At the Montreal Barbie Expo, I may well have hit my Barbie overload limit.
Display cases filled with luxuriously dressed versions of the world’s most famous fashion doll stretch in every direction under glittering chandeliers. Doll collectors donated many of these Barbies, and fashion designers have dressed a few of them.
Note: I wrote this post before the Barbie Expo was damaged by flooding in summer 2023. The Barbie Expo is up and running again (as of late 2023), but some of the dolls and displays mentioned in this post may still be undergoing restoration. I’ll update this article the next time I’m in Montreal. Stay tuned!
It’s all an attention-getter for Les Cours Mont-Royal, a posh downtown mall not far from the main train station. Big signs outside lure you into the free Barbie Expo, and the mall’s owners—who set up the permanent show—clearly hope you’ll be inspired by Barbie’s fashion savoir-faire to go buy a few frocks of your own in the shopping centre.
It’s actually not a bad idea, because the show is a ton of campy fun—like a walk-through fashion magazine liberally laced with childhood nostalgia. No matter what your style or favourite celebrity, you’ll likely find a Barbie here that will have you reaching for your cellphone.
Don’t believe me? Here are just a few of the many photos I snapped of the 500 or so Barbies jockeying for visitors’ attention at the Montreal Barbie Expo.
Many of the Barbies highlight contemporary designers.
Lots of celebrities and famous characters get a nod.
Not many of the Barbies seem to have jobs, but there is a Mountie Barbie.
Some of the dioramas border on the surreal.
And there’s even a weirdly mesmerizing fashion show, where propped-up dolls slowly glide along a runway as Barbie photographers flash their tiny cameras.
If you’re a pop culture nut or a fashionista who doesn’t take things too seriously, the Barbie Expo is a fun way to while away an hour or so. Grab Skipper and your dusty Barbie Camper, and head down Highway 417 if you’re intrigued.
If you go
Barbie Expo claims to be the largest permanent exhibition of Barbie dolls in the world. If you’d like to check it out, you’ll find it at Les Cours Mont-Royal, 1455 Peel, Montreal. Currently, it opens daily at 9am from Monday through Saturday and closes at 6:30pm from Monday through Wednesday, at 9pm on Thursdays and Fridays, and at 5pm on Saturdays. On Sundays, it is open from 12pm to 5pm. As mentioned earlier, admission is free.
Looking for more tips on things to see and do in Eastern Ontario, the Outaouais, northern New York state and beyond? Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter or order a copy of my book, Ottawa Road Trips: Your Weekend Getaway Guide.
As the owner of Ottawa Road Trips, I acknowledge that I live on, work in and travel through the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Nation. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be present on this land. Ottawa Road Trips supports Water First, a non-profit organization that helps address water challenges in Indigenous communities in Canada through education, training and meaningful collaboration.
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[…] for something completely different, there’s the huge, free Barbie Expo, an exhibition in a downtown mall featuring about 1,000 of the namesake dolls (Les Cours […]