Montreal 375

Canada isn't the only one having a big birthday in 2017. Montreal turns 375, and the city will be having its own celebratory bash that will rival the national goings-on around from coast to coast. Take in below a bit of Montreal's 375 years of history, plus some of the best FREE festivals and happenings that will take place in 2017!

Quebec's French roots started growing in the 1500s with the arrival of Jacques Cartier, who planted crosses in the ground all along the present-day St Lawrence waterway in the name of his homeland. In 1608 Champlain started the first official colony of New France, Quebec City, further up the waterway, and a settlement around present-day Montreal came shortly after in 1642; a mission called Ville Marie, run by missionaries Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve and Jeanne Mance. While de Maisonneuve was the governor of the colony, it is largely believed that Mance was the brains and grit behind the operation: the original flavor of Canadian girl power.

The settlement of Ville Marie thrived and grew, but in 1760 the colony, along with the rest of Quebec was forfeited to the British army--the Treaty of Paris in 1763 marked the official end of French rule in Canada. Nonetheless, the city retained its French flavor, never forfeiting the tenets of continental culture that distinguished Montreal along with provincial Quebec from the rest of Canada and America.

All eyes were on Montreal during the World Expo of 1967 when the city proudly projected that its population would reach 12 million people by the year 2000. This, of course, never happened, but the forward gaze ushered in a brand new era of modernist architecture throughout Canada that started in Montreal with the creation of Moshe Safdi's Habitat housing project. Safdi would later go on to design some of Canada's most important architecture including the National Gallery in Ottawa.

Today, Montreal has a dual personality for travelers. It's like the Canadian New Orleans with a vibrant and fun-loving nightlife scene that's attracting American bachelor and bachelorette parties in droves due to the much more liberal nature with which Montrealers live life. With the strong American dollar against the Canadian dollar, and inexpensive flight options relative to the cost of a transatlantic flight, Montreal is also a hot destination for tastemakers looking for an affordable version of Europe.

Here are our five favorite FREE festival activities happening in Montreal in 2017:

1) Curling en Lumiere

Is there anything more Canadian than gliding stones on ice? From February 23rd to March 11th everyone will get a chance to give the sport a try under the warm glow of an over-the-top sound and light performance.

2) Pleine Lumiere Sur Les Filles du Roy

On March 8th you'll get a glimpse into life during the 17th century when dressed up actors portray early French Canadians, including how they lived off the land and learned from the Aboriginals.

3) Flashmob in your Neighborhood

All your flashmob dreams will come true every Friday in May and June as an organized mob of dancers take to the streets around the historical monuments of the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve 'hood.

4) Canada Pride, Montreal

From August 11th to the 20th, Montreal's Gay Village will come to life with the first annual Canada Pride! The festival will include free nightly concerts, a conference on queer rights, and an extra special parade, reaffirming Montreal and Canada as world leaders in LGBT equality.

5) Inauguration of Place des Festivites

And don't miss out on the grand inauguration of the year of fun and events at the stroke of midnight in Parc de la Marina--it'll be a souped of version of New Years Eve, complete with tons of free activities for all in attendance.