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Terms and Conditions of Purchase and Use for the Espace pour la vie Online Ticketing System and the Espace pour la vie Passport

The Espace pour la vie online ticket office allows for a simple and efficient shopping experience, providing you with access to all the City of Montréal’s scientific institutions: the Biodôme, the Biosphère, the Insectarium, the Jardin botanique and the Planétarium (hereinafter called "institutions").

The purpose of the Terms and Conditions of Purchase and Use is to inform you of your rights and responsibilities when purchasing tickets from our institutions or the Espace pour la vie Passport (hereinafter, the "Passport") online as well as to regulate and facilitate the purchase transaction to ensure your satisfaction. They are also intended to outline your rights and responsibilities regarding the use of the Passport.

Acceptance of the terms of use

By using the online ticketing service to purchase tickets or the Passport, you are entering into a purchase transaction with the City of Montréal (hereinafter, "City") and you acknowledge that you have read the terms and conditions of purchase and use and expressly accept them. They may be updated at any time without notice. By using your Passport, you agree to be bound by the most recent terms of use.

Also, by purchasing a Passport at the ticket office of a Espace pour la vie site or through one of the following organizations (hereinafter, "Friends societies")—Les Amis du Biodôme de Montréal, Les Amis de l'Insectarium de Montréal, Les Amis du Jardin botanique de Montréal, La Société d'astronomie du Planétarium de Montréal—you acknowledge that you have read the terms and conditions of use and that you expressly agree to them, by creating your account.

Rates

The rates displayed for online ticket office purchases show the full amounts charged for tickets and passports purchased online.

All prices are in Canadian dollars (CAD) and include all applicable taxes.

Discounts on the regular price of tickets are not applicable to online purchases, with the exception of promotional codes issued by the City in its communications, which are solely applicable to online ticket purchases. Accès Montréal cardholders or any others eligible for promotional discounts will need to come in person to our institutions to take advantage of the reduction.

To benefit from group rates on ticket purchases for groups of 15 or more, contact the reservations department at 514 868-3000. If you purchase individual online tickets for members of a group, no refund, exchange or refunds will be provided on site.

For certain rates, supporting documents may be required at the institution’s entrance. These include the following:

  • Children rates: valid ID with proof of age (e.g., Medicare card)
  • Student rates: valid student card from a recognized educational institution
  • Senior rates: official ID with proof of age
  • Communauté Métropolitaine de Montréal rates: official ID with proof of age and address
  • Family rates: valid ID with proof of age for each child
  • Affiliated Friends societies: valid membership card from the organization

Please note that children aged 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult to be admitted to our institutions.

Method of payment on the online ticketing service

Payments can be made with Visa or Mastercard.

At the time of purchase, payments are charged directly to Desjardins or its representative.

Transaction security

Purchase transactions are effected through an SSL (Secure Socket Layer) protocol secured system, which uses encryption software to ensure that information transmitted on the network is secure.

Confidentiality

The information you provide online is treated confidentially and will only be used for the purposes for which it was collected, as laid out in the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information (RSQ, c. A-2.1).

Information related to tickets purchased online may be used for statistical purposes.

The information required to create an account for Passport holders and resulting from its use is used to:

  • conduct statistical analyses of Passport usage (tickets booked and used, transaction dates, discount usage, etc.);
  • contact the holder for renewal*;
  • contact the holder who reserved a place in the event that the institutions are not accessible;
  • establish the statistical profile of Passport holders (e.g. age, family status, place of residence, etc.);
  • identify the holder during visits (identity validation).

*For the renewal of their Passport, holders who have purchased their Passport from a Friends society will not be contacted by Espace pour la vie; the Friends society that sold the Passport will contact the holders.

Only personnel responsible for managing and analyzing the Passport will have access to the information. The information that allows the validation of the Passport holder's identity will be visible to the reception staff when scanning the tickets or the Passport only. The information requested is mandatory for the creation of an account, which is essential for making ticket reservations. Without the transmission of this information, you cannot benefit from the advantages related to the Passport. You have the right to access and rectify your personal information in accordance with the Act respecting access to documents and the protection of personal information.

