Space for Life and the Olympic Park: Gardens, Bugs, Ecosystems and Stars

June through September is peak season for the outdoor gardens. From early September to the end of October, the Gardens of Light festival lights the Chinese Garden with lanterns in the evenings, the most atmospheric time to visit. From February to April, the greenhouses host Butterflies Go Free, when thousands of butterflies fly loose among the plants.

Arrive at Pie-IX for the Botanical Garden, Insectarium and stadium, and leave from Viau after the Biodome and Planetarium, so you never walk the same stretch twice. The drive from downtown is not hard, but the metro is quicker at rush hour and saves you the parking fee.

Space for Life sells fixed-time tickets for each museum and recommends buying them online in advance; that is the surest way in on summer weekends and school holidays. Book the Planetarium show time first, since it is the only part of the day with limited seats, and build the rest around it.

Combination tickets for two or more museums cost less than buying each on its own, and the Botanical Garden and Insectarium share grounds, so they pair naturally. If you live nearby or visit often, Space for Life also sells a 12-month passport covering all five museums. Check the official site for current options.

For children the order flips: the Biodome’s penguins, lynx and rainforest animals and the Insectarium’s live insects are the headline acts. Do those while energy is high, then use the Planetarium show as the sit-down rest at the end of the day. The gardens are wonderful but best in smaller doses for young kids.

There are cafés on site, but on a fine day the best lunch is a picnic on the lawns of the Botanical Garden. Rue Ontario and the Maisonneuve Market, a short bus or metro hop south in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, are good for an early dinner once the museums close.

There are few hotels right by the Olympic Park, and you do not need one. Downtown and Quartier Latin hotels on or near the green line (Berri-UQAM, McGill, Peel) get you to Pie-IX in about 15 to 20 minutes, with the rest of the city on your doorstep in the evening.

Some of the best views of the stadium and its leaning tower are from inside the Botanical Garden, where the concrete curves rise over the treetops. The stadium’s nickname, the Big O, comes from its roof and was quickly punned into the ‘Big Owe’: the building’s debt was only paid off in 2006, thirty years after the Games.

Between the gardens and the walk across to the Biodome you will cover several kilometres on foot. Inside, the Biodome swings from tropical humidity to sub-Antarctic cold in a few minutes, so a light layer you can carry is more useful than a heavy coat.