Downtown Montreal (
French: ''Centre-Ville de Montréal'') is the
central business district of
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, Canada.
The district is situated on the southernmost slope of
Mount Royal
Mount Royal (french: link=no, Mont Royal, ) is a large intrusive rock hill or small mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The best-known hypothesis for the origin of the name Montreal is the ...
, and occupies the western portion of the borough of
Ville-Marie. It is bounded by
Mount Royal Park to the north,
Le Plateau-Mont-Royal to the northeast, the
Quartier Latin
The Latin Quarter of Paris (french: Quartier latin, ) is an area in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne.
Known for its student life, lively atmosphere, and bistros ...
and
Gay Village
A gay village is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBT) people. Gay villages often contain a number of gay-oriented establis ...
areas to the east,
Old Montreal
Old Montreal (French: ''Vieux-Montréal'') is a historic neighbourhood within the municipality of Montreal in the province of Quebec, Canada. Home to the Old Port of Montreal, the neighbourhood is bordered on the west by McGill Street, on th ...
and the
Cité du Multimédia
The Cité du Multimédia is a neighborhood in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, located between Old Montreal, Griffintown and Downtown Montreal. The neighborhood is the result of a vast real-estate project launched by the Quebec government in the late 199 ...
to the south,
Griffintown
Griffintown is a historic neighbourhood of Montreal, Quebec, southwest of downtown. The area existed as a functional neighbourhood from the 1820s until the 1960s, and was mainly populated by Irish immigrants and their descendants. Mostly depopulat ...
and
Little Burgundy
Little Burgundy (french: La Petite-Bourgogne) is a neighbourhood in the South West borough of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Geography
Its approximate boundaries are Atwater Avenue to the west, Saint-Antoine to the north, Guy Street ...
to the southwest, and the city of
Westmount to the west.
The downtown region houses many corporate headquarters as well a large majority of the city's
skyscrapers — which, by law, cannot be greater in height than Mount Royal in order to preserve the aesthetic predominance and intimidation factor of the mountain. The two tallest of these are the
1000 de La Gauchetière and
1250 René-Lévesque, both of which were built in 1992. The
Tour de la Bourse
The Tour de la Bourse ( en, Stock Exchange Tower) is a 48-storey skyscraper in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at the intersection of Victoria Square and Saint Jacques Street in the International Quarter. It is connected by the undergro ...
is also a significant high-rise and is home to the
Montreal Exchange
The Montreal Exchange (MX; french: Bourse de Montréal), formerly the Montreal Stock Exchange (MSE), is a derivatives exchange, located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that trades futures contracts and options on equities, indices, currencies, ETFs, ...
that trades in
derivatives
The derivative of a function is the rate of change of the function's output relative to its input value.
Derivative may also refer to:
In mathematics and economics
* Brzozowski derivative in the theory of formal languages
* Formal derivative, an ...
. The Montreal Exchange was originally a
stock exchange and was the first in Canada. In 1999, all stock trades were transferred to
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
in exchange for an exclusivity in the derivative trading market.
Place Ville-Marie
Place Ville Marie (PVM for short) is a large office and shopping complex skyscraper in Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, comprising four office buildings and an underground shopping plaza. It serves as the main and official headquarters for Roya ...
is a
cruciform
Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design.
Cruciform architectural plan
Christian churches are commonly describe ...
office tower designed by
I.M. Pei
Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners ( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...
. It was built in 1962, and sits atop an underground shopping mall that forms the nexus of Montreal's
underground city
An underground city is a series of linked subterranean spaces that may provide a defensive refuge; a place for living, working or shopping; a transit system; mausolea; wine or storage cellars; cisterns or drainage channels; or several of th ...
, the world's largest. It has indoor access to over 1,600 shops, restaurants, offices, businesses, museums and universities, as well as
metro stations
A metro station or subway station is a station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase tickets, board trains, and evacuate the system in the ...
, train stations, bus terminals, and tunnels extending all over downtown. The central axis for downtown is
Saint Catherine Street
Sainte-Catherine Street (french: rue Sainte-Catherine) () is the primary commercial artery of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It crosses the central business district from west to east, beginning at the corner of Claremont Avenue and de ...
