5 Montréal neighborhoods that capture the best of the city

19.09.2023 - 14:09 / lonelyplanet.com

Stretching along an island in the St Lawrence River, Montréal has a complicated soul thanks to its blend of French and English heritage. You can explore this dichotomy and much more – art, music, dining – in its diverse neighborhoods. 

Historic streets and centuries-old architecture make Old Montréal the focal point for most visitors while nearby Chinatown hides colorful streets packed with tantalizing restaurants, bakeries and tea parlors. Downtown is the go-to for museums, the Quartier Latin and the Village are full of students and LGBTQI+ entertainment, and the Plateau has leafy parks and creative nightlife.  

Most neighborhoods are ideal for exploring on foot, and moving between areas is a breeze thanks to Montréal’s efficient bus and metro network. 

Here are the neighborhoods in Montréal you can’t miss.  

The birthplace of Montréal evokes more than a hint of Paris, thanks to its cobbled lanes, cafe-fringed squares and Second Empire Architecture – as exemplified by the Hôtel de Ville (aka City Hall). Old Montréal is a paradise for the flâneur (wanderer) as you can peek inside grand churches (don’t miss a visit to the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, with its boat-shaped votive lamps left by sailors in thanks for safe voyages) and check out hidden street art (like the bronze sculpture of Les Chuchoteuses, which helped revitalize the district back in the early 2000s). There’s even a little-known chunk of the Berlin Wall tucked inside the Montréal World Trade Centre. 

There’s great shopping here, too, at one-of-a-kind boutiques. At L’Empreinte Coopérative, you can browse wide-ranging ceramics, jewelry and crafts made by Québécois artisans. Nearby, the Boutique Boréale has an array of works by First Nations artists: leather moccasins, woven blankets, musk ox fur hats and carvings in fossilized mammoth ivory. Keep following photogenic Rue St-Paul to reach the Marché Bonsecours, Old Montréal’s domed market hall that’s full of shops selling yet more crafts and clothing as well as Canadian food items – chocolate-dipped blueberries and maple syrup liqueurs.  

When it comes to dining, the neighborhood has its share of forgettable tourist traps, but it’s also home to some of Montréal’s most creative restaurants. There’s superb, vegetarian and vegan cuisine at LOV, while Barroco and Garde Manger showcase nouveau Canadian cooking. 

Afterwards, you can explore the bar scene, which encompasses friendly easy-going watering holes like the Pub St-Paul, as well as stylish cocktail dens (Clandestino, Tittle Tattle) and rooftop bars (the Terrasse Place d’Armes).   

A few blocks from the edge of Old Montréal, Chinatown occupies just a couple of square blocks, but it’s packed with atmosphere. Most people come here to eat: