Centre-ville of Montreal
Centre-ville de Montréal is the French-speaking downtown version of a city that combines Parisian refined style with the grandiose character of a classic American downtown. Adjacent to Old Montreal, which serves as the administrative center of the city, downtown Montreal is the cultural, academic, and more importantly – the vibrant shopping heart of Quebec's metropolis. In the shadow of contemporary and historical skyscrapers, streets lined with shopping headed by Rue Sainte-Catherine and the prestigious Rue Sherbrooke. Along the streets are dozens of giant malls, among them the metro's tunnel network dug in the 1960s, which has become a huge shopping center known as the Underground City.
How long should you plan for a visit to Centre-ville de Montréal?
For a visit to Centre-ville de Montréal, you need a full day, including the Underground City and plenty of time for shopping.
When visiting Montreal, it's highly recommended to find a place to stay downtown
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10 Must-See and Must-Do Things in Downtown Montreal
- Get a culture fix at the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art (Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal) and Place des Arts
- Shop till you drop along Rue Sainte-Catherine
- Explore the gigantic Eaton Centre of Montreal (Centre Eaton de Montréal)
- More shopping thrills in the underground city beneath Gare Centrale
- Upscale shopping on Le Sherbrooke and the Golden Square Mile (Mille Carré Doré)
- A scaled-down replica of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome – Marie-Reine-du-Monde Cathedral (Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde)
- Get a view of downtown Montreal from Square Dorchester
- The full history of Canada at the McCord Stewart Museum (Musée McCord Stewart)
- McGill University Campus
- High Art at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
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What is Montreal's Downtown?
Montreal's Downtown is the city's more recent development that expanded from the Old Montreal district Le Vieux Montréal toward the slopes of the Royal Mountain Mont-Royal.
- The district developed mainly in the mid and late 19th century and officially became the modern downtown of Montreal with the addition of skyscrapers in the mid and late 20th century
- Today, this is the vibrant and bustling center of Montreal, stretching from Chinatown and the Entertainment District around Place des Arts southward to the Concordia University campus
- In the middle stretch the main streets – Rue Sainte-Catherine and the axis of Sherbrooke Street, peaking at the city's prestigious area – the Golden Square Mile
- At its heart lies a row of giant malls including the Eaton Centre and many malls lining Rue Sainte-Catherine
- Beneath Gare Centrale, the city's central train station, are dozens of kilometers of underground streets that have become a large mall of their own, under Place Ville Marie. The underground city is one of the most unique things in Canada and a lively and pleasant place to visit, especially if you happen to come to Montreal in winter
- At Centre-Ville, there are also important museums, urban square plazas surrounded by skyscrapers, and the beautiful and prestigious McGill University campus
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Map of Downtown Montreal
Everything to See and Do in Centre-ville (Downtown) Montreal
Place des Arts
The Fine Arts Center is the main link between Old Montreal Le Vieux Montréal and Chinatown to the modern downtown and the central artery of Rue Sainte-Catherine. On the southern side of the center is the elegant Complexe Desjardins Mall that seals Place des Arts. The major theater center is the heart of the Quartier des Spectacles entertainment district.
Around the beautiful, paved square are a series of local cultural institutions and theaters, including Théâtre Maisonneuve, Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Place des Festivals, and La Maison Symphonique. This is Montreal's main cultural center, home to the symphony orchestra, the city's opera, and more.
In the evening hours, concerts and events are held at the location, filling the main square with all the city's high culture enthusiasts.
The Montréal Museum of Contemporary Art – Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal
The Montréal Museum of Contemporary Art is located in the western part of Place des Arts and is a significant cultural component of the theater cluster. The museum opened in 1964 in a building within the covered shopping complex of Place Ville Marie and moved to its current location in 1992.
This is a meticulously curated and experiential museum, but very local in its nature, with most exhibitions featuring local artists from the Quebec region. The museum offers fascinating rotating exhibitions and strives to pave the way for modernity (despite having a somewhat outdated feel).
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Rue Sainte-Catherine
The main street of downtown Ville is Saint Catherine Street. It's more of an artery than a shopping street, linking Montreal's large and covered malls, especially around the central Phillips Square. This is one of the busiest and most beautiful streets in Montreal, bustling with people throughout the day who come for the restaurants, shops, and businesses along its length. The street stretches for dozens of kilometers across the metropolis, but its most interesting part is west from Place des Arts to the Concordia University campus.
The Eaton Centre of Montreal – Centre Eaton de Montréal
The Eaton Centre is the most luxurious mall in the heart of Montreal on Rue Sainte-Catherine. Like the Eaton Centre in Toronto, the mall is a favorite hangout and shopping spot for downtown residents and the hordes of tourists visiting the city every single day. It features local shops, major chain stores, and plenty of places to eat. It is one of an endless string of malls along Rue Sainte-Catherine, including the underground city, Barbie Expo Fashion Mall, Place Montreal Trust Mall, and more.
Address: Rue Sainte-Catherine, 705, Montréal
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Montreal Central Station Gare Centrale and the Underground City
The underground city is one of the most unique things in Montreal and all of Canada. With the construction of the Gare Centrale as part of the metro line expansion in the 1960s, passages were dug to connect the downtown stations. Beneath the central station and downtown Montreal, there is an underground passage network that stretches over thirty kilometers. These passages are part of the Place Ville Marie covered shopping center; they are well-lit, and over the years, dozens of restaurants, hundreds of various shops, and even cinemas have opened along them.
The underground city is the preferred solution for city residents and tourists during the winter months, allowing the vibrant city life even when it's freezing above. The underground passages are quite an amazing tourist attraction, especially with the endless volume of tunnels, corridors, and exits to the downtown's hotels and malls.
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Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde – Mary Queen of the World Cathedral
The official cathedral of Montreal (the bishop's seat) was completed in 1894 and is one of the largest churches in Quebec (the second largest in Montreal after the Saint Joseph's Oratory – Oratoire Saint-Joseph-du-Mont-Royal). The church is a one-fourth size replica of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, originally built to counter the predominantly Protestant residents just south of Rue Sainte-Catherine.
Address: Rue de la Cathédrale, 1085, Montréal
Square Dorchester
Next to the cathedral stretches Place du Canada, and nearby is the smaller Dorchester Square. These two adjacent squares create a small green lung right in the heart of the downtown skyscrapers of Ville-Marie or Montreal's downtown. The René-Lévesque Boulevard separates the two squares. Right on the boulevard stands The Macdonald Monument, honoring John A. Macdonald, Canada's first Prime Minister. In parallel and for balance, at the heart of Dorchester Square stands the statue of Wilfrid Laurier, Canada's seventh Prime Minister and the first from Quebec.
The entire square is surrounded by stunning towers, a blend of old and new. Leading the old is the Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral, followed by the vintage fortified Sun Life Building, which housed the British Crown Jewels during World War II, and among the new are numerous office building skyscrapers.
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McCord Stewart Museum
One of Canada's most significant history museums is largely based on the obsession and vast private collection of David Ross McCord. McCord collected all the pieces of Canada and, upon his death in 1930, donated the entire collection to McGill University with the aim of curating it in a museum. Today, the museum has exhibits related to a variety of Canadian topics, such as historical items, artwork, textiles, indigenous jewelry, and artifacts of the European settlers.
Address: Rue Sherbrooke O, 690, Montréal
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McGill University
McGill University is considered one of the oldest in Canada and one of the best in the world. It is one of the top three universities in Canada, along with the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. The university campus stretches over more than seventy buildings between the slopes of Mount Royal to the west and the Ville-Marie to the east. Entrance to the campus is through the Roddick Gate, leading to a green area around which the university buildings are constructed in a neoclassical style. At the end of the green area is the Redpath Museum, featuring exhibits of archaeology, ethnology, and geology.
Le Sherbrooke and the Golden Square Mile
The Golden Square Mile is Montreal's historic luxury district, adjacent to McGill University's campus. This area was home to the city's wealthy during its heyday in the late 19th century, and it remains a prestigious area today. Sherbrooke Street is the district's main thoroughfare, featuring luxury brand stores like Tiffany and the Ritz-Carlton luxury hotel. In the heart of the street is the Museum of Fine Arts, the city's prominent art institution.
Museum of Fine Arts Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal
The magnificent Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is located in the heart of the Golden Square Mile's luxury district. Established in 1860, it boasts an exhibition of nearly 40,000 art pieces, mostly by European masters, but also many by American artists and Chinese or Eastern art.
The museum's collection features paintings by Nicolas Poussin, El Greco, Tiepolo, and even a rare snow painting by Pieter Brueghel the Elder. The modern collection includes works by great Impressionists such as Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Camille Pissarro.
Address: Rue Sherbrooke O, 1380, Montréal
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