After long winters, city locals pour outdoors to take sun and warm air at every possible opportunity. Even if you come to Montréal without your regular outdoor gear or a solid sense of direction, it's easy to get outside and join in.

Bicycling & In-Line Skating

Both bicycling and rollerblading are hugely popular in Montréal, and the city helps people indulge that passion: It boasts an expanding network of more than 350km (217 miles) of cycling paths and year-round bike lanes. In warm months, car lanes in heavily biked areas are blocked off with concrete barriers and turned into two-way lanes for people-powered vehicles.

If you're serious about cycling, get in touch with the nonprofit biking organization Vélo Québec (tel. 800/567-8356 or 514/521-8356 in Montréal). Vélo (which means bicycle) was behind the development of a 4,000km (2,485-mile) bike network called Route verte (Green Route) that stretches from one end of the Québec province to the other. The route was officially inaugurated in the summer of 2007. The Vélo website has the most up-to-date information on the state of the paths, the Montréal Bike Fest, road races, new bike lanes, and more. (Tip: Several taxi companies have bike racks and charge just C$3/US$2.60/£1.30 extra for each bike. They're listed at the Vélo Québec website -- search for "taxi" -- or call the Vélo office.)

If you're looking just to rent a bike or pair of skates for an afternoon, you've got several options, depending on where you're based. In Vieux-Montréal, the shop CaRoule/Montréal on Wheels (tel. 514/866-0633) at 27 rue de la Commune est, the waterfront road bordering the Vieux-Port, rents bikes and skates from April to October (and by appointment in Mar and Nov). Bikes cost C$9 (US$7.85/£3.90) an hour and C$30 (US$26/£13) a day on the weekend, rollerblades a little less. Helmets are included and a deposit is required. The staff will set you up with a map (also downloadable for their website) and likely point you toward the peaceful Lachine Canal, a nearly flat 11km (6.8-mile) bicycle path that travels alongside locks and over small bridges. The canal starts just a few blocks away. (The path is open year-round and maintained by Parks Canada from mid-Apr to the end of Oct.) Other options for short bike tours from Vieux-Port are Ile Notre-Dame, where the Grand Prix auto-racing track is a biker's dream less than 20 minutes away, or simply out to the 2.5km (1.5-mile) promenade that runs along the piers.

Also for rent at Vieux-Port in the spring and summer season are Quadricycles, or Q-cycles -- 4-wheeled roofed bike/buggies that can hold two to six people. They can only be used along Vieux-Port. The rental booth is in the heart of the waterfront area, next to the Pavillian Jacques-Cartier. Rentals are by the half-hour and cost C$6.50 (US$5.65/£2.80) for adults, C$5.50 (US$4.80/£2.35) for teens ages 13 to 17, and C$5 (US$4.35/£2.15) for children ages 6 to 12.

Boating & Kayaking

It's easy to rent kayaks, pedal boats, and small eco-friendly electric boats on the quiet Lachine Canal, just to the west of Vieux-Port. The company H2O Adventures (tel. 514/842-1306) won a 2007 Grand Prix du tourisme Québécois award for being a standout operation and has rentals starting at C$10 (US$8.70/£4.30) an hour. It also offers 2-hour introductory kayak lessons for C$35 (US$30/£15) on weekdays (C$4/US$3.50/£1.70 more on weekends). It's open daily. Find it at the Marché Atwater farmer's market, where you can pick up lunch from the inside boulangerie and fromagerie, adjacent to the canal (Métro: Lionel-Groulx).

Cross-Country Skiing

Parc Mont-Royal has an extensive cross-country course, as do many of the other city parks. Skiers have to supply their own equipment. Just an hour from the city, north in the Laurentides and east in the Cantons de l'Est, there are numerous options for skiing and rentals.

Hiking

The most popular hike is to head to the top of Parc Mont-Royal. They call it a mountain here, but it's really more of a large hill. There are a web of options for trekking through it, from using the broad and handsome pedestrian-only chemin Olmsted (a bridle path named for Frederick Law Olmsted, the park's landscape architect) to using smaller paths and sets of stairs. The park is well-marked and small enough that you can wander without fear of getting too lost, but our walking tour in chapter 8 suggests one place to start and a number of options once you've headed in.

Ice-Skating

In the winter, outdoor rinks are set up in Vieux-Port, Lac des Castors (Beaver Lake), and other spots around the city; check tourist offices for your best options. One of the most agreeable venues for skating any time of the year is the Atrium Le 1000 de la Gauchetière in the downtown skyscraper at that address. For one thing, it's indoors and warm. For another, it's surrounded by cafés to relax at after twirling around the big rink. And yes, it's even open in the summer. Admission is C$5.75 (US$5/£2.45) for adults 18 and up, C$4.75 (US$4.10/£2.05) for seniors, C$3.75 (US$3.25/£1.60) for children 12 and under. Skates rentals are C$5 (US$4.35/£2.15). Call tel. 514/395-0555 or log on to their website for hours and more information.

Jogging

There are many possibilities for running. In addition to the areas described above for biking and hiking, consider heading to either of the city's most prominent parks: Parc La Fontaine in the Plateau Mont-Royal neighborhood, or Parc Maisonneuve in the east side of the city, adjacent to the Jardin Botanique and across the street from Olympic Park. Both parks are formally landscaped and well-used for recreation and relaxation.

Swimming

The downtown Hôtel Omni Mont-Royal features a terrific health club, spa, and outdoor pool complex, with exercise machines, yoga classes, massages, steam rooms and saunas, and a year-round outdoor pool accessible from the inside on cold days. Nonguests can use it for C$25 (US$22/£11) adults and C$7 (US$6.10/£3) children, and it's open weekdays 6am to 9pm and weekends 7am to 8pm. The hotel is at 1050 rue Sherbrooke ouest, at rue Peel (tel. 514/284-1110).