Montréal’s most famous landmarks and architectural icons
Architecture Restaurants
Montréal is a metropolis filled with famous landmarks and architectural icons, from the Mount Royal Cross erected after the city was founded in May 1642 by French explorer explorer Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, to the 21st century skyscrapers that reach for the heavens.
Here are some Montréal architectural landmarks and icons:
Downtown and Golden Square Mile
Le 1000 De La Gauchetière
Montréal’s tallest building Le 1000 De La Gauchetièreis home to the unique indoor Atrium Le 1000 ground-floor skating rink. Even American Olympian figure skater Johnny Weir has skated here!
- The 51-storey postmodern skyscraper is considered the tallest in Montréal by roof height (205 metres).
- The second-place 47-storey 1250 Boulevard René-Lévesque skyscraper has a roof height of 199 metres, but stands at 226.5 meters when you include its spire.
Place Ville Marie
The four beaming rays from the Royal Bank of Canada’s iconic rotating beacon atop Montréal’s landmark 47-storey cruciform Place Ville Marie skyscraper.
- The beacon rotates nightly year-round.
- Seen by tens of millions of people since 1962.
- Can be seen from the air more than 160 kilometres away.
- The RBC once received a thank-you letter from a pilot who said he had lost his way flying home until he saw the beacon.
The Ring
Designed by celebrated Canadian landscape architect Claude Cormier, The Ring is a monumental steel hoop suspended between the modernist towers of Henry Cobb’s 1950s Place Ville Marie.
- The Ring is made of 80-centimetre diameter tubes.
- It is 30 metres (98 feet) in diameter and weighs 23 tonnes (50,000 pounds).
- It is one of the most visited and photographed sites in the city.
Guaranteed Pure Milk Bottle
The landmark water tower built by the Dominion Bridge Co. on the roof of the Guaranteed Pure Milk dairy plant was erected in 1930 and used as a water reserve for the dairy until the 1970s.
- When the water tower fell into disrepair, Heritage Montréal mounted a successful campaign to restore it in 2009.
- Today the “Giant Milk Bottle” sits atop the former Guaranteed Pure Milk Co. pasteurization plant located at 1025 Rue Lucien L’Allier downtown.
- The giant riveted steel quart of milk stands 9.75 metres high, weighs 6 tonnes and had a 250,000-litre capacity.
Le Plateau Mont-Royal
Spiral staircases
A symbol of Montréal’s architectural heritage, the city’s famed outdoor spiral staircases are found in the Plateau, as well as in Mile End, Rosemont, Villeray, Hochelaga, and other neighbourhoods. They are a space-saving combination of functionality and aesthetics.
- Article 29 of Montréal Bylaw 11-018 includes an exception to the National Building Code to allow for tight-radius spiral stairs.
- There are an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 spiral staircases in Montréal.
Griffintown
Farine Five Roses
Overlooking the Peel Basin in Griffintown, the 1948 rooftop Farine Five Roses sign originally read FARINE OGILVIE FLOUR, then became FARINE FIVE ROSES FLOUR in 1954, until the word ‘FLOUR’ was removed from the sign in 1977. In 1993, the business was bought by food giant ADM who – despite rival J.M. Smucker Company taking over the Five Roses brand in 2006 – spent a million dollars to restore and maintain the most famous neon sign.
- Each letter is 4.5 metres (15 feet) tall and can be seen from both sides.
- Recognized as a heritage landmark by the City of Montreal in 2020.
Also noteworthy: the Montréal Signs Project saves historic commercial and civic signs that matter to Montréalers.
Old Montréal and the Old Port
Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal
The Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal in Old Montréal is a Gothic Revival landmark built between 1824 and 1829. With its two soaring towers, Notre-Dame’s grand and colourful interior is filled with hundreds of intricate wooden carvings and religious statues, as well as a Casavant Frères pipe organ that dates back to 1891.
- Luciano Pavarotti performed his iconic 1978 Christmas concert at Notre-Dame, and Céline Dion married René Angélil in the Basilica in 1994.
- Designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1989.
- Designed by Irish-American architect James O’Donnell who is the only person buried in the church’s crypt.
- Hosts classical music concerts year-round.
Old Port Clock Tower
The Clock Tower (Tour de l’Horloge) with its four clock faces in the Old Port has welcomed sailors and tourists for more than a century. Built on the Victoria Pier between 1919 and 1922 as a memorial to Canadian sailors who died in the First World War, it is also called the Sailors’ Memorial Clock and (in French) the Tour des Marins.
- Height: 45 metres (146.5 feet).
- The clock was made by English clockmaker Gillett and Johnston.
- Designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2009.
Marché Bonsecours
The Marché Bonsecours with its shiny silver dome in Old Montréal began as a farmer’s market in 1847. Today it is home to sidewalk cafés, Québec artisan shops and exhibitions. This iconic building has played key roles in the history of Montréal and Canada:
- It was built atop the ruins of the Théâtre Royal where Charles Dickens staged a production in May 1842.
