Visiting the Old Port of Montreal on a carbon neutral boat cruise: Le Petit Navire Review
An honest review of my experience with Le Petit Navire in Montreal
I was in Montreal for a weekend by myself and I decided to purchase an MTL Passport card and go visit various tourist attractions and activities around the city as kind of a stay at home vacation during summer 2021. I had been to Montreal many times over the years and I was in the Old Port area back in January 2019 for the IglooFest music festival, so when I returned in the summer of 2021, I wanted to learn more about the area since I had only really seen it at night for the festival. I thought that taking a boat tour would be a great way to get another perspective of the city !
I booked this Montreal boat cruise using my MTL Passport attractions card, which I paid for myself, so this is a completely independent review.
You can read a detailed summary of all the experiences I had with Le Petit Navire on a guided boat tour of the Old Port area of Montreal or jump straight to my final recommendation at the end.
Go to final recommendation
Keep reading to find out what we did on this guided tour of Old Montreal!
Quick Overview of the le Petit Navire Montreal Boat Cruise Tour
Destinations: This tour departed from Quay Jacques Cartier in the Vieux Port area and from the water we observed the entrance of the Lachine Canal, the Habitat 67 buildings, Parc de la Cite du Havre, Tour de l’Horloge and the accompanying marina, along with waterfront views of Ile St. Helene and the Vieux Port area where the Grand Roue is located.
How long was the tour: This guided Montreal boat cruise tour lasted 45 minutes.
Who was on the tour: There were 15 other people on the tour, but the capacity of the boat is about 40 people.
Who was the guide: This boat cruise had one captain and one tour guide. The guide provided commentary through a loudspeaker announcement system and she was easy to understand and completely bilingual. It was more a facts based commentary not really many jokes, but completely family friendly, nothing political or inappropriate. The boat captain seemed quite experienced, and navigated the boat safely around the harbour.
How did we travel: As the name suggests, this tour took place on a boat and you do effectively remain seated for the entire tour as the boat isn’t big enough to be walking around.
When did I take this tour: August 2021.
Vieux Port and Ticket Office
I wanted to use my MTL Passport to purchase this boat cruise activity, so I arrived at the ticket office in the Vieux Port area at 4:00pm to get my ticket for the 5:00pm sailing. It is quite clearly marked as a ticket office and they accepted my pass with no issue. I walked around the market area in the Vieux Port while I waited for the departure, and there are also washrooms, food trucks and vendors and places to sit down while you wait in the area. I do not believe there was a washroom on board the boat so it would be better to go before the cruise starts.
Embarking on the Petit Navire boat
The boat tour departed from Quai Jacques Cartier, you just follow the signs, walk down the ramp and find the departure point marked by a sign for le Petit Navire. I had no difficulty finding it and there was a designated area to wait and line up when it is busy with a sun shade and benches in the summer.
Lachine Canal and Cruise Port
Once everyone had embarked, the captain announced safety information and where to find life jackets if needed. There was also an option to purchase beer, wine or water bottles on board however, there was no pop or juice, so if you don’t like those options you may want to have something before the cruise or bring your own non-alcoholic drink. The tables did have little notches to hold the wine glasses and prevent them from spilling which was a cool feature. Everyone sits on padded benches, there are no single or designated seats, so it was pretty casual for seating.
The cruise started by going past some of the other quays, including the one for cruise ship passengers and we also saw one of the entrances to the Lachine Canal, I believe Le Petit Navire also runs a specific tour of the Lachine Canal on some days if you were particularly interested in seeing that.
Habitat 67
Next, we passed by the Habitat 67 complex, which is a well-known architectural landmark and one of the most recognized buildings in both Montreal and the entire country. It was designed and constructed as a pavilion for the Expo 67 event and is now a co-op residence building.
I enjoyed getting the perspective from the water and the tour guide (who I think was from Parks Canada) provided historic facts and commentary throughout the journey so we could learn about what we were seeing. I thought it was interesting to learn about the history of Montreal as a trade centre and shipping port.
St Lawrence River
Around the middle of the tour, the captain steered the boat out briefly into open water where the harbour channel meets the St. Lawrence and the water is quite a bit rougher, it is hard to photograph but you can really feel the boat rocking around in the current. You don’t get wet at all, even though the boat is open on the sides, just dress for the weather if it seems cold or windy.
Sailor’s Memorial Clock Tower
The boat passed by the Sailor’s Memorial Clock Tower, which marks the entrance to the Old Port and is dedicated to sailors who lost their lives in the First World War and there are observation decks if you climb up inside. There is also a small beach and picnic area nearby. We also went on a short tour through the marina area, there were definitely some very nice large yachts moored there, and we got some good views of the Old Port waterfront as well.
We then started the short journey back to where we started at Jaques Cartier Quay 45 minutes earlier, I thought the tour went by really fast, and it was nice to be able to just sit and take pictures and learn more about the city, overall a nice contrast with the Old Montreal walking tour I did later the same weekend and a nice break from constantly walking all over the city. The 5:00pm sailing was a nice time to go as well, because it was not too hot out and you could have a drink onboard and be done the cruise just in time for dinner !
Final Recommendation:
Old Port Boat Cruise Guided Tour with Le Petit Navire in Montreal
I originally learned about this activity from my MTL Passport attractions card and I thought it would be fun to see the city from a different perspective and take a break after walking around all day.
I really liked that this boat was electric and carbon neutral. It meant that there was no pollution or exhaust fumes to breath in and it was nice and quiet so we could hear the commentary.
The boat itself seemed to be in good condition and safe, the captain seemed experienced and there were lifejackets on board. In terms of accessibility, you did have to step off the dock area into the boat and I’m not sure if they could accommodate a large mobility device so maybe call and check if that’s a concern for you. Several people on our tour had children or babies so it seems suitable for families.
I thought the description of the tour on the company website accurately reflected the experience we had and 45 minutes was a reasonable amount of time to see some highlights of the area, the only thing I thought could be improved was a better drink selection with pop or juice for those who don’t want alcoholic drinks or plain water, but not a big issue.
I had no trouble locating the ticket office or departure point based on the website information and overall this was an enjoyable activity to do for an hour or so before dinner on a Friday night just to see the city in a different way and learn a bit more about the history while being respectful of the environmental impact.
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