Montreal Quiz: How Well Do You Know la Métropole?
Ride five quiz "metro lines" through Montreal's history, landmarks, food, festivals and global role. Every answer comes with a short, fact-checked explanation, and your final ticket reveals your Montreal rank.
Why Take a Montreal Quiz?
Montreal is one of those cities that rewards curiosity. It is an island city in a river, a French-speaking metropolis in North America, a place where a 17th-century mission grew into a hub for aviation, design, comedy and hockey.
This Montreal quiz is built to teach as much as it tests. Instead of trick questions, you will find 30 carefully checked items that cover the moments and places that shaped the city: Jacques Cartier's 1535 visit to Hochelaga, the founding of Ville-Marie, Expo 67, the 1976 Olympics, the honey-water bagel and the rubber-tired Metro. Each answer unlocks a short explanation, so even a wrong guess leaves you knowing something new.
Whether you are planning a trip, studying Canadian history, preparing for a trivia night or simply proud of your hometown, you can finish the whole route in about ten minutes.
How to Play & Fun Scoring
Every correct answer is worth 1 point, up to 30. Here is how the ranks work:
| Score | Your Montreal Rank |
|---|---|
| 0–7 | 🧭 Lost in the Underground City |
| 8–14 | 🗺️ Tourist with a Paper Map |
| 15–20 | 🥯 Bagel Line Regular |
| 21–25 | 🌀 Plateau Spiral-Staircase Local |
| 26–29 | ⛰️ Mount Royal Summiteer |
| 30 | ⚜️ Certified Montrealer – Concordia Salus! |
Origins & History
The Island of Montreal sits in which major river?
Which French explorer visited the Iroquoian village of Hochelaga in 1535?
What was the name of the French mission settlement founded on the island in 1642?
Which Kanien'kéha (Mohawk) name is widely used for the place we now call Montreal?
Montreal stopped being the capital of the Province of Canada after what happened in 1849?
Which canal, opened in 1825, let ships bypass a set of dangerous rapids and powered Montreal's industrial boom?
Landmarks & Architecture
Where does the name "Montreal" come from?
Habitat 67, the stacked-box housing complex built for Expo 67, was designed by which architect?
Which building on the slope of Mount Royal is the largest church in Canada?
Notre-Dame Basilica's Gothic Revival design is the work of an architect who is buried in its crypt. Who was he?
The tower of Montreal's Olympic Stadium is famous for being what?
Which monument in Old Montreal's Place Jacques-Cartier, erected in 1809, is older than its famous London counterpart?
Parks, Islands & Getting Around
Mount Royal Park, opened in 1876, was designed by the landscape architect who co-created New York's Central Park. Who?
In what year did the Montreal Metro open?
What makes Montreal's Metro trains unusual compared with most subways?
About how long is Montreal's network of indoor pedestrian tunnels, known as the Underground City or RÉSO?
The Biosphère, the giant geodesic sphere on Île Sainte-Hélène, began as the U.S. pavilion at Expo 67. Who designed it?
Which amusement park, built for Expo 67, still operates on Île Sainte-Hélène?
Food, Festivals & Culture
What sets a traditional Montreal-style bagel apart from a typical New York bagel?
Which Saint-Laurent Boulevard deli, opened in 1928, is famous for Montreal smoked meat?
Which Montreal event was recognized by Guinness World Records in 2004 as the world's largest jazz festival?
Which major comedy festival was founded in Montreal in 1983?
Which Montreal-born poet and singer-songwriter is honoured by a towering mural on Crescent Street?
Which world-famous entertainment company has its international headquarters in Montreal?
Sports, Symbols & Global Montreal
The Montreal Canadiens hold the NHL record for most Stanley Cup titles. How many have they won?
The Montreal Expos, Major League Baseball's first team outside the United States, relocated in 2005 and became which team?
Which 1987 international treaty to protect the ozone layer is named after the city?
Which United Nations agency has its headquarters in Montreal?
In 2017, which symbol was added to the centre of Montreal's flag to represent Indigenous peoples?
