A low-key alternative to Montreal's largest Christmas parade is Montreal's (arguably) second largest Christmas parade, the Plaza St. Hubert's Défilé de Noël (French for "christmas parade"). Renamed Défilé des rêves (French for "parade of dreams") in recent years, it's a lesser known annual event held the final weekend of November, usually a week after the popular downtown Santa Claus parade. Consisting mostly of a series of antique firetrucks with Christmas-related elves and fairy types running around entertaining the kids, it's safe to say that even though the floats are more modest than what's typical of the downtown Santa event, this parade can be more interesting for kids because 1) it's less crowded, and as a result, 2) the parade characters are more likely to interact with the children.
Défilé de Noël in 2012: November 30, 2012
Plaza St. Hubert's Défilé de Noël is scheduled to run on Friday, November 30 as of 7 p.m. starting at the corner of Bellechasse and St. Hubert, ending at the corner of Jean-Talon and St. Hubert. View a map of the parade route.
Getting There
Beaubien Metro