, Canada's busiest commercial avenue. The area includes high end retail such as the
Holt Renfrew Ogilvy
Holt Renfrew Ogilvy, formerly and still colloquially Ogilvy (french: La Maison Ogilvy), is a Canadian department store located on Saint Catherine Street West in the downtown core of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It has been owned by the Selfridges ...
department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
as well as
Les Cours Mont-Royal
Les Cours Mont-Royal is an upscale shopping mall in the city's downtown core of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, which was converted from the former Mount Royal Hotel.
Architecture
The Mount Royal Hotel was designed by Ross and Macdonald, a prolific a ...
shopping centre. Other major streets include
Sherbrooke Street
Sherbrooke Street (officially in french: rue Sherbrooke) is a major east–west artery and at in length, is the second longest street on the Island of Montreal. The street begins in the town of Montreal West and ends on the extreme tip of ...
,
Peel,
de la Montagne,
de Maisonneuve and
Crescent
A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself.
In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...
.
The skyline may be observed from one of two
lookouts on Mount Royal. The lookout at the
Belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region
Africa
* Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco
*Belvedere, Harare, Zi ...
takes in downtown, the river, and the
Monteregian Hills
The Monteregian Hills (french: Collines Montérégiennes) is a linear chain of isolated hills in Montreal and Montérégie, between the Laurentians and the Appalachians.
Etymology
The first definition of the Monteregian Hills came about in 190 ...
. On clear days the
Adirondack Mountains
The Adirondack Mountains (; a-də-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular ...
of
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...
are visible (the
great-circle distance
The great-circle distance, orthodromic distance, or spherical distance is the distance along a great circle.
It is the shortest distance between two points on the surface of a sphere, measured along the surface of the sphere (as opposed to a ...
between Mount Royal and the U.S. border along a
bee line normal to the border being only ~ 56 km, or ~ 35 miles), as are the
Green Mountains
The Green Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. state of Vermont. The range runs primarily south to north and extends approximately from the border with Massachusetts to the border with Quebec, Canada. The part of the same range that is i ...
of
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
. The eastern lookout has a view of
The Plateau
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
neighbourhood,
Olympic Stadium
''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...
and beyond.
Downtown Montreal is also home to the main campuses of
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
and
UQAM and the Sir
George Williams campus of
Concordia University
Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...
.
Demographics
According to a Statistics Canada article called ''Defining Canada’s Downtown Neighbourhoods: 2016 Boundaries'', Downtown Montreal is home to 88,169 people, and 299,245 jobs. The population density was approximately 66 people per hectare, while the job density was 226 jobs per hectare.
Attractions
Museums
A number of museums can be found in or near Downtown Montreal, including the
Canadian Centre for Architecture
The Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA; french: Centre Canadien d'Architecture) is a museum of architecture and research centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 1920, rue Baile (1920, Baile Street), between rue Fort (Fort Street ...
,
McCord Museum,
Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art,
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA; french: Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, MBAM) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square ...
and
Redpath Museum
The Redpath Museum (french: Musée Redpath) is a museum of natural history belonging to McGill University and located on the university's campus at 859, rue Sherbrooke Ouest (859 Sherbrooke Street West) in Montreal, Quebec. It was built in 1882 ...
.
Pointe-à-Callière Museum
Pointe-à-Callière Museum (french: Musée Pointe-à-Callière) is a museum of archaeology and history in Old Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was founded in 1992 as part of celebrations to mark Montreal's 350th birthday. The museum has collections of ...
is more strictly in
Old Montreal
Old Montreal (French: ''Vieux-Montréal'') is a historic neighbourhood within the municipality of Montreal in the province of Quebec, Canada. Home to the Old Port of Montreal, the neighbourhood is bordered on the west by McGill Street, on th ...
.
Religious buildings
Notable religious buildings in Downtown Montreal include:
Christ Church Cathedral,
Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul,
Church of St. John the Evangelist,
Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral
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,
St. James the Apostle Anglican Church
ST, St, or St. may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Stanza, in poetry
* Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band
* Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise
* Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...
,
St. James United Church,
St. George's Anglican Church and
St. Patrick's Basilica.
Sports and entertainment venues
The
Bell Centre
Bell Centre (), formerly known as Molson Centre (), is a multi-purpose arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Opened on March 16, 1996, it is the home arena of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL), replacing the Montr ...
, used for ice hockey and other events, lies in the central/southern portion of Downtown Montreal.
