Where to Stay in Montréal: Downtown, Old Montréal or the Plateau?
Short answer: Downtown for a first trip, Old Montréal for the old streets and waterfront, the Plateau for cafes and a residential feel. Compared by Metro line.
Stay in Old Montréal, Downtown or the Plateau, and choose between them by what you’ll do in the evenings. The Metro makes the choice easier than it looks. The Orange line runs through all three, so a base on it keeps the other two a short ride away. Every area below is on the map.
23 where-to-stay guides in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese were read for this page. The counts below are how many of them name an area as a good base.
| Area | Guides naming it | Best for | Metro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Montréal | 22 of 23 | A first trip, old streets, the waterfront | Orange line Champ-de-Mars, Place-d’Armes, Square-Victoria-OACI |
| Downtown and Quartier des spectacles | 21 of 23 | A first trip, museums, wet days | Green line McGill, Peel, Place-des-Arts. Orange line Bonaventure |
| Plateau Mont-Royal | 21 of 23 | Cafes, parks, a residential feel | Orange line Sherbrooke, Mont-Royal |
| Mile End | 14 of 23 | Bagels, record shops, live music | Orange line Laurier |
| The Village | 13 of 23 | Nightlife, mid-range rooms | Berri-UQAM (Green, Orange, Yellow) |
| Quartier Latin | 13 of 23 | Cheaper rooms, a younger crowd | Berri-UQAM (Green, Orange, Yellow) |
| Griffintown and Little Burgundy | 10 of 23 | Newer apartments, the Lachine Canal | Lionel-Groulx (Green, Orange) |
Metro lines are from the STM’s Orange line and Green line pages.
Old Montréal
Recommended by 22 of 23 guides read.
The most agreed-on base, and the one nearly every guide gives to a first-timer. Notre-Dame Basilica, Pointe-à-Callière and Bonsecours Market are all in the district, and the Old Port is at the edge of it. The Old Port site is open every day from 6 a.m. to midnight, according to its FAQ. The Orange line has three useful stops. Place-d’Armes is the closest to the basilica, Champ-de-Mars to Bonsecours Market, and Square-Victoria-OACI to Pointe-à-Callière and Bota Bota.
Several guides warn that rooms cost more here, and a few say it goes quiet in January or feels touristy in summer. Choose it if atmosphere matters more than being near the museums on Sherbrooke. Read the Old Montréal guide.
If you’re weighing this area, Metro stations, winter and noise are covered in where to stay in Old Montréal.
Downtown
Recommended by 21 of 23 guides read.
The practical choice, with the most hotels and the best Metro links. It runs from the McGill campus south to Boulevard René-Lévesque, with the Quartier des spectacles to the east. Green line McGill, Peel and Place-des-Arts cover most of it, and Bonaventure on the Orange line serves the south end.
The Montréal Museum of Fine Arts, the McCord Stewart Museum and the Redpath Museum are all within a few minutes of McGill station. When it’s cold or wet, the Underground City (RÉSO) links Metro stations and shopping centres, so look for a hotel close to one of the stations above. A few guides say Downtown feels corporate in the evenings. Read the Downtown guide.
If you’ve picked this area, see where to stay Downtown in Montréal.
Plateau Mont-Royal
Recommended by 21 of 23 guides read.
The pick for a stay of a few days or more, in an area where people live. The guides like it for cafes, restaurants and a local feel, and several suggest it for couples. Hotels are few, so expect small inns, B&Bs and rented flats. Boulevard Saint-Laurent splits it in two, Avenue du Mont-Royal is the shopping street, and Parc La Fontaine is the big lawn.
Sherbrooke station is closest to Square Saint-Louis, Rue Duluth and the south end of Saint-Laurent. Mont-Royal station is closest to Avenue du Mont-Royal and Parc La Fontaine. For breakfast there’s Beauty’s Luncheonette, so check its own hours before you go. Read the Plateau guide.
