Scenic Helicopter Tour of Montreal

We recently had the opportunity to celebrate a special birthday and we marked the occasion with a helicopter tour of Montreal.

Having lived in Montreal for much of our lives we know the city well but, even so, looking down from 1,500 feet was a special experience.

Even though we have of course looked out the window when landing in Montreal by plane, the helicopter circled around the city and flew over all the major attractions.

From the helicopter we got a bird’s-eye view of many of our favorite sites such as Mount Royal, Saint Joseph’s Oratory, and even the University of Montreal where I studied. But for me the scenic views of the Saint Lawrence River and the city’s skyline took the cake!

Saint Joseph’s Oratory

La Ronde on Île Sainte-Hélène

University of Montreal

Montreal Olympic Stadium

Port of Montreal

We used Helicraft (also a helicopter flight school) and our group of six required two helicopters. Each helicopter can have four people (including the pilot). One lucky person sits in front where the curved windshield is almost like a fishbowl. Those with a risk of vertigo are better in the back.

Our pilots were both great. We were at first skeptical of separating the group into two, but it proved to be a great way of getting action photos of the helicopters from the air. The pilots kept a safe distance from each other and flew in formation.

With the zoom lens that we brought for the occasion, I could actually get closeups of the passengers in the second helicopter. Very cool.

The helicopter flight school is in Saint-Hubert on the South Shore of Montreal just next to the small Saint-Hubert Longueuil Airport. The flight lasted about 30 minutes and was a wonderful experience.

We’ve done helicopter rides before in Hawaii, Las Vegas, Alaska and Africa. But going over the city we knew was special. If you’re looking for a special activity to do for a special occasion or just feel like splurging on something fun. A helicopter tour is a great idea.