Hidden and quirky Montréal

Montréal’s action-packed neighbourhood alleyways

To the delight of locals and passers-by, many of Montréal’s laneways (or ruelles vertes) are bursting with colour and full of life. The green alleys are like a network of small linear parks decorated by residents, sheltered from the hustle and bustle of the city. Many are even lovingly nick-named (like the ruelle des Découvertes or Le p’tit village Sicard, in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district) and all have a little je ne sais quoi entirely their own thanks to the personal hands-on creativity of those who live along them. There’s even micro events throughout the summer months including neighbourly film screenings, micro-concerts and parties. Simply put, there’s few things more authentic and Montréalais than its ruelles!

Neon signs of Montréal past

Punctuating the hallways of Concordia University’s Loyola campus (along with a second collection welcoming visitors to the MEM—Centre des mémoires montréalaises), the Montréal Signs Project acts as a retirement home for some of the most beloved signage from Montréal’s neon age. Featuring long lost businesses like La Maison du Chien Chaud Restaurant, Warshaw supermarket and Imperial Boots, the Montréal Signs Project commemorates a bygone era of shining design. (And if you see any signs needing saving, their website also accepts nominations for future acquisitions!)

All the selfies your heart can Imaginarium

The Musée Imaginarium elevates the art of the selfie to its ultimate with 16 colourful sets ranging from floral dreamscapes to backstage dressing rooms of unnamed superstars. You’re sure to set the rumour mill running with any shot from the Imaginarum on your feed.

The eye-popping natural wonders of the Redpath Museum

Looking like a wing of Hogwarts from the outside, things get wild once you step into the McGill campus’ Redpath Museum. After a toothy welcome by a full-scale dinosaur skeleton at the main hall, the Redpath’s exhibits also include such unforgettable sights as a unique handwritten letter from Charles Darwin, stuffed specimens of long extinct animals including a Steller’s sea cow and hypnotic Egyptian artifacts and mummies brought to Montréal in 1859. The baby blue ceilings and polished wood vitrines make for the perfect setting for a Wes Anderson film, so you know your visit photos are going to look on-point.

Montréal’s one-of-a-kind Métro system (and its tiny piece of Paris)

While technically a loan from the city of Paris to Montréal’s newly inaugurated Métro system upon its opening in 1966, the Square Victoria Métro entrance is an unexpected surprise on the edge of Old Montréal’s business district that faces the stately statue of the square’s titular namesake Queen Victoria.

Hats for all!

A slice of Montréal living history, Henri Henri hatters have been a mainstay on Sainte-Catherine Street since opening in 1932 (recently moving to a brand new location, but still going strong). And while some headwear trends may have changed since then, Henri Henri has remained the city’s go-to location for deluxe hats for the past 90 years. Sports fans will also love the shop’s connection with the glory days of the Montréal Canadiens—in fact, every time a player scored a hat trick in a game, Henri Henri would give them a free hat!

Truly one-of-a-kind Montréal flavour

1932 was a big year for Montréal mainstays, and just as Henri Henri was opening up shop so was Wilensky’s Light Lunch in the heart of Mile End. The iconic neighbourhood corner spot specializes in old school favourites like egg creams and karnatzels, but the star attraction remains the Wilensky’s Special, a pile of piping hot salami and bologna on a crisp bun with mustard. The unchanging and picturesque storefront and interior is infinitely Instagrammable too, familiar from films like The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz.

Have a ball (and a poutine)!

If you think the Biosphère (built for Expo 67 by architect Buckminster Fuller and now home to a science museum) is Montréal’s only ball of note, you’d be greatly mistaken. The Gibeau Orange Julep drive-in has been serving up poutines, hot dogs and its namesake frothy orange juleps since—you guessed it—1932. Clearly there must’ve been something in the water that year!

Make yourself into art at the Le Saint Motel

The Le Saint Motel is home to 13 expertly decorated and lit themed rooms sure to set your Insta feed on fire. Ranging from an indoor garden to a ball pit where kids of any age are more than welcome to frolic, Le Saint Motel’s the perfect spot for a commemorative Montréal photo shoot that’s sure to blow some minds back home.

An Expo 67 ruin coming back to life

Place des Nations in Parc Jean-Drapeau are on their way to full restoration to the pomp and futuristic grandeur for which they were originally built. But before its extensive glow-up is revealed, it’s still possible to take a peek at the site’s current state nestled amongst leafy greenery and overgrown trails. Parc Jean-Drapeau are on their way to full restoration to the pomp and futuristic grandeur for which they were originally built. But before its extensive glow-up is revealed, it’s still possible to take a peek at the site’s current state nestled amongst leafy greenery and overgrown trails.

A surprising historical figure in a Montréal church fresco

Built by the parishioners of the Little Italy neighbourhood, the Church of the Madonna della Difesa is both a National Historic Site of Canada and a living curio for history buffs. Sitting astride a horse, Benito Mussolini (and some of his fellow cronies of the period) looks down from the dome’s epic fresco painted in 1933 by Guido Nincheri, locally nicknamed the Michelangelo of Montréal. 

A park that’s like visiting another planet

Parc Frédéric-Back is an ambitious environmental rehabilitation project transforming a former quarry and city dump into an urban oasis. And scattered throughout the park’s grassy fields are biogas collection wells in the shape of spheres that glow as darkness falls while converting old waste into new clean energy. It should come as no surprise that since their arrival, a lot of Montréal bands have had a lot of photo shoots here.

