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The Main Media Inc. 2026

✦ Built By Field Office

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    The Main

    Montreal's Cultural Directory

    Help us improve! Share your thoughts on how we can make your experience better.

    Leave feedback

    For partnerships and collaborations:

    partnerships@themain.com

    Content

    • Articles
    • Food & Drink
    • Arts & Culture
    • History Lesson

    Guides

    • All Guides
    • Best Restaurants
    • Best Cafés
    • Best Bars
    • Best Brunch
    • Best Bakeries

    Explore Montreal

    • Browse Directory
    • Restaurants
    • Bars
    • Cafés
    • Bookstores
    • Leaderboard
    • Editor's Picks
    • New Places

    About

    • About us
    • Subscribe
    • Shop
    • Advertise
    • Pitch us
    • RSS Feed

    Legal

    • Terms of service
    • Membership Terms
    • Privacy Policy
    Follow us
    InstagramTwitterTiktokLinkedin

    The Main Media Inc. 2026

    ✦ Built By Field Office

      Your cart

      Your cart is empty.

      --°C|Monday, September 14, 2026|
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        Guide · 29 places

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        Guide · 28 places

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      --°C|Monday, September 14, 2026|
      Subscribe today to get 3 free articles per month.Get 50% off your first 5 rides with Lyft
      InstagramTwitterTiktokLinkedin
      |
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      |
      EN/FR
      The Main Logo
      Magazine
      Sections
      • Arts & Culture
      • Beyond Montreal
      • Design
      • Food & Drink
      • History Lessons
      • The Bulletin
      Explore
      Popular Guides
      • The Best Restaurants in Montreal

        Guide · 45 places

        The Best Restaurants in Montreal

      • Best Cafés

        Guide · 41 places

        Best Cafés

      • Romantic Restaurants

        Guide · 43 places

        Romantic Restaurants

      • Vintage & Thrift

        Guide · 29 places

        Vintage & Thrift

      • Best Bookstores

        Guide · 28 places

        Best Bookstores

      • Best New Restaurants
      • Nightlife
      • Best Breakfast
      • Unique Boutiques
      • See all Guides
      Neighbourhood
      • Downtown
      • Le Plateau-Mont-Royal
      • Mile End
      • Mile-Ex
      • Saint-Henri
      • See All
      Business Type
      • Restaurant
      • Café
      • Boutique / Store
      • Bar
      • Bakery
      • See All
      Near the MetroPeelMont-RoyalPlace-Saint-HenriPlace-d'ArmesJarryView all
      ShopWeather
      Subscribe
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      1. Articles
      1. Articles

      History Lesson

      78
      What Happened to Frederick Law Olmsted’s Vision for Mount Royal?
      J.P. Karwacki

      What Happened to Frederick Law Olmsted’s Vision for Mount Royal?

      As Mount Royal Park turns 150, the story of its creation reveals how Olmsted's vision for the mountain was compromised almost from the very beginning.

      The Strange Architectural Afterlife of Joseph-Arthur Godin
      Sara Mizannojehdehi

      The Strange Architectural Afterlife of Joseph-Arthur Godin

      You may not recognize the name, but the Montreal architect’s curved facades, vanished theatres, churches, and landmark apartment buildings remain woven into the city’s everyday landscape.

      The Historic Mount Royal Hotel Is Now Home to Montreal's Best Office Space
      The Main

      The Historic Mount Royal Hotel Is Now Home to Montreal's Best Office Space

      Once known as the historic Mount Royal Hotel, the Les Cours Mont-Royal is seeing renewed demand as its overlooked office spaces fill up and tenants move in.

      The Day a Downtown Campus Burned and What Came After
      J.P. Karwacki

      The Day a Downtown Campus Burned and What Came After

      What began as a complaint about grading bias escalated into a two-week occupation, a fire, and one of the most consequential reckonings with institutional racism in Canadian higher education.

      What Happened to Montreal's Red Light District?
      J.P. Karwacki

      What Happened to Montreal's Red Light District?

      Jazz legends, burlesque queens, and organized crime made it one of the most alive corners in North America. Then Montreal decided it had a reputation to protect.

