Walking Tour 3

Plateau Mont-Royal

Start: The corner of avenue du Mont-Royal and rue St-Denis.

Finish: Square St-Louis or Parc LaFontaine.

Time: At least 2 hours, but allow more time if you want to linger in shops, restaurants, or the major park of this intriguing neighborhood.

Best Times: Monday through Saturday during the day, when shops are open. Most of this area is at its liveliest on Saturday. For barhopping, evenings work well.

Worst Times: Early mornings, when stores and restaurants are closed.

This is essentially a browsing-and-grazing tour, designed to provide a sampling of the sea of ethnicities that make up Plateau Mont-Royal, north of downtown Montréal and east of Mont-Royal Park. The largely Francophone neighborhood has seen an unprecedented flourishing of restaurants, cafes, clubs, and shops in recent years. It's bounded on the south by rue Sherbrooke, on the north by boulevard St-Joseph (where the Mile End neighborhood begins), on the west by avenue du Parc, and on the east by avenue Papineau. The residential side streets are filled with row houses that are home to students, young professionals, and immigrants old and new. This walk provides a glance into the lives of both established and freshly minted Montréalers and the ways in which they spend their leisure time. Stores and bistros open and close with considerable frequency in this neighborhood, so be forewarned that some of the highlights listed below may not exist when you visit.

To begin, take the Métro to the Mont-Royal station. Turn left out of the station and walk west on avenue du Mont-Royal to rue St-Denis. Turn left again onto rue St-Denis. The next 4 blocks are filled with some of the best local boutique shopping and Francophone dining in the city. On the left side of the street, at 4481 rue St-Denis, is:

1. Quai des Brumes

This popular gathering spot for electronic, rock, jazz, and blues music -- and beer -- offers live music on most evenings.

Stroll down rue St-Denis, pausing at shops and cafes that fill the two stories of the small buildings. Toward the end of the block, on the other side of the street, is no. 4380 (but do not cross midstreet; police here give tickets for jaywalking):

2. Renaud-Bray

A large bookstore with mostly French stock, it also carries travel guides and literature in English, as well as CDs, magazines, and newspapers from around the world. Most of the books are upstairs. It's open daily from 9am until 10pm.

Continue south on rue St-Denis. On the next block, at no. 4306, is:

3. Départ en Mer

This small shop with "antiquitiés marines" carries model ships, boating clothes, and shoes.

In the same block, at no. 4268, is:

4. Jacob

With pop music through the speakers and a steady stream of locals, this clothing store is part of the popular Canadian chain where you'll find inexpensive T-shirts, denim jackets, and other casual clothes for the under-30 set.

A little farther, at no. 4246, is:

5. Zone

Zone is a small Montréal-based chain (there are two other stores in Montréal and others in Québec City and Ottawa) that specializes in contemporary housewares, sleekly monochromatic and brightly hued.

A little farther still, at no. 4228, is:

6. Bedo

Another Montréal-based chain, this one has higher-end men's and women's designer sportswear, with colorful blouses in the C$70 range, fun dresses, and well-fitted shirts. This outlet is one of 10 in the city.

At the next intersection, rue Rachel, turn left for a short diversion off of rue St-Denis. On your left at no. 485 is:

7. Kanuk

One of Canada's top manufacturers of winter coats and accessories designs, sews, and sells its wares right here. Kanuk first sold its heavy parkas primarily to outdoor enthusiasts. Back then, the company wryly notes on its website, customers had a choice of royal blue or royal blue. Today, jackets come in a multitude of colors and styles. The showroom's fluorescent lighting and mile-high racks do not suggest luxury, but a parka can set you back at least C$600. They're a popular practical necessity -- and a status symbol.

8. La Banquise

If you haven't yet tried poutine, the national comfort food, by all means hop into La Banquise, at 994 rue Rachel est. The restaurant is practically a city landmark, what with its 25 variations on poutine: The standard French fries with gravy and cheese curds are offered with add-ons ranging from smoked sausage to hot peppers to smoked meat to bacon. It's open 24 hours a day, every day.

Just beyond the restaurant is the grand:

9. Parc La Fontaine

Strolling this park, particularly on a warm day, is an enormously satisfying way to see Montréal at play. This northwestern end of La Fontaine is well used by people (and puppies) of all ages. In summer, the 2,500-seat Théâtre de Verdure, near where rue Duluth runs into the park, becomes an open-air venue for dance, music, theater, and film. In winter, the two ponds are linked and become a skating rink (skate rentals available).

There's a bike-rental shop at this corner just before you enter the park, at 1000 rue Rachel est (www.cyclepop.ca). If you're keen to explore the park or head off for a bike ride, consider this tour done. The Sherbrooke Métro will be closest if you leave the park on its west side. To continue the stroll, retrace your steps to go back to rue St-Denis. Turn left and continue south. Among the boutiques still to explore, at 4159 rue St-Denis, is:

10. Fruits & Passion

This is the newest location in Montréal of the rapidly growing Canadian company that specializes in aromatic lotions, soaps, and products for household and pet care.

At 4117 rue St-Denis, is:

11. Artéfact Montréal

Québécois designers sell clothing and paintings at this bright little boutique, where a slip of a summer dress runs about C$250.

After that, find no. 4107:

12. Kaliyana

More women's clothes from a Canadian designer: This shop's natural-fiber outfits are flowing, angular, and border on being avant-garde -- think Asian-influenced Eileen Fisher. It also stocks contemporary footwear, including Arche from France and Trippen from Germany.

At no. 4067, take a whiff of:

13. Lush

On the ground floor of one of the street's prettiest Queen Anne Victorian row houses, British-import Lush sells soaps presented and wrapped as if they were bubble-gum-colored hunks of cheese.

At the next corner is rue Duluth. Turn right here to get a taste of:

14. Rue Duluth

This street is dotted with an ever-changing collection of Greek, Portuguese, Italian, North African, Malaysian, and Vietnamese eateries. Many of the restaurants state that you can apportez votre vin (bring your own wine). There are also several small antiques shops.

Continue along rue Duluth until boulevard St-Laurent, the north-south thoroughfare that divides Montréal into its east and west sides. Turn left.

15. Boulevard St-Laurent

St-Laurent is so prominent in Montréal's cultural history that it's known to Anglophones, Francophones, and Allophones (people whose primary language is neither English nor French) alike simply as "the Main." Traditionally a beachhead for immigrants to the city, St-Laurent has become a street of chic bistros and clubs. The late-night section runs for several miles, roughly from rue Laurier in the north all the way down to rue Sherbrooke in the south. The bistro and club boom was fueled by low rent prices and the large number of industrial lofts in this area, a legacy of St-Laurent's heyday as a garment-manufacturing center. Today, these cavernous spaces are places for the city's hipsters, professionals, artists, and guests to eat and play. Many spots have the life spans of fireflies, but some pound on for years.

At 3895 bd. St-Laurent, you'll find:

16. Schwartz's

The language police insisted on the exterior sign with the French mouthful CHEZ SCHWARTZ CHARCUTERIE HEBRAIQUE DE MONTREAL, but everyone just calls it Schwartz's. This narrow, no-frills Jewish deli might appear completely unassuming, but it serves smoked meat against which all other smoked meats must be measured. Don't forget a side of fries, a couple of garlicky pickles, and a cherry soda.

Next, a few steps along at no. 3855, is:

17. La Vieille Europe

An old-European-style deli that sells aromatic coffee beans from around the world, sausages and meats, cheeses, cooking utensils, and other gourmet fare. Stock up here if you're thinking of having a picnic in the next day or two.

Continue down bd. St-Laurent 2 more blocks and turn left (east) onto:

18. Rue Prince-Arthur

Named after Queen Victoria's third son, who was governor-general of Canada from 1911 to 1916, this pedestrian street is filled with bars, restaurants, and ice-cream parlors that add more to the area's liveliness than to the city's gastronomic reputation. The older establishments go by such names as La Cabane Grecque, La Caverne Grec, Casa Grecque -- no doubt you will discern an emerging theme -- but the Greek stalwarts are being challenged by Latino and Asian newcomers. Their owners vie for customers constantly, with such gimmicks as two-for-one drinks and dueling tables d'hôte. Tables and chairs are set out along the sides of the street, and in warm weather, street performers, vendors, and caricaturists also compete for tourist dollars.

Five short blocks later, rue Prince-Arthur ends at:

19. Square St-Louis

This public garden plaza is framed by attractive row houses erected for well-to-do Francophones in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with a fountain in the middle. People stretch out on the grass to take in the sun or sit bundled on benches willing March away. The square ends at rue St-Denis. It should be noted that although this plaza is pretty and has a cute little ice-cream shop on one end, not everyone will appreciate the street-kid crowd that hangs out here.

To pick up the Métro, cross rue St-Denis and walk east on rue des Malines. The Sherbrooke station is just ahead at the corner of rue Berri.