Shopping Streets

Montreal is a great city for shopping, and there are commercial streets all over.

Sainte Catherine Street

Sainte Catherine Street is Montreal's most famous downtown street. From Westmount to the Gay Village, along the Green Line of the Metro, there are hundreds of stores and shopping centres. Between Guy and Saint Denis Street, there are over 1200 stores on Sainte Catherine Street and in its shopping centres and the Underground City.

Sainte Catherine Street

You can find almost anything on Sainte Catherine Street, from hardware stores to sex shops, from family restaurants to strip clubs. There are universities, colleges, concert halls, movie theatres, department stores, TV and radio stations, and museums. It has been the centre of Montreal shopping, culture and nightlife for generations. There is always something interesting. Every July, Sainte Catherine Street is closed for a huge sidewalk sale for over two kilometres between Saint Marc Street (near Metro Guy-Concordia) and Jeanne-Mance Street (near Metro Place-des-Arts). All the stories put tables out on the street for the weekend. There is live entertainment and hundreds of thousands of people come out to enjoy the fun. Saint Catherine Street is also used for parades like the Saint Patrick's Day parade in March, the parade on July 1st and the Santa Claus parade in November.

Website about downtown shopping

  • From Metro Atwater to Metro Papineau (green)
  • Bus 15

Saint Denis Street

Saint Denis is one of the most interesting shopping streets in Montreal. From bars and restaurants with classic Montreal "terraces" for eating outdoors to elegant shops and art galleries, Saint Denis Street is the heart of French culture in Montreal. The east arm of the orange line of the metro runs north and south near Saint Denis. At the south end, there is Old Montreal and UQAM - the University of Quebec in Montreal. Going north, the street passes through the "Latin Quarter" which is full of bars and restaurants and theatres. Above Sherbrooke, Saint Denis is a two-way street as it passes Saint Louis Square [Carré Saint-Louis] with its elegant old houses. From there to Mont-Royal Avenue, there is an interesting and surprising mix of dozens of shops, galleries, cafés and more.

  • From Metro Berri-UQAM to Metro Mont-Royal
  • Bus 30

Saint Laurent Boulevard

Saint Laurent (Saint Lawrence) Boulevard is the dividing line between East and West streets in Montreal. It is also the traditional division between the French and English neighbourhoods in the city. East of Saint Laurent (also called "the Main") was French and west was English. Today English and French live all over the city, but many people still think of the street like a boundary.

The Main is the favourite street of many Montrealers. At the south end, after it leaves Old Montreal, it passes through the gates of Chinatown before heading up to the Plateau.

Schwartz's

Above Sherbrooke, in the Plateau section, Saint Laurent crosses Prince Arthur street, full of outdoor restaurants. There are many interesting shops that reflect the multicultural city. Above Pine Avenue, you will find the famous Montreal smoked meat sandwich place: Schwartz's. This is place where there is always a line up, and you might see a movie star or a prime minister getting a sandwich.

As you go north, there are many bars, cafés and shops that have a real Montreal atmosphere, where many cultures and languages meet. Above Mont-Royal Avenue, in the Mile End neighbourhood, you find many of the small music nightclubs where Montreal's cool alternative music scene happens in English and French. Saint Laurent continues up to the old neighbourhood called Little Italy, famous for its Italian restaurants and shops.

For the past 100 years, Saint Laurent Boulevard has been a place where new immigrants settle, so it is a very multicultural area. It is also a favourite street for artists, writers and musicians. You can get the true flavour of Montreal on this famous street.

For a few days in early summer and again in the late summer, Saint Laurent closes for its street sale. All the shops put merchandise out on the street, and there is a festival atmosphere, with music and entertainment and lots of fun. There is also a section of the street closed for celebrations during the Grand Prix F1 race weekend in June.

Saint Laurent Boulevard is a one-way street north from the river in the Old Port all the way to Jean-Talon Street. There, it continues as a two-way street to the north shore of the island. An interesting way to see Saint Laurent is to take the famous number 55 bus up the street.

Saint Laurent Boulevard Website
  • Metro Saint Laurent
  • Bus 55


Image of Sainte Catherine Street courtesy Atilin, Wikimedia Commons
Image of Schwartz's courtesy Julian-Courtney Michael Lukács, Wikimedia Commons