Nightlife

Montréal's reputation for effervescent nightlife reaches back to the Roaring Twenties -- specifically to America's 13-year Prohibition from 1920 to 1933. Americans streamed into Montréal for temporary relief from alcohol deprivation (while Canadian distillers and brewers made fortunes). 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 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 ticket office for Montréal cultural events opened in summer 2007. Called Vitrine Culturelle de Montréal (Cultural Window of Montréal; tel. 866/924-5538 or 514/285-4545; www.vitrineculturelle.com), it's at 145 rue Sainte-Catherine ouest in Place des Arts. It sells last-minute deals as well as full-price tickets.

In summer, the city becomes even livelier. Many of the events and festivals are listed in "Montreal & Quebec City Calendar of Events" in chapter 3. The biggest of the bunch is the 3-day Grand Prix du Canada, the country's only Formula 1 auto race. In June, it roars onto Ile Notre-Dame and the partying overflows into downtown.

Concentrations of pubs and discos underscore the city's linguistic dichotomy. While there's much 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; their yuppie elders gravitate to the nightspots of the slightly more uptown blocks of the same street. Vieux-Montréal, especially along rue St-Paul, has a more universal quality, and many of its bars and clubs showcase live jazz, blues, and folk music. In Plateau Mont-Royal, 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 (£5). Beer is usually in the C$4 to C$7 (£2-£3.50) range, while cocktails typically cost C$7 to C$12 (£3.50-£6).

Smoking has been banned in bars and restaurants since 2006.

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 reuses what were the French and Québec pavilions during Expo 67. 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.

No alcoholic beverages are served in the gambling areas, and patrons must be at least 18 years old and dressed neatly (the full dress code is posted online). The casino is entirely smoke-free, though it offers outside smoking areas; it's open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with overnight packages available at nearby hotels.

The casino is on Parc Jean-Drapeau; you can drive there or take the Métro to the Parc Jean-Drapeau stop and then walk or take the casino shuttle bus (no. 167, labeled CASINO). From May through October, a free shuttle bus (navette) leaves on the hour from the downtown Infotouriste Centre at 1001 rue du Square-Dorchester (it makes other stops downtown, too).

Cinema

In Montréal, English-language films are usually presented with French subtitles. 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 regarding English subtitles on non-English-language films, so ask about this at the box office. Besides the many first-run movie houses that advertise in the daily newspapers, look for "ciné-clubs," which tend to be slightly older and show second-run, foreign, and art films.

Admission to films is usually about C$10 (£5) for adults, and less for students, seniors, and children. There are usually special afternoon rates for matinees.

Foreign-language and independent films are on the billboard at Ex-Centris, 3536 bd. St-Laurent (tel. 514/847-2206; www.ex-centris.com), and the architectural surroundings are at least as interesting -- the venue sort of looks like 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 nifty bar-cafe, Café Méliès, is on the premises. Films are in English about half the time.

The National Film Board of Canada, 1564 rue St-Denis (tel. 514/496-6887; www.nfb.ca), shows classic Canadian and international films, primarily in English and French. Also there 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, fantastically huge images confront viewers of the five-story IMAX Theatre screen in the Centre des Sciences de Montréal (Montréal Science Centre;) tel. 877/496-4724; www.montrealsciencecentre.com). Many of the films are suitable for the entire family.

Finding Out What's On -- For details about 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 lobbies, 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) provides news and views of gay and lesbian events, clubs, restaurants, and activities. One particularly fun blog about city happenings is Midnight Poutine (www.midnightpoutine.ca), a self-described "delicious high-fat source of rants, raves and musings." Extensive listings of mainstream cultural and entertainment events are posted at www.canada.com and www.montrealplus.ca.

Late Night Montréal, when the Street Festivals Subside -- Montréal closes streets to car traffic with the blink of an eye for music festivals, sidewalk sales, street fairs, and everything in between. One recent June night, we walked the Main -- boulevard St-Laurent -- from av. du Mont-Royal in the north to rue Sherbrooke in the south, at 1am. Normally a busy, main thoroughfare, the road had become pedestrian-only because of the afternoon fair earlier that day. Most of the food vendors were packed up, although a few were still selling the last of their food -- crepes and strawberries from one, meat on a stick from another. On every block, bars and restaurants had set up impromptu outdoor cafes jutting into the street, and most were thick with people drinking, chatting, and flirting. Some of the thumping music clubs had lines out the door and bouncers manning velvet ropes. Bicyclists slalomed through the walkers. On the northern end of the street, the attire was more casual, more T-shirt than high fashion. Closer to rue Sherbrooke, there was a sharp spike in the number of men dressed in all-black suits and women teetering in superhigh heels and wrapped in teeny, tight dresses. The crowds were French speaking, English speaking, Spanish speaking, black, white, brown, dressed up, dressed down. It was a snapshot of the hodgepodge that is this city's nightlife, all in 8 blocks.