Spade & Palacio Non-Touristy Tours

Spade & Palacio runs private, off-the-beaten-path tours of Montreal that skip the tourist traps and head straight for the neighborhoods locals actually love. If your family has already done Old Montreal and the big museums, this is the next level.

Their tours are fully customizable, which is a huge advantage for families. You tell them your interests — street art, food, history, architecture — and they build a route around it. This means you're not stuck on a rigid schedule or dragged through stops that bore your kids.

The private format is the key selling point for families. No strangers, no rigid pace, no awkward silences. Your guide adjusts on the fly if kids need a bathroom break or a snack stop. That flexibility is worth the higher price tag compared to group tours.

These tours work best for families with older kids, roughly 10 and up. The appeal is the depth of the experience — learning about Montreal's immigrant neighborhoods, underground music scene, or craft food producers. Younger kids won't connect with that level of detail.

Pricing is per group (not per person), so a family of 4-6 actually gets solid value. If you're traveling with another family, splitting a tour cuts the cost significantly while keeping the private feel.

Expect 3-4 hours of walking through various neighborhoods. The guides know Montreal inside and out and genuinely love sharing it, which comes through in every story they tell.