golden square mile walking tour

Golden Square Mile

The Golden Square Mile is historically known for its mansions built on the slopes of Mount Royal and Sherbrooke Street West from the mid 1800’s thru the 1930’s. It’s also home to the old Royal Victoria Hospital, The Montreal General Hospital, McGill University, Concordia University, the McCord Museum and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, as well as many private galleries. The original residents who built their homes here were owners and business leaders of Canadian industry such as railroads, timber, mining, banking, furs, shipping, etc. Most were Scottish or Scottish descent. The peak of the Golden Square Mile was between 1850 and 1930 and it’s believed that 70 percent of Canada’s wealth was held by these men. The Golden Square Mile that WalkMontreal is walking is bordered on the north by Pine Avenue, to the south by Sherbrooke Street, to the west by Guy Street and to the east by University Street. There are some historical old mansions that still exist between Sherbrooke south to René-Lévesque Boulevard, but, there is some debate if this area is actually included in the Golden Square Mile. The Mount Stephen House on Drummond and the Shaughnessy House on René-Lévesque Boulevard are two examples of mansions that still stand today south of Sherbrooke Street.

There is great architecture and history here, as well as beautiful streets. This walk is also a good workout, as you will be going up and down streets on the slopes of Mount Royal. We did this walk on Saturday May 23, 2020.

(1) Percy Walters Park (2) 3627 Rue Redpath (3) 3655 Rue Redpath (4) Maison Ernest-Cormier (5) 1415 Avenue des Pins (6) 1374 Avenue des Pins (7) 3685 Avenue du Musée (8) 3617 Avenue du Musée (9) Erskine And American United Church (10) The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (11) 1390 Rue Sherbrooke Ouest (12) Le Château Apartments (13) 3605 Rue de la Montagne (14) 3630 Promenade Sir-William-Osler (15) 3654 Promenade Sir-William-Osler (16) 3435 Rue Stanley (17) 3433 Rue Stanley (18) 3644 Rue Peel (19) 3484 Rue Peel (20) 3647 Peel (21) 3690 Rue Peel (22) 3661 Rue Peel (23) 1110 Avenue des Pins (24) 1020 Avenue des Pins (25) Allan Memorial Institute (26) 3650 Rue McTavish (27) Redpath Museum (28) Roddick Gates (29) McCord Museum (30) 772 Rue Sherbrooke Ouest (31) 1172 Rue Sherbrooke Ouest (32) Mount Royal Club (33) 1195 Rue Sherbrooke Ouest (34) 1201 Rue Sherbrooke Ouest (35) Acadia Apartments (36) The Ritz-Carlton (37) Linton Apartments (38) 3424 Rue Simpson (39) Trafalgar School for Girls (40) 1507 Avenue du Docteur-Penfield (41) 1513 Avenue du Docteur-Penfield (42) 1558 Avenue du Docteur-Penfield (43) 1564 Avenue du Docteur-Penfield (44) 1597 Avenue des Pins (45) 1559 Avenue des Pins (46) 13 Avenue Steyning

Percy Walters Park (includes big dog park and smaller childrens playground) bordered by Dr. Penfield, Redpath, Pine and McGregor streets

Yuille House – 3627 Redpath (built 1913)

3655 Redpath (built 1912)

Public stairs connecting Redpath Street and Pine Avenue

Maison Ernest Cormier – 1418 Pine – an Art Deco (built 1930)

Frederick Newman Beardmore House – 1415 Pine (built 1914)

Clarence de Sola House – 1374 Pine (built 1913)

Public stairs connecting Pine Avenue and Avenue du Musee

Maison Rodolphe Forget – 3685 du Musee (built 1912)

Herbert Molson House – 3617 du Musee (built 1911-1912)

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts – corners of Sherbrooke Street West and du Musee (built 1912)

New Sherbrooke Apartments – 1390 Sherbrooke (built 1905)

Erskine American Church – 1339 Sherbrooke (built 1926)

Le Chateau apartments – 1321 Sherbrooke (built 1926)

Iron fence on de la Montagne It echos an era of old

Alice Graham House – 3606 de la Montagne (1925)

Iron fence in front of Alice Graham House

Hosmer House – 3630 Promenade Sir William Osler (built 1901)

Stanley Street apartments – (built 1894)

Hugh Andrew Allan House – 3435 Stanley – (built 1895)

Andrew A. Allan House – 3433 Stanley – (built 1890)

Maison Eugene Lafleur – 3484 Peel (built 1903)

Iron fence in front of James Ross House

James Ross House – 3644 Peel – (built 1893)

J.K.L. Ross House – 3647 Peel – (built 1909)

William Forest Angus House – 3674 and 3690 Peel (built 1870-1874)

Charlotte R. Harrison House – 3661 Peel (built 1912)

Lady Meredith House – 1110 Pine (built 1894)

Mortimer Barnett Davis House – 1020 Pine (built 1907)

Steps to Mount Royal Park at Pine Avenue

Fence and Gates at Ravenscrag

Ravenscrag – 1025 Pine – (built 1861-1863)

Maison Charles-Edouard Gravel – 3650 McTavish – (built 1934)

Redpath Museum – McGill University (built 1882)

MacDonald Engineering Building – McGill University (built 1908)

