Montreal/North Island

North Island is a district of Montreal composed of these neighbourhoods:

• Ahuntsic-Cartierville
• Saint-Laurent
• Saint-Leonard
• Montreal-Nord
• Villeray—Saint-Michel—Parc-Extension

Saint-Léonard church on Rue Jarry

Understand

Ahuntsic-Cartierville sits on the banks of the Rivière des Prairies. It traces its history to the fortified Sault-au-Récollet settlement, which was established by the Sulpicians in 1696. This in turn led to the colonization of the area.

Saint-Laurent is the second-largest employment hub within the metropolitan region, after downtown Montréal. It is home to the headquarters of Air Canada and Air Transat. Bombardier Aerospace has its Amphibious Aircraft Division in Saint-Laurent.

Saint-Leonard has one of the highest concentrations of Italian-Canadians in the city. It has surpassed Montreal's rapidly gentrifying Little Italy as the centre for Italian culture in the city, with numerous cultural institutions and commercial enterprises serving the city's second-most populous cultural community. The borough is characterized by its spacious, wide-set semi-detached brick duplexes (and triplexes, four-plexes, and five-plexes — an architectural style unique to Montreal), backyard vegetable gardens, Italian bars (cafés), and pastry shops serving Italian-Canadian staples such as cannoli, sfogliatelle, lobster tails, and zeppole. At some times of year, it is possible to observe seasonal Italian traditions like the making of wine, cheese, sausage, and tomato sauce in quantity.

Former Park Avenue train station (Gare Jean-Talon)

Parc Extension or 'Parc-Ex' as it is known by the locals, is in the middle of Montrea. It is home to over 100 different ethnicities yet is mostly known for its Greek community which helped make the district what it is today. Montreal's Greektown has historically been located in the district of Parc Extension. Jean-Talon Boulevard, which runs through Parc Extension, is home to many Greek restaurants and shops. The same can be said for Parc Avenue.

Saint-Michel is the home of Le Boulevard shopping centre and also is home to the headquarters of the world-renowned Cirque Du Soleil (Tohu la Cité des Arts du Cirque), and the Complexe environmental Saint-Michel. Saint-Michel is ethnically diverse: Italians, Haitians, Arabs, Asians, Hispanics as well as people of French descent (Québécois) represent the major ethnic groups of this inner city area.

Get in

• The orange and blue lines of the Montreal Metro
• Commuter rail of the Réseau de transport métropolitain
• Autoroute 15 (Laurentian Autoroute/Autoroute des Laurentides) runs north-south
• Autoroute 40 (Metropolitan Autoroute/Autoroute Métropolitaine) runs east-west
• Autoroute 520
• Autoroute 13

See

• 🌍 Parc-nature de l'Île-de-la-Visitation, 2425 boul Gouin Est, ☎ [phone]. 
• 🌍 Sault-au-Récollet. One of the oldest villages on the island of Montreal, it retains its village atmosphere with many houses dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. It was the original site of Fort Lorette, a trading post and mission for the conversion of the First Nations people of the area. (updated Dec 2018)
• Cité des arts du cirque, TOHU (Circus Arts City TOHU), 2345 rue Jarry Est, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone]. Pavilion 09:00-17:00, box office 12:00-17:00, shop 12:00-17:00 and 1 hour after the show. A centre for performance, creativity, experimentation, and convergence of culture, the environment and community involvement. (updated Dec 2018)

Pierre Granche's sculpture

• Pierre Granche's sculpture, Parc de Montréal-Nord (at the intersection of boulevards Henri-Bourassa and Léger). (updated Dec 2018)

Do

• 🌍 Orioles de Montréal baseball team, Gary Carter Stadium (formerly Marcel-Clement Field) in Ahuntsic Park. Ligue de Baseball Élite du Québec team. (updated Dec 2018)

Buy

• Marché Central, 9187 Boulevard de l'Acadie. Outdoor complex with outlet stores. (updated Dec 2018)
• 🌍 Place Vertu, 3600 Boulevard Cote-Vertu Ouest (corner of Cavendish Boulevard). Daily 10:00-21:00. 155 stores. Anchors are Canadian Tire, Marché Adonis, Sports Experts/Atmosphere, Dollarama and Uniprix. (updated Dec 2018)
• Le Boulevard Shopping Centre, 4270, rue Jean-Talon Est. M-F 09:30-21:00, Sa 09:00-17:00, Su 10:00-17:00. 70 stores including Canadian Tire. (updated Dec 2018)

Eat

• Chez Benny Express, 2075 rue Saint-Louis (at rue Grafton; bus 72, 128, 172, or 202), ☎ [phone]. Kosher fast-food restaurant with Mediterranean grilled meats. 
• Famous Pizza, 2145 rue Saint-Louis (between rue Vincent and rue Grafton; bus 72, 128, 172, or 202), ☎ [phone]. Kosher pizzeria. 
• Restaurant Le St-Urbain, 96 Rue Fleury Ouest, ☎ [phone]. Modern cuisine made from products of the market, often organic, and from the Quebec terroir. The menu varies with the seasons. Tasting menu and the food-wine pairings. Many of the dishes use vacuum cooking techniques and their in-house smokehouse. Mains $29-46,. (updated Dec 2018)
• La bella Italiana, 5884 Jean-Talon Est, ☎ [phone]. Su Tu-Th 10:00-22:00, F Sa 10:00-23:00. Wood oven pizza, pastas, gelato, Italian coffee. (updated Dec 2018)

Drink

• Bar Pam Pam, 491 rue Jean-Talon, ☎ [phone]. M-Sa 08:00-02:30, Su 10:00-02:30. A dive bar enjoyed for its cheap beer and pool tables. (updated Dec 2018)
• Bar Le Grand Chapeau, 570 rue Jarry Ouest. Daily 08:00-03:00. Sports bar, billards, cocktails, Happy Hour 17:00-19:00. (updated Dec 2018)

Sleep

• Gite du Grenier, 9547 Basile-Routhier. B&B. 20-min walk to the metro. Free parking. (updated Dec 2018)
• Le Gite de l'ecole, 8019 Casgrain Ave. B&B. 5-min walk to Metro Jarry. Free parking. (updated Dec 2018)
• Hotel Newstar, 5250 rue Jarry Est (at the corner of Boulevard Lacordaire), ☎ [phone]. From $69. (updated Dec 2018)

Connect

Go next

Routes through North Island

END ← Laval ←	N  S	→ La Petite-Patrie → Downtown
END ←	N  S	→ Côte-des-Neiges → Downtown
Côte-des-Neiges ← La Petite-Patrie ←	W  E	→ END
Deux-Montagnes ← West Island ←	W  E	→ Côte-des-Neiges → Downtown
Mascouche ← East End ←	N  S	→ Côte-des-Neiges → Downtown
Saint-Jérôme ← Laval ←	N  S	→ Notre-Dame-de-Grâce → Downtown