Curious? Would you like to explore La TOHU’s circular performance space, or find out more about its threefold mission and “green” construction? Or maybe you want to visit the sorting facility that handles Montreal’s recyclables, or the St-Michel Environmental Complex – a former landfill site now destined to become a major urban park. If so, join one of the guided tours offered by the team at La TOHU.

Guided tour – La TOHU and the Saint-Michel Environmental Complex
Guided tour – the Fabulous Story of the circus

Guided tours at La TOHU and Saint-Michel Environmental Complex (CESM)

It’s hard to imagine sometimes what our environment used to be like. La TOHU’s tour guides explain the history, current status, and future of the St-Michel Environmental Complex, and of La TOHU itself.

During the tour, discover a wealth of information and stories about

• A major green space and cultural site in the making.
• How cement stone was quarried, and the fossils, rocks and minerals found in the old Miron Quarry.
• Burying garbage at the old St-Michel dumpsite.
• Deterioration of a site and its remediation as a major urban greenspace.
• Consumerism and the 4Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Recover (+ Eliminate).

To see the startling effects of human activity on the environment, take a walk around the Environmental Complex. You’ll discover the steep quarry cliffs, the huge amphitheatre dug into the rockface, and the mountains of detritus underground. Rather than deny the past, La TOHU’s development plan and programming highlight the richness it represents. Our guided tours show you how things used to be, and how cities are changing from the 20^th to the 21^st centuries.

Here, a mind-numbing emptiness meets completion. Raw materials sit alongside finished products people no longer want. These contrasts help make sense of the site, showing the effects of time and evolution. After gouging out the stone needed for the construction of Montreal, people began looking for ways to seal the gaping quarry pit, filling it in with the leftovers from (over)consumption. The concepts of evolution and change inform everything about the development plan for the La TOHU site. Our idea was to create a circuit and grounds that would make people more aware of both the built and natural environments, how nature changes, and where humanity fits within that nature.

The site is, therefore, not a park inside a quarry but a park that acknowledges its transformation from quarry to landfill, and now to an environmental, cultural and recreational area. The tours help visitors grasp the effects of (over)consumption on the environment, while at the same time presenting solutions and alternatives. You will come away with a clearer understanding of the issues, and discover new forms of energy, new technologies, and the valuable resources that waste matter conceals. You’ll also discover some of the mysteries that have lain hidden beneath the Environmental Complex for 450 million years.

Everything you wanted know about the St-Michel Environmental Complex

Goals of the tour

• To demystify “green” and environmental technologies.
• To reflect on the current state of waste management and talk about solutions.
• To create awareness and curiosity around the issues of waste management, "green" construction and sustainable development principles.
• To make the concept of the 4Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Recover (+ Eliminate) more accessible.
• To encourage people to make the 4Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Recover (+ Eliminate) a part of everyday living.
• To encourage critical and creative thinking, and help visitors realize they can play an active role as responsible citizens.
• To illustrate the effects of time and the evolutionary life cycle on the natural and built environments.

Visit types

Spring - Summer - Fall (May 1 to October 31)

Winter (November 1 to April 30)

Fabulous story of the circus

You can hear the story of the circus in our permanent Terra Cirqua exhibit, either by joining a guided tour, or on your own with audio-guide headphones. Discover one of the world’s finest collections of circus memorabilia, featuring a wealth of historical information and some of the sad and saucy tales that have gone into creating the circus as we know it today. Displays include children’s toys, posters, prints, antique and heritage artifacts, and circus-inspired decorative arts.

The exhibit is divided into two circuits. The West circuit celebrates the age-old tradition of the acrobat, and explains the origin of the saltimbanque or circus artist. The East circuit focuses on the modern era, featuring many of the performers who helped shape the popular imagination and developed the various circus disciplines.

Visit types

Guided tours (group)
People minimum / maximum: 10 / 50
Tours are conducted in French.

Schedule

Guided tours (group): Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Reservation

Reservations are mandatory for a guided tour at 514 376-TOHU (8648), ext. 4000 or visite@tohu.ca.

Rates for a guided tour

• Adults: $9
• Senior citizens (65 years old and up): $6
• Students (from 8 years old): $4

Clientele

Recommended age: 8 years old and older