decorative arts; and the postmodern structure opposite where European masters, prints and drawings and decorative arts are exhibited. In the tunnel connecting the pavilions are galleries showcasing contemporary Canadian artists and a small collection from ancient cultures.

In 2000, the museum received the Liliane and David M Stewart Collection as a gift, comprising some 5,000 items of decorative art dating from the end of the 1930s onwards. The whole collection of the former Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts, one of the most important in North America, thus entered the museum. The museum also has a reputation for hosting outstanding temporary exhibitions.

The Olympic Park was the site of the 1976 Olympic Games. The unique and costly (over C$1 billion) Olympic Stadium is now the venue for concerts and features a sports centre with four large swimming pools. Half-hour guided tours are available and visitors can also take a funicular (cable car) ride up the world's tallest inclined tower (175m/575ft). Nearby, the former velodrome is now a major and extremely popular attraction - the Biodôme de Montréal is a recreation of five ecosystems under one roof. Visitors can move from a tropical rainforest to a polar world, with stops in a Laurentian forest and St Lawrence marine environment en route.

This gallery never ceases to boggle the mind. Contemporary Canadian artists exhibit their work to the astonishment of art buffs and critics alike.

A popular trip for families, the Montreal Science Centre has a constant fresh rota of exhibitions and programmes. Learning through interaction is the name of the game, with hands on workshops, special events and fun activities. There is also an IMAX cinema should the little ones demand easy entertainment.