Sculptural art along the water in Lachine

Jutting out into the waters of the St. Lawrence River, the Jardin des sculptures de Lachine makes for a great park hang after one of Montréal’s best bucket list bike rides along the Lachine Canal. Composed of more than 50 large scale installations set on a truly epic vista, the sculpture garden puts Québec’s rich artistic history on proud display with pieces from the space age 1960s and beyond. And just between us, it’s one heck of an #mtlmoments selfie location that will leave the folks back home curious and maybe even a little bit confused.

Montréal’s museum dedicated to the inventor of vinyl records

Those interested in Montréal’s world-class record shops should be sure to add the Musée des ondes Emile-Berliner, named after the inventor of the flat disc vinyl record. And more than just a collection of antique record players, radios and other ephemera, there’s a local connection here too—Berliner founded the Berliner Gram-o-phone Company of Canada in Montréal all the way back in 1899.

Discover some scientific oddities at two archival collections

Tucked away on the McGill University campus, the Rutherford Collection and its next door neighbour the McPherson Collection shine a light on a foundational period of scientific exploration. While the former is named for and houses the primitive and bizarre research tools used by Nobel Prize-winning professor of Experimental Physics Ernest Rutherford who taught here from 1898-1907, the latter pays tribute to Anna McPherson who collected the bizarre and incredibly rare objects on display during her tenure at McGill from 1940 to 1979.

Explore the weirder side of medical and dental history

Those into medical curios won’t want to miss the Osler Library of the History of Medicine on the McGill campus. Behind stately stained glass windows, the Osler is home to one of the world’s largest collections of medical texts and bizarre historical ephemera. Meanwhile, the Musée Eudore-Dubeau is Canada’s only museum dedicated to the history of dentistry and its unique tools of torture. And really, what could be more fun than a visit to the actual dentist than taking a look at some of the tools once used in dental practice? I’ll, uh, wait outside for you while you visit.

A piece of the Berlin Wall in Old Montréal

The chiseled and spray-painted segment of the Berlin Wall in the World Trade Centre (itself an architectural wonder built astraddle the ghost remains of a now-covered street) was a gift from the city of Berlin to Montréal on its 350th birthday. As just one of the many art installations throughout the building, this piece of history pays thoughtful tribute to civic pride.

The Montréal sculpture garden created by a local artist

Created by artist Glen Le Mesurier, the Twilight Sculpture Garden has been an oasis of creativity tucked away at the corner of Van-Horne Avenue and Saint-Urbain Street since its founding in 1999. Previously home to a gas station and long an empty lot after its demolition, the Twilight Sculpture Garden is named for the cloak of darkness during which it was erected by Le Mesurier and his cohorts. Now home to many of his works as well as pollenating bees and carefully selected plant life, it’s not only a top spot for a photo shoot or a moment’s rest, but a living example of Montréal’s joie de vivre attitude of art for art’s sake, wherever there’s space.

Turn back the clock at the Westmount Lawn Bowling Club

More than just one of the greenest, most well-manicured lawns you’ll ever see, the Westmount Lawn Bowling Club has been home to Québec’s best lawn bowlers since its opening in 1902. While it’s a members-only private club, a glimpse of the players in their crisp whites make for a picturesque scene. We’d also suggest a leisurely walk through Westmount, not just a neighbourhood full of grand old houses and unique boutiques, but an intriguing meeting point between the city’s English and French speaking populations.

The surprising depths of Saint-Léonard Cavern

If you’re looking for the deepest dive into Montréal of all, look no further than a descent into the Saint-Léonard Cavern (but best to change out of those lawn bowling whites first) originally discovered in 1812 by the bemused farmer who owned the land at that time. Open to visitors by reservation only, you’ll experience the city from its sparkling depths, in the process exposing the geological history that created the island of Montréal.

The mariner’s church immortalized in song

Montréal knows how to do churches right, and one of its most beautiful is the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel in the western end of Old Montréal. The large rooftop sculpture of the Lady of the Harbour is referred to in Leonard Cohen’s ‘Suzanne’, and it’s not just the stained-glass windows and filigreed archways that capture your attention when looking upwards—the lighting fixtures are miniature boats! Also be sure not to miss one of the best views in the city from the rooftop perches, up with the statuesque angels looking out over the river’s waters.

The heart of a saint in Montréal’s biggest church

Speaking of holy sites, the Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal is one of the world’s most visited pilgrimage sites since its founder Saint André Bessette started its construction in 1904. Preserved in a reliquary upstairs, Brother André’s heart has long been on display for admiration by the faithful, even despite its still unsolved theft in March 1973 (and its recovery in December the following year). The rest of Brother André rests in the crypt, visited by millions each year.

An anime castle come to tasty life

One of Montréal’s newest must-eat restaurants is also one of its most unique. Le Château Maneki’s palatial pink and blue exterior isn’t just a photogenic oddity, but also home to delicious pressed sushi, tangy mocktails (served in pig-shaped glasses, no less) and tartares. There’s even a chef’s tasting menu perfect for date night! But as different as it all may sound, Maneki’s menu offerings are as delicious as it they are bizarre. And once you post the pics of your visit, you’ll be sure to cause some real gourmet FOMO amongst your followers.