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Downtown
Old Montreal and Old Port
Parc Jean-Drapeau
Mount Royal and Outremont
Plateau-Mont-Royal and Mile End
Olympic District and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve
The Village
Little Italy and Villeray
Les Quartiers du Canal
Pôle de Rapides
East, West and the North of the Islan
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Plateau-Mont-Royal and Mile End
The eclecticism, creative energy and bohemian spirit emanating from these two dynamic urban hubs are appreciated.
Cafés, bars, shops, bookstores and restaurants are side by side with former textile mills and churches converted into businesses or condos. A true nerve centre of the Montréal artistic community, the Plateau stands out for its lively commercial avenues, its charming shaded residential streets, its colourful houses and its celebrated spiral staircases. Marginal and cosmopolitan, Mile End is totally in tune with the times. Unearth vintage finds, enjoy original dishes, and don’t forget the famous Montréal bagels.
Parc La Fontaine
Bordered by Sherbrooke, Papineau, Rachel and Parc La Fontaine Streets | Sherbrooke | 514 872-0311 ville.montreal.qc.ca/grandsparcs
As soon as the first fine spring weather arrives, people flock in droves to Parc La Fontaine to relax in the shade, to enjoy a picnic and sunbathe. The artificial pond allows visitors to observe a wide range of bird species throughout the summer season and in winter, the pond is transformed into a skating rink complete with music and heated skate rental facilities at the park’s Chalet where restaurant services are also available. The Chalet is also the departure point of the park’s miniature train which delightfully crisscrosses the paths of the park. An outdoor theatre presents events during the summer.
La Maison des cyclistes
1251 Rachel Street East | Mont-Royal | 514 521-8356 velo.qc.ca/en/about-us/maison-des-cyclistes
Located at the crossroads of two major bike paths in Montréal, la Maison des cyclistes is the nerve centre of Québec’s cycling culture. Here, you’ll find a café, a travel agency and a boutique offering a wide selection of books, guides, maps and accessories for cyclists.
Fitz Montréal Bike Tours
1251 Rachel Street East | Mont-Royal | 438 792-6480 fitzmontreal.com
Led by experienced guides, visitors can discover Montréal, its tourist sites and its hidden corners. Or they can rent a bike and ride the city at their own pace. A nice helmet, a lock, a custom map and a personalized riding route are included.
Laurier Avenue
Laurier Running from the neighbourhood of the Plateau-Mont-Royal through Outremont, where you will reach the base of Mount Royal, you’ll find charming, typically designed Montréal homes lining its green sidewalks. Bustling shops, quaint cafes and tantalizing restaurants give visitors and locals plenty to see and do. Stop along the avenue to enjoy an espresso al fresco, to pick up an exquisite home décor item or to play a round of pétanque in the Sir-WilfridLaurier Park. Please see the section on “Mount Royal and Outremont” in the tourist guide for more information on the streets of Outremont.
Le Marché des Possibles
Corner of Bernard East and Saint-Dominique Streets Rosemont | popmontreal.com
An outdoor public space hosting cultural events in the summer to reflect the neighbourhood’s creativity and festive community spirit. It features a free and diversified socio-cultural programming that includes musical performances, screenings of films and activities for children. On the premises, you will also find a bar and a biergarten, a market with artists and artisans creations, as well as delicious food provided by local chefs and pop-up restaurants. End of June to mid-August.
Musée des Hospitalières de l’Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal
201 des Pins Avenue West | Sherbrooke West 514 849-2919 | museedeshospitalieres.qc.ca
The museum showcases one of the bestpreserved convent ensembles in the city. The complex, built in 1861, includes the former monastery and garden, the hospital, three chapels, a crypt and the museum, located in the former residence of the chaplains. The museum retraces four centuries of Montréal’s rich history, the practice of hospital care, medicine and pharmacy as well as the sacred arts. Guided tours of the garden, monastery, chapel and crypt are offered year round.
Saint-Laurent Boulevard
Between Sherbrooke and Bernard Streets Saint-Laurent North boulevardsaintlaurent.com
Also known as “The Main,” Saint-Laurent Boulevard is one of the most with-it streets in Montréal. It’s where you go to enjoy the rich variety and texture of city life. Take a culinary tour around the globe in its many restaurants. Delight in the creativity of its talented designers goods. Enjoy the summer MURAL Festival, which has turned the boulevard into one of North America’s major centres for street art. Let yourself go into its bars and clubs. Its authentic personality and architecture are the product of over 300 years of history. From the 20th century on, newcomers to Canada chose Saint-Laurent to live and to work, and today its residents and businesses testify to its varied origins. It is a symbolic thoroughfare, marking the point where the city’s French-speaking, English-speaking and immigrant communities meet. It is a true reflection of Canadian multiculturalism.
Dyad
80 Prince Arthur Street East | Sherbrooke 438 380-9880 | dyadcycles.com
Dyad is a one-stop shop where bikes and scooters can be rented and patrons can sign up for guided scooter tours of Montréal. These entertaining cultural outings (including food tastings) offer participants the chance to ride electric scooters through the city’s most vibrant neighbourhoods. No driver’s license required. For participants aged 18 years or older.
Prince-Arthur Street and Square Saint-Louis
Sherbrooke During the 60’s, Prince-Arthur Street was “the” hippie haven in Montréal. Today a favourite among pedestrian streets, it is extremely lively during summer. Street artists and musicians add character to this restaurant and café-terrasse strewn neighbourhood. Prince-Arthur Street leads to the architecturally rich Square Saint-Louis with its imposing 19th century homes. Attracting well-to-do French-Canadian families to the area in the early 1800s, a number of artists also made their homes around Square Saint-Louis, including renowned poet Émile Nelligan.