Roddick Gates – McGill University (built 1924)

McCord Museum – 690 Sherbrooke (built 1921)

Strathcona Hall – 772 Sherbrooke (built 1904)

Prince of Wales Terrace – built in 1860 – it stood on north-east corner of Sherbrooke and McTavish – demolished by McGill University in 1971 image courtesy of McCord Museum

Lord Atholstan House – 1172 Sherbrooke (built 1894-1895)

Van Horne Mansion – built in 1869 – it stood at the north-east corner of Sherbrooke and Stanley – demolished by a developer in 1973 image courtesy of McCord Museum

Mount Royal Club – 1175 Sherbrooke (built 1906)

Thomas Craig House and Maison Louis Forget – 1195 and 1201 Sherbrooke (built 1882 and 1883)

Acadia Apartments – 1227 Sherbrooke (built 1925)

Ritz Carlton Hotel – 1228 Sherbrooke (built 1912)

Church of St.Andrew and St.Paul – 3415 Redpath (built 1932)

Linton Apartments – 1509 Sherbrooke (built 1908)

Linton House – 3424 Simpson (built 1868)

Trafalgar School – 3495 Simpson (built 1903)

Maison Joseph Alderic Raymond – 1507 Dr. Penfield (built 1930)

Charles G. Greenshields House – 1530 Dr. Penfield (built 1910-1911)

John Auld House – 1558 Dr. Penfield (built 1897)

Alexander Cross House – 1597 Pine (built 1895)

John Wilson McConnell House – 13 Steyning (built 1913-1914)

Percy Walters Park

Back to Top website and images © www.walkmontreal.com

9 Responses

Great pictures & years built.

This is our area to walk since March 2020

Thanks John. Glad you enjoyed the pictures and happy to hear you are walking this area. Its great!

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Grew up on Du Musee and haven’t been back in awhile.

Hello Debbie; thanks for sharing and happy you enjoyed the photos.

..and used to toboggan down those steps. Surprised to be alive looking at them now. 🙂

This is a wonderful excuse to wander through an interesting era in Montreal’s evolution. Great suggestion.

Thanks Peter, glad you enjoyed our walk.

Great photos! I wander if anyone know of web sites that provide with architectural descriptions of these beautiful building. Merci beaucoup.

Merci Pierre! This is indeed a beautiful area with incredible buildings. We don’t know of any specific resource on the architectural descriptions of the buildings, but, maybe a viewer can help us on this. Thank you again for visiting WalkMontreal.

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Golden Square Mile

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Dave's Travel Corner

Seeing the World One Step at a Time

Visitor submitted travel journals. Submission guidelines

Top 11 things to do in montreal’s golden square mile.

June 6, 2019 by Steve Mirsky Leave a Comment

The name of Montreal’s Golden Square Mile or Le Mille Carré, a square mile of signature historic blocks at the heart of downtown at the foot of Mount Royal, traces its origins back to 1950s real estate developers promoting the area’s prosperity. Today, “Golden” more aptly describes the stellar array of attractions available within such a small radius.

In 1983, only 30% of the district’s historic buildings survived the wrecking ball due to its convenient overlap with downtown but thanks to Heritage Montreal, numerous mansionettes built with Scottish sandstone and local granite between 1850-1930 survive featuring a wide range of unique architectural styles including Neo-Gothic, Romanesque, and Second Empire. Originally constructed for wealthy merchant families monitoring progress of their ships in the Old Port below, many historic properties are now repurposed as galleries, restaurants, and boutique hotels.

Although hard to imagine but true, all the following Top 11 Golden Square Mile experiences are within a quick walk (even during winter) from each other:

McCord Museum

T he McCord embodies the vision of passionate collector David Ross McCord whose sole mission when he opened it in 1921 was to foster a deeper understanding of Canada’s diverse heritage. To this day, culturally accurate exhibits not shying away from controversy including Canada’s indigenous experience featured in exhibits like Wearing Our Identity: The First Peoples Collection .

As the Roman numerals suggest, Le XVI XVI situated at 1616 Sherbrooke Street remains faithful to French gastronomic traditions with dishes like roasted quail and smoked sturgeon built with locally harvested Québec ingredients served in the upper level flooded in natural light and white furnishings. Head downstairs to the lounge where robot bartender R1-B1 serves up straightforward mixed drinks via a mini-conveyor belt to the bar.

Cédric Moindrot, a former Parisian restaurateur and recent Montrealer, the restaurant’s artistic director partnered with a designer, programmer, and technician to assemble R1-B1 from scratch. 2½ years years later they had the world’s first bilingual (English-French) robot bartender. R1-B1’s interactivity borders on clever thanks to 2 programmers behind the scenes with dialog such as: Customer : “What type of drink can you make? R1-B1 : “I can get you a whiskey or a beer if you want.” Customer : “Thanks all the same, but I’m working.” RI-B1 : “Nice work.”

Museum of Fine Arts

Examining the vibrant intersection of pop culture and fashion, cutting edge exhibits here like the world premiere of Thierry Mugler Couturissime delve into the essence of cultural ferment. Many of Mugler’s most prominent prêt-à-porter and haute couture creations are on display as if you’re walking into a fashion show and wandering through the dressing rooms behind the scenes. This includes over 140 outfits made between 1973 and 2001, most of them shown for the first time, as well as sketches and other memorabilia. Highlights include Cirque du Soleil’s Zumanity costumes as well as outfits for stars including Diana Ross, David Bowie, Lady Gaga, and Quebec’s very own Céline Dion.