- Housed the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada in 1849 after rioters burned down the Sainte-Anne Market Parliament Building on April 25, 1849.
- Housed Montréal City Hall for more than 25 years, from 1852 to 1878.
Beyond downtown
Habitat 67
The revolutionary urban housing complex Habitat 67 was built in the Cité du Havre neighbourhood as a pavilion for Expo 67 where then-McGill University architecture student Moshe Safdie wanted to “reinvent the apartment building.” Habitat 67 gained worldwide acclaim as a prime example of avant-garde design:
- Habitat 67 is made from 354 identical, prefabricated concrete forms.
- Stacked together they created 158 residences of varying sizes and configurations.
- Commemorated with a 50th anniversary Canada Post stamp in 2017.
- Visitors can take Habitat 67 guided tours.
Jacques Cartier Bridge
The Jacques Cartier Bridge is named for the French explorer and navigator who discovered Canada in 1534. The bridge is located on the very site where Cartier arrived at the Iroquois village of Hochelaga on October 2, 1535.
- It is a steel truss cantilever bridge built with 33,267 tons of steel.
- Opened to traffic on May 14, 1930.
- Third-busiest bridge in Canada, with 43 million vehicle crossings per year.
In 2017, to mark the 150th anniversary of Canada and the 375th anniversary of Montréal, the bridge was refitted new decorative lights that change with the seasons thanks to a 365-colour calendar.
Olympic Stadium
Designed by French architect Roger Taillibert, Olympic Stadium was constructed to host the 1976 Summer Olympics.
- It is nicknamed “The Big O” for its doughnut-shape frame.
- The world’s tallest inclined tower which rises 175 metres (574 feet) rises from the north base of the Stadium.
- More than 70 million people have visited the Stadium since the 1976 Summer Olympics.
- The 1980 WBC welterweight championship when Roberto Durán defeated Sugar Ray Leonard was fought at the Stadium.
- Rock band Pink Floyd’s July 6, 1977, concert drew 78,322 people, the largest-ever paid crowd at the Big O. That concert was the inspiration for Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters’ iconic 1979 masterpiece The Wall.
Gibeau Orange Julep
Located on the busy Decarie Expressway in the West End, the iconic three-storey Gibeau Orange Julep drive-in diner was built by Hermas Gibeau in 1964 to sell his frothy orange-based beverage (the recipe remains a family top secret).
- Hermas Gibeau opened his original Orange Julep in 1932.
- The snack bar is renowned for its burgers, poutine, and frothy orange-based beverage.
- Their legendary roller-skating waitresses were retired in 2005.
- The retro drive-in is one of Montréal’s many late-night hotspots.
- For decades, the Orange Julep parking lot was home to classic-car meet-ups on Wednesday evenings from May to September. Today, you can still spot muscle cars at the drive-in.
Mount Royal
Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal
Montréal’s famed Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal is filled with hundreds of pairs of crutches from pilgrims healed by Saint André of Montréal, known locally as Brother André, who began construction of this national shrine in 1924 to honour Saint Joseph, the foster father of Jesus.
- Known as the Miracle Man of Montréal, Saint André is credited with thousands of miraculous healings. He was beatified in 1982 and canonized in 2010. His remains lie inside the Oratory.
- More than 2 million people visit the Oratory and its museum each year.
- With its massive dome, the Oratory is the highest point in Montréal and the largest shrine dedicated to Saint Joseph in the world.
- Designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2004.
The Mount Royal Cross
The founder of Montréal, Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, erected the first Mount Royal Cross atop Mount Royal on January 6, 1643, to thank God for sparing the small French colony (then called Ville-Marie) from rising flood waters caused by a winter thaw.
- The current steel cross was erected in 1924 by the Société St-Jean Baptiste .
- A LED lighting system was installed in 2009 so that the cross can light up in any colour.
- The Mount Royal Cross has become Montréal’s most iconic landmark.
Parc Jean-Drapeau
The Biosphere
The Biosphère – Espace pour la vie museum in Parc Jean-Drapeau on Île Sainte-Hélène is the most recognizable remaining structure from the 1967 International and Universal Exposition, the Category One World’s Fair more commonly known as Expo 67. Originally built as the iconic American pavilion by architect Buckminster Fuller, a mini-rail actually ran through the 250-foot diameter dome during Expo 67!
- The dome’s transparent acrylic bubble burned away during a 1976 fire.
- In 1995 the remaining streel structure was converted into the popular Biosphere museum.
- The Biosphere is part of Espace pour la vie, the largest natural sciences museum complex in Canada which comprises the Jardin botanique, Planetarium, Biodôme, and Insectarium.
Casino de Montréal
Located in the former French and Québec pavilions from Expo 67, the Casino de Montréal in Parc Jean-Drapeau on Île Notre-Dame has been serving up glitz, glamour and entertainment since 1993.
- Canada’s largest casino is located just a few minutes from downtown Montréal.
- The casino is home to a multitude of restaurants, bars and lounges.
- The casino is home to the state-of-the-art Cabaret du Casino concert venue. Click here for their concert calendar.
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.