Don’t delay before getting your bottle of sparkling wine. Saturday, December 31, the SAQ will remain open until 5 p.m., only to reopen on Monday, January 2 at 1 p.m.
For your needs in aspirins and other medicines, pharmacies will remain open every day, but will be idling. They could close earlier in the early evening on Saturday. Sunday 1er January, many of them will have reduced service and opening hours between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m.
As for food products, grocery stores should generally be open on the 31st, but with reduced hours as well. Do not count on the next day to supply you. Almost all businesses will be closed on New Year’s Day — with the exception of convenience stores, gas stations, small grocery stores and some restaurants.
Beware of delays
The STM modifies its bus schedules the first two days of the year. It is therefore better to plan your trips by public transport during these two days to avoid delays. Details of these changes are available online.
If you move to Laval, you are lucky. You can travel for free on December 31.
In Quebec, the RTC reduces the frequency of bus passages. 1er January is considered a Sunday, while the day after New Year’s Day is considered a Saturday, with consequent changes.
Same scenario in Outaouais, where the STC reduces the number of buses on the road.
Culture takes a break
Time slows down during this period of festivities and it may take you the idea to go and have fun. Please note that the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts will remain open on Saturday, but will take a break on the 1er and January 2. The same goes for the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, which also sees its Saturday schedule restricted between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
In Quebec, the Musée de la civilization and the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec will close their doors on 1er January, but will reopen the following day.
A few other great options are still available at the end of the week. The Biodôme, the Biosphere, the Botanical Garden, the Insectarium and the Planetarium are open every day. It is strongly recommended to buy tickets online, indicates the City of Montreal.
However, the Science Center will be closed on Saturday and Sunday.
Cities at a standstill
A host of government services are taking leave. This is the case of the Municipal Court in Montreal, passport offices (including January 3) and the services of the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ).
The majority of arenas, swimming pools and other sports facilities will blow a little on the 31st and the 1ster. However, some may remain open in some cities or districts. Better to get information from your municipality if you want to start the year with good sports resolutions.
Since New Year’s Day falls on the weekend this year, many services are not affected. This is particularly the case for the various collections (household waste, residential waste from construction, renovation and demolition materials, bulky items, recyclable materials, food waste), which are maintained according to the usual schedule in all boroughs. The ecocentres will be closed until Monday, January 2.
The Grande Bibliothèque will be closed from Saturday December 31 to Monday January 2 inclusively.
With that, Happy New Year!