Hotel Ambrose

Just up Stanley St. less than a block above Sherbrook with Mount Royal looming ahead, Hotel Ambrose blends in yet marks a distinctive repose among the surrounding townhouses. Converted from two turn-of-the-century homes, each of the hotel’s 20 rooms showcase unique circa 1910 Victorian architectural details. High ceilings, ornate white wood trim, and large windows flood living space with natural light. Even if you’re not staying here, the onsite café which doubles as the hotel’s check-in desk, serves specialty coffees and baked goods. An ode to its World War II rooming house origins, the original Ambrose Travel Lodge sign still hangs above the main entrance.

Les Enfants Terribles at Au Sommet Place Marie

With soaring panoramic views 44 stories above the city, Montreal’s Les Enfants Terribles at Sommet Place Ville Marie is the city’s most elevated dining festuring reinvented Québec plates like homemade black puddling and mac & cheese au gratin.

A dining area with floor to ceiling windows, a bar to the center, and open kitchen provide a soaring wide open ambiance to match the views outside. Communal wood block dining tables set the stage for craft food and libations while during summer, outside patio seating greatly expands your backdrop possibilities.

Bar George at Le Mount Stephen Hotel

Once a private club for the wealthy elite, Bar George is at the center of a magnificently preserved Renaissance Revival house once occupied by the Mount Stephen Club on Drummond Street. Shuttered for nearly 6 years before reopening to the public, its original ornately wood trimmed interior has been impeccably restored with the bar and several dining rooms totaling 200 seats along with grandly unique event space on the upper floor. A hallway discreetly connects you to Le Mount Stephen Hotel, Montreal’s newest boutique property.

In addition to Bar George’s cocktails like their signature Sour mixed with gin, St-Germain elderflower liqueur, cider, lemon, and egg, their menu skews modern British with a Québécois flair featuring Scotch eggs with St-Canut porcelet and turnip rémoulade, Beef Wellington, and veal cheek & kidney pie made with stout, wild mushrooms, sweet peas, and kohlrabi.

Gustave Restaurant

Gustave’s vintage-modern interior is on full display behind a 2-story front window wall enclosing the dining area and bar with hanging bubble glass lighting making it perfect for a silent immersion into the bustling Boulevard de Maisonneuve street life outside while dining on Mediterranean inspired French dishes like Grilled Octopus a la Nicoise and Papardelle alla Carbonara along with a craft cocktail like their Automne a Bruxelles. The terroir specificity you get with their seasonal local ingredients provide a multitude of pairing possibilites with their carefully curated wine list.

Café Kréma at Fairmont Queen Elizabeth

Located on the ground level of the Fairmont, interconnected to Montreal’s underground (RESO), and overlooking René-Levesque Boulevard, all coffee drinks here are attentively custom made to your specs by apron-clad baristas. Fair trade beans are transformed into lively espressos and cremas via their Victoria Arduino machine made in Italy since 1905. Their b uttery crescents and cocoa brownies are hand made by Marché Artisans like Jean-Marc Guillot.

Musée Grévin

Modeled after Musee Grevin’s original Paris location, Grevin Montreal features lifelike wax replicas of key Canadian and Québécois historical figures right along side prominent Hollywood superstars. Céline Dion, Justin Trudeau, and star hockey player Guy Lafleur midplay on a hockey rink frozen in time accompany George Clooney offering a toast of champagne in a grand ball room packed with other celebrities like Lady Gaga, Mahatma Gandhi, and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Spread over three floors with the main entrance on the 5th floor of Eaton Centre shopping mall in what was once a cinema complex, Musee Grevin’s windowless design and immersive floor plan make it feel like you’re stepping into a parallel dimension. Not only do you get to walk among the lifelike figures but several exhibits examine all the painstaking details behind what goes into constructing these anatomically correct works of art.

Thursday’s

A Montréal institution since the 1970s, Thursday’s narrowly escaped the wrecking ball in 2012 and instead got a top-to-bottom makeover courtesy of the next generation of Ragueneau family ownership stepping up and committing to the cause. The Bistro, Bar, and the Club at each of its 3 levels provide distinctly different ambiances accommodating Saturday nights out, business dinners, or a special date. Tip: Snagging a 3rd floor outside terrace seat puts you in full view of the Leonard Cohen mural spanning the entire height of a building across the street.

Decor combining Old English pub and French sophistication is matched with a menu featuring their classic steak tartare and rack of lamb along with newer additions like foie gras terrine, and chicken baked in hay (a bed of fregola, fava bean and matsutake mushroom ragout).

Cirque Le Monastère at St-Jax

Circus art in its pure state, Cirque Le Monastère’s acts are up close and personal without the trappings of more mainstream productions like Cirque du Soleil and Cirque Éloize. Acrobats here seek out Le Monastere for the freedom to be more expressive and less scripted similar in scope to cabaret acts throughout Europe.