No personal information of ticket purchasers or Passport holders is sold or marketed or rented out to third parties.

The City of Montréal will not disclose personal information to a third party, except in combination with other information in such a way that disclosure would make it impossible to identify a specific ticket buyer or Passport holder. For example, we may publish information of statistical value; e.g., "X% of Passport holders live on the island of Montreal."

Order confirmation and emailing of tickets and/or Passport

The data provided in the purchase transaction and your payment for the order constitute proof of the transaction and your payment confirmation replaces your signature and confirms your acceptance of the transaction.

A confirmation of purchase receipt is then sent to the email address provided during the purchase transaction.

It is your responsibility to ensure that the email address provided during the purchase transaction is valid, that you have access to your email and that the emails are not automatically directed to your junk mail folder.

The City is not responsible for problems resulting from an incorrect email address.

If you do not receive an email confirmation of your order, if there is a service interruption after submitting payment information or if you receive an error message, you are responsible for verifying whether or not your order was processed with our web support at 514 868-3000 or 1 855 518-4506. You are the only person aware of any problems that might have occurred during the purchase transaction. Furthermore, the City is not liable for financial loss or of any other nature. Even if you do not receive a confirmation email, it is possible that your order may have been processed. It is your responsibility to check whether or not the purchase transaction was completed.

Tickets:

Electronic tickets are sent in a second email to the email address provided during the purchase transaction. This email includes printable tickets and tickets for mobile devices, such as iPads, iPhones and Android devices. You can choose to print your tickets and present them when you arrive at the entrance to one of our institutions or you can display your tickets on your mobile device. Please note that tickets cannot be printed on site by staff at the institution.

Passport:

The Passport is sent in a second email to the email address provided during the purchase transaction.

Technical support

If there is a technical problem with the transaction confirmation, a lost ticket or Passport, one not received or any other situation, please contact our web support at 514 868-3000 or 1 855-518-4506.

Cancellation and refund

Tickets:

During the purchase transaction, you must carefully check the type of ticket(s) chosen and the date(s) and time(s) of the performance(s), event(s) or lecture(s) selected before confirming the order. No refunds, exchanges or cancellations will be possible after the order is confirmed, except for tickets reserved by Passport holders, the terms of which are set out in this "Cancellation and refund policy" section under the heading "Passport" and in the "Passport terms and conditions and seat reservations" section.

In cases where the institutions are not available, such as when facilities are rendered unusable due to danger, lack of security, a strike, picketing, riot, civil unrest, or a cancelled or postponed performance, event or lecture, the responsibility of Espace pour la vie is limited to offering ticket exchange or refund. To this end, the Espace pour la vie Customer Service team will attempt to contact you with the procedures for exchange or refund. You are responsible for following the exchange or refund procedures specified by Customer Service. To facilitate the refund or exchange procedure, have your order confirmation number ready when making your enquiry. For a ticket refund, the City will issue a refund to the credit card used for the purchase in the amount paid for the ticket, within 15 days of the refund request or the cancellation.

Passport:

No refunds of all or part of the Passport can be made unless the City decides to terminate the Passport program. In such a case, the amount corresponding to the remaining portion of the validity period of the Passport will be refunded to the holder. For example, if there are 6 months remaining in the validity period of the Passport when the City decides to terminate the program, an amount equivalent to 50% of the price paid will be refunded.

Validity period

Tickets:

  • Individual General Admission tickets are valid as of the transaction confirmation date.
  • Dated General Admission tickets are valid only for the institution indicated, on the date selected and at the specified time, if applicable.
  • Dated General Admission tickets for a specific event are valid EITHER for the date selected with one admission to the institution indicated AND one admission to the event at the specified time OR one admission to the institution indicated, as of the transaction confirmation date.
  • Dated General Admission tickets for a lecture are valid only for the date and time selected and allow access only to the designated venue for this lecture.

Passport:

The Passport is valid for 365 days from the date of purchase.

Passport terms and conditions and seat reservations

The Passport allows you to access each of the Espace pour la vie institutions.

As the capacity of the sites is limited, a fixed amount of tickets are reserved for passport holders.

