Montreal Navigator: a guide to the city, from modernist marvels to gastronomic gems

With a scintillating nightlife, the best restaurants in the country, alongside culture festivals that animate each month of the year, Montreal is Canada’s most vibrant city, and is brimming with hot new openings.

What to see and do in Montreal, Canada

Where to stay

Vogue Hotel

A newcomer to Montreal’s downtown hotel scene, Vogue Hotel was brought to life by local firm Sid Lee Architecture. Located in the Golden Mile Square, between the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and shop-lined Sainte Catherine Street, the hotel’s design takes cues from Japanese minimalism. In the lobby, the curved, cream-toned Venetian plaster walls and monolithic Turkish travertine front desk are offset by warm, wood panelling and an abstract jewel-toned chandelier designed by local lighting firm Lambert & Fils – comprising a chic urban aesthetic that also extends to the 148 rooms and suites.

Vogue Hotel is located at 1425 Rue de la Montagne, QC H3G 1Z3, hilton.com

Where to eat and drink

Emmanuelle Lounge

Atelier Zebulon Perron has made a name for itself as the go-to design firm for Montreal’s buzzing nightlife scene. Among its latest projects, Emmanuelle Lounge on the top floor of the 2-22 arts building, in the former Red Light district, conjures a 1970s speakeasy vibe. Relax with a cocktail in hand on the green leather banquette that snakes along the edge of the room, pull up a chair at the black marble bar, or look out over the Quartier des Spectacles district from the plant-filled rooftop terrace – while snacking on robata-grilled octopus or a decadent serving of Oscietra caviar.

Emmanuelle Lounge is located at 2 St Catherine St E, QC H2X 1K4, emmanuellelounge.com

Hiatus

From Moshe Safdie’s pixel-like Habitat 67 to Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic dome, Montreal has no shortage of modernist architecture gems. But among the most revered is IM Pei’s 47-floor tower complex Place Ville Marie, now the home of panoramic Japanese bistro Hiatus. Revamped by design firm Sid Lee Architecture, the restaurant resembles an urban greenhouse – with floor-to-ceiling windows, blonde wood floors, banquettes and millwork walls, and hanging vines suspended over the light-filled dining room. Guests come for the miso-baked oysters and yuzu lobster dumplings, and stay for the sweeping view of the city and Saint Lawrence River beyond.

Hiatus Restaurant et Bar is located at 1 Pl. Ville-Marie #46EME, QC H3B 4E8, hiatus.ca

Le Violon

Montreal-born chef Danny Smiles’ much-anticipated French restaurant, Le Violon, opened in June 2023 to serious acclaim – and the succinct, seafood-focused menu does not disappoint. For the interiors, Smiles tapped Atelier Zebulon Perron, which devised a subtle and refined dining room in a palette of cool neutrals that translates into cream leather booths, marble-topped bistro tables, white and black subway tile floors and a larger-than-life portrait of a Dalmatian surveying the room from the back wall.

Le Violon is located at 4720 Rue Marquette, QC H2J 3Y6, le-violon.ca

What to do

Espace Transmission

Montreal is a city that lives and breathes performing arts (it is the birthplace of Cirque du Soleil, after all), so it would be remiss not to include a theatre in the mix. Espace Transmission resides in a former garage in the De Lorimier neighbourhood that was transformed into a multi-use venue in 2023. The space hosts exhibitions, installations, workshops and performances of all kinds – just check its Instagram to see what’s on when you’re in town.

Espace Transmission is located at 5435 Av. des Érables, QC H2H 2E8, @espacetransmission

Temple—Projects

Located about an hour east of the city in the small village of Bolton-Est, Temple—Projects is the brainchild of Canadian furniture designer Simon Johns. Johns renovated a desecrated neo-gothic chapel built in 1865 – leaving the original stained glass and peeling white paint in situ – transforming it into a vibrant venue for exhibitions of art and contemporary design. Its inaugural event was a group show of Canadian and American furniture designers and included work by Rachel Bussin, Studio Ayumiya and Lauren Goodman.

Temple—Projects is located at 903 Rte Bolton Pass, Bolton-Est, QC J0E 1G0, @temple.projects

Sabbya

According to Montreal’s Studio Lafleur, the design of Sabbya Spa in the city’s Village neighbourhood was inspired by bold tropical modernism. The 8,000 sq ft space – which offers medical aesthetic treatments, massages and body scrubs, alongside a thermal spa circuit – takes a materials-first approach: gold-streaked marble in the dry sauna; orange and brown-flecked terrazzo in the reception; and porous grey travertine lining the walls and floors of the zen treatment rooms.

Sabbya is located at 1580 St Catherine St E, QC H2L 2J2, sabbya.com

Where to shop

207ouest

Located just below the Myel jewellery boutique in Montreal’s Mile End neighbourhood, the newly opened concept store 207ouest brings together a smart curation of European design brands, including glassware from Helle Mardahl and Fornasetti tabletop accessories. Founders and sisters Myriam and Jeanne Elie turned to Montreal’s Studio Kiff to come up with an interior concept that feels playful, with an industrial edge. Working within the rough stone walls and spartan concrete floors, Studio Kiff’s Hélène Thiffault and Rachel Bussin designed custom-articulated black steel tables that curve around the room’s structural metal columns to display the shop’s colourful wares.

207ouest is located at 207 Av. Laurier O, QC H2T 2N9, 207ouest.com