Le Monastere’s most recent acquisition of performance space inside St. Jax church on Ste-Catherine Street West provides the perfect setting for returning circus arts to its minimalist cabaret origins in France with Montmartre’s 1881 “Chat Noir” that eventually spread throughout Europe including war-time Berlin with acts like the “Überbretti”.

Photos courtesy of venues covered herein, GoldenMontreal.com, & Steve Mirsky. Coverage made possible by participating in a sponsored visit.

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The best walking tours in Montreal for education and exploration

Whether you're a local or a tourist, get to know the 514 better than ever on foot with the best Montreal walking tours

While wandering around this city often reveals attractions  at every turn, sometimes the best way to truly understand Montreal—and all its inner workings—is to go with guided walking tours. Tour guides here undertake a rigorous training process before being certified, making Montreal one of only two places in North America that require such levels of expertise (the other being Quebec City ). With that said, the tours here will whisk you away on adventures in iconic Montreal food  and through neighbourhoods like Little Italy , Mile End , Old Montreal , Chinatown  and more. If you’re the kind of person who prefers a more self-guided experience, you’re better spending time in the best museums in Montreal  (but they, of course, have tours as well).

RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best things to do in Montreal

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The best Montreal walking tours

1.  Spade & Palacio: Beyond the Basilica

Spade & Palacio was founded by two local guides with the idea of promoting non-touristy tours to its diverse clientele. The 2.5-hour Beyond the Basilica walking tour, offered year-round, begins in Old Montreal  but quickly exits the touristy neighbourhood, passing through a section of the International Quarter, Chinatown , the Entertainment District, and eventually to a collection of street art, ending at a local coffee roastery on Saint-Laurent Boulevard right in the heart of the Plateau-Mont Royal district. A great option for a first-timer.

2.  Fitz & Follwell: Old Montreal

While Fitz & Follwell may be better known for its bike tours, their 3-hour walking tour of Old Montreal  is a great way to discover some hidden secrets about the beloved historic district. With a focus on the story of the city’s foundations and industrial past, as well as some important attractions  and architectural gems in the area, this tour also includes a visit to the majestic Notre-Dame Basilica.

3.  Spade & Palacio: Montreal Mural Art

As the first company to offer guided tours of Montreal’s street art scene, Spade & Palacio offers a 2-hour walking tour concentrated on the plethora of murals found in the Plateau-Mont-Royal district. This tour offers a unique approach to learning more about the artistic side of Montreal – including the annual Mural Festival and its lasting effect on the cultural development of this trendy borough.

4.  Local Montreal Food Tours: Mile End Food Tour

While the secret on Mile End  has long since been out, the ultra-trendy subsection of the Plateau continues to attract visitors with its impressive food and nightlife  scene. Local Montreal Food Tours prides itself on delivering a well-rounded tour of the area, including six food stops (and a 7th non-food stop) that showcases some local iconic Montreal food . The 3-hour tour also includes portions on the historical, architectural and cultural elements of the neighbourhood.

5.  Guidatour: Various tours available

With a handful of private walking tours available—everything from Old Montreal  and Chinatown  to Golden Square Mile and Little Italy —Guidatour has been around for 34 years and continues to be a popular choice for tourists seeking to discover various area of the city. It’s worth mentioning that their Montréal Ghosts thematic tour uncovers stories of Montreal’s dark and haunted past; as nice as Montrealers are known to be, they’ve got some seriously creepy history under their belts.

6.  Kaléïdoscope: Mosaïcs & Centre-Sud

Offering a variety of services to school groups, conference participants and the general public, Kaléïdoscope focuses primarily on a local Montreal audience with most of their tours are offered exclusively in French. The company added a new tour this year (with the help of a first-year guide) highlighting a series of handmade mosaics in the largely unknown Centre-Sud neighbourhood.

7.  Round Table Tours: Iconic Dishes: Jewish Montreal, The Original Tour

Founded by former chef and certified guide Mélissa Simard, Round Table Tours is a gastronomic tour company that explores Montreal’s neighbourhoods, cultures and food genres through eating and storytelling. Its Iconic Dishes: Jewish Montreal food tour is a 4-hour marathon of eating, walking, poetry reading and historical exploration of the Mile End  and the north end of the Plateau, an area where most Eastern European Jews settled at the turn of the 20 th century and left an indelible mark on the city.

8.  VDM Global: Flavours and Aromas of Old Montreal

For those looking to get past some of the architectural and historical details of Old Montreal  and scratch the surface of the best restaurants in Old Montreal  that make up its happening food scene, this 2.5-hour walking tour might be the best bet. This tour dives deep into the origins of the cuisine in Montreal, exploring French, British and international genres and their impact on the local culinary reputation here.

9.  Ça Roule: Architecture Tour

Launched at the beginning of the 2019 season, this new tour highlights some of the contrasting elements of Old Montreal ’s historic buildings to the latest trends in urban design and architecture. The 2-hour tour starts in the heart of the cobblestone quarter and extends out to the neighbouring district of Griffintown before ending at the very site of the city’s original foundations.

10.  Héritage Montréal: ArchitecTours

This non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of the architectural, historic, natural and cultural heritage of Greater Montreal offers guided tours focused on how the city’s architecture and urban design have been influenced by industrialization, gentrification, or otherwise. Each year, Heritage Montreal releases a new program of 2-hour walking tours in both English and French, offered Saturday afternoons in August and September, rain or shine.

