Home / Travel / Canada · Campus tours
McGill campus tour: Roddick Gates, Mount Royal and downtown Montreal
Visiting McGill? A guide to the downtown campus: the Roddick Gates, the Arts Building, the lower field, the Redpath Museum, Mount Royal and where families stay.
McGill University grew from the bequest of James McGill, a Montreal merchant, and received its royal charter in 1821. Its main campus sits in the heart of downtown Montreal, climbing from Sherbrooke Street up the slopes of Mount Royal, so office towers stand on one side and wooded parkland on the other. It's an English-language university in a largely French-speaking city, which shapes much of the student experience. This guide walks you up the hill, explains what everyday life looks like, and covers the practical side of a visit.
Through the Roddick Gates
Most visitors enter through the Roddick Gates on Sherbrooke Street, the stone and iron gateway with a clock at the foot of the main avenue. From here, a straight, tree-lined drive leads north up the gentle slope of the campus, with the mountain rising ahead. Stand inside the gates for a moment and look back: the contrast between the quiet campus and the busy downtown street is one of the most striking things about McGill.
The lower field and the Arts Building
The drive passes the lower field, a large lawn that serves as the campus's green heart. In warm weather it fills with students studying, playing games and relaxing between classes, and it's the setting for many campus events.
At the top of the drive stands the Arts Building, the university's oldest, with a classical portico and a small green cupola. James McGill's remains lie in a memorial in front of it. Around it, a mix of grey limestone Victorian buildings and later additions house the faculties of arts, science and law, with the McLennan and Redpath library buildings nearby.
The Redpath Museum
On the western side of campus, the Redpath Museum is one of the oldest purpose-built museum buildings in Canada, opened in the 1880s. Its natural history collections cover fossils, including dinosaurs, minerals, zoology and world cultures, displayed in a handsome Victorian interior. It's usually open to the public; check its hours before you go.
Up the mountain
Behind the campus, the slopes of Mount Royal rise steeply. The upper residences are built along this hillside, and paths lead up into Mount Royal Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect of New York's Central Park. A climb to the Kondiaronk Belvedere, the lookout near the summit chalet, gives one of the best views of the downtown skyline and the St. Lawrence River. Allow an hour or so for the walk up and back from campus, and wear good shoes; the stairways are steep.
Also on the mountain side of campus, Percival Molson Memorial Stadium hosts McGill sport and professional football.
Student life in Montreal
Most first-year students live in university residences, some on the hillside above campus and others in converted buildings around downtown. After first year, many move into apartments in the nearby Milton-Parc area or the Plateau Mont-Royal, a neighbourhood of colourful triplexes, exterior staircases, cafés and bagel shops.
Living in Montreal is a big part of the McGill experience. Students can study in English while picking up French in shops, cafés and on the metro. The city's festivals, especially in summer, and its long, snowy winters both shape the year. Just across Sherbrooke Street, the McCord Stewart Museum covers the social history of Montreal, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is a few blocks west.
McGill also has a second campus, Macdonald Campus, in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue at the western tip of the island of Montreal, home to agricultural and environmental sciences. It's a separate trip if your student's programme is based there.
Planning a campus visit
McGill typically offers student-led campus tours and information for prospective students, alongside self-guided and virtual options. Tours usually need to be booked ahead, and the schedule varies with the academic calendar, so check the university's official visitor pages for current times. Some faculties also run their own information events.
Travel logistics
- From the airport: Montréal–Trudeau airport is roughly 30 to 45 minutes from downtown by car or taxi; an express airport bus also runs to the city centre.
- By metro: McGill and Peel stations on the Green Line are both a short walk south of the Roddick Gates.
- By train: intercity trains from Toronto, Ottawa and Quebec City arrive at Central Station downtown, about a 15-minute walk from campus.
- On foot: the downtown campus is compact, but the upper sections are steep; allow extra time.
Choosing a base for the visit
- Downtown, near Sherbrooke Street: the most convenient, within walking distance of the campus, museums and shopping streets.
- The Golden Square Mile: just west of campus, with historic mansions and quieter streets.
- Plateau Mont-Royal: a lively neighbourhood with smaller guest houses, a short walk or metro ride from campus.
- Old Montreal: atmospheric cobblestone streets near the river, a short metro ride away.
The where to stay in Montreal guide compares these areas in more detail.
Tips before you go
- Winter visits need proper cold-weather clothing and footwear; the slopes can be icy.
- Summer and early autumn are the easiest times to explore the mountain and the city.
- Plan half a day for the campus and a few more hours for Mount Royal.
- Check McGill's official visitor pages again shortly before your trip.
Bloiq is reader-supported. Some links may earn us a commission; it never affects what we write. How we make money.
_-_McGill_University_-_Montreal,_Canada_-_DSC07723.jpg){kind=link}