Downtown Montreal facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Downtown Montreal
Centre-Ville de Montréal
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Neighbourhood of Montreal
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Skyline of Downtown Montreal from Mount Royal
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 Downtown Montreal
Location in Montreal
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| Country | Canada |
| Province |  Quebec |
| City | Montreal |
| Borough | Ville-Marie |
| Area | |
| • Total | 18 km2 (7 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 234 m (768 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 20 m (70 ft) |
| Population
(2011)
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| • Total | 98,836 |
| • Density | 5,490/km2 (14,200/sq mi) |
Downtown Montreal (in French: Centre-Ville de Montréal) is the busy heart of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It's like the main hub where lots of important things happen!
This area is part of the Ville-Marie borough. It sits on the lowest part of Mount Royal, a famous mountain in the city.
Contents
Exploring Downtown Montreal
Downtown Montreal is home to many big company offices. It also has most of the city's skyscrapers. These tall buildings cannot be taller than Mount Royal. This rule helps keep the mountain looking important. The two tallest buildings are the 1000 de La Gauchetière and 1250 René-Lévesque. Both were built in 1992. The Tour de la Bourse is another tall building. It houses the Montreal Exchange, where people trade in special financial products.
The Underground City
Place Ville-Marie is a cool office tower. It was designed by I.M. Pei and built in 1962. Below it is a huge underground shopping mall. This mall is the center of Montreal's underground city. It's the biggest underground city in the world! You can find over 1,600 shops, restaurants, and offices there. It also connects to metro stations, train stations, and bus terminals. You can walk through tunnels all over downtown without going outside.
Main Streets and Shopping
The main street in downtown is Saint Catherine Street. It's Canada's busiest shopping street. You'll find fancy stores like Holt Renfrew Ogilvy and the Les Cours Mont-Royal shopping center. Other important streets include Sherbrooke Street, Peel, de la Montagne, de Maisonneuve, and Crescent.
Amazing Views
You can see the amazing skyline from two lookouts on Mount Royal. The lookout at the Belvedere shows you downtown, the river, and the Monteregian Hills. On clear days, you can even see the Adirondack Mountains in New York. You might also spot the Green Mountains in Vermont. The eastern lookout offers views of the Plateau neighborhood and the Olympic Stadium.
Universities in the Heart of the City
Downtown Montreal is also where you'll find the main campuses of several universities. These include McGill University, UQAM, and the Sir George Williams campus of Concordia University.
Fun Things to Do
Museums to Explore
There are many interesting museums in or near Downtown Montreal. You can visit the Canadian Centre for Architecture, McCord Museum, Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and Redpath Museum. The Pointe-à-Callière Museum is just a short walk away in Old Montreal.
Historic Buildings
Downtown Montreal has many beautiful old churches. Some of these include Christ Church Cathedral, Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral, and St. Patrick's Basilica. They are great places to see amazing architecture.
Sports and Shows
The Bell Centre is a big arena downtown. It's used for ice hockey games and other exciting events. Place des Arts is a large complex for arts and culture. It's located in an area called the Quartier des Spectacles (Entertainment District). This is where the Montreal Symphony Orchestra plays. You can also see performances by Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and the Opéra de Montréal. Just north of downtown is Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.
Public Squares
Downtown Montreal has many public squares where people can relax. Some popular ones are Cabot Square, Dorchester Square, Phillips Square, Place du Canada, and Victoria Square. The Place des Festivals is a lively square often used for outdoor events.
Getting Around Downtown
Train and Bus Stations
Downtown Montreal has two train stations. Central Station serves trains that travel between cities, like VIA Rail and Amtrak. It also has commuter trains for people living nearby. Another station for commuter trains is Lucien-L'Allier Station.
There are also two bus stations. The Gare d'autocars de Montréal is mainly for longer bus trips. Terminus Centre-Ville is mostly for buses that connect to nearby towns.
Montreal Metro
Two lines of the Montreal Metro subway system run through Downtown Montreal.
- The Green Line (Line 1) follows De Maisonneuve Boulevard. It stops at stations like Atwater, Guy-Concordia, Peel, McGill, Place-des-Arts, Saint-Laurent, and Berri-UQAM.
- The Orange Line (Line 2) runs a few blocks south of the Green Line. It serves Lucien-L'Allier, Bonaventure, Square-Victoria-OACI, Place-d'Armes, Champ-de-Mars, and Berri-UQAM stations. Berri-UQAM is also where you can switch to the Yellow Line (Line 4).
Learning in Downtown Montreal
Downtown Montreal is a big center for education. It has parts of four universities:
- The main campus of McGill University is on Sherbrooke Street.
- The Sir George Williams Campus of Concordia University is in the western part of downtown.
- École de technologie supérieure (part of the Université du Québec system) is near the southern edge.
- Université du Québec à Montréal is mainly in the Quartier Latin area.
There are also four colleges (schools before university) downtown:
- The public Cégep du Vieux Montréal on Ontario Street East.
- Private colleges like LaSalle College, O'Sullivan College, and the National Theatre School of Canada. The National Theatre School uses the Monument-National for its shows.