Place des Arts
Place may refer to:
Geography
* Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population
** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government
* "Place", a type of street or road name
** Often ...
is located in the eastern part of the city's downtown, between Ste-Catherine and de Maisonneuve Streets, and St-Urbain and Jeanne-Mance streets, in an area now known as the
Quartier des Spectacles, the complex is home to the
Montreal Symphony Orchestra
The Montreal Symphony Orchestra (french: Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, or OSM) is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. It is the only orch ...
,
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal (GBCM) is a ballet company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A creative and repertory company, it performs works that reflect the diverse trends of contemporary ballet.
History
Les Grands Ballets Canadien ...
, and the
Opéra de Montréal
LOpéra de Montréal is an opera company in Montreal, Canada. It performs at the Place des Arts theatre complex in downtown Montreal, in the borough of Ville-Marie. It was founded in 1980 as a company focused on productions in French.
History ...
.
Percival Molson Memorial Stadium lies just to the North of Pine Avenue at the edge of Downtown Montreal.
Squares
Public space in Downtown Montreal includes the following squares:
Cabot Square
Cabot Square is one of the central squares of the Canary Wharf Development on the Isle of Dogs.
The square includes a fountain and several works of art, and is the address for the London Offices of Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley.
In the n ...
,
Chaboillez Square,
Dorchester Square
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,
Norman Bethune Square
, photo = Place Norman Bethune Montreal 01.JPG
, photo_width =
, photo_caption = Statue of Norman Bethune in Norman Bethune Square.
, map = Canada Montreal
, map_width =
, type = Town square
, location = Quartier Concordia, Ville-Marie Mo ...
,
Phillips Square
Phillips Square (french: square Phillips) is a public square located in Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Square was established in 1842 thanks to a gift from Alfred Phillips to the city of Montreal.
History
In 1842, the square was firs ...
,
Place du Canada
Place du Canada (part of Dominion Square until 1967) is a large urban square in downtown Montreal.
Overview
At it is slightly larger than the adjacent Dorchester Square, with a more varied topography due to a downward slope towards De la Gau ...
,
Place Émilie-Gamelin
Place Émilie-Gamelin (known informally as Berri Square, french: Square Berri) is a city square in central Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was created to mark the 350th anniversary of the city. Bordered by Berri Street, Saint Hubert Street, Sainte Cat ...
,
Place des Festivals
Place may refer to:
Geography
* Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population
** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own Municipality, municipal government
* "Place", a type of street or road ...
,
Place Jean-Paul Riopelle and
Victoria Square.
Transportation
Two railway stations are in Downtown Montreal:
Central Station
Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...
serves both intercity (
VIA Rail
Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...
and
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
) and commuter rail services of the
Réseau de transport métropolitain
Exo, officially known as Réseau de transport métropolitain (RTM; en, Metropolitan Transportation Network), is a public transport system in Greater Montreal, including the Island of Montreal, Laval (Île Jésus), and communities along both t ...
(RTM) services. Additional commuter services use
Lucien-L'Allier Station.
Downtown Montreal also contains two bus stations:
Gare d'autocars de Montréal
Gare d'autocars de Montréal ( en, Montreal Coach Terminal) is a bus terminal located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the departure and arrival point for most inter-city buses. Nearly 300 buses serve the terminal per day.
The station is conne ...
serves mainly longer distance services, while
Terminus Centre-Ville
Terminus Centre-Ville is a bus terminus located within 1000 de La Gauchetière in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is multimodal with the Bonaventure Metro station and Lucien-L'Allier Metro station on the Orange Line, and the Central Station in ...
is mainly a terminus for services operated by
RTL and
Exo
Exo ( ko, 엑소; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. The group consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai ...
.
Two lines of the
Montreal Metro
The Montreal Metro (french: Métro de Montréal) is a rubber-tired underground rapid transit system serving Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The metro, operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), was inaugurated on October 14, ...
run east–west through Downtown Montreal.
Line 1 (Green) is aligned with
De Maisonneuve Boulevard
De Maisonneuve Boulevard (officially in french: boulevard De Maisonneuve) is a major westbound boulevard located in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is named after the founder of Montreal, Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve. It is a one-way stre ...
