Activities
For the whole family
Family celebrations at Château Dufresne!
OUR SEASONAL PLAY COURSES
Continuously, from December 3, 2025 to January 11, 2026
December 26, 2025 and January 2, 2026, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• Mischievous elves at the Castle!
Little Laurette is searching for mischievous elves hiding in the chimneys of her big house. Using a visitor’s book, come find the elves and, most importantly, answer funny riddles to discover a magic Christmas word.
This activity gives you the opportunity to participate in a draw for a box of watercolour pencils on January 11th.
• Our Top 5 Most Beautiful Chimneys
A game-like trail that challenges you to spot differences between the beautiful chimneys of the Castle and the corresponding drawings.
WORKSHOPS FOR YOUR LITTLE ANGELS!
December 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21, 24, 27, 28 and 31. January 3, 4, 10 and 11, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
December 26, 2025 and January 2, 2026, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Available on other dates for groups by reservation
• Create your greeting card
Create a greeting card on watercolor card using watercolor pencils, with an angel theme.
• “The Appearance of an Angel” by Nincheri in giant puzzle form
Have fun putting together a giant puzzle reproducing the image of a work by the artist Guido Nincheri.
The hidden rooms of Château Dufresne
A Seek & Find to go back in time to the time when the Museum of Contemporary Art was located at the Château Dufresne.
Anytime from July 9
SIXTY’S STYLE!
In connection with the exhibition “Sixty years ago, the MAC at Château Dufresne 1965-1968”
The Little Sculpture Symposium
During the summer of 1965, the first Quebec Symposium was held under the theme of “cut and welded metal.” Several sculptors worked on it in the gardens of Château Dufresne. Other materials were used in subsequent symposiums. In the workshop, the young people created a small sculpture symposium using different materials.
Saturdays, November 8, 15, 22 and 29, between 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
Flair et luminaires
Cheerful luminaries make the conversation. They give you plenty of clues to solve five cases as you walk around the Castle!
At any time
The TOP-5 of our most beautiful fireplaces
A new course-game to spot the differences and three errors in each of the drawings corresponding to the beautiful chimneys of the Castle.
At any time
A Bestiary in the Wallpaper
Fantastic animals and creatures hide in plain sight in the striking decor of the Château. Can you find them as you walk through the rooms?
At any time
Gourmet feast
A game trail that will allow you to help the governesses of Château Dufresne prepare a gourmet feast. You will see, flowers and fruits are in abundance in the decorations of the Château.
At any time
For coloring Aces: Pick up your pencils!
Drawings of objects from our collections to download :
Guided tours
The Château visits
Guided tours start at 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays for people on site.
Guided tours are offered to organized groups at any time, but reservations are required.
Group reservation
School programs
School group reservation
The Château bestiary
This thematic walk-through tour introduces youngsters to practise observation and discover depictions of animals and fantastic creatures in the astonishing decoration of the Château.
< Preschool / Elementary Cycle 1 >
The Shoemaking Industry in Maisonneuve
The great power of seduction exerted by the industrial policy of the City of Maisonneuve attracted many factories making mainly shoes. In 1911, the city could boast that it was “the biggest shoemaking centre on the Island of Montreal.” An invitation to discover the splendours and miseries of an industrial heritage that has since been trampled on.
< Elementary /Secondary >
In the Footsteps of Marius Dufresne
The legacy of Marius Dufresne is still very much alive in the old City of Maisonneuve. The architectural value of the heritage buildings he helped to build bear the signs of his openness to innovation and the great ideas of his time. A multi-faceted man of rare talent, he was at one and the same time an engineer, an architect and a surveyor.
< Elementary /Secondary >
A History of Styles, a Matter of Taste
In the Dufresne era, the decorative style of each room in the great middleclass houses shared a common vocabulary:
Italian Renaissance, Louis XV, Second Empire, Elizabethan. … Can you find your way amid the eclecticism of the Château’s many decorative styles, or the Orientalist influences found there?
< College and university students, and professionals >
Francization
When the World Spoke French
The Château de Maisonneuve’s tour experience is an excellent opportunity to improve your knowledge of French. As you wind your way through the various rooms in the sumptuous twin houses of the brothers Oscar and Marius Dufresne, you can witness the daily lives of these two members of the francophone middle class, who left their mark on the development of Montréal. You can also explore some of the cultural issues associated with the French characterization of the metropole in the previous century.
< New arrivals, welcoming classes and francization community groups >