Plateau Mont Royal

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)

Articles, Updates and Reviews

The voting process for the name of Montreal's citywide bike rental program is over and the winner is chosen. The system is going to be called "BIXI".

Over the next month, demo bikes will be wheeled around the city and public demonstrations will be held. According to the city's mayor, Gérald Tremblay, by next spring Montreal will count 2,400 bikes at more than 300 solar-powered stations...

Read the rest of: "BIXI: Bike, Taxi, Montreal"»

There are many restaurants in this town proving their worth by hiring the right chef, PR agency or interior designer, attracting the "in" crowd or serving the most "creative" (sometimes absurdly creative) nouvelle cuisine dishes.

And then there are restaurants that don't need to prove anything: as long as they stay true to their mission and character, they will be deservedly popular.

L'Express at 3927 rue St-Denis belongs to the second category. In the 20-odd years that the place existed, it slowly transformed its status from that of a "cool new thing" to that of a Montreal institution...

Read the rest of: "L'Express Way"»

I am amazed and grateful at the variety of cafés in Montreal. It is a city where people love to bring their office or school work to coffee shops, since most of them offer Wi-Fi. Hot beverages are essential during the colder months, but there is a difference between hitting the chain coffee shops and arriving by chance to a café in the middle of the very eclectic Blvd. St-Laurent..



Pi Café (Café π) is basically a mixture of coffee shop, workplace, gallery, chess venue and a place for tranquility. I've been there a few times, and it is a wonderful place to enjoy a café latte or tisane while you pull out your book, computer or schoolwork in a reasonably quiet environment.

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Read the rest of: "Café π: Coffee, Tranquility and One Hip Bathroom"»

As a Mexican, I am instinctively drawn to anything Latin and even anything with a Spanish word in the title. I turn my head every time I hear my native language and I am definitely guilty of buying overpriced Mexican groceries (jalapeños, frijoles, tortillas, etc.) from those little depanneurs on St-Lawrence. (I am not complaining, though, as I would die without my jalapeños!...)

Thus, it didn't take me long to notice a small café called Café Rico, on Rachel street (corner of Boyer).

Read the rest of: "Café Rico (Long Live Indepedent Cafés!)"»