Notre-Dame Basilica

Notre-Dame Basilica is the most spectacular interior in Montreal and one of the great church interiors of North America. The present building, on Place d'Armes in Old Montreal, replaced an earlier parish church and was designed in the Gothic Revival style by the Irish-American architect James O'Donnell, opening in 1829; its twin towers were added in the following decades, and the interior was richly reworked in the later nineteenth century. Step inside and the effect is immediate: a vaulted ceiling of deep blue scattered with gold stars, a sanctuary glowing with gilded carving and blue light, polychrome woodwork, stained-glass windows that tell the story of Montreal's founding rather than biblical scenes, and the great Casavant Freres organ, with around 7,000 pipes, filling the rear gallery. The daytime Sightseeing Visit is self-guided, with interpretation panels in French and English at 24 points around the nave, and takes about an hour; adult admission is modest, in the mid-teens of dollars, with family rates and free entry for young children. The basilica is a working parish, so visiting hours are shorter on Sundays and around masses, and on-site ticket sales stop in the late afternoon. In the evening the church becomes the stage for AURA, an immersive show by the Montreal studio Moment Factory that uses projection, light and an orchestral score to animate the architecture: about 25 minutes of show plus illuminated stations, roughly 40 to 45 minutes in total, with doors opening half an hour before your time. AURA tickets cost more than the day visit, roughly in the high thirties for adults, and a combined day-and-night offer is available. Book AURA ahead for weekends and holidays; all ticket sales are final.

The story behind the splendour: by the early nineteenth century the growing city needed a church larger than its old parish building, and the Sulpician priests who led the parish commissioned O'Donnell, a Protestant from New York, who was so moved by the project that he converted to Catholicism before his death and is buried in the crypt. The interior that visitors admire today owes much to the later work of the Quebec architect Victor Bourgeau, who gave it the colour and carved richness that make it unique. Behind the main altar, the Sacred Heart Chapel, used for weekday masses, was rebuilt after a fire in 1978 with a striking contemporary bronze altarpiece. The basilica has hosted state funerals and celebrity weddings, Celine Dion's among them, and its acoustics make it a favourite concert venue, including organ recitals and seasonal performances such as Handel and Mozart at Christmas.

How to visit well: arrive at opening on a weekday morning for the calmest nave and the best light through the windows. Allow an hour to follow the 24 numbered points; look up at the ceiling, at the pulpit with its spiral staircase, and back at the organ. Sunday mornings are reserved for mass, with visits only from early afternoon. Dress respectfully and keep your voice down; photography for personal use is generally fine outside services. The Place-d'Armes metro station on the orange line is a few minutes' walk away, and there is no on-site parking. The church is partially accessible.

AURA, the night version, is the reason many people return. Seats in the pews face the sanctuary as the architecture is lit, mapped and set in motion to an orchestral score; it is less a sermon than a concert of light, and it suits couples and older children as well as architecture fans. Schedules vary by season, so check the ticket page for your date and book ahead, especially for Friday and Saturday evenings and the Christmas period. If you only have time for one visit, the daytime visit shows the art and history in detail, while AURA delivers the emotion; the combined day-and-night offer is the best value if you can do both.