Montreal City Guide - Nightlife

Montreal offers some of the best nightclubs and cabarets to be found anywhere in Canada. The action seldom begins before 2200 and usually continues until the 0300 closing time, although on warm summer days, terrasses (patios) are spilling over with people throughout the day and the 5 à 7 (cinq à sept - 1700-1900) happy hour pulls in office workers. The legal minimum drinking age is 18 years.

Nightlife hotspots include rue Crescent, the preserve of the city's anglophones and English-speaking tourists, and the French-style jazz cafes, clubs, bars, restaurants and bistros along rue St-Denis. The best buzz in the city is on boulevard St-Laurent ('the Main'), with its upscale bars and restaurants near rue Sherbrooke and more alternative and youthful places to the north.

The gay scene is concentrated in the Gay Village, on rue Ste-Catherine to the east of rue St-Hubert, and the whole street is closed off for a massive party following the Divers/Cité gay pride parade (website: www.diverscite.org) in early August. The big gay circuit parties, Black & Blue in early October and Hot & Dry in late May, draw thousands of visitors (website: www.bbcm.org).

For the latest on Montreal's ever-evolving bar and club scene, check the listings in the free alternative weeklies, The Mirror (website: www.montrealmirror.com) and Hour (website: www.hour.ca) or www.britswanted.com.

Bars: On rue Crescent, Sir Winston Churchill Pub (Winnie's) at number 1459 is a perennial favourite. Irish pubs downtown include Hurley's Irish Pub, 1225 rue Crescent, and the Old Dublin, 1219a rue University. For brew-pubs, try Brutopia, 1219 rue Crescent, Le Cheval Blanc, 809 rue Ontario East or, further afield in Outremont, Dieu du Ciel, 29 avenue Laurier West.

For French-Canadian culture, Les Deux Pierrots, 104 rue St-Paul East in Old Montreal, is a lively, noisy spot; Pub St-Paul, in a 19th-century building next door at number 124, is a bit quieter. In the Latin Quarter, Le St-Sulpice, 1680 rue St-Denis, draws a young, francophone crowd to its huge terrace, while L'Ile Noire, 342 rue Ontario East, is a more laid-back whisky bar. Stylish bar-clubs like Sofa, 451 rue Rachel East, and the haunt of hip young media types, Mhotel, at number 951, are located just off the more upscale part of rue St-Denis further north. At nearby Bily Kun, 354 avenue du Mont-Royal East, stuffed ostrich heads overlook a bilingual crowd drinking local brews to loud music.

For boulevard St-Laurent, it is best to just walk along and find a bar that appeals. Worth checking out are the cool pool tables at Le Swimming, 3643 boulevard St-Laurent. DJ bars like Blizzarts and Laïka, further north at numbers 3956a and 4040, draw a hip young crowd.

In the Village, Sky, 1474 rue Ste-Catherine East, is one of the most popular of the many gay bars. The multi-storey Drugstore, at number 1366, offers something for both sexes. Cabaret Mado, at number 1115, is renowned for its drag shows.

Clubs: Altitude Club 737 (website: www.promoclub737.com) is a disco-bar-restaurant at the top of Montreal's tallest building, 1 place Ville Marie: the place is hugely popular for its breathtaking panoramic views of the city. Newtown (website: www.newtown.ca) is a four-storey complex of restaurant, lounge and heaving dance club at 1476 rue Crescent; happening Club Blu, nearby at 1426 rue Stanley, also sprawls over four levels. Dôme, 32 rue Ste-Catherine West, draws a younger, more alternative crowd, while further up boulevard St-Laurent, Angel's (at number 3604) is more mainstream. The stylish House (website: www.housenightclub.com) is a bit further north at number 4521, while still further is the trendy designer lounge Mile End Bar (website: www.mileendbar.com), with packed upstairs dance floor at number 5322. The hottest gay clubs in the city are Parking (website: www.parkingbar.com), 1296 rue Amherst, and Unity II, 1171 rue Ste-Catherine East. Funky Town (website: www.clubsmontreal.com), 1454 rue Peel, comes with a lush, velvety 70s retro ambience and plenty of funky disco music. Dance and house music fill the dance floors at London Club, 3523A, boulevard St-Laurent, and Tokyo (website: www.tokyobar.com), at number 3709 on the same street. Salsa and samba get people dancing at Cactus, 4461 rue St-Denis, while mesmerizing African rhythms attract crowds to the long-established Balattou, 4372 boulevard St-Laurent.

Montreal's after-hours clubs include Aria, 1280 rue St-Denis, and Stereo, 858 rue Ste-Catherine East. They stay open until around 1000 the next morning and play a good selection of house and techno music.

Comedy: The best time to visit Montreal for comedy is during the Festival Juste pour Rire (Just for Laughs Festival) in July (website: www.hahaha.com). Otherwise, Comedyworks, 1238 rue Bishop (tel: (514) 398 9661; website: www.comedyworksmontreal.com), and Comedy Nest, 2313 rue Ste-Catherine West (tel: (514) 932 6378; website: www.comedynest.com) are amusing options.

Live Music: Big-name recording artists play the Bell Centre, 1260 rue de la Gauchetière West, and occasionally the city's mid-size venues: Club Soda (website: www.clubsoda.ca), Le Spectrum de Montréal (website: www.spectrumdemontreal.ca), Cabaret Music Hall, Metropolis (website: www.metropolismontreal.ca) or Kola Note (website: www.kolanote.com). Les Foufounes Electriques, 87 rue Ste-Catherine East (website: www.foufounes.qc.ca) is renowned for alternative and punk bands. For a loungey, martini-soaked atmosphere, Jello Bar, 151 rue Ontario East (website: www.jellobar.com), conjures up the appropriate music. Balattou, 4372 boulevard St-Laurent, is the best spot in the city for African music. Upstairs, 1254 rue Mackay (website: www.upstairsjazz.com) is the place for jazz. Casa del Popolo, 4873 boulevard St-Laurent (website: www.casadelpopolo.com) is an intimate performance space with an eclectic line-up from rock to spoken word.