ORIGINAL TOURS

Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, or HOMA for the trendiest, is a neighborhood in full transformation where all social classes and people from all walks of life mix together. This sector, which was for a long time a working-class and industrial district, is now a place where it is good to live and walk.

Start your visit at Maisonneuve Market. Come and meet our market gardeners, fishmongers, cheese makers and bakers. You can admire at the same time the building of the old market, located just next door, one of the most beautiful architectural jewels of the district.

Take advantage of your visit to the market to stroll along Ontario Street, which is full of small cafés, shops and “bring your own wine” restaurants. I recommend a stop at the Biérologue at 4301 Ontario East, where you will discover several local beers and wines from Quebec. Try the Oshlag beers, produced in the neighborhood!

Next door, at 2009 rue de La Salle at the corner of rue Ontario, you can stop to eat the best breakfast sandwiches in Montreal at Café Hélico. In the evening, the café turns into a restaurant and becomes the Hélicoptère, a simple and accessible bistro, with tasty and original market cuisine.

If you prefer a “bring your own wine” restaurant, I recommend the Bagatelle restaurant, at 4323 Ontario East, as renowned for its brunches as for its table d’hôte menu. Using the same concept, the Etat-Major restaurant at 4005 Ontario East is the meeting point for locals and is sold out almost every night! Perfect place for carnivores!

Montreal hosted the Olympic Games in 1976 and left wonderful legacies. Everyone comes to see the Olympic Stadium, but few people take the funicular to climb to the top of the stadium, from which you can have a superb view of downtown Montreal, Mount Royal and the surrounding area.

A visit to the Olympic Park will allow you to go to the Biodôme, which is halfway between a zoo, a garden and a museum in which we find 4 different ecosystems from 4 corners of the world, including the boreal forest. I challenge you to find the sloths, always well camouflaged in the trees!

Across the street is the Botanical Garden, one of the largest in the world. Little secret: take the time to stop at the small café in the Garden and sit down to sip it near the greenhouses of the garden.

Complete your visit with a stop at Château Dufresne, once a bourgeois residence of the 19th century French-Canadian aristocracy. Admire the stained glass windows and frescoes by Guido Nincheri, an Italian artist who chose Montreal as his muse to create his works of art. You can also admire his works in several churches in the area.