      Ruby Foo's was an absolute legend of a Chinese restaurant
      J.P. Karwacki

      Ruby Foo's Was an Absolute Legend of a Chinese Restaurant

      From its 1945 opening to a 1984 closure and its present-day hotel, the Décarie Boulevard institution was where Montreal went to see and be seen.

      Montreal Pool Room: Serving a city's hot dogs for over a century
      J.P. Karwacki

      Montreal Pool Room: Serving a City's Hot Dogs for Over a Century

      How a Bulgarian immigrant's billiard hall became one of Montreal's most enduring institutions, from pimp steaks to late night eats infamy.

      NDG's Empress Theatre survived a century of change. Can it survive neglect?
      Kaitlyn DiBartolo

      NDG's Empress Theatre Survived a Century of Change. Can it Survive Neglect?

      Montreal's last (and Canada's only) Egyptian Revival movie palace reinvented itself for decades. Now it's been empty for 33 years.

      When McGill med students went grave-robbing for science
      J.P. Karwacki

      When McGill Med Students Went Grave-robbing for Science

      The law demanded they learn anatomy but made dissection illegal, so for nearly a century, stolen corpses were tobogganed down Mount Royal to a folk hero janitor who paid cash, no questions asked.

      How Little Portugal carved out its place in the Plateau
      Phylida Tuff-West

      How Little Portugal Carved Out Its Place in the Plateau

      From postwar migration to piri piri chicken, Azorean immigrants transformed an iconic Montreal neighbourhood with enduring community.

      How 24 Stanley Cups turned the Montreal Canadiens into a religion
      The Main

      How 24 Stanley Cups Turned the Montreal Canadiens into a Religion

      From dynasty to drought: a brief-ish look at the making of Montreal's most devotional sports franchise.

      The rise and fall of Le Palais des Nains, the palace where tourists became giants
      The Main

      The Rise and Fall of Le Palais des Nains, the Palace Where Tourists Became Giants

      For over 60 years, the fully functional home of two circus veterans became a Montreal tourist attraction where everything was scaled down to their three-foot-tall size.

      A butcher's gamble, a forgotten tavern, and how the Mile End earned its name
      The Main

      A Butcher's Gamble, a Forgotten Tavern, and How the Mile End Earned Its Name

      From a Durham County butcher shop and Massachusetts tavern keepers to a global creative district, the real story's one historians got wrong for decades.

      How Montreal got its Little Italy
      Daniel Bromberg

      How Montreal Got Its Little Italy

      A century-long story of how a neighbourhood grew from railroad workers to family legacies everywhere you look today.

      Montreal's decades-long Polynesian fantasy and volcano cocktail experiment
      Phylida Tuff-West

      Montreal's Decades-long Polynesian Fantasy and Volcano Cocktail Experiment

      When Kon Tiki brought post-war escapism and Hollywood's idea of the South Pacific to Peel Street, it created an exotic escape unlike any other.

      Before the world knew his name, Montreal heard him first
      J.P. Karwacki

      Before the World Knew His Name, Montreal Heard Him First

      The Harlem of the North, Little Burgundy, raised a legend. It took 100 years to say it as loudly as possible from the city's rooftops.

      • Previous
      • 1
      • 2
      • 3
      • 4
      • 5
      • Next

      History Lesson

      78
      What Happened to Frederick Law Olmsted’s Vision for Mount Royal?
      J.P. Karwacki

      What Happened to Frederick Law Olmsted’s Vision for Mount Royal?

      As Mount Royal Park turns 150, the story of its creation reveals how Olmsted's vision for the mountain was compromised almost from the very beginning.

      The Strange Architectural Afterlife of Joseph-Arthur Godin
      Sara Mizannojehdehi

      The Strange Architectural Afterlife of Joseph-Arthur Godin

      You may not recognize the name, but the Montreal architect’s curved facades, vanished theatres, churches, and landmark apartment buildings remain woven into the city’s everyday landscape.

