Orientation

Visitor Information

The main information center for visitors in downtown Montréal is the large Infotouriste Centre, at 1255 rue Peel (tel. 877/266-5687 or 514/873-2015; Métro: Peel). It's open daily and the bilingual staff can provide suggestions for accommodations, dining, car rentals, and attractions.

In Vieux-Montréal (Old Montréal) there's a small Tourist Information Office at 174 rue Notre-Dame est, at the corner of Place Jacques-Cartier (Métro: Champ-de-Mars). It's open daily in warmer months, Wednesday through Sunday in winter, and has brochures, maps, and a helpful staff.

The city of Montréal maintains a terrific website at www.tourisme-montreal.org, and the Québec province an equally good one at www.bonjourquebec.com.

City Layout

Main Arteries & Streets -- In downtown Montréal, the principal streets running east-west include boulevard René-Lévesque, rue Ste-Catherine (rue is the French word for "street"), boulevard de Maisonneuve, and rue Sherbrooke. The north-south arteries include rue Crescent, rue McGill, rue St-Denis, and boulevard St-Laurent, which serves as the line of demarcation between east and west Montréal. Most of the downtown areas in this book lie to the west of boulevard St-Laurent.

In Plateau Mont-Royal, northeast of the downtown area, major streets are avenue du Mont-Royal and avenue Laurier. In Vieux-Montréal, rue St-Jacques, rue Notre-Dame, and rue St-Paul are the major streets, along with rue de la Commune, the waterfront road that hugs the promenade bordering the Flueve Saint-Laurent (St. Lawrence River).

In addition to the maps in this book, neighborhood street plans are available online at www.tourisme-montreal.org and from the information centers listed above.

Finding an Address -- Boulevard St-Laurent is the dividing point between east and west (est and ouest) in Montréal. There's no equivalent division for north and south (nord and sud) -- the numbers start at the river and climb from there, just as the topography does. The odd numbers are on the east and the even numbers on the west.

For the streets that run east to west, it's a little trickier: The numbers start at boulevard St-Laurent and then go in both directions. That means, for instance, that 351 St-Paul ouest, where the café Olive & Gourmando sits, is blocks and blocks from 350 St-Paul est, the address for Marche Bonsecours -- and not across the street. Make sure you know your east from your west, and confirm the cross street for all addresses.

In earlier days, Montréal was split geographically along ethnic lines. Those who spoke English lived predominantly west of boulevard St-Laurent, and French speakers were concentrated to the east. Things still do sound more French as you walk east: Street names and Métro station names change from Peel and Atwater to Papineau and Beaudry. The "ethnic split" is a little farther west from boulevard St-Laurent, roughly at rue de Bleury/avenue de Parc.

Montréal: Where the Sun Rises in the South -- For the duration of your visit to Montréal, you'll need to accept local directional conventions, strange as they may seem. The city borders the St. Lawrence River, and as far locals are concerned, that's south, looking toward the United States. Never mind that the river, in fact, runs almost north and south at that point. For this reason, it has been observed that Montréal is the only city in the world where the sun rises in the south. Don't fight it: Face the river. That's south. Turn around. That's north. Tout est clair?

To ease the confusion, the directions given throughout the Montréal chapters conform to this local directional tradition. However, the maps in this book also have the true compass on them.

When examining a map of the city, note that prominent thoroughfares such as rue Ste-Catherine and boulevard René-Lévesque are said to run either "east" or "west," with the dividing line being boulevard St-Laurent, which runs "north" and "south." For streets that run east and west, the numbers start at St-Laurent and then go in both directions. They're labeled either est, for east, or ouest, for west. That means that an address at 500 est is actually very far from 501 ouest, as opposed to directly across the street.