11.  Quartier des Spectacles: Free Walking Tour (June to October)

While the Quartier des Spectacles area has undergone a dramatic transformation in the last decade to act as the central stage for some of our major outdoor festivals , this area also holds the title as the former Red Light district of Montreal. This free walking tour offered by the area’s not-for-profit organization allows visitors and locals alike the chance to discover the role of the neighbourhood in past, present and future, including our connection to jazz, dance, and the undeniable artistic jouissance that remains omnipresent in the city.

12.  Habitat 67: Seasonal Tours

Designed by Israeli-Canadian architect Moshe Safdie for Expo 67—still known as one of the world’s top five World’s Fairs of all time!—this architectural attraction  and housing complex was conceived as the development of the future, with each resident having access to natural light and greenspace. Access to the site, including a visit to the exterior of the architect’s former apartment, is limited to 90-minute private guided tours held in French and English from May to October.

More great things to explore in Montreal

The best Montreal attractions for tourists to see and locals to revisit

The best Montreal attractions reveal the city’s rich history and landmarks, all waiting to be (re)discovered.

The best museums in Montreal

Ponder fine art, explore historical crypts, go on walking tours and more at the most inspiring museums in the city.

The best things to do in Montreal with kids

Our top picks for the best things to do in Montreal with kids make sure you’ll be having just as much fun as they are.

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Into Montréal’s glittering Golden Square Mile

Montréal is a  city of neighbourhoods , each with its own unique flair and character. Based at the foot of Mount Royal, outlined by Sainte-Catherine Street, University Street, Pine Street and Guy Street, the Golden Square Mile is a sparkling diamond of architecture and history in the city centre whose close proximity to the  Palais des congrès de Montréal  makes it perfect for some event downtime wandering. Growing from quiet “away from downtown” beginnings in the 18 th  century, by the turn of the 20 th  it’s estimated that up to 80% of Canada’s wealth was concentrated within the square mile’s borders – and that grandeur and opulence still shows.

Art and architecture

The Golden Square Mile earns another of its nicknames as the Museum Quarter, as the  Montreal Museum of Fine Arts ,  McCord Stewart Museum  and  Redpath Museum  (currently closed for renovations ) are all based here — and  available for meetings  and  executive retreats . Each museum has its specialty, from big name exhibitions to natural history and local fashion – not to mention each standing the test of time as an architectural wonder.

Built predominantly in the Victorian era, the Golden Square Mile’s blend of Romanesque, Neo-Classical, Neo-Gothic and a seasoning of Art Nouveau styles dot the side streets up the slope of the mountain. Don’t miss the  Birks building  (now a boutique hotel that’s dressed to impress, alongside a jewellery shop harkening back to its roots) and  Thomson House . That towering cluster of buildings on the mountainside isn’t Hogwarts – it’s the storied campus of  McGill University !

Learning and earning

Two of Montréal’s major centres of learning call the area home – and both McGill and Concordia universities  offer meeting spaces  that easily show off why Montréal is ranked as the  best city for students in North America . And these campuses aren’t shunted off in the outskirts of the city, but rather take their proud place in one of the hearts of business for all of Canada. Outside of the  Centre Mont-Royal  conference centre on Mansfield Street, students and visiting professionals mix and mingle.

A touch of class 

Gourmet restaurants and luxury hotels line Sherbrooke Street, many of which offer eye-popping rooms perfect for events with a touch of opulence. Alongside the grande dame  Ritz-Carlton Montréal , there are options ranging from the Four Seasons Hotel Montréal to Le Mont ,  Sofitel Montréal Golden Mile ,  Vogue Hotel Montreal Downtown ,  Hotel Omni Mont-Royal ,  Delta Hotels Montréal  and  Le Mount Stephen  that will keep your attendees feeling like VIPs. And once they’re hungry, their tastebuds won’t soon forget a night out at  Maison Boulud , followed by some after-dinner cocktails at the legendary  Thursday’s Montréal .

Shopping central

Fashion-wise, area locals truly turn it out, and you’ll see them emerging from the area’s luxury boutiques with shopping bags in hand. Big names like  Tiffany’s , Swarovski  and  Holt Renfrew Ogilvy  all hold court in the Golden Square Mile, and those looking for something original to take home won’t need to look further than the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts’  M Boutique . The neighbourhood’s malls also provide access to Montréal’s famous  RÉSO Underground City  stuffed with shopping choices.

Higher ground

Despite all the man-made masterworks in the area, the biggest gem of them all is  Mount Royal , whose lush greenery towers over the neighbourhood and keeps the air fresh and cool. Climbing its peaks is one of the ultimate Montréal experiences, and it can be achieved in less time than you think – it’s possible to trek all the way up to the Belvédère lookout point and back to the Palais des congrès  within two hours , while also taking in some of the Golden Square Mile’s most famous sights  en route.

Read this next: Know before you go: a Montréal guide for conference attendees

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Historic Walking Tour

Explore the neighbourhood that once boasted the grand homes of Montreal’s mercantile elite from between 1850 and 1930, the peak years of Montreal’s Golden Square Mile. Discover the affluent Canadian barons of industry and their families that lived within this small enclave, and the legacy their great mansions, churches, and clubs left in Montreal’s community heritage and public spaces.

