Saint-Laurent Boulevard

Saint-Laurent Boulevard cuts right through the middle of Montreal. It is the symbolic dividing line between two "worlds," the Anglophone and immigrant communities to the west and the Francophone community to the east. It is also the Plateau’s main axis of development. Starting in 1880, immigrants from different countries arrived and settled on St. Lawrence Boulevard, looking for work in the factories and workshops, some of them opening stores along this artery. They were joined by French Canadians from the surrounding countryside, seeking jobs in the factories and workshops. This is how it gained its reputation as Montreal’s best-known cosmopolitan boulevard, "The Main." Even today, it attracts residents and shops of diverse origins, giving visitors the feeling that they have travelled through several countries in the space of a few blocks! Saint- Laurent Boulevard is well known for its bars and cafés, too, the ideal spot for night owls.

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