      The Historic Mount Royal Hotel Is Now Home to Montreal's Best Office Space
      The Main

      The Historic Mount Royal Hotel Is Now Home to Montreal's Best Office Space

      Once known as the historic Mount Royal Hotel, the Les Cours Mont-Royal is seeing renewed demand as its overlooked office spaces fill up and tenants move in.

      The Day a Downtown Campus Burned and What Came After
      J.P. Karwacki

      The Day a Downtown Campus Burned and What Came After

      What began as a complaint about grading bias escalated into a two-week occupation, a fire, and one of the most consequential reckonings with institutional racism in Canadian higher education.

      What Happened to Montreal's Red Light District?
      J.P. Karwacki

      What Happened to Montreal's Red Light District?

      Jazz legends, burlesque queens, and organized crime made it one of the most alive corners in North America. Then Montreal decided it had a reputation to protect.

      Ruby Foo's was an absolute legend of a Chinese restaurant
      J.P. Karwacki

      Ruby Foo's Was an Absolute Legend of a Chinese Restaurant

      From its 1945 opening to a 1984 closure and its present-day hotel, the Décarie Boulevard institution was where Montreal went to see and be seen.

      Montreal Pool Room: Serving a city's hot dogs for over a century
      J.P. Karwacki

      Montreal Pool Room: Serving a City's Hot Dogs for Over a Century

      How a Bulgarian immigrant's billiard hall became one of Montreal's most enduring institutions, from pimp steaks to late night eats infamy.

      NDG's Empress Theatre survived a century of change. Can it survive neglect?
      Kaitlyn DiBartolo

      NDG's Empress Theatre Survived a Century of Change. Can it Survive Neglect?

      Montreal's last (and Canada's only) Egyptian Revival movie palace reinvented itself for decades. Now it's been empty for 33 years.

      When McGill med students went grave-robbing for science
      J.P. Karwacki

      When McGill Med Students Went Grave-robbing for Science

      The law demanded they learn anatomy but made dissection illegal, so for nearly a century, stolen corpses were tobogganed down Mount Royal to a folk hero janitor who paid cash, no questions asked.

      How Little Portugal carved out its place in the Plateau
      Phylida Tuff-West

      How Little Portugal Carved Out Its Place in the Plateau

      From postwar migration to piri piri chicken, Azorean immigrants transformed an iconic Montreal neighbourhood with enduring community.

      How 24 Stanley Cups turned the Montreal Canadiens into a religion
      The Main

      How 24 Stanley Cups Turned the Montreal Canadiens into a Religion

      From dynasty to drought: a brief-ish look at the making of Montreal's most devotional sports franchise.

      The rise and fall of Le Palais des Nains, the palace where tourists became giants
      The Main

      The Rise and Fall of Le Palais des Nains, the Palace Where Tourists Became Giants

      For over 60 years, the fully functional home of two circus veterans became a Montreal tourist attraction where everything was scaled down to their three-foot-tall size.

      A butcher's gamble, a forgotten tavern, and how the Mile End earned its name
      The Main

      A Butcher's Gamble, a Forgotten Tavern, and How the Mile End Earned Its Name

      From a Durham County butcher shop and Massachusetts tavern keepers to a global creative district, the real story's one historians got wrong for decades.

      How Montreal got its Little Italy
      Daniel Bromberg

      How Montreal Got Its Little Italy

      A century-long story of how a neighbourhood grew from railroad workers to family legacies everywhere you look today.

      Montreal's decades-long Polynesian fantasy and volcano cocktail experiment
      Phylida Tuff-West

      Montreal's Decades-long Polynesian Fantasy and Volcano Cocktail Experiment

      When Kon Tiki brought post-war escapism and Hollywood's idea of the South Pacific to Peel Street, it created an exotic escape unlike any other.

      Before the world knew his name, Montreal heard him first
      J.P. Karwacki

      Before the World Knew His Name, Montreal Heard Him First

      The Harlem of the North, Little Burgundy, raised a legend. It took 100 years to say it as loudly as possible from the city's rooftops.

      • Previous
      • 1
      • 2
      • 3
      • 4
      • 5
      • Next