Construction of the Bell Centre began in June 1993, two weeks after the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Los Angeles Kings at the Forum for their 24th Stanley Cup. The arena was initially named after Molson, Inc., a brewing company which was the owner of the Canadiens at the time. Molson elected not to keep the naming rights when they sold the team and the name was officially changed on September 1st, 2002, after Bell Canada acquired the naming rights.

Since opening, it has consistently been listed as one of the world’s busiest arenas, usually receiving the highest attendance of any arena in Canada.

The nearest airport to Bell Centre is Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL), which is approximately 11.2 miles (18 km) away. There are several airlines offering direct flights from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) to Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) with a flight time of approximately 7 hours and 50 minutes.

If you are already in Canada, or the US, and looking to travel to/from Montreal, then you have the choice of most Canadian or US domestic airlines including Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, American Eagle, Frontier Airlines, Jet Blue, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, United Airways and WestJet.

Montreal has an extensive public transportation system operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), which includes buses and a metro system. The metro is a convenient way to get around the city connecting many popular attractions. There are also several commuter train lines operated by Exo that connect the suburbs to downtown Montreal. In addition, Montreal has a bike-sharing system called BIXI, which is available from April to November.

You could also make use of apps such as Moovit to get directions to the arena using public transportation. Rideshare services such as Uber or Lyft are also available in the vicinity.

Beyond the Airbnb and Sonder options there are many hotels nearby. The Bell Centre is in Downtown, but Montreal has many other great neighbourhoods to stay in, each with its own unique character and charm.

Old Montreal is home to the city’s most historic and newest attractions and provides a glimpse into the city’s many lives throughout its history. Le Plateau Mont-Royal and Mile End are known as artistic neighbourhoods with many art galleries and designers’ workshops. The Village is one of Montreal’s most charming areas and brings out the best of the city: diversity, openness, creativity, and joie de vivre.

The Montreal Canadiens sell their tickets via Ticketmaster.

The official ticket partner for the NHL is Ticketmaster.

Here are links to the main ticket resale sites. Click on the link, which will open up a new window, and you can compare the prices on the different ticket resell sites, bearing in mind that the prices shown are before the selling platform fees are added, so take time to have a read of my tips to Buying Tickets in North America.

• SeatGeek
• SportsEvents365 (Click on the Search Button)
• StubHub International
• StubHub US
• Ticketmaster US
• TicketNetwork
• Viagogo
• Vivid Seats

I recommend downloading the team’s Mobile App to your phone as it contains much Gameday information for the stadium.