Hidden and quirky Montréal

Tucked away in the alleyways

Many of Montréal’s back alleys (or ruelles vertes) are green and full of life, to the delight of locals and passers-by. The green alleys are like a network of small linear parks decorated by residents, sheltered from the noise of the city. Many are even lovingly 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!

Signs of Montréal past

Punctuating the hallways of Concordia University’s Loyola campus (with certain pieces now also appearing at 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!)

A Japanimation 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. 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.

An eye-popping museum of natural wonders

Looking like a wing of Hogwarts from the outside, things get wild once you step into the McGill campus’ Musée Redpath. After a toothy welcome by a full-scale dinosaur skeleton at the main hall, the Musée 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 the museum a perfect setting for a Wes Anderson film.

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 square’s titular namesake, England’s second longest ruling monarch Queen Victoria. And before you ask, this borrowed piece of Parisian design won’t be going back any time soon! The station is also the ideal point to enter into the city’s Métro and explore some of its stations, each one featuring a unique architectural design punctuated with specially commissioned public artworks by Québec-based artists. Some of our personal favourites include the stone carvings of De Castelnau Station, the stained-glass historical artworks of McGill Station and the massive space station-like sculpture in Namur Station perfectly suited for your personal recreation of a 1990s hip-hop video.

Hats for all!

A slice of Montréal living history, Henri Henri hatters have been a mainstay on Sainte-Catherine Street since opening in 1932. 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!

True neighbourhood 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 (and we also can’t forget the perennial postcard mainstay Gibeau Orange Julep discussed below was founded the same year). The iconic neighbourhood corner spot specializes in old school favourites like egg creams and karnatzels, but the star attraction remains the Wilensky’s Special—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!

A living ruin coming back to life

Speaking of Expo 67—still fondly remembered as one of the world’s most successful international expositions and a flash point for modernist architecture and design—the ruins of the 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.

A bizarre historical motif

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. 

Art along the water

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. Composed of more than 50 large scale sculptures set on a truly epic vista, the sculpture garden puts Québec’s rich sculptural 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.

Spinning the black circle

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.

Let’s get physics-al!

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 objects 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. (Those looking for a bonus round won’t want to miss the Osler Library of the History of Medicine also 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).

Another piece of the Wall

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.

Unbridled local creativity on show

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.

The perfect place for a strike

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. After a genteel morning game (don’t forget to pack some crisp whites), we’d suggest a leisurely walk through Westmount, full of grand old houses and unique boutiques.

Dive deep!

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.