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1. A Furtrader's Legacy

1. L’héritage d’un commerçant de fourrures

Once a single muddy track leading to the front of McGill University, Sherbrooke Street is now a major artery through the heart of what is known as Montreal's "Golden Square Mile." Upon his death, James McGill, a Scottish Fur Trader, entrepreneur, and member of Montreal's elite society, bequeathed 10,000 pounds and his 46 acre Burnside Estate to the Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning (RIAL) with one simple condition: that they use these gifts to found a college in his name within ten years of his death. Today, McGill University stands as Quebec's first English language University, and one of Canada's most respected educational institutions.

2. Simon McTavish

McCord Museum VIEW-2444 On This Spot -->

Looking down McTavish Street today offers a view of cold, hyper-modern glass and steel, rather than the solid stone and brick of 1890. In the time of Simon McTavish the landscape was dominated not by buildings and streets, but orchards and lush countryside. By the time McTavish passed away in 1804, Montreal was poised on the brink of massive industrialization, and within a few years, the fur trade capital became the economic nucleus of the rapidly expanding colony. A contemporary of James McGill, Scottish Highlander Simon McTavish also found his start in the fur trade. Ambitious, shrewd, and business-minded, he began trading cheap muskrat and deerskins before eventually becoming one of the owners of the North West Trading Company, the goliath Hudson's Bay Company's biggest rival. When James McGill left the fur trade behind and found opportunity in the trade of other goods, McTavish became one of the most wealthy men in the fur trade, with business ties stretching across the British colonies, from the Rockies to the Atlantic Ocean.

3. Ravenscrag

3. Les premiers manoirs

McCord Museum II-144763 On This Spot -->

The Italian Renaissance style Ravenscrag Mansion was owned by the Allan family until 1940 when Hugh Allan's second son, Sir Montagu Allan, donated the property to the Royal Victoria Hospital. Following the donation, the opulent, extensively decorated interior was gutted and the building repurposed for use as a medical facility. It is now part of the McGill University Faculty of Medicine. Like Ravenscrag, following the depression and the Second World War, many of the mansions of the Golden Square Mile were absorbed by the university campus.

4. The First Mansions

4. Ravenscrag

McCord Museum MP-0000.188.7 On This Spot -->

By the 1860s, the Square Mile’s development was in full swing. Mansions in an eclectic and incredible array of architectural styles emerged among leafy canopies of maple and elm. These homes were initially summer homes for the rich to escape the congested and polluted city core, but by the mid 19th century, the houses were built for year round occupancy. Ravenscrag was among the largest of these new mansions, boasting 72 rooms, many of which provided a commanding view of the teeming masses in the city below.

5. James Ross House

5. La maison James Ross

McCord Museum VIEW-8715 On This Spot -->

This photo taken in 1910, shows Scottish-Canadian civil engineer, businessman and philanthropist James Leveson Ross and sitting on a bench with his family outside his Golden Square Mile home. James Ross was a canny businessman who established a prodigious fortune through railway construction and improvement throughout the late 19th century. His son, John "Jack" Kenneth Leveson Ross, the younger of the two men in the photo, inherited the majority of the fortune after the death of his parents, but thanks to gambling and profligacy, it wasn't long before he was facing total financial ruin.

6. The Dilcoosha

6. Dilcoosha

McCord Museum MP-0000.181.4.1 On This Spot -->

Like many of the other mansions of the Golden Square Mile, Jesse Joseph's Egyptian Renaissance style house, also known as "Dilcoosha," or "Heart's Delight”, was absorbed by the rapidly expanding McGill campus after Joseph's death in 1904. After being repurposed by McGill, the house was used to house the McCord National Museum until its demolition in 1955.

7. Square Mile Takes Shape

7. Le Mille carré prends forme

McCord Museum M2011.64.2.2.277 On This Spot -->

At the corner of Stanley and Sherbrooke, several historical buildings stand, merged as the Maison-Alcan. At left is the Hugh Graham House, which belonged to Lord Atholstan, cofounder of the Montreal Star and Canadian media mogul. To its right is the old Berkeley Hotel, built in 1928 as a social gathering place for Montreal’s elite. It was here that in 1958, 125 local politicians first put forth the idea to host a world exhibition in Montreal (Expo ‘67), a defining event in the history of the city.

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Walking Tour of Montreal's Golden Square Mile

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Are you ready to step back in time and explore the elegance and grandeur of Montreal's historic Golden Square Mile? Join us for an unforgettable walking tour through one of the city's most iconic neighborhoods!

🏛 Discover Historic Mansions: Walk in the footsteps of Montreal's elite as we explore the stunning architecture and rich history of the Golden Square Mile. Admire the grandeur of century-old mansions and learn about the families who once called them home.

Êtes-vous prêt à remonter le temps et à explorer l'élégance et la grandeur du Mille carré doré historique de Montréal ? Rejoignez-nous pour une visite à pied inoubliable dans l'un des quartiers les plus emblématiques de la ville !

🏛 Découvrez des demeures historiques : marchez sur les traces de l'élite montréalaise en explorant l'architecture époustouflante et la riche histoire du Mille Carré Doré. Admirez la grandeur des demeures centenaires et découvrez les familles qui y habitaient autrefois.

