We're planning a trip to Montreal in July with our 3 kids (ages 3,11,14). Any advice on what to do?

I've taken elementary school groups (aged 12-14) from Ontario to Montreal, there's so much to do there. It is Canada's second largest city, the largest French-speaking and very cosmopolitan. Not sure if you speak any French, but be sure to practice your "Bonjour, s'il vous plait, merci and au revoir". You can get by with only English, but it is polite to make the attempt and you will get a smile for the effort.

You can take a City Bus tour to get your bearings and to see the highlights. Be sure to visit the Biodome, with its four different habitats including live animals such as penguins, birds, butterflies, etc., my students could have spent all day there.

You can tour the Olympic Stadium where the 76 Olympic games were held. There is La Ronde amusement park and the Science Centre on the St. Lawrence Riverfront.

For a historical view, be sure to tour Old Montreal with its numerous cafes and restaurants. There are buskers with fun street entertainment. You can also go to the top of Mount Royal to get a beautiful view of the city. There are caleches (carriages) near Notre Dame Basilica - be sure to go inside for their Light show.

There's a NASA space camp that our group went to visit, but I'm not sure if it is open to the general public. If you have a car, there are numerous Cabanes a Sucre, sugar shacks, that present information about the maple syrup industry and have great French-Canadian food. One we went to also had bicycles for the kids to ride through trails in the woods.

It can get quite hot or wet during the summer with suddent severe thunderstorms, so you can tour the many shops underground in the Metro Subway system.

Hope that helps - enjoy!

The Biodome, Insectarium and biosphere (buckminster Fuller sphere from Expo) are all fun. The older kids would probably like the science museum and IMAX. there are many other good museums

the Old Port area has bicycle rentals, a maze. Place Jacques Cartier in Old Montreal has a lot of street theater.
La Ronde amusement park.

If you are not from a big city with its own Chinatown the kids would probably like seeing the Montreal Chinatown.

There are lots of festivals in the summer.

the cosmodome Space Center in Laval mentioned by timsmom is open to the general public. There is a good railway museum outside the city. Several interesting forts along the richelieu River east of the city.

MOntreal has a very good tourist web site to check out these and other options
http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/B2C/00/default.asp

Our kids loved jetboating on the river. Might be fun for your older children.

Parc Safari, about 45 mins. drive south of Montreal, is always a hit with the kids. You drive around the wildlife reserve where giraffes, deers, ostriches, zebras, etc. can come to your car and you can feed them. There is a deer parc where the deer swarm around you like pigeons especially when they know you have some food to spare to them. The wild cats and monkeys are contained in their own area but you can still view up close.

There are also playground for the kids if they get tired of the animals and picnic area.

Old port quays with the maze and Segway rental http://www.quaysoftheoldport.com/

La Ronde with a great section for toddlers - yes there are rides your 3 year old could ride (with you beside him/her), provided he/she is at least 36.5 inches tall (92 cm) http://www.laronde.com/larondeen/

Science Museum is also great:
http://www.montrealsciencecentre.com/

Insectarium:
http://www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/ins...m/en/index.php

re: Parc Safari
If you intend to go visit a Zoo, I highly suggest to go to Granby Zoo instead:
http://www.zoodegranby.com/en/accueil.htm

The animals are in a much better condition, the place is soooooo much cleaner (especially the toilets!!!!)and there is a very fun waterpark that your 3 kids (and yourself!) will enjoy (access included in the price). Park Safari also has a water park but its quite lame compared to the one in Granby. And its around 10$ less per adult (the reason is that the Granby Zoo is a not for profit organization aiming at educating people and preserving wildlife).

Also, the Granby Zoo is recognized by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA - www.aza.org)and is also a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The Parc Safari is not recognized or a member of these organizations.

Get there for opening time (in the morning the animals are not hammered by the heat) and during the hot hours (1:00pm-4:00pm) enjoy the waterpark.

If you do go to Parc Safari, don't forget to bring plenty of baby wipes and alcohol based desinfectant (animals will drool on your hands when they eat out of them) http://www.parcsafari.com/english/index_en.htm