Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
The track where Gilles Villeneuve beat the world on home soil in 1978 — and it now carries his name.
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Built in 1978 on Notre Dame Island and renamed in 1982 after Villeneuve died, this 4.361 km circuit sits inside Parc Jean-Drapeau and hosts the FIA Formula One Canadian Grand Prix each mid-June. Outside race weekend, you can reach the island and take in the corners that made the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix run past four hours in the rain — the longest World Championship race ever.
What to look for
- Signage carrying Villeneuve's name and dates (1950–1982) — he won the very first Grand Prix held here, driving for Scuderia Ferrari
- The island-bound circuit layout: 4.361 km pressed onto Notre Dame Island
- Parc Jean-Drapeau itself — the park is named after the Montreal mayor who organized the events that brought the circuit here
The circuit is on Notre Dame Island inside Parc Jean-Drapeau; the Canadian Grand Prix runs in mid-June, but the island is accessible outside race weekend.
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is one of 14 sights worth the detour in Montreal, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Montreal pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Montreal
- Olympic StadiumThe stadium that cost so much, Montreal renamed it "The Big Owe."
- Bell CentreCanada's largest indoor arena holds 20,962 people — and on a Canadiens night, the noise travels several city blocks.
- Habitat 67A McGill thesis project that actually got built — 354 prefabricated concrete boxes stacked into homes on the Saint Lawrence for a 1967 World's Fair.
- Notre-Dame BasilicaDeep blue vaults scattered with gold stars, and a 7,000-pipe organ that fills every corner of it.
- Montreal Museum of Fine ArtsCanada's oldest art museum, founded in 1860, now sprawls across five pavilions and draws more visitors than any other art museum in the country.
- Montreal City HallThe balcony where Charles de Gaulle delivered his "Vive le Québec libre" speech in 1967.