Bring your smile and see you soon !

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Golden Square Mile

Top ways to experience nearby attractions

• McGill • 2 min walk
• Peel • 6 min walk

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Golden Square Mile - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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Photo credit: Matthieu Dupuis

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In the heart of Montreal, discover a neighbourhood with a plush heritage and rich history expressed through the facades of its bourgeois heritage residences : the Golden Square Mile. Marked off by des Pins Avenue, at the foot of Mount Royal, Guy Street, to the West, René-Lévesque Boulevard, to the South, Robert-Bourassa Street (formerly University), to the East, the Golden Square Mile is definitely an area of its own to discover in the middle of downtown.

Its typical Victorian houses and commercial buildings from the 1850’s, when it became an important business center, illustrate its vocation as a peaceful XVIIIth century residential district, with easy access to Montreal’s port and city center. At the beginning of the XXth century, 80 % of Canada’s wealth would have been concentrated in the Golden Square Mile.

Today, the neighbourhood is still shining in the heart of Montreal and counts on this elegant architecture from the end of the XIXth century and its numerous historical, cultural and touristic lures to seduce the locals as well as visitors from everywhere. Let’s go and discover it!

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Titanic Walking Tour in Montréal

Richard Burnett

Richard “Bugs” Burnett is a Canadian freelance writer, editor, journalist, blogger and columnist for alt-weeklies, mainstream and LGBTQ+ publications. Bugs also knows Montréal like a drag queen knows a cosmetics counter.

The story of the RMS Titanic is interwoven with the history of Montréal. On its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, the world’s largest and most famous passenger ship struck an iceberg and sank on the night of April 14-15, 1912, killing more than 1,500 passengers and crew, including many Montrealers.

The Titanic has inspired several movies and countless books, including Titanic: The Canadian Story by acclaimed author and journalist Alan Hustak who also advised Canada Post for their stamps commemorating the centennial of the disaster.

“In terms of wealth and celebrities, only New York exceeded Montréal on the passenger list,” says Hustak, a Titanic lecturer on three Atlantic crossings, including the Titanic Memorial cruise in 2012.

In a walking tour based on Hustak’s book , here are some Titanic-related sites one can visit in Montréal today, including – after Halifax – the greatest number of Titanic-related graves in the world (six of them are in Mount Royal Cemetery , five in Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery , and one in the Baron de Hirsch Cemetery ).

The Allan Building

The Allan Building (333 Rue de la Commune) was home to the Montréal-based Allan Line Steamship Co. whose liner Virginian  picked up the Titanic’s first distress signal late Sunday night, April 14. Just before midnight, George Hannah, passenger traffic manager for the Allan Line, called The Montreal Gazette , asked for marine reporter S.P. Stranger, and read the Virginian’s message: “Titanic has struck an iceberg, and sends Marconigram asking for assistance. Virginian go-ing to her rescue.” The Gazette was the first newspaper in the world to learn of the disaster.

Today, the Allan Building is head office of Old Port of Montréal Corporation Inc. (Société du Vieux-Port de Montréal) which manages and develops the  Old Port of Montréal  and the  Montréal Science Centre .

The Gérald Godin Building

Formerly the corporate headquarters of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad, the majestic Gérald Godin Building (360 McGill Street) was built between 1899-1902 by railway president and Titanic passenger Charles Hays . The railroad magnate was returning to Canada for the official opening of his new hotel in Ottawa, the Château Laurier, named after Canadian Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier whom Hays had convinced of the need for a second transcontinental railroad. Hays and his entourage sailed aboard the Titanic as guests of White Star Line chairman J. Bruce Ismay. Hays drowned, his body recovered by the  Minia  on April 26 and buried in the Pine Hill Section (Lot 246) of historic Mount Royal Cemetery . His wife Clara and daughter Orian both survived, as did artist Paul Romain Chevré – also travelling with Hays – who sculpted the bust of Laurier that still stands in the lobby of the Château Laurier.

Union Française de Montréal

The bronze statue of Marianne to the left of the main entrance of the Union Française de Montréal building (429 Viger Street East) is also by sculptor Paul Romain Chevré .

Montréal Museum of Fine Arts

The frieze on the exterior of the Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion (1379 Sherbrooke Street West) of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is by Hungarian-born Jewish stone carver and Titanic second-class passenger Leopold Weisz who drowned in the disaster. Weisz also carved the stone shields representing Canada’s nine provinces which decorate the Dominion Express Building (201 St. Jacques Street West) in Old Montréal.

His wife Mathilde was nearly deported as an indigent until her husband’s body was recovered and his $15,000 of gold sewn inside his coat returned to her. Weisz is buried in Section One of the Baron de Hirsch Cemetery . Mathilde Weisz is buried (Section TR7532) in historic Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery on Mount Royal.

The Molson Bank

Harry Markland Molson, who was the richest Canadian aboard the Titanic, was on the board of directors of  The Molson Bank (288 St. Jacques Street West) . Molson’s body was never recovered but you’ll find a memorial stone to Molson (Section F-1) in Mount Royal Cemetery . The Molson Bank printed its own currency and was bought by the Bank of Montréal in 1925. Today, the Molson Bank building is home to law firms and government offices, while the Molsons own the  Canadiens de Montréal  NHL hockey team.