If you’ve picked this area, see where to stay on the Plateau. Can’t choose between it and the old streets? Read Old Montréal vs the Plateau.
Mile End
Recommended by 14 of 23 guides read.
A creative pocket just north of the Plateau, with independent shops and cafes along Rue Bernard. Guides tend to pair it with the Plateau and point out that it has very few hotels, so most stays here are apartments and B&Bs, which book up early. Laurier is the closest Orange line stop. Read the Mile End guide.
The Village and the Quartier Latin
Recommended by 13 of 23 guides read, each.
Both are centred on Berri-UQAM, which is on the Green, Orange and Yellow lines, so they make a good hub if you’ll be crossing the city a lot. The Village is the nightlife area and is handy during Pride. The Quartier Latin is named for cheaper rooms and a student crowd. Both can be noisy at night, and a couple of guides advise care around the eastern end of Rue Sainte-Catherine late in the evening.
Griffintown and Little Burgundy
Recommended by 10 of 23 guides read.
Newer condos and apartment-hotels beside the Lachine Canal, popular with cyclists and with travellers who want a kitchen. Guides note that it is quieter, with fewer sights, and a walk from the nearest Metro. Lionel-Groulx on the Green and Orange lines is the main station. Read the Griffintown and Little Burgundy guide.
Less common picks
Côte-des-Neiges, Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie and Outremont are each named by 6 of 23 guides, mostly for lower prices or a calm residential stay with fewer hotels. Verdun has 4, the Golden Square Mile 4, and Saint-Henri and Little Italy 3 each. A few guides also warn against hotels near Dorval airport, which are a long ride from the centre.
Which one
- First trip, a few days, museums and food close by. Downtown.
- Short trip and you want the old streets. Old Montréal.
- A week or more, and you’d like a neighbourhood to come home to. The Plateau.
- Metro lines matter most. Pick a station on the Orange line, which links Old Montréal, Downtown and the Plateau.
This page names no hotels. It describes the area and the kind of place to look for. Check what’s on for your dates, then use the map to see how far each area is from what you want to do.
Sources: 23 guides in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, and 3 official pages
Guides in English
- 7 GREAT Neighborhoods Where to Stay in MontrealMiss Tourist
- Where to Stay in MontrealTravel Lemming
- Where to Stay in Montreal, QuebecDestinationless Travel
- Where to Stay in MontrealTravelling King
- Where to Stay in Montréal: A Neighborhood GuideSeeker
- Where to Stay in MontrealTwo by the World
- Where to stay in Montreal - a neighbourhood guideTravellerspoint
- Where to sleep in Montreal?Authentik Canada
- Where to stay in MontrealTravel Noire
- Where to Stay in MontrealTreksplorer
- Where to stay in MontrealCanada Spirit
Guides in French
- Où dormir à MontréalVoyage avec nous
- Dormir à Montréal : les meilleurs quartiers où logerGénération Voyage
- Montréal : quartiers à éviter et meilleurs quartiers où logerSac à Voyage
- Où dormir à MontréalUn sac sur le dos
- Où loger à MontréalVoyageurs Intrépides
- Où dormir à Montréal ?Partir
- Où séjourner à MontréalTime Out Montréal
Guides in German
- Montreal UnterkunftVoyagetips
- Wo in Montreal übernachtenLoudavym Krokem
Guides in Spanish
- Dónde dormir en MontrealAvygeo
Guides in Italian
- Dove dormire a MontrealMarco Togni
Guides in Portuguese
- Onde ficar em Montreal: Downtown, Old Montreal ou Plateau?Mala de Aventuras
Official pages
- STM, Line 2 Orange stationsstm.info
- STM, Line 1 Green stationsstm.info
- Old Port of Montréal, FAQ and site rulesvieuxportdemontreal.com
Places in this guide
Photos show the actual places, licensed under Creative Commons and credited to their photographers.
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