, serving (west to east):
Atwater,
Guy-Concordia,
Peel,
McGill McGill is a surname of Scottish and Irish origin, from which the names of many places and organizations are derived. It may refer to:
People
* McGill (surname) (including a list of individuals with the surname)
* McGill family (Monrovia), a promin ...
,
Place-des-Arts,
Saint-Laurent and
Berri-UQAM stations.
Line 2 (Orange) runs some blocks south of the Green Line, serving (west to east)
Lucien-L'Allier,
Bonaventure
Bonaventure ( ; it, Bonaventura ; la, Bonaventura de Balneoregio; 1221 – 15 July 1274), born Giovanni di Fidanza, was an Italian Catholic Franciscan, bishop, cardinal, scholastic theologian and philosopher.
The seventh Minister G ...
,
Square-Victoria-OACI,
Place-d'Armes,
Champ-de-Mars
The Champ de Mars (; en, Field of Mars) is a large public greenspace in Paris, France, located in the seventh ''arrondissement'', between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire to the southeast. The park is named after the ...
and
Berri-UQAM. Place-d'Armes, Champ-de-Mars and Square-Victoria-OACI stations would usually be considered as in Old Montreal. Berri-UQAM is also the terminus for
Line 4 (Yellow).
Economy
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled an ...
was formerly headquartered in Downtown Montreal. In 1990, the airline announced that it was moving its headquarters from Downtown Montreal to
Montreal-Trudeau Airport to cut costs.
[Benzie, Robert.]
Tories float Air Canada plan; Ready to lift bilingualism requirement Would 'level playing field,' party says
" ''Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
''. June 20, 2004. A07. Retrieved on September 23, 2009.
Education
Portions of four university-level establishments lie within Downtown Montreal: the main campus of
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
, on the northern side of Sherbrooke Street; the Sir George Williams Campus of
Concordia University
Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...
in an area identified as
Quartier Concordia
Quartier Concordia is a neighbourhood redevelopment project centred on Concordia University's Sir George Williams campus in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Bordered by Sherbrooke Street, Saint-Mathieu Street, René Lévesque Boulevard and Bis ...
in the western part of Downtown Montreal;
École de technologie supérieure
École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) is a public engineering faculty in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Founded in 1974, the École de technologie supérieure is a constituent of Université du Québec system. Specialized in applied teaching in ...
(a part of
Université du Québec
The University of Quebec (French: ''Université du Québec'') is a system of ten provincially run public universities in Quebec, Canada. Its headquarters are in Quebec City. The university coordinates 300 programs for over 87,000 students. The ...
system) located near the southern edge of Downtown Montreal; and Université du Québec à Montréal, mainly in the Quartier Latin neighbourhood. Four colleges (pre-university) also lie in downtown: the public Cégep du Vieux Montréal on Ontario Street (Montreal), Ontario Street East; and the private colleges LaSalle College, O'Sullivan College and National Theatre School of Canada, including Monument-National, the venue used for its productions.
Politics
Downtown Montreal is mostly in the federal electoral district of Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Sœurs, with some areas in the north around
Mount Royal
Mount Royal (french: link=no, Mont Royal, ) is a large intrusive rock hill or small mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The best-known hypothesis for the origin of the name Montreal is the ...
being in the district of Outremont (electoral district), Outremont and the eastern portion belonging to Laurier—Sainte-Marie. All three of these seats are currently held by members of the Liberal Party of Canada, Liberal Party, with the former two in particular being safe Liberal seats.
Provincially, the downtown core is split in three pieces along similar boundaries, being mostly in the district of Westmount—Saint-Louis, with a small northern area in the provincial Mont-Royal—Outremont riding and the eastern areas being in Sainte-Marie—Saint-Jacques. The former two of these districts are current and safe seats for the Liberal Party of Quebec, while Sainte-Marie—Saint-Jacques is held by Manon Massé, one of the leaders of Québec solidaire.
See also
*Underground City, Montreal
*
Old Montreal
Old Montreal (French: ''Vieux-Montréal'') is a historic neighbourhood within the municipality of Montreal in the province of Quebec, Canada. Home to the Old Port of Montreal, the neighbourhood is bordered on the west by McGill Street, on th ...
*Old Port of Montreal
References
External links
*
{{Montreal landmarks
Downtown Montreal,
Neighbourhoods in Montreal
Central business districts in Canada, Montreal
Tourist attractions in Montreal
Ville-Marie, Montreal