The festival is very nice. It is located all around the city, but there is a 4- to 5-square block central location. Various stages are set up, and known/unknown performers perform for free. There are also indoor venues that are not free. The shows start at about 11am or 12pm and end at midnight. There are many food/beer/wine vendors in the center, and the area has many restaurants where you can sit outside (if you get there early enough) and watch/hear the shows. I bought over $100 worth of CD's at a local HMV of various artists. I would definitely go back!

What an amazing festival! The festival takes up several blocks of the downtown and has several stages set up, varying in size. A small stage accommodated more traditional quintets. We also heard a funky Latin jazz band. One of the main stages was used for special events. We happened to catch the Four Tops. The next night's big act - Cirque du Soleil. The vendors were unusual - we enjoyed ripe mangos, cut to look like flowers. I felt like I was in the Caribbean again!! The souvenirs were very reasonably priced. For about $40, I got a boxed CD set, three other compilation CD's, a poster and book. Fantastic deal!! Everything was great and what we experienced was all free, though you could pay to see some of the larger acts. My friends and I commented we'd come back to Montreal only if we had more time to devote to the Jazz Festival. We were very impressed!

The Montreal Jazz Festival is billed as the world's largest, and I can see why. There are scores of bands of every description, and wall-to-wall people on the streets. If you are not a jazz fan, don't let that stop you - I've seen everything from African to ‘50s R&B to folk blues to Latin. All of the outdoors concerts are free, and there are usually at least two going on at the same time on different stages. The one negative is the huge crowds some of the acts attract. If you are uncomfortable in large crowds, you might not enjoy this festival.

The Montreal Jazz Festival is really two festivals in one.

On one hand, there are the large free shows on the many stages located around Place Des Arts. These are loud celebrations of music and fun. The Gala performance, which usually takes place on the Tuesday night, is attended by over 100,000 people. Get there early to stake out a place to stand. Thankfully, even this large crowd feels safe compared to many American crowds of this size. The best free shows over the past few years have been the free midnight blues shows at the new Club Soda.

The second aspect to the festival is the number of paid shows by some of the legends of Jazz, Blues, Rock, Electronica and Soul. It's usually worth checking out at least a few of these concerts during the week. In the past, these performers have included Prince, Sting, and Medeski Martin and Wood. It's essential to get one of the free show guides in order to plan your evenings so that you do not miss anything of interest.

Also of note, the surrounding clubs in the jazz-fest area tend to offer great free music as well during the duration of the festival -- especially the Luba Lounge on Bleury.