Saint-Laurent: The Main

The Street in the Middle of the City.

For over two centuries, Saint-Laurent has been the line that split Montreal in two. French to the east. English to the west.

When the waves of immigrants came (Irish, Jewish, Italian, Portuguese, Greek, Chinese), they settled along the Main precisely because it belonged to neither side.

The middle became safe ground.

Today the street is a slow walk through Montreal’s immigrant history. From the river up to the mountain, every block is a chapter.

A walk up the Main:

• Old Montreal: the original settlement

• Chinatown: liongates, dumplings, herbal shops

• Quartier des Spectacles: festivals, lights, theatres

• Jewish history: Schwartz’s smoked meat, the bagel rivalries on Fairmont & St-Viateur

• Little Portugal (you are here): the church still on the corner, the bakeries serve Pastel de Nata

• Little Italy: espresso, pasta, Jean-Talon Market

• Beyond: Indian, Arabic, and Haitian neighbourhoods

All these paths are walkable.. Bixi it if your legs say no.

Ask us about our Saint-Laurent Scavenger Hunt. Built for groups. A tour disguised as a race.