We all know that the Old Port of Montreal is a popular location for major film productions depicting the streets of old Europe (especially in the snow).
We also know that Montreal is a city that has experienced its fair share of crime, murder and everything else that turns the streets at night into cul-de-sacs. And we know that the city was built by immigrants and waves of industrialization and more or less dramatic recessions.
At the Musée Pointe-à-Callière, a major exhibition on Sherlock Holmes draws parallels between late 19th-century London and the Montreal criminal police at the same time – with its own Quebec Sherlock…
Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes and the Montreal police
The exhibition Sherlock Holmes: Lead the Inquiry is presented by the Pointe-à-Callière Museum in collaboration with the Conan Doyle Estate Limited, and begins with an incredibly intimate view of the author. For the first time, we can see the teacup marks and ink splashes on his desk, in addition to his quill and inkwell.
The character of Sherlock Holmes, based on medical professor and forensic science pioneer Joseph Bell, was born with A Study in Red in 1887.
It wasn’t long before this seemingly all-seeing, logical hero became a beloved figure among Londoners. At the time, London was terrorized every night by a climate of violence and, among others, the atrocious Jack the Ripper.
A parallel is drawn between this city of crime – and the fictional investigator who arrested all the crooks – and 20th-century Montreal. The Red Light District, the opium trade and the widespread violence of our city, which tripled in population between 1840 and 1900, made Montreal as crowded and chaotic as Sherlock’s London.
Against this backdrop, the exhibition offers a glimpse into the Montreal police world of the 1900s, with greatshirts, scary statistics, (old-fashioned) brass knuckles and a portrait of detective Silas Carpenter – Quebec’s Sherlock Holmes.
Between the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, poisoned botany lesson stations and the Pinkerton Agency, this exhibition gives us a masterly lesson in the beginnings of forensic policing.
An investigation like Holmes & Watson
The genius of this exhibition is the notebook you pick up after the first few rooms and use to investigate. And it’s not just for kids…
You can put yourself in the shoes of Sherlock Holmes, after visiting a replica of the famous apartment at 221B Baker Street.
A life-size crime scene is observed, and after a series of experiments designed to explain the clues found on site, the crime is solved. Apparently, it takes most people between 40 and 50 minutes… Who can beat that?
Practical info
Where: Pointe-à-Callière Museum, 350 Place Royale
When? November 27, 2025 to March 8, 2026
Monday – closed
Tuesday-Friday – 10am-5pm
Saturday-Sunday – 11am-5pm
How? To buy tickets, click here!
Adult ticket/ $29
65 years +/ $26
19-30 years old/ $19
13-17 years old/ $15
5-12 years old/ $10
0-4 years old/ free
Family ticket/ $55
Elementary, my dears!