Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
was referred to as "''
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
's Cultural Capital''" by
Monocle Magazine.
The city is Canada's centre for
French-language
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in No ...
television productions, radio, theatre, film, multimedia, and print publishing. 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 bistro ...
'' is a neighbourhood crowded with cafés animated by this literary and musical activity. Montreal's many cultural communities have given it a distinct local culture.
As a
North American
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...
city,
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
shares many of the cultural features characteristic of the other metropolis on the continent, including representations in all traditional manifestations of high culture, a long-lasting tradition of jazz and rock music, and tentative experimentation in visual arts, theatre, music, and dance. Yet, being at the confluence of the French and the English traditions, Montreal has developed a unique and distinguished cultural face in the world. Another distinctive characteristic of Montreal culture life is to be found in the animation of its
downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
, particularly during summer, prompted by cultural and social events, or festivals.
Arts
Place des Arts
A cultural heart of classical art and the venue for many summer festivals, the
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 a complex of different concert and theatre halls surrounding a large open-spaced square in the downtown. Culture lovers will find six concert and theatre halls, five of them inside: Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Théâtre Maisonneuve, Théâtre Jean-Duceppe, Cinquième Salle, Studio-Théâtre and one outside site: l'Esplanade. Classical dances, operas, plays, and music performances from troops around the world and from Montreal's very own are scheduled in these halls on a daily basis. The
Musée d'art contemporain is located across the Esplanade from Place des Arts, and some of the most important theatre troupes and musical concert scenes are found nearby in what is now called the
Quartier des Spectacles.
Dance and performing arts
Performing at Place des Arts is the city's chief ballet company
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 ...
. In contemporary dance, Montreal has been a leader, particularly since the 1980s. Internationally recognized avant-garde dance troupes such as
La La La Human Steps,
O Vertigo, and the
Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault have toured the world and worked with international popular artists during videos and concerts. The intelligent and seamless integration of multi-disciplinary arts into the choreography of these troupes helped pave the way for the popularity of the
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 ...
, a multimillion-dollar empire based on a mixture of modern circus and performing acts. The
Agora de la danse is a studio where contemporary dancers most often perform.
Classical music
The Place des Arts also harbor the headquarters of 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 orc ...
(MSO) that performs in its halls regularly. The MSO is one of the top performance troupes in North America, most remembered for the quality performance of the repertoire of
Maurice Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...
. Since 2006, the MSO has a new conductor, the American
Kent Nagano
Kent George Nagano GOQ, MSM (born November 22, 1951) is an American conductor and opera administrator. Since 2015, he has been Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera and was Music Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 2006 to 202 ...
.
Two other popular Montreal orchestras that perform regularly at Places des Arts are the
Orchestre Métropolitain
The Orchestre Métropolitain (OM) is a symphony orchestra in Montréal, Québec, formed in 1981. It performs primarily in the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts but also at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier and Théâtre Maisonneuve. Outside the c ...
conducted by
Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, CC (; born Yannick Séguin;David Patrick Stearns, "Nezet-Seguin signs Philadelphia Orchestra contract". ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', 19 June 2010. 6 March 1975) is a Canadian ( Québécois) conductor and pianist. He i ...
and
I Musici de Montréal, a chamber orchestra founded by
Yuli Turovsky
Yuli Turovsky OC CQ (7 June 193915 January 2013) was a Soviet-born Canadian cellist, conductor and music educator. His name is mostly associated with the I Musici de Montréal Chamber Orchestra, which he founded in 1983 and led until his death ...
and since 2011 conducted by
Jean-Marie Zeitouni
Jean-Marie is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:
* Jean-Marie Abgrall (born 1950), a French psychiatrist, criminologist, specialist in forensic medicine, cult expert, and graduate in criminal law
* Jean-Marie Ch ...
. I Musici de Montréal are considered among the greatest interpreters of the works of George Frideric Handel. Place des Arts are also the home of 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 ...
, the most prestigious opera company in Montreal. One Montreal radio station is entirely devoted to classical music.
Music
Given that Montreal is mostly French-speaking, most popular local bands and singers have sung in French. In the past, the most popular local artists succeeded in filling arenas (
Beau Dommage
Beau Dommage was a rock band from Montreal, Quebec, who achieved success in Quebec and France in the 1970s. The group's style included rich vocal harmonies and elements borrowed from folk and country music.
History
Beau Dommage started in 197 ...
,
Offenbach,
Cowboys Fringants) or even the
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 ...
(e.g.,
Diane Dufresne), a feat usually reserved to a few international rock stars. Special events, such as the musical show on the Quebec national holiday, regularly attract over one hundred thousand people. The height for the French musical scene is reached every year during the Francofolies. The festival attracts international artists from
La Francophonie
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...
, popular artists from the Quebec musical scene, and emerging artists noticed during preceding festivals.
Montreal's English-speaking music scene also succeeds in getting attention from popular media around the world. The growing success of the current
variety of artists and bands, with
Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member ...
arguably leading the way, owes much to the city's culture of melting together different genres of music present from many different cultures. A variety of music festivals and independent local record labels also help sustain this success. Other Montreal bands include
Wolf Parade
Wolf Parade is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2003 in Montreal. The band released three full-length albums before taking a five-year hiatus in 2011. They announced their return in 2016, releasing a self-titled EP in May of that year, and a ...
,
Mobile
Mobile may refer to:
Places
* Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city
* Mobile County, Alabama
* Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S.
* Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Mobile ...
,
the Unicorns
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
, and
Simple Plan.
The
Montreal International Jazz Festival
The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal ( en, Montreal International Jazz Festival) is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz fes ...
illustrates well this melting of genres. Far from limiting itself to classical jazz (a style that Montreal always represented with jazzmen such as
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...
and
Oliver Jones), it features a great variety of artists who have espoused rhythms and styles from around the world. Smaller musical festivals include the
Festival International Nuits Afrique
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival con ...
("African Nights"),
Montreal Reggae Festival
The Montreal Reggae Festival is a reggae (music) festival held annually at the Old Port of Montreal, during the 2nd weekend of July.
Founded in 2004, by Eric Blagrove (President: 2004–present), Ricardo Forbes (Vice-President: 2004–2008), and ...
,
Pop Montreal
POP Montreal is an annual music festival occurring in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the early fall, usually at the end of September or the beginning of October. More than 400 bands are scheduled to play in more than 50 venues across the city, mos ...
,
FestiBlues international de MontréalMutekelectronic music festival, and
Osheaga
The Osheaga Music and Arts Festival (french: Festival musique et arts Osheaga) is a multi-day indie music festival in Montreal, Quebec, that is held every summer at Parc Jean-Drapeau on Île Sainte-Hélène. The festival takes place on six sta ...
rock festival.
Every Sunday in Parc Mont-Royal near-downtown Montreal, there is a huge impromptu drumming festival in which hundreds of drummers are invited to jam.
Tam Tams
The Tam-Tams is the informal name of a weekly free festival around the George-Étienne Cartier Monument in Mount Royal Park in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Its name imitates the sound of drums and refers to the drum circles that form the focal ...
.
Theatre
Theatre in Montreal is dominated by French-language productions, in part because Montreal has traditionally been a centre for most successful Quebec plays. As a result, the most celebrated and internationally recognized Quebec playwrights have all worked in Montreal at some point, including
Michel Tremblay
Michel Tremblay (born 25 June 1942) is a French-Canadian novelist and playwright.
Tremblay was born in Montreal, Quebec, where he grew up in the French-speaking neighbourhood of Plateau Mont-Royal; at the time of his birth, a neighbourhood wi ...
(
''Les Belles Soeurs'', ''
Hosanna''), who revolutionized Quebec theatre by writing in the local dialect,
joual
''Joual'' () is an accepted name for the linguistic features of Quebec French that are associated with the French-speaking working class in Montreal which has become a symbol of national identity for some. ''Joual'' is stigmatized by some and c ...
, and Montreal-adoptee
Wajdi Mouawad
Wajdi Mouawad, OC, (born 1968) is a Lebanese-Canadian writer, actor, and director. He is known in Canadian and French theatre for politically engaged works such as the acclaimed play ''Incendies'' (2003). His works often revolve around family t ...
(''Wedding Day at the Cromagnons'', ''
Scorched''). Most established French-language theatres are found in the Quartier Latin (e.g. Théâtre du Rideau Vert) or near Place des Arts (Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, Théâtre Jean-Duceppe). The city also hosts the
Festival TransAmériques, a two-week showcase of international experimental theatre.
In contrast, English theatre struggled but survived with the
Centaur Theatre
The Centaur Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Montreal, Quebec. It was co-founded in 1969 by Maurice Podbrey along with The Centaur Foundation for the Performing Arts. It currently has Eda Holmes as the Artistic and Executive Director ...
. In 1979,
David Fennario
David William Fennario, (born David Wiper, 26 April 1947) is a Canadian playwright best known for ''Balconville'' (1979), his bilingual dramatization of life in working-class Montreal, for which he won the Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award. A ...
achieved notable success and notoriety with Canada's first bilingual play, ''
Balconville
''Balconville'' is a bilingual play by Canadian playwright David Fennario. It is a two-act drama that is considered to be Fennario's best known play. Balconville was the first bilingual play in Canadian theatre history, and about a third of the ...
,'' which documents rivalries between the English and French working class in the suburb of Pointe-St-Charles. Ethnic theatre, by the 70s, began to be a force, notably with the
Black Theatre Workshop
Black Theatre Workshop (BTW) is a non-profit theater company based in Montreal and is one of the oldest Black English-speaking professional theatre companies in the Canada. It was established by Clarence Bayne and Arthur Goddard, who previously ...
under the leadership of artistic director Tyrone Benskin, the Yiddish Theatre established at
the Saidye Bronfman Centre
The Segal Centre for Performing Arts, formerly the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts, is a theatre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 5170 chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâ ...
, and later with the Teesri Duniya and
Dummies Theatre. In the late 1990s, Montreal started to become a hotspot for low-budget independent English theatre with companies such as
Optative Theatrical Laboratories
The optative mood ( or ; abbreviated ) is a grammatical mood that indicates a wish or hope regarding a given action. It is a superset of the cohortative mood and is closely related to the subjunctive mood but is distinct from the desiderative m ...
, Infinithéâtre, MainLine Theatre, Gravy Bath Theatre, Sa Booge, Persephone, Pumpkin Productions, and Tableau D'Hôte Theatre adding to the scene. More recently, the theatre has been taking a more activist turn with emerging organizations such as ATSA and the
Optative Theatrical Laboratories
The optative mood ( or ; abbreviated ) is a grammatical mood that indicates a wish or hope regarding a given action. It is a superset of the cohortative mood and is closely related to the subjunctive mood but is distinct from the desiderative m ...
, and festivals such as the Anarchist Theatre Festival, MAYWORKS, and the
Infringement Festival.
Literature
Montréal has a rich yet still relatively young literary history in both French and English literature. A large number of novels have captured the realities of Montreal. While any list will understandably be subjective, a few works are agreed to be important in Canadian and Québécois literature. Written in 1947,
Gabrielle Roy
Gabrielle Roy (March 22, 1909July 13, 1983) was a Canadian author from St. Boniface, Manitoba and one of the major figures in French Canadian literature.
Early life
Roy was born in 1909 in Saint-Boniface (now part of Winnipeg), Manitoba, and ...
's ''The Tin Flute'' (in French ''Bonheur d'occasion''), which chronicles the life of a young woman in the neighborhood of St-Henri, marked Québécois literature for its urban texture. The work of
Mordecai Richler
Mordecai Richler (January 27, 1931 – July 3, 2001) was a Canadian writer. His best known works are '' The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' (1959) and '' Barney's Version'' (1997). His 1970 novel ''St. Urbain's Horseman'' and 1989 novel ...
, highlighted by ''The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' (1959), depicts the lives of poor English-speaking residents of Mile End. Mostly
Michel Tremblay
Michel Tremblay (born 25 June 1942) is a French-Canadian novelist and playwright.
Tremblay was born in Montreal, Quebec, where he grew up in the French-speaking neighbourhood of Plateau Mont-Royal; at the time of his birth, a neighbourhood wi ...
perhaps best summarizes the alienation of poor working-class Montréalais at the onset of the Quebec
Quiet revolution
The Quiet Revolution (french: Révolution tranquille) was a period of intense socio-political and socio-cultural change in French Canada which started in Quebec after the election of 1960, characterized by the effective secularization of govern ...
. The all-time best-selling novel in Québécois literature,
Yves Beauchemin's ''The Alley Cat'' (''Le Matou''), depicts a relatively similar neighborhood twenty years later. The later work of
Émile Ollivier
Olivier Émile Ollivier (; 2 July 182520 August 1913) was a French statesman. Starting as an avid republican opposed to Emperor Napoleon III, he pushed the Emperor toward liberal reforms and in turn came increasingly into Napoleon's grip. He en ...
, for example, ''La Brûlerie'', is a portrait of French-speaking immigrants establishing their lives in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood.
The nineteenth-century poet
Émile Nelligan, whom American critic
Edmund Wilson
Edmund Wilson Jr. (May 8, 1895 – June 12, 1972) was an American writer and literary critic who explored Freudian and Marxist themes. He influenced many American authors, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose unfinished work he edited for publ ...
famously called "the only first-rate Canadian poet, French or English," has many schools and libraries named in his honour in Montreal and around Quebec.
Montreal was also the centre of literary modernism in English Canada, led by the
Montreal Group The Montreal Group, sometimes referred to as the McGill Group or McGill Movement,Dean Irvine,Montreal Group" ''Oxford Companion to Canadian History''. Answers.com, Web, March 25, 2011. was a circle of Canadian modernist writers formed in the mid-19 ...
of poets including
A.M. Klein and
F. R. Scott in the mid-1920s.
Montreal hosts a number of events related to literature, including the multilingual
Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival, which takes place every Spring, and the
Expozine alternative press fair every fall.
Cult MTL
''Cult MTL'' is an English language arts, culture and news website and monthly print publication, based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Its first print edition appeared on 7 September 2012. It was created only a few months after Montreal's last Engli ...
is a local print publication and website in Montreal focusing on culture, music, film, arts, and city life.
Film
There are plenty of English-language screens in the city, mostly downtown. The largest and most modern are the central Paramount Montreal and the AMC Forum, both located on Ste-Catherine Street. In addition to presenting movies from the majors, the AMC Forum also presents independent movies of repertory cinema. Other cinemas concentrating on repertory movies include the Cinéma du Parc.
Cineastes have, on occasion, chosen Montreal for their movies. See
Montreal in films Hollywood movies set and shot in Montreal
*''Wait Until Dark'' (1967), starring Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna (set primarily in New York but some of it was filmed in Montreal, which also features as a setting in the beginning)
*''La co ...
.
Museums

Montreal has a vast network of museums, art galleries, and exhibition centres.
The 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 Squ ...
possesses a varied collection of
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...
an,
First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
** First Nat ...
,
Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, ...
, and Canadian arts, including important paintings from Montreal's own
Betty Goodwin,
James Wilson Morrice, and
Paul-Émile Borduas. The
Musée d'art contemporain has concentrated its collection mainly on emerging post-
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, 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 ...
artists, with arguably some of the best artistic works in Quebec from
Alfred Pellan
Alfred Pellan (born Alfred Pelland; 16 May 1906 – 31 October 1988) was an important figure in twentieth-century Canadian painting.
Biography
Alfred Pelland was born in Quebec City on 16 May 1906. His mother, Régina Damphousse, died when ...
and
Jean-Paul Riopelle
Jean-Paul Riopelle, (October 7, 1923 – March 12, 2002) was a Canadian painter and sculptor from Quebec. He had one of the longest and most important international careers of the sixteen signatories of the ''Refus Global'', the 1948 manif ...
.
Other praised museums are the
Redpath Museum, the
Stewart Museum, the
McCord Museum of Canadian History, 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 ...
, and the
Montreal Museum of Archeology and History.
The region is also home to a number of science-related museums. Many of them are located in the Olympic Park complex, including the
Montreal Biodome
The Montreal Biodome (french: Biodôme de Montréal) is a facility located at Olympic Park in the Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbourhood of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that allows visitors to walk through replicas of four ecosystems foun ...
(which reproduces four ecosystems of
The Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
), the
Montreal Insectarium, the
Montreal Botanical Garden
The Montreal Botanical Garden (french: link=no, Jardin botanique de Montréal) is a large botanical garden in Montreal, Quebec, Canada comprising of thematic gardens and greenhouses. It was designated a National Historic Sites of Canada, Natio ...
, and the
Montreal Planetarium. On the
West Island
The West Island () is the unofficial name given to the cities, towns and boroughs at the western end of the Island of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada. It is generally considered to consist of the Lakeshore municipalities of Dorval, Pointe-Cl ...
, the
Ecomuseum
An ecomuseum is a museum focused on the identity of a place, largely based on local participation and aiming to enhance the welfare and development of local communities. Ecomuseums originated in France, the concept being developed by Georges Henr ...
draws many visitors, and features an outdoor setting complete with animals native to the area. A recent addition to Montreal's museum scene is the
Montreal Science Centre located in the
Old Port Old Port is a name used by historic port districts in several jurisdictions.
Old Port or Oldport may refer to:
Historic port districts
* Oldport of Berlin Charter Township, Michigan, United States
* The Port, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United Stat ...
, and featuring many hands-on experiments in various fields of science. The
Laval Cosmodome houses both Space Camp Canada and the Space Science Centre. The
Musée des ondes Emile Berliner
The Musée des ondes Emile Berliner is located in the historic factory of the ''Berliner Gram-o-phone Company'' in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The museum is a technical history Museum about the development of music recording and subsequent industri ...
in the South-West borough is dedicated to Canada's music industry and the inventor of the gramophone, Emile Berliner. A short drive south in
Granby, is the
Granby Zoo
The Granby Zoo (french: Le Zoo de Granby) is a zoo in Granby, Quebec and is one of Quebec's major tourist attractions.
It was founded in 1953 by the mayor of Granby at the time, Pierre-Horace Boivin. There are currently more than 1,800 differe ...
, notable for its wide variety of animals and amusements.
Linguistic groups
Francophone
Montreal is the cultural centre of Québec, French-speaking
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
, and French-speaking North America as a whole, and an important city in the
Francophonie
Francophonie is the quality of speaking French. The term designates the ensemble of people, organisations and governments that share the use of French on a daily basis and as administrative language, teaching language or chosen language. The t ...
. It is the largest French-speaking city in
North America, and the cultural capital of the Quebec province. The city is a hub for French-language television productions, radio, theatre, circuses, performing arts, film, multimedia, and print publishing. The best talents from French Canada and even the French-speaking areas of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
converge in Montreal and often perceive the city as their cultural capital. Montreal is also the most important stop in the Americas for Francophone artists from Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Some 30 years after the adoption of the
Charter of the French Language
The ''Charter of the French Language'' (french: link=no, La charte de la langue française), also known in English as Bill 101, Law 101 (''french: link=no, Loi 101''), or Quebec French Preference Law, is a law in the province of Quebec in Canada ...
, a greater number of first- or second-generation immigrants have established themselves in Montreal, such as playwright
Wajdi Mouawad
Wajdi Mouawad, OC, (born 1968) is a Lebanese-Canadian writer, actor, and director. He is known in Canadian and French theatre for politically engaged works such as the acclaimed play ''Incendies'' (2003). His works often revolve around family t ...
(
Lebanese
Lebanese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Lebanese Republic
* Lebanese people
The Lebanese people ( ar, الشعب اللبناني / ALA-LC: ', ) are the people inhabiting or originating from Lebanon. The term may al ...
origin), singer
Nicolas Ciccone
Nicola Ciccone is a Canadian francophone singer-songwriter, novelist and writer of Italian origin. His songs have been mainly in French but also in English, Italian, and Spanish. He has released 13 albums, which have been nominated for many ADI ...
(
Italian origin), and author
Dany Laferrière (
Haitian origin), whom all contribute to Quebec's culture.
Anglophone
Montreal is also the cultural capital for English Quebec. The
Montreal Gazette newspaper,
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 the
Centaur Theatre
The Centaur Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Montreal, Quebec. It was co-founded in 1969 by Maurice Podbrey along with The Centaur Foundation for the Performing Arts. It currently has Eda Holmes as the Artistic and Executive Director ...
are traditional hubs of Anglo culture. The cultural divide between Montreal's and Canada's
Francophone
French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the ...
and
Anglophone
Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest langua ...
culture was strong and was famously referred to as the
Two Solitudes by Canadian writer Hugh MacLennan. Reflecting their deep-seated colonial roots, the Solitudes were historically strongly entrenched in Montreal, splitting the city geographically at
Saint Laurent Boulevard. This split, however, has become less and less apparent in the past decades. Although Anglophones still concentrate in the Montreal boroughs on the west side of the island, they have become more bilingual, as 66% of Quebec Anglophones claim to be able to carry on a conversation in French. Thus, while tensions can occur between Anglophones and Francophones, contemporary Montreal is home to a diverse collection of cultures and people who generally live together amicably.
Cultural contribution from other communities
Other cultural communities, be it first-generation immigrants or long-time settlers in Montreal, have greatly contributed to the originality and flavor of Montreal. Many festivals and parades are organized to celebrate the contribution of these communities, such as the Irish Saint Patrick Parade, the Greek Independence Day Parade
or the Festival des Nuits d'Afrique. Montreal's Jewish community has been a leading contributor to Montreal's cultural landscape and is renowned for its level of charitable giving and its plethora of cultural and social service community institutions. Among these are the world-renowned
Jewish Public Library of Montreal, Segal Centre for the Arts,
Museum of Jewish Montreal, and
Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre.
Religion

Nicknamed ' ("the city of a hundred belltowers"), Montreal is renowned for its churches. Indeed, as
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
once noted, "This is the first time I was ever in a city where you couldn't throw a brick without breaking a church window." The city has four
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
s:
Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral, the aforementioned
Notre-Dame Basilica,
St. Patrick's Basilica, and
Saint Joseph's Oratory
Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal (french: Oratoire Saint-Joseph du Mont-Royal) is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and national shrine located at 3800 Queen Mary Road in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood on Mount Royal's Westmount Summit ...
.
The Oratory is the largest church in Canada, with the largest dome of its kind in the world after that of
Saint Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal ...
in Rome.

Other well-known churches include
Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel, which is sometimes called the Sailors' Church, and the
Anglican Christ Church Cathedral, which was completely excavated and suspended above an excavated pit during the construction of part of the Underground City. All of the above are major tourist destinations, particularly Notre-Dame and the Oratory.
The dominant religion in Quebec is
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...
, which is adhered to by roughly 90.2% of the population.
Montreal is the seat of a diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Cuisine
Of note is the regional variation, the
Montreal hot dog. But Montreal's culinary landscape is perhaps most influenced by the diverse fabric of its
ethnic
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
communities.
Italian,
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
,
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
ish, and
Lebanese
Lebanese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Lebanese Republic
* Lebanese people
The Lebanese people ( ar, الشعب اللبناني / ALA-LC: ', ) are the people inhabiting or originating from Lebanon. The term may al ...
communities have contributed to the mix of Montreal's restaurants. Jewish contributions include two world-renowned items,
Montreal smoked meat
Montreal-style smoked meat, Montreal smoked meat or simply smoked meat in Quebec (French: ''smoked-meat''; sometimes ''viande fumée'' or even ''bœuf mariné'': Literally “marinated beef”) is a type of kosher-style deli meat product made ...
sandwiches, and
Montreal-style bagels
The Montreal-style bagel or Montreal bagel (sometimes beigel; yi, בײגל, translit=beygl; french: Bagel de Montréal) is a distinctive variety of handmade and wood-fired baked bagel. In contrast to the New York-style bagel, which also con ...
. Lebanese
falafel
Falafel (; ar, فلافل, ) is a deep-fried ball or patty-shaped fritter in Middle Eastern cuisine (especially in Levantine and Egyptian cuisines) made from ground chickpeas, broad beans, or both. Nowadays, falafel is often served in ...
s and
shish taouk sandwiches, and Japanese
sushi
is a Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is "sushi rice," also ...
, have become much-appreciated cuisines.
This wide variety of cuisines underlines the fact that Montreal is one of the cities in the world with the highest number of restaurants. Montreal and its culinary landscape was the focus of
Gourmet magazine's March 2006 issue. Montreal's unique cuisine has also given birth to a number of Montreal-centric restaurants and restaurant chains, such as
Dagwoods,
Dic Ann's Hamburgers,
Dunn's Famous
Dunn's Famous Deli and Steakhouse is a chain of Jewish delis serving Montreal-style smoked meat, pastrami and cheesecake founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, by Myer Dunn.
History
Dunn, who immigrated to Canada in 1911, opened his first restaur ...
,
Moishes Steakhouse,
Schwartz's
Schwartz's (French: ''Chez Schwartz''), also known as the Montreal Hebrew Delicatessen (French: ''Charcuterie Hébraïque de Montréal, Inc.''), is a Jewish delicatessen restaurant and take-out, located at 3895 Saint-Laurent Boulevard in Montre ...
, and
Lafleur Restaurants.
Tourism
Tourism is an important industry in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
. The city welcomed 14 million visitors in 2005.
[Communaute Metropolitaine de Montreal - Statistics](_blank)
/ref> Like the province of Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, 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 ...
, visitors to Montreal come from around the world, most of them from the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
, the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
, Mexico
Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...
, and Japan. 39,000 jobs in Montreal were generated by the tourism industry in 2005.
Crescent Street in Downtown Montreal
Downtown Montreal (French language, French: ''Centre-Ville de Montréal'') is the central business district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The district is situated on the southernmost slope of Mount Royal, and occupies the western portion of the ...
is popular among tourists. Throughout the summer, it features various street fairs and festivals. Among locals, Crescent Street is known better for its many clubs and bars. Saint-Laurent Boulevard
Saint Laurent Boulevard, also known as Saint Lawrence Boulevard (officially in french: boulevard Saint-Laurent), is a major street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A commercial artery and cultural heritage site, the street runs north–south through ...
and the surrounding Plateau Mont-Royal
Le Plateau-Mont-Royal () is a borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The Plateau-Mont-Royal takes its name from its location on a plateau, on the eastern side of Mont-Royal and overlooking downtown Montreal, across ...
neighbourhood are also well known for their restaurants
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearance ...
, bars, nightlife, and nightclubs.[Montreal's Guide and Events](_blank)
/ref>
Festivals
The plaza on Place des Arts is the home of the most important events during several musical festivals, including the Montreal International Jazz Festival
The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal ( en, Montreal International Jazz Festival) is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz fes ...
and Montreal Francofolies, a festival of French-language music. two festivals last seven-to-ten days. Performances are presented in different places, from relatively small clubs to the large halls of Place des Arts. Some of the outdoor shows are held on cordoned-off streets, while others are in terraced parks.
The city's most popular festival, in terms of attendance, is the Just For Laughs Festival, held annually in July, which is also the world's largest comedy festival. The Montreal Fireworks Festival also attracts a lot of attention. On the evenings of competition, tens of thousands of people watch the fireworks for free on their roofs or from locations nearby the competition. Other festivals in Montreal include Pop Montreal, The Fringe Festival, la Fête des Neiges de Montréal,Snow Festival
/ref> and Nujaz. Annual family-oriented events promoting health and cycling are also organized in the streets of Montreal. Parades are also popular in downtown Montreal.
Montreal is also famous as the birthplace of the Infringement Festival, a reaction to the perceived corporatization of the Montreal Fringe Festival
Fringe theatre is theatre that is produced outside of the main theatre institutions, and that is often small-scale and non-traditional in style or subject matter. The term comes from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.Kemp, Robert, ''More that is Fr ...
. The Infringement has since spread to many other cities in North America and Europe.
Night life
During the period of Prohibition in the United States, Montreal became well known as one of North America's "sin cities" with unparalleled nightlife
Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...
, a reputation it still holds today. In part, its bustling nightlife is attributed to its relatively late "last call" (3 a.m.), a large university population, the drinking age of 18, and the excellent public transportation system combines with other aspects of the Montreal culture to make the city's nightlife unique. The diversity of the clubs in Montreal attests to the popularity of its nightlife, with night clubs, pubs, bars and singing bars ("boîte à chanson"), Latin clubs, African clubs, jazz clubs, lounges, after-hours houses, and strip club
A strip club is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease or other erotic or exotic dances. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, and can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style. Am ...
s all attracting different types of customers.
The most active parts of Montreal's nightlife are the Downtown and 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 bistro ...
. Saint-Denis street, which goes across the Quartier Latin, attracts a majority of the French-speaking population. Saint-Laurent Street (known locally as "the Main") is also one of the most popular streets. A majority of English-speaking Montrealers frequent the western part of the Downtown, with Crescent Street being one of the most popular streets in this sector. These three streets are all crossed by Downtown's most commercial street, Sainte-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 ...
, which extends to its East in the heart of Montreal gay nightlife.
See also
* Architecture of Montreal
*List of Montreal music venues
The following list of Montreal music venues indicates significant performance locations in Montreal:
Indie
* Casa Del Popolo
* La Sala Rossa
* Mile End Cultural Centre
* Divan Orange (closed)
* Mademoiselle
* Club Lambi (closed)
* Le Belmont ...
References
{{Montreal