As the city’s urban core, Downtown Montreal is sleek, modern and exciting. Known by locals as “centre-ville”, it’s a vibrant district brimming with opportunities to shop, dine and play. Its architecture is eclectic, with gleaming skyscrapers standing alongside beautifully preserved heritage buildings.
The action is centred around Sainte-Catherine Street, Montréal’s main commercial artery. It’s lined with a fantastic collection of malls, department stores and high street staples. Trendy Crescent Street is a mecca for hipsters, with well-heeled shoppers making a beeline for the designer boutiques on Sherbrooke Street. For a cultural fix, Downtown Montreal is home to coveted institutions like the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts, the McCord Museum and the Musée d’art contemporain.
Just steps from the Saint Lawrence River, Downtown Montreal is easy to access by foot and public transport. It’s serviced by more than 10 metro stations, with local buses also operating in the area. The downtown core is a short stroll to Old Montreal and is a 20-minute drive or 45-minute bus ride to Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.
A trip to Downtown Montreal isn’t complete without exploring the Underground City. Submerged beneath the downtown footprint, a network of passageways link Montreal’s malls, hotels, universities, office buildings and more. Every day more than 500,000 people navigate their way through the Underground City, which is particularly useful during the city’s harsh winter months.