Montreal earned which nickname for its many churches, a reputation echoed in an 1881 joke by Mark Twain?
Your Montreal Ticket
Press Print My Montreal Ticket at any time to see your score. The small circles show how many of the six questions you got right on each line, so you can spot your strongest and weakest topics. Unanswered questions count as missed, and Ride Again resets the whole route.
Montreal at a Glance
A quick reference card for revising the facts behind this quiz. It sticks to details that do not change from year to year.
| Province | Quebec (the provincial capital is Quebec City, not Montreal) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1642, as Ville-Marie, by Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve and Jeanne Mance |
| Kanien'kéha name | Tiohtià:ke |
| Setting | Island of Montreal, where the Ottawa River meets the St. Lawrence |
| Landmark hill | Mount Royal (about 233 m at its highest point) |
| Official language | French, under Quebec's Charter of the French Language (1977) |
| City motto | Concordia Salus, "well-being through harmony" |
| Big moments | Metro opens (1966) · Expo 67 (1967) · Summer Olympics (1976) · Montreal Protocol (1987) |
| Design status | Named a UNESCO City of Design in 2006 |
5 Things Worth Remembering
If you only keep a handful of facts from this Montreal quiz, make it these. Together they explain a lot about why the city looks, sounds and tastes the way it does.
The river made the city
Rapids just upstream forced travellers to stop at the island, turning it into a natural trading post for Indigenous nations, then fur traders, then industry along the Lachine Canal.
The mountain shapes the skyline
Mount Royal gave the city its name, and longstanding planning rules aim to keep downtown towers from rising above the summit, which preserves views of the mountain.
1967 changed everything
Expo 67 brought the Metro, Habitat 67, the Biosphère, La Ronde and even new islands built partly with fill dug from Metro tunnels.
Immigrant kitchens, local icons
Bagels and smoked meat came from Jewish families from Eastern Europe, proof that "Montreal food" is a story of many communities.
A city of cooperation
From ICAO to the Montreal Protocol, Montreal is linked with global agreements, a modern echo of its motto about harmony.
Montreal Quiz FAQ
What does this Montreal quiz cover?
The 30 questions are split into five themed lines: origins and history, landmarks and architecture, parks and getting around, food and culture, and sports, symbols and Montreal's global role.
How is the Montreal quiz scored?
Each correct answer earns one point, for a maximum of 30. The quiz also tracks your best streak and your score on each line, then awards a fun rank from "Lost in the Underground City" to "Certified Montrealer."
Is Montreal the capital of Quebec?
No. Quebec City is the provincial capital. Montreal is Quebec's largest city and its main economic and cultural centre.
Where does the name Montreal come from?
From Mount Royal (Mont Royal), the hill in the middle of the island, which Jacques Cartier named in 1535. Over time "Mont Royal" became "Montréal."
Can teachers use this quiz in class?
Yes. The questions work well as a warm-up for lessons on Canadian history, geography or urban planning. Each explanation gives students a starting point for further reading.
More Daily Quizzes
Finished your ride? Keep the trivia streak going with two daily quizzes that refresh with new questions every day.
Sources & Fact-Check Notes
Every question was checked against official or institutional sources. This article avoids figures that change often, such as population or current office-holders, so the answers stay accurate over time. Spot something that needs updating? Corrections are welcome and will be noted here.
- City of Montréal – history, flag and motto: montreal.ca
- Tourisme Montréal – landmarks, festivals and neighbourhoods: mtl.org
- Société de transport de Montréal – Metro history: stm.info
- Parks Canada – Lachine Canal National Historic Site: parks.canada.ca
- Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal: saint-joseph.org
- Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal: basiliquenotredame.ca
- Habitat 67: habitat67.com
- Espace pour la vie (Biosphère and Botanical Garden): espacepourlavie.ca
- International Civil Aviation Organization: icao.int
- UN Environment Programme, Ozone Secretariat – Montreal Protocol: unep.org
- Montreal Canadiens / NHL records: nhl.com/canadiens