PARC D’IBERVILLE

Arrondissment: La Cité-Limoilou

Address: 600 1re Rue

Nearest bus stop: 1re Rue (36, 936)

Parking: Free street parking (60 mins maximum)

Playground surface: Rubber

Age range: 18 months-5 years; 5-12 years

Swings? Yes - 2 for babies; 2 for older children

Sandbox? No

Splashpad? Yes

Swimming pool? No

Toilets? Don’t know

Picnic tables? Yes

Other facilities: Petanque terrain.

What I liked: Nothing.

What I didn’t like: I have to say, this one was pretty grubby. The section for younger children was absolutely heaving with toddlers from the local daycares - at one point there must have been at least 30 of them crammed into a tiny space. Sebastian took one look at it and said “Too many people”. The whole place was in need of repair - the rubber was coming away from the ground and Sebastian kept trying to peel it off. Also, I found the smell of tobacco from the nearby Rothmans factory nauseating. We only stayed for a few minutes before walking over the bridges to Parc Victoria.

PLACE DE LA FAMILLE

Arrondissment: La Cité-Limoilou

Address: 250 Boulevard Wilfrid-Hamel

Nearest bus stop: Centre de Foires (bus 802)

Parking: Free car parks (when there are no events in the ExpoCité). P6 is the closest. 

Playground surface: Synthetic

Age range: 18 months-5 years; 5-12 years

Swings? No

Sandbox? No

Splashpad? Yes

Swimming pool? No

Toilets? There are toilets in the nearby Grand Marché.

Picnic tables? Yes

Other facilities: 4.5 metre climbing wall.

What I liked: This brand new, $2 million playground, opened in July 2020, was designed to be like an adventure course in the treetops, inspired by Peter Pan, and it is very impressive. I particularly liked its spongy, absorbent synthetic surface. In fact I wish all playgrounds had the same - and not just because of its ability to cushion falls. It was a relief to let Penelope crawl around on the ground without worrying about her eating sand or wood chips.

There is plenty of seating around the playground – picnic tables, Adirondack chairs – in the shade of hundred-year-old trees.

The new Grand Marché is a few steps away if you feel hungry or thirsty. (My husband Matthew recommends the lobster roll from the Gaspé-based fishmonger Délices de la Mer).

What I didn’t like: It’s always busy and crowded, with long lines of children waiting at the top of the main structure – 6 metres up – to use the tube slide. Personally, I would hate being stuck in there for any length of time, especially on a hot day. Just looking at them made me feel a bit claustrophobic. But that’s me. I was also a bit disappointed that it didn’t have more for toddlers. Sebastian was knocked over by older children several times.

PARC LAIRET

Arrondissment: La Cité-Limoilou Address: 171 avenue Eugène-Lamontagne Nearest bus stop: J.-Mance (buses 4 and 802) Parking: Street parking Playground surface: Wood chips Age range: 18 months-5 years; 5-12 years Swings? Yes - 4 for babies; 4 for older children

Sandbox? No

Splashpad? Yes

Swimming pool? No

Toilets? No

Picnic tables? Yes

Other facilities: Community garden.

This is an extremely well-hidden park in the middle of a working-class Limoilou neighborhood. It’s not visible from any major street; look for the small sign at the intersection of avenue Eugene-Lamontagne and Rue Jalobert and follow the bike/pedestrian path 100 feet.

What I liked: This is an unremarkable but perfectly pleasant park. I’ve found that there are always about the same number of people there whenever I go, so it avoids the “empty morning, late-afternoon rush” that some other parks in the area have. With the opening of the new kids’ play area in front of the Videotron Centre a five-minute walk away, this place will probably be even less crowded in the future. It has a decent-sized playground structure and a fairly ordinary splash pad, with some cool rock formations. Everything’s in good condition and fine working order. There’s also a good-sized grassy area to run around in, and enough trees to be able to find some shade if you need. There’s a bike path right next to it that is a spur off of the Saint-Charles linear path, so it’s easily accessible by bicycle as well.

What’s not as good: There aren’t separate playground structures for younger and older children, so it’s a bit hard for small kids to navigate. Also, there’s a small brick building right next to the splash pad that I’m not sure what it’s used for -- there’s graffiti on it and it needs some weeds pulled and general TLC.