Quartier des Spectacles: the festival squares and Rue Saint-Denis

Stops along the way

Things to notice.

1. 01

   1

   Place des Arts

   Start at the performing-arts complex and its broad esplanade — the heart of the festival district, and the stage for the jazz festival each summer. Even on an ordinary evening the fountains and the lit terraces give you the measure of it.

   01

   Place des Arts

   Start at the performing-arts complex and its broad esplanade — the heart of the festival district, and the stage for the jazz festival each summer. Even on an ordinary evening the fountains and the lit terraces give you the measure of it.

   ◉Street View
2. 02

   2

   Place des Festivals

   The square beside it, built for crowds, with a long run of programmable fountains and, in winter, the Luminothérapie light installations. Cross it slowly after dark; the lighting is the point and it's free.

   02

   Place des Festivals

   The square beside it, built for crowds, with a long run of programmable fountains and, in winter, the Luminothérapie light installations. Cross it slowly after dark; the lighting is the point and it's free.

   ◉Street View
3. 03

   3

   Rue Sainte-Catherine — the Village edge

   Walk east along Sainte-Catherine toward the Quartier Latin. In summer the stretch into the Village is pedestrianised and strung with overhead installations. A good street to walk rather than a stop to stand at.

   03

   Rue Sainte-Catherine — the Village edge

   Walk east along Sainte-Catherine toward the Quartier Latin. In summer the stretch into the Village is pedestrianised and strung with overhead installations. A good street to walk rather than a stop to stand at.

   ◉Street View
4. 04

   4

   Grande Bibliothèque

   Quebec's national library at the corner by Berri-UQAM, a calm wood-and-glass box you're welcome to walk into and sit in. Go up a floor for the reading rooms and the view back over the quarter. A good place to escape the weather mid-walk.

   04

   Grande Bibliothèque

   Quebec's national library at the corner by Berri-UQAM, a calm wood-and-glass box you're welcome to walk into and sit in. Go up a floor for the reading rooms and the view back over the quarter. A good place to escape the weather mid-walk.

   ◉Street View
5. 05

   5

   Rue Saint-Denis

   The spine of the Quartier Latin, climbing north — terrasses, bookshops, and the student bars of the UQAM crowd. This is where you eat. Walk uphill a few blocks, pick a terrasse, and let the evening run.

   05

   Rue Saint-Denis

   The spine of the Quartier Latin, climbing north — terrasses, bookshops, and the student bars of the UQAM crowd. This is where you eat. Walk uphill a few blocks, pick a terrasse, and let the evening run.

   ◉Street View
6. 06

   6

   Carré Saint-Louis

   End at the leafy square ringed with painted Victorian rowhouses, a few blocks up Saint-Denis — the prettiest pause on the walk and a writers' address for over a century. Then back down to Berri-UQAM for the metro.

   06

   Carré Saint-Louis

   End at the leafy square ringed with painted Victorian rowhouses, a few blocks up Saint-Denis — the prettiest pause on the walk and a writers' address for over a century. Then back down to Berri-UQAM for the metro.

   ◉Street View