Théâtre St-James and Café Titanic

The Montréal offices of the White Star Line were located in the grandiose Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce building (265 St. Jacques Street West) , from 1909 to 1939. This is where tickets for the Titanic were sold.

Today, the historic building – fronted by a monumental hexastyle Corinthian portico carved from grey Stanstead granite – is home to the Théâtre St-James . The door to the old White Star Line offices is now the office door of nearby Café Titanic (445 St. Pierre Street), a popular lunchtime eatery for more than 30 years.

Christ Church Cathedral

A memorial tablet located inside majestic Christ Church Cathedral  (1444 Union Street) in the heart of downtown Montréal, in the Chapel of St. John of Jerusalem, to the left side of the main altar, honours Vivian Ponsonby Payne – 23-year-old private secretary of Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad president Charles Hays – who also drowned in the disaster. Hays was a surrogate father to Payne.

The cathedral is also where Harry Markland Molson worshipped.

Baxter Block

One of the first shopping malls built in North America, the Baxter Block on the Main (3660 – 3712 St. Laurent Boulevard) in the Plateau was owned by Hélène de Lanaudière Chaput-Baxter who was returning to Montréal from France with her son, 24-year-old Quigg Edmond Baxter – a former McGill University student and hockey player with the pre-NHL Stanley Cup-winning Montréal Shamrocks –  and daughter Zette. The Baxter family had the second-most expensive cabin on the Titanic.

In Europe, Quigg had fallen madly in love with 24-year old cabaret singer  Berthe Mayné . Says Titanic historian Alan Hustak, “Quigg didn’t tell his mother or sister he was bringing Berthe to Montréal until the ship was sinking. He brought her up from below deck and said, ‘Maman, look after Bertha’ and put her in the lifeboat. Quigg handed his mother a flask of brandy and said, ‘You're going to need this, it’s going to be cold out there.’ Then his mother berated him not for the girlfriend, but for drinking!”

Berthe Mayné didn’t want to get into the lifeboat without Quigg but Molly Brown convinced her to do so. If Quigg’s body was recovered, it was never identified. He is, however, memorialized on his mother’s grave at Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery on Mount Royal.

The Baxters lived in a great home (1201 Sherbrooke Street West) in the Golden Square Mile.

Today, the Baxter Block is home to many local businesses, including the classic Gallimard de Montréal bookstore (3700 St. Laurent Boulevard) and legendary rock and roll dive Bar Bifteck (3702 St. Laurent Boulevard).

The Allison family

Businessman Hudson Allison lived in tony Westmount (464 Roslyn Avenue) and was returning from Europe with his wife, Bess, three-year-old daughter Loraine and infant son, Trevor. Bess refused to leave the sinking ship without her son, not knowing their nursemaid had already left with the boy in a lifeboat. By the time she found out, no lifeboats were left and her family perished. The baby boy survived. The Allisons figure prominently in Danielle Steel’s 1991 bestselling novel  No Greater Love .

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Moscow Metro Tour

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Description

Moscow metro private tours.

• 2-hour tour $87:  10 Must-See Moscow Metro stations with hotel pick-up and drop-off
• 3-hour tour $137:  20 Must-See Moscow Metro stations with Russian lunch in beautifully-decorated Metro Diner + hotel pick-up and drop off. 
• Metro pass is included in the price of both tours.

Highlight of Metro Tour

• Visit 10 must-see stations of Moscow metro on 2-hr tour and 20 Metro stations on 3-hr tour, including grand Komsomolskaya station with its distinctive Baroque décor, aristocratic Mayakovskaya station with Soviet mosaics, legendary Revolution Square station with 72 bronze sculptures and more!
• Explore Museum of Moscow Metro and learn a ton of technical and historical facts;
• Listen to the secrets about the Metro-2, a secret line supposedly used by the government and KGB;
• Experience a selection of most striking features of Moscow Metro hidden from most tourists and even locals;
• Discover the underground treasure of Russian Soviet past – from mosaics to bronzes, paintings, marble arches, stained glass and even paleontological elements;
• Learn fun stories and myths about Coffee Ring, Zodiac signs of Moscow Metro and more;
• Admire Soviet-era architecture of pre- and post- World War II perious;
• Enjoy panoramic views of Sparrow Hills from Luzhniki Metro Bridge – MetroMost, the only station of Moscow Metro located over water and the highest station above ground level;
• If lucky, catch a unique «Aquarelle Train» – a wheeled picture gallery, brightly painted with images of peony, chrysanthemums, daisies, sunflowers and each car unit is unique;
• Become an expert at navigating the legendary Moscow Metro system;
• Have fun time with a very friendly local;
• + Atmospheric Metro lunch in Moscow’s the only Metro Diner (included in a 3-hr tour)

Hotel Pick-up

Metro stations:.

Komsomolskaya

Novoslobodskaya

Prospekt Mira

Belorusskaya

Mayakovskaya

Novokuznetskaya

Revolution Square

Sparrow Hills

+ for 3-hour tour

Victory Park

Slavic Boulevard

Vystavochnaya

Dostoevskaya

Elektrozavodskaya

Partizanskaya

Museum of Moscow Metro

• Drop-off  at your hotