Plateau Mont Royal

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Colloquially known as Le Plateau, this neighborhood is the arbiter of taste when it comes to "cool" things in the city. While downtown has its business centers, office towers and skyscrapers, the main streets of low-rise Plateau are lined with cafés, boutiques, galleries and restaurants.

Built mostly in the late 19th and early 20th century, Le Plateau is a neighborhood of row houses many of which feature Montreal's trademark curved exterior stairs. Originally a working-class area, the neighborhood gradually became the hottest thing in Montreal (and, to some extent, in North America) by attracting countless bohemians who were in turn following writers, musicians, poets and other "creative workers". Thankfully, Montreal's financial type contigent is small, so the neighborhood became only moderately more expensive.

Boulevard St-Laurent (also known as "the main") deserves a special mention as a sort of an open-air museum of immigration. Strolling the boulevard up from rue Sherbrooke, one gets to see the fruits of labor of countless arrivals from Poland, Portugal, Italy and (for more recent arrivals) Asia and Latin America - it suffices to take note of the restaurants, stores, bank and building names. In general, St-Laurent is a symbol of a true Montreal mix - neither exclusively "franco-" nor too "anglo-", peppered with flavors and colors of every corner of the globe - perhaps, just a little too commercialized for our liking, but intriguing and stimulating nevertheless.

Attractions

As a residential and commerical neighborhood, Le Plateau is very light on attractions per se, which does not dimish its draw for tourists and residents alike. Any architecturally-curious visitor will delight in simply walking the streets of the neighborhood (recommended sites: the western side of La Fontaine Park and the houses around Square St-Louis). Fans of modern architecture should take note of the new (double-skinned) building of the Institut de tourisme et d'hôtelerie du Québec (2005) at 3535 rue St-Denis.

» Our list of selected Plateau Mont Royal Attractions (2)

Hotels

Most accommodation options in the neighborhood are B&B's and hostels. The only large hotel (on the southern edge of the neighborhood) is Doubletree By Hilton (505 rue Sherbrooke Est).

Restaurants

The Plateau is the nerve center of Montreal's dining scene. Two of the borough's busiest streets (Blvd St-Laurent and Rue St-Denis) are lined up with eateries of every stripe. There are more restaurants here than in any other neighborhood in Montreal.

Those on a tight 24/48-hour-visit schedule should not miss the classic elegance of L'Express, a French bistro/brasserie on Rue St-Denis.

Our editors' favorites also include Pintxo, a creative Spanish/Basque restaurant and Bistro L'Entrepont, a small French/Québecois bistro tucked away on a quiet street. But your choices are almost unlimited - just stroll up (or down) almost any street and you're almost guaranteed to find a decent restaurant. Some of the major dining arteries are Ave du Mont-Royal Est, Rue St-Denis, Boulevard St-Laurent, Rue Rachel Est. Some smaller, quieter streets that also feature many restaurants are: Avenue Duluth Est and Rue Marie-Anne Est.

» Our list of selected Plateau Mont Royal Restaurants (13)