Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal — daytime self-guided visit or the AURA immersive light experience, booked in English before the French-first ticket site catches you out.
See ticket optionsSelf-guided basilica visit, anytime during opening hours
€22
Evening light show · Tue–Sat · final showtime confirmed via Fever
€40
Senior 65+ or Student · Tue–Sat · final showtime confirmed via Fever
€35
See the basilica twice — daytime + AURA evening · final showtime confirmed via Fever
€60 €53 Save €7
“We did daytime first and AURA the same evening. The daytime visit is about the architecture and the stained glass; AURA is a different kind of visit — the ceiling stars literally move, the walls narrate a wordless story. Two experiences, not one. Both worth the ticket.”
“Tried the French-first booking site and gave up after three attempts at the tiered-AURA calendar. These guys had both tickets for the same day in my inbox in under an hour.”
“The royal-blue ceiling is what the photos show. What the photos don't show is how much gold leaf is on everything else — the pulpit, the pillars, the altarpiece. It's the most elaborate church interior I've seen in North America.”
5-minute audio guide
Hand-written, narrated by a heritage host, sent to every customer the day before their visit. Five minutes on the Irish-American architect who converted to Catholicism on his deathbed to be buried inside it, Bourgeau's deep blue ceiling completed in 1880, and the AURA light show that's been running since 2017.
Included free with every ticket. No app, no download — plays in any browser.
Notre-Dame de Montréal was built between 1824 and 1829 on the Place d'Armes in what was then the Catholic heart of a British-ruled, French-speaking city. The architect was James O'Donnell, an Irish Protestant from New York; he converted to Catholicism the year before his death so he could be buried in his own creation. The Gothic Revival exterior was radical for North America in 1829 — no other building on the continent looked like it.
The interior is the reason to visit. Victor Bourgeau's redesign in the 1870s filled the sanctuary with carved walnut, gilt-leaf painted details, and the royal-blue ceiling studded with 24-karat gold stars that's become the building's signature image. The stained-glass windows — unusual because they depict scenes from Montréal's religious history rather than biblical ones — were installed 1929–31 by Francis Chigot of Limoges. The Casavant Frères organ has nearly 7,000 pipes; Celine Dion was married in this church in 1994.
AURA is the evening product. Produced by Moment Factory (Montréal's own immersive-media studio), it projection-maps a 45-minute orchestral show onto the interior — the ceiling stars come alive, the walls ripple, the sanctuary becomes a stage for a wordless narrative. It sells as a separate-ticket evening experience, distinct from the daytime self-guided visit. The daytime interior is architecture and history; AURA is what Moment Factory does to architecture with light. Two different visits.
Notre-Dame Montréal Tickets is an independent concierge service. For the AURA evening light show and basilica entry, we book your ticket through Fever (our ticketing partner) and transfer it to you using Fever's "send to a friend" feature. You will receive the ticket via the Fever app or email — open the Fever link at the basilica door, not a PDF. We are not affiliated with the Fabrique de la paroisse Notre-Dame de Montréal, the basilica's operator. Our concierge service fee is included in the displayed price. Our value: English-language support, 2-hour reply time, multi-currency display, and a clear refund policy when the operator can't deliver.
Plan your visit
When to visit Notre-Dame Basilica Montréal: daytime self-guided hours, AURA night show schedule, mass times to avoid, and the seasonal rhythm of Old Montreal crowds.
Step-by-step directions to Notre-Dame Basilica in Old Montréal: Place-d'Armes metro, 747 airport bus from YUL, walking from Old Port, Bixi cycling, and why driving is a bad idea.
Comparing Montréal's two great churches: Notre-Dame Basilica (Gothic Revival, Old Montréal, 1843) and Saint Joseph's Oratory (Italian Renaissance, Mount Royal, 1967). Which to pick, or how to combine.
The daytime self-guided visit uses 24 interpretation panels in French and English only. There is no multilingual audio-guide app. The AURA evening show is non-narrated — visual and musical, no language requirement.
A 45-minute immersive multimedia experience produced by Montréal's Moment Factory. The basilica interior becomes a projection canvas: the ceiling stars animate, the walls are painted with light, a full orchestral score plays through the sanctuary's sound system. It's wordless, narrative-led, and designed as a standalone evening experience separate from the daytime self-guided visit.
Yes — they're separate tickets at separate times. A common pattern: daytime visit at 10:00 (with your audio guide), free day in Old Montréal, back at 19:00 or 20:00 for AURA. The two visits complement each other well.
Yes, with caveats. Most kids 6+ are captivated; the darkness, music and lights are immersive but not scary. Toddlers may find the sound volume overwhelming. There's no age restriction but under-7s are free (lap seating). AURA starts after dinner time for small kids.
Yes — the basilica is still an active Catholic parish. Sunday mass is at 11:00 in French. Mass attendance is free and doesn't require a ticket. Tourist visits are not permitted during mass. If you want to attend in a non-tourist capacity, just walk up.
Smart casual. No shorts shorter than mid-thigh, no tank tops, shoulders covered. The basilica doesn't strictly enforce but asks politely; most tourists comply without being asked. Kids' usual clothing is fine.
Tickets are issued for a specific date and are non-transferable once issued. If you need to change your visit, reply to your confirmation email at least 48 hours ahead and we'll do our best to move you to a new available slot.
Very — Old Montréal is one of the safest tourist districts in Canada. Normal street-smart rules around Place d'Armes. Nothing specific to the basilica.