The Passport provides unlimited access to the institutions by reserving tickets free of charge for regular activities (free tours of the sites and shows at the Planétarium) during the institutions' regular opening hours, including seasonal exhibitions such as Gardens of Light. The following activities are excluded from the Passport:

  • lectures;
  • special evening events;
  • any other activity that is not part of the institutions' regular programming and is fee-based.

To participate in any free special event, Passport holders must follow the same procedure as other visitors and do not have priority.

During the summer season and during the seasonal exhibition Gardens of Light, access to the greenhouses of the Jardin botanique is not guaranteed and depends on reception capacity, notably determined by the sanitary measures in progress.

Passport holders must reserve their seats at a fixed date and time on the online platform accessible from their account. The only exception is for daytime visits to the outdoor gardens of the Jardin botanique, which can be accessed upon presentation of the Passport (evening activities such as the Gardens of Light in September and October require ticket reservations). Tickets will be sent by email.

Tickets reserved by Passport holders must be used by them. After 5 reservations without a visit, the City reserves the right to cancel the Passport.

Tickets can be booked up to two months in advance. However, it is important to note that passports must be valid on the day of the visit. Espace pour la vie reserves the right to refuse access to holders whose passports have expired.

Modification or cancellation of reserved tickets:

Holders who will not be able to use their reserved tickets or wish to modify their order (schedule or number of tickets) must:

  • cancel their order (via the “cancel” button from their account) and place another order, if desired;

OR

  • by contacting the call centre at 514 868-3000 at least 24 hours before the scheduled visit.

The Passport entitles the holder to the following benefits: discounts at Espace pour la vie restaurants and stores as well as at Espace pour la vie Day Camps, as stipulated in the City of Montréal's fee regulations.

Ticket validation on entering the institution

All holders of General Admission tickets and Dated General Admission tickets, Passport holders included, must have their tickets validated at the institution’s entrance.

Please note that undated General Admission tickets do not guarantee a place and can be honoured only to the extent that places are available when you arrive at the ticket office.

In order to validate tickets reserved by Passport holders or the Passport itself in the case of daytime visits to the outdoor gardens of the Jardin botanique, proof of identity must be presented at time of visit.

Shows at the Planétarium

Shows at the Planétarium start at the scheduled time and latecomers will not be admitted to either theatre.

Two places are provided for wheelchair users in the astronomy theatre.

Three places are provided for wheelchair users in the multimedia theatre. These places cannot be reserved in advance.

Resale and transfer prohibition

Any resale of tickets of passports is strictly prohibited. Tickets and passports may not be used for advertising and/or promotional purposes without the prior authorization of Espace pour la vie.

It is also strictly forbidden to transfer tickets booked using the Passport holder's customer account. The Passport holder is the only authorized user. In the event of use by an unauthorized person, the Passport will be cancelled and no refund will be issued.

In the case of a Multi Passport, the persons registered on the account are considered as holders and must remain the same for the entire year. It is mandatory to enter the names of all the people in the Multi Passport account. Anyone whose name does not appear in the account, including children aged 5 to 17, will not be admitted.

Responsibility

The City is not liable for any damage resulting from the use of the Internet during online purchasing, including data loss, viruses, interruption of service or other problems.

Invalidity of any clause

If any provision of the Espace pour la vie Online Box Office Terms of Use is found by a court to be invalid, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions which shall remain in full force and effect.

Applicable laws

Terms of use of the Espace pour la vie online ticketing service are governed by the laws of Quebec and any proceedings related thereto shall be filed in the judicial district of Montréal.

Addresses of our museums

  • Montréal Biodôme: 4777, av. Pierre-De Coubertin, Montréal (Québec) H1V 1B3
  • Biosphère, 160, ch. du Tour de l’isle, Montréal (Québec) H3C 4G8
  • Jardin botanique de Montréal: 4101, rue Sherbrooke Est, Montréal (Québec) H1V 1B3
  • Insectarium de Montréal: 4581, rue Sherbrooke Est, Montréal (Québec) H1X 2B2
  • Planétarium: 4801, av. Pierre-De Coubertin, Montréal (Québec) H1V 3V4