Montreal Neighborhood tour: Inquiry of Montreal's neighborhoods (restaurants, shops)

[Champ le monstre du lac]

So I'm heading back east this summer to my native Boston, but I'm also planning an excursion up to Montreal for a few days. I haven't been to Montreal since 1998, so I'm curious as to what's new there, perhaps a new landmark or establishment that has come along since then. What stand's out in my memory when I visited last was touring Old Montreal, Rue Ste. Catherine, bars on Rue Crescent, Mont Royal Park, and a jaunt to Little Italy for dinner.

This time I'd like to discover new neighborhoods. Previous trips to Montreal involved nightlife as a big factor. This time around I jut want to explore and take in the ambiance of ethnic, collegiate, cultural, and culinary enclaves, as well as parks and museums. What are some good neighborhoods to explore? Neighborhoods that the everyday Montreal tourist doesn't see as a window into life in Montreal. I'd like to know good streets to walk down and metro stations located near good neighborhood walks. Merci!

[UrbanLuis]

A nice walk would be down Sherbrooke st west, In NDG. Lots of shops and restaurants around there. The area has a nice vibe to it. If you really like walking you can start your walk at Atwater and walk all the way down Sherbrooke through Westmount.

You said you have been to little Italy. The area just east of little Italy is pretty cool too, around the Jean Talon market. Rue St Hubert is a pretty busy comercial area. There are some good restaurants around there. Just walking from downtown all the way up boul st Lauarent or parc ave to Jean Talon is an interesting journey.

Park x, is not the nicest area but its an interesting neighborhood. You can take the metro to Acadie station, walk a few blocks up to Jean Talon and walk all the way down That street to the Parc metro station. There are alot of South Asian people in that area.


Also, those old industrial areas just south and west of downtown are pretty cool to walk through. If you can get a bike that would be a great way to explore the city. Man, I haven't been to Montreal in a while my memory is getting foggy but I used to walk and bike every where in Montreal. There are beautiful and interesting neighborhoods all over.

[canadian_wanderer]

I totally agree with UrbanLuis' suggestion for the Jean Talon market. I love that place and there are lots of restaurants there. The market itself is pretty fun to wander around especially in summer when it's bustling with locals out to do their shopping. Treat yourself to an ice cream at Havres aux Glaces. Also pick up some Quebec strawberries if they're in season. You can also look at the Atwater market area as well.

I am a big fan of Mile End as well. There are lots of shops, restaurants,etc and the neighbourhood really has a lot of character to it. If you're there go to St-Viateur Bagel which is an institution here in Montreal. It's also considered one of the best bagel shops in the city (along with Fairmount Bagel). The Plateau is another neighbourhood worth checking out. Like Mile End it has loads of character to it. There are lots of shops, bars and restaurants that are definitely worth visiting.

I'd avoid Crescent. It's overly touristy and alot of the bars and restaurants there are average for the most part. Even Sainte Catherine St is so so. It's got lots of shopping but those shops are ones you can find anywhere in North America.

There is also a bike share program here called Bixi which you can consider. It will be a great way to get around. Lots of the streets have bike paths. You can also take the metro which will get you to all the locations listed here. Get yourself a day pass or more (depending on the length of your stay) so you can just hop on the metro to get to wherever it is you're going. I would say avoid using your car because parking in some of these neighbourhoods (especially in the Plateau and Mile End) can be very annoying.