Summer in the LGBTQ+ Village
The Village Summer
Montréal is home to one of the largest LGBTQ+ Villages in North America and the famed gaybourhood’s kilometre-long pedestrian mall on Sainte-Catherine Street East presents free events all summer long.
Follow the yellow brick road
For its 19th year, the pedestrian mall in the Village is open until October. It stretches east from Place Émilie-Gamelin near Berri-UQAM metro station to Papineau Avenue near Papineau metro station. Click here for your guide to the metro and Montréal public transit.
The pedestrian mall and surrounding area is filled with more than 40 patios which are called “terraces” by locals. There are LGBTQ+ and queer-friendly establishments to suit all tastes and thirsts.
Terraces remain open until 3 a.m. on certain evenings, notably during major events such as Pride, fireworks displays and public vacations. In pedestrian zones, opening hours are as follows:
● Sunday to Wednesday: until 11 p.m.
● Thursday to Saturday: until 3 a.m.
The pedestrian mall on Sainte-Catherine Street East is scheduled to reopen to vehicular traffic on October 21, after dismantling.
Village Trouples
First deployed in 2024 in partnership with the Olympic Park, the popular Village Trouples (benches designed using recycled materials) return this year with 315 outdoor seats. In addition, more than 200 green spaces with plants have been set up along the pedestrian mall.
To ensure the Village remains clean and welcoming seven days a week, the Allié-e-s du Village Brigade made up of men in social reintegration from the Maison du Père is responsible for daily maintenance.
The SDC du Village also presents outdoor activities and shows all summer long. For the full calendar, click here.
The Village will also host several festivals and special events: St-Jean-Baptiste (June 20 to 22), MONTRÉAL COMPLÈTEMENT CiRQUE (July 10 to 13), Fierté Montréal Festival (July 31 to August 10), Montréal Fetish Weekend (August 28 to September 1), Back-to-School party (September 5 to 7) and Thanksgiving (October 10 to 12).
Place du Village
The heart of the pedestrian mall is Place du Village, a City of Montréal public square located at the corner of Sainte-Catherine and Wolfe streets. Place du Village is also home to a summertime café.
Parc de l’Espoir
Located at the corner of Sainte-Catherine and Panet streets, Parc de l’Espoir (Hope Park) was founded on December 1, 1991, by ACT UP Montréal to commemorate the lives of those who have died of AIDS. The park was officially inaugurated in 1997 by the city of Montréal which relaunched the newly relandscaped park and memorial in 2021.
Urban oasis at Jardins Gamelin
On the west end of the Village visitors will find Les Jardins Gamelin which was established 11 years ago at Place Émilie-Gamelin right next to Berri-UQAM metro station in the Quartier des Spectacles.
Les Jardins Gamelin is a friendly space designed to make the most of the Montréal summer, complete with a large terrasse, snack counter with bar, daily activities, and a diverse musical and artistic program that includes Latin dancing, live music and DJ sets; the lunchtime music series Midis à la carte; big-screen movies presented in collaboration with Cinéma public; Spurs line-dancing lessons; Monday night karaoke; and the return of Les Jardins d’Illusion and Du streetdance avec 100Lux.
Les Jardins Gamelin is open daily from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. from May 29 to September 14. All activities are free. Click here for full programming.
Fierté Montréal Festival
The Village is the place to party and be seen during the Fierté Montréal Festival which runs from July 31 to August 10. The Pride parade on Sunday, August 10, symbolically starts in the downtown west end – original home of the LGBTQ+ West Village before it moved east in the 1980s – and marches 2.1 km along René-Levesque Boulevard from Metcalfe to Atateken streets. The parade begins at 1 p.m.
Click here for the story of Pride in Montréal.
The Village and beyond
Québec’s National Assembly in 2019 recognized the Village as the largest LGBTQ+ district in North America after the Castro in San Francisco and as an official place of refuge and emancipation.
From when a gay military drummer stationed with the French garrison was sentenced to death in 1648 to the Sex Garage rebellion of 1990 – widely considered to be Montréal’s Stonewall – Montréalers fought hard for their city to become the queer mecca it is today. Now, more than two million people visit the Village each year.
There are also plenty of LGBTQ+ and queer-friendly establishments beyond the Village in a safe, queer-friendly city that likes to let the good times roll. Montréal also has a thriving scene for LGBTQ+ women. And click here for a primer about Montréal’s famed drag scene.
To stay fully up-to-date on LGBTQ+ events in Montréal, follow QueerMTL on Instagram and Facebook, and check out QueerMTL’s comprehensive month-by-month daily listings here.
Richard Burnett
Richard “Bugs” Burnett is a Canadian freelance writer, editor, journalist, blogger and columnist for alt-weeklies, mainstream and LGBTQ+ publications. Bugs also knows Montréal like a drag queen knows a cosmetics counter.