Plateau Mont-Royal
Montreal’s trendy and colourful Plateau Mont Royal neighbourhood is located on the twin North-South axes of Saint Laurent Boulevard and Saint Denis Street, and East-West axes of Mount Royal Avenue and Sherbrooke Street. The granite-paved, pedestrian-only Prince Arthur Street is also located in this neighbourhood. In the summer, nightlife often seems as active as in the day in this area.
The Plateau boasts the highest population density of all Montreal and the greatest number of creative people in Canada, according to Statistics Canada. The same source also states that it is the urban place where the most people travel mainly by foot, bicycle or public transport. In 1997, Utne Reader magazine included the Plateau Mont-Royal in its list of “15 Hippest places to live.” The exterior staircase is a distinctive feature of the city’s architecture.
This is a large neighbourhood located towards the north of downtown Montreal with a whopping population of 104,000 people. This area is a family orientated upper-middle-class neighbourhood which is also suitable for students.
Students can find affordable houses or can share accommodation with fellow students for a more comfortable lifestyle. Multiple different boutique shops and bars are littered throughout the streets of the Plateau. Once the lakes freeze over. Skating rinks are established and open to the community.
More leisure activities such as lakeside walks and afternoon picnics are common to this community. Along with this, downtown is easily accessible, so the advantages of that area can also be counted here.
It also features vibrant houses and book shops for the convenience of students alongside two public libraries. This large neighbourhood, located directly northeast of downtown Montreal, is home to the largest number of artists per capita in Canada, creating a unique living environment. Two of the city’s main arteries — Rue St-Denis and Boulevard St-Laurent — have their busiest sections as they cut through the Plateau. Plenty of boutique shops, BYOB (“apportez votre vin”) restaurants, bars, and cafes line many streets in the Plateau.
The heart of the Plateau is Parc Lafontaine — by summer a magnet for lakeside walks and afternoon picnics, with skating taking over in winter. One of the advantages of living in the Plateau is that downtown is easily accessible, either by foot, bike, bus, or Metro. Rent prices have been increasing more rapidly than the city average as the Plateau is seen as the place to live. However, the Plateau is still affordable, particularly for those sharing accommodation.
Park Extension / Mile End
Many sports are popular in the Park Extension area, dating back to the Montreal Expos Baseball team at nearby Jarry Park Stadium. The primary sports of choice for the locals are ball hockey, soccer and cricket.
Recently, more people are moving to Park Extension from areas like the Plateau and Mile End as the housing is similar but much cheaper to rent and to buy. The area, as of 2009, is increasingly home to artists and musicians who wish to make Park Extension their permanent home. Being somewhat central on the Island of Montreal, being relatively close to shopping areas like Rockland Center and Marché Central, Jean-Talon Market, and the revitalization of Jarry Park has also made Park Extension increasingly attractive to younger generations in general. This in turn, along with the new Université de Montréal campus between Beaumont and Van Horne Avenues, has caused gentrification issues to affect the area gradually after 2010 with various protests occurring in 2018.
The tiny “Mile End” district, officially part of the Plateau borough but generally considered distinct, is home to many Montreal artists and filmmakers. The city’s two famous bagel emporia, the Fairmount and St-Viateur bakeries, are located on the streets of the same names. Fairmount Street is also home to Wilensky’s, immortalized in the Mordechai Richler novel and film of the same name The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz and Saint-Viateur is the site of several cafés of note. The area has become noticeably more cash-rich in recent years, due in part to the presence of the Ubisoft studios in the district, on Saint Laurent Boulevard. As well, as of late it has been the home of many art galleries, designers, and boutiques. Mile End is also where William Shatner spent some time growing up in addition to Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
Technically within the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, Mile End is nonetheless viewed as a distinct neighbourhood of Montreal. Stylish yet casual, tight-knit and multilingual, Mile End was the setting for many of writer Mordecai Richler’s novels. William Shatner and Arcade Fire also enjoyed their formative years here. You will hear a bit more English and Hebrew spoken than eastern parts of the Plateau, with the Hassidic community having established a visible presence in the area.
Some of the best food on the continent is found in Mile End, with the best bagels and countless restaurants dotted around the neighbourhood. The area became wealthier and more popular in the 1990s, and gentrification has led to increased rents. That having been said, the area remains good value for money.
If you’re looking at Montreal neighbourhoods and want an eclectic, multicultural fix, Mile End is the way to go.
Little Portugal
Montreal has a modest Portuguese population, some of which is concentrated in Little Portugal, which is at the corner of Saint-Laurent Boulevard and Rachel street. Portuguese businesses can be found along several blocks of Saint-Laurent between Pine and Marie-Anne. The Portuguese area has largely absorbed what used to be the traditional Jewish neighbourhood.
The Sud-Ouest
Griffintown
District directly southwest of downtown Montreal and west of the old harbour. In the 19th century Griffintown and adjacent Goose Village were home to thousands of Irish immigrants (mostly Catholics), many of whom worked for the railway and on massive local projects such as the Victoria Bridge, or in the Northern Electric building, now Le Nordelec, just across the bridge in Point St. Charles.
Griffintown became a multi-ethnic neighbourhood by the turn of the twentieth century, with French-Canadians, Anglo-Protestants and, later, Italians and others, but keeping a majority of Irish Catholics. The Irish community claims the neighbourhood as a lieu du mémoire because of its significance as one of the earliest sites of Irish immigration in North America.
Many of the immigrants who arrived on “fever ships” or “coffin ships” during the diaspora sparked by the Great Famine of Ireland suffered from typhoid or other diseases and were quarantined in hastily constructed wooden “fever sheds” at Grosse-Île outside Quebec City and in Griffintown and Goose Village. Roughly six thousand Irish immigrants died in fever sheds at nearby Windmill Point during the typhus epidemic of 1847. They are commemorated by a black rock near the Victoria Bridge.
The collapse of heavy industry following World War II and the later closure of the Lachine Canal created poor economic conditions, and for several decades Griffintown was a low-income neighbourhood featuring small industries and offices and sporadic remaining residential buildings. In recent years it has undergone a massive change, with major condo projects spring up, some obliterating the old street grid. The old urban geography is vanishing in Griffintown by the day.
This area was located in the southwestern downtown of Montreal and consisted of Irish immigrants and their following descendants. The total population of this community was approximately 6446. This area is great for families looking for an urban lifestyle!
The city of Montreal revealed its plans for rejuvenating the Griffintown area into a pleasant and family orientated neighbourhood. The perfect way to this was by establishing parks, playgrounds and bicycle paths for the community’s entertainment.
Followed by this, they also implanted dozens of condos around the vicinity for a lower rent. Condos of lower prices can be found in older buildings, and condos with higher prices are found near the city centre. This project is still occurring today and will be finished by 2025. It seems suitable for families who want a newly built community with freshly made facilities.
In 2013, a housing project was also started in order to provide homes to families, which were closer to downtown and its central elements along with the business district.
Griffintown is also known for its international chefs who provide all sorts of dining experiences. This element attracts those people that are incredibly driven by the food experience of a community.
This neighbourhood of Montreal is located just a few minutes’ walk to St-Catherine Street and the commercial areas surrounding it. Griffintown has become a haven for foodies, with some of the world’s top international chefs having established restaurants in and around Notre-Dame Street.
Relatively cheap accommodation in older buildings can be found the closer you go to the Lachine Canal. Shiny new condos abound closer to the city centre — with prices to match.
Pointe-Saint-Charles
Main article: Pointe-Saint-Charles
An area located in the South-West borough, south of downtown between the Lachine Canal and the St. Lawrence River. Often referred to as ‘The Point’, it was originally a mainly English-speaking Irish working-class neighbourhood developed around factories and other Victorian-era industry. Changes in economic fortune in the mid-20th century led Point St. Charles into a decline that has only recently begun to change as a wave of gentrification has given the area new life. The neighbourhood has a documented reputation as one of the poorest in Montreal, and one of the roughest in Canada. Its inhabitants have been the subject of several National Film Board of Canada documentaries.[2]Playwright David Fennario hails from the district.
The most ethnically diverse of all of Montreal’s neighbourhoods, Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension (or, Parc-Ex) stands at the city’s centre, a hub for rail and metro traffic. Starting at the old station where the Canadian Pacific used to disembark, the brick-and-mortar surroundings of Parc-Ex have a homey feel, with leafy lawns and bicycle lanes seamlessly incorporated into the landscape. With prominent Greek and Spanish communities, Greektown includes the tastiest stops for brochettes and shawarma, and local bars entertain an excitable soccer fanbase. Jerry Park and Stade Uniprix stand ready for sports diehards to enjoy a game, while the the Complexe Environnemental Saint-Michel and Le Taz skate parks invite athletes to train and compete. Though built for the active and best by day, Cirque du Soleil, the TOHU center for arts, and the Le Boulevard shopping centre offer diversions for those who wish to stay late.
Nestled between the Saint-Lawrence River and the Lachine Canal, Pointe-Saint-Charles attracts new residents who want to live near scenic open spaces without sacrificing proximity to the downtown core.
Recent creation of many new housing units, the recycling of industrial buildings into business incubators, lofts, and condos, the 2002 re-opening of the Lachine Canal as a recreation and tourism area have all made Pointe-Saint-Charles one of the most attractive Montreal neighbourhoo
Little Burgundy
Located a bit west of downtown along Rue Notre Dame, this is one of the most up-and-coming Montreal neighbourhoods. Check out Atwater Market for all your foodie needs, including fresh fruits and veggies from local farmers, maple treats (this is Canada, after all), and incredible bread at Premiere Moisson. It’s just a few metres from the Lachine Canal, which is lined with a great walking/biking path.
There are plenty of independent coffee shops and restaurants scattered along Notre-Dame that you won’t have time to try them all! Highlights include September Café, Mamie Clafoutis, and Foiegwa. For a real splurge, Joe Beef is a legendary spot in Montreal that’s been voted among the top three dining places in Canada.
Saint-Henri
Historically known as a French-Canadian, Irish and black working-class neighbourhood of Montreal, Saint-Henri was seen as the opposite of neighbouring Westmount before gentrification took hold. The Atwater Market, a large farmers’ market, is in the vicinity, and access to downtown is simple.
Verdun
Previously devoid of nightlife but now considered up-and-coming as more restaurants and bars appear, Verdun is a safe, affordable neighbourhood of Montreal located on the green Metro line. Verdun’s reach extends from a plot of land southwest of downtown to Nun’s Island (Isle des sœurs), just off the main island.
Verdun was once predominantly English-speaking, but now has about a two-thirds French-speaking majority, with allophones (those for whom English nor French is their mother tongue) making up a sizable minority. Verdun is rapidly shaking off a former reputation for crime, with gentrification allowing people to move here from other parts of the city in search of space, as well as relative peace and quiet. Rooms and apartments can go at a low rate, so if you’re moving on a tight budget or want to live among other young families but don’t want to live in the outer suburbs, Verdun is a good option to consider.
