The Montreal Biodome is a facility located at Montreal’s Olympic Park in the east end of Montreal that allows visitors to walk through replicas of four ecosystems found in the American continent. The building was originally constructed for the Montreal 1976 Olympic Games as a velodrome. It hosted the track cycling and judo events.
An oasis in the heart of the city, the Montréal Biodôme recreates four of the most beautiful ecosystems of the Americas:
- The lush and humid Tropical Rainforest, warm even during the Montréal winter.
- The Laurentian Maple Forest, changing with the seasons.
- The Gulf of St. Lawrence.
- The Subpolar Regions of Canada: Labrador Coast and Sub-Antarctic Islands.
The Biodôme, whose name means “house of life,” shows visitors the true nature of our American continent’s landscapes by offering up a recreation of its majestic ecosystems.
When the Biodôme opened in 1992, its ecosystem concept was a first in the world. Twenty five years later, this systemic approach still has no equal in the faithful and complex way in which it represents the natural environment and how both the animal species themselves and the animal and plant species interact.