Saint-Denis Street – between Gilford and Roy Streets
Mont-Royal | 438 497-5277 | ruesaintdenis.ca
Saint-Denis Street may be on the cutting edge of hip, but its 19th-century heritage charm provides the perfect backdrop to this neighbourhood’s bohemian vibe. With its sidewalk cafés, lively bar scene, trendy boutiques and fine restaurants, Saint-Denis Street is an important shopping street. Designers, art shops and bookstores all beckon. And when shopping is done, strollers can rest their feet and watch the world go by from a sunny outdoor café.
Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church
309 Rachel Street East | Mont-Royal | 514 842-9811 eglisesjb.com
Built in 1872, the church was destroyed by fire in 1898 and 1911 before being rebuilt in 1912. A Baroque Revival-inspired work of monumental proportions, it is one of the largest churches in Montréal. Concerts are held regularly here.
Mont-Royal Avenue
Mont-Royal | mont-royal.net
A great place to shop, Mont-Royal Avenue is full of little treasures: fashion boutiques, bookstores, vinyl record stores, cheese shops, bakeries, restaurants, bars and specialty grocery stores. Summer or winter, in restaurants or cafés, the Plateau’s bohemian residents meet up at Place Gérald-Godin and take part in open markets, torchlight walks, and other events that invigorate the Avenue.
Workshops
Ateliers & Saveurs
4832 Saint-Laurent Blvd. Saint-Laurent North 514 849-2866 ateliersetsaveurs.com
This innovative school offers cooking classes, cocktail workshops and wine tasting sessions.
Bootlegger, L’Authentique
3481 Saint-Laurent Blvd., 2nd Floor Sherbrooke West 438 383-2226 | barbootlegger.com
The Bootlegger L’Authentique regularly organises Whiskey tastings where a company representative presents several products from one or more distilleries.
Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec
3535 Saint-Denis Street Sherbrooke | 514 282-5111 ithq.qc.ca
This Canada’s leading hotel management school, specializing in tourism, hospitality, food service, and sommelier training, offers workshops on wines and spirits.
Solography
72 Rachel Street East Saint-Laurent North 514 835-6306 | solography.ca
You become the photographer and take control of your very own photo session, whether for yourself, your friends, a work group or your family.
Pedestrian streets
Exploring the streets of Montréal
During the summer, pedestrians can enjoy strolling around the city even more freely when many streets are closed off to traffic.
Terraces, artistic installations, pop-up markets, play structures and shows take over the pedestrian streets much to our delight.
More space to explore means more opportunities to make fun discoveries and even make new acquaintances in the city’s different neighbourhoods.
Mont-Royal Avenue,
from Saint-Laurent Blvd. to Fullum Street
Wellington Street,
from 6th avenue to Régina Street
Sainte-Catherine Street East,
from Saint-Hubert Street to Papineau Avenue
Ontario Street East,
from Pie-IX Blvd. to Darling Street
Duluth Avenue East,
from Saint-Laurent Blvd. to Saint Hubert Street
Saint-Denis Street,
from Sherbrooke Street to de Maisonneuve Blvd. East as well as Emery Street
Sainte-Catherine Street West,
from Saint-Laurent Blvd. to Bleury Street as well as Clark Street from de Montigny Street to Sainte-Catherine Street West
Places du Marché-du-Nord (Jean-Talon Market),
between Casgrain and Henri-Julien Ave.
Bernard Avenue,
between Wiseman and Bloomfield Avenues
Castelnau Avenue East,
from Saint-Denis Street to De Gaspé Avenue
Montréal’s fascinating neighbourhoods
● Since 1997, Montréal has converted dozens of its back alleys into greenspaces. Initiated by volunteer citizens, the “Ruelles vertes” project helps residents make over Montréal’s laneways and improve the quality of urban life.
● Montréal is considered the official balcony capital, with more than one and a half million balconies. Fun fact: 71% of metropolitan area residents have at least one!
● One of the most common building materials used for Montréal houses is a limestone known as “Montréal Greystone.” It was extracted from local limestone quarries, which have now become some of the city’s beloved neighbourhood parks: Laurier, Marquette and Maisonneuve.
● The outer staircases that grace many Montréal homes are one of the city’s distinctive features and can be found in all different shapes and sizes — L-and S-shaped, straight, single and double. This architectural feature emerged in the mid-19th century, when the construction of two-and three-storey dwellings began in order to accommodate a growing population. Builders soon realized that having common stairways outside made the homes more heat efficient. They were able to take advantage of new municipal regulations requiring the conservation of a small green space in front of homes, which provided space for the external staircases.
● In 1905, Saint-Laurent Street officially became Saint-Laurent Boulevard, affectionately nicknamed “The Main.”
● As the city’s central East-West dividing line, The Main became the starting point for municipal addresses extending outward from the boulevard. In 1924, addresses along the North-South axis were renumbered, starting at the southernmost point, the St. Lawrence River.
● July 1 is also known among Montréal residents as “Moving Day.” Each year, 100,000 Montréal households move on this day. This July 1 tradition most likely comes to us from Scottish settlers, who brought with them the tradition of a fixed date (May 1) for “breaking” their lease in order to find a new home. Eventually the date changed to July 1 to avoid disrupting the school year.
● Montréal is home to the Canadian Centre for Architecture, whose purpose is to promote public awareness about the role architecture plays in society. The CCA also promotes scholarly architectural research and fosters innovative design practices.
