Nightlife

Montréal's reputation for effervescent nightlife reaches back to the Roaring Twenties -- specifically to the United States' 13-year experiment with Prohibition from 1920 to 1933. Americans streamed into Montréal for temporary relief from alcohol deprivation (while Canadian distillers and brewers made fortunes -- few of them with meticulous regard for legalistic niceties). Montréal already enjoyed a sophisticated and slightly naughty reputation as the Paris of North America, which added to the allure.

Nearly a century later, clubbing and barhopping remain popular activities, with nightspots keeping much later hours in Montréal than in arch-rival Toronto, which still heeds Calvinist notions of propriety and early bedtimes.

Nocturnal pursuits are often as cultural as they are social. The city boasts its own outstanding symphony, dozens of French- and English-language theater companies, and the incomparable performance company Cirque du Soleil. It's also on the standard concert circuit that includes Chicago, Boston, and New York, so internationally known entertainers, music groups, and dance companies pass through frequently. A decidedly French enthusiasm for film, as well as the city's ever-increasing reputation as a movie-production center, ensures support for cinemas showcasing experimental, offbeat, and foreign films.

A new discount ticket office for Montréal cultural events opened in summer 2007. Called Vitrine culturelle de Montréal ("cultural window of Montréal"; tel. 514/285-4545; www.vitrineculturelle.com), it's located at 145 rue Sainte-Catherine ouest in Place des Arts. It includes a central information office and full-price tickets as well as last-minute deals.

In summer, the city becomes even livelier than usual. The biggest of the bunch is the 3-day Grand Prix du Canada, the country's only Formula 1 auto race that roars onto Ile Notre-Dame and brings the partying into downtown in June.

Concentrations of pubs and discos underscore the city's linguistic dichotomy. While there's a great deal of crossover, the parallel blocks of rue Crescent, rue Bishop, and rue de la Montagne north of rue Ste-Catherine have a pronounced Anglophone (English-speaking) character, while Francophones (French speakers) dominate the Quartier Latin, with college-age patrons most evident along the lower reaches of rue St-Denis and their yuppie elders gravitating to the nightspots of the slightly more uptown blocks of the same street. Vieux-Montréal (Old Montréal), especially along rue St-Paul, has a more universal quality, and many of the bars and clubs there feature live jazz, blues, and folk music. In the Plateau Mont-Royal area, boulevard St-Laurent, parallel to St-Denis and known locally as "The Main," has become a miles-long haven of hip restaurants and clubs, roughly from rue Sherbrooke up to rue Laurier. It's a good place to wind up in the wee hours, as there's always someplace with the welcome mat still out, even after the official 3am closings.

Most bars and clubs don't charge cover, and when they do, it's rarely more than C$10 (US$8.70/£4.30). Beer is usually in the C$4-to-C$7 (US$3.50-US$6.10/£1.70-£3) range, while cocktails are typically C$7 to C$12 (US$6.10-US$10/£3-£5.15).

Smoking has been banned in bars and restaurants throughout the province since 2006.

Checking What's On -- For details on performances or special events when you're in town, pick up a free copy of Montréal Scope (www.montrealscope.com), a weekly ads-and-events booklet usually available in hotel receptions, or the free weekly papers Mirror (www.montrealmirror.com) and Hour (www.hour.ca), both in English, or Voir (www.voir.ca) and Ici (www.icimontreal.com), both in French, available all over town. Also in French is the free monthly Nightlife magazine (www.nightlifemagazine.ca). Fugues (www.fugues.com), available at the tourist information office in the Gay Village, provides news and views of gay and lesbian events, clubs, restaurants, and activities. Extensive listings of largely mainstream cultural and entertainment events are posted at www.canada.com and www.montrealplus.ca.

Cinema

In Montréal, English-language films are usually presented with subtitles in French. However, when the initials "VF" (for version française) follow the title of a non-Francophone movie, it means that the movie has been dubbed into French. Policies vary on English subtitles on non.English-language films -- the best idea is to ask at the box office. Besides the many first-run movie houses that advertise in the daily newspapers, Montréal is rich in "ciné-clubs," which tend to be slightly older and show second-run, foreign, and art films at reduced prices.

Admission to films is usually about C$10 (US$8.70/£4.30) for adults, and less for students, seniors, children, and afternoon shows.

Foreign-language and independent films are the menu at Ex-Centris, 3536 bd. St-Laurent (tel. 514/847-2206; www.ex-centris.com), and the architectural surroundings are at least as interesting -- sort of a post.machine-age spaceship. Go inside and try to find the ticket booth to ask about showtimes just to see what we mean. A casual and nifty bar-café, Café Méliès, is on the premises. The films are in English about half the time.

The National Film Board of Canada (Cinema ONF) at 1564 rue St-Denis (tel. 514/496-6887), shows Canadian and international films, primarily in English and French, particularly classics. Also at the theater/office is the unique CinéRobothèque, a high-tech screening center that lets visitors browse a multimedia catalog and then watch a film at a personal viewing station.

Imposing, sometimes visually disorienting images confront viewers of the five-story screen in the IMAX Theatre in the Centre des Sciences de Montréal in the Vieux-Port (tel. 877/496-4724). Many of the films are suitable for the entire family.

Gambling

The Casino de Montréal (tel. 800/665-2274 or 514/392-2746; www.casino-de-montreal.com), Québec's first, is housed in recycled space: The complex re-uses what were the French and Québec Pavilions on Ile Notre-Dame during Expo '67 (the World's Fair that Montréal hosted). Asymmetrical and groovy, the buildings provide a dramatic setting for games of chance. Four floors contain more than 115 game tables, including roulette, craps, blackjack, baccarat, and varieties of poker, and there are more than 3,200 slot machines. Its four restaurants get good reviews, especially the elegant Nuances. There are also live shows in the Cabaret, a 500-seat performance hall. No alcoholic beverages are served in the gambling areas, and patrons must be 18 and dressed neatly (the full dress code is posted online). Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, the Casino is entirely smoke-free, with outside smoking areas. Overnight packages are available.

To get there you can drive or take the Métro to the Parc Jean-Drapeau stop and then walk or take the Casino shuttle bus (no. 167). From May through October, there's also a free shuttle bus (navette) that leaves on the hour from the downtown Infotouriste Centre at 1001 rue du Square-Dorchester. Call tel. 514/392-2746 for information on the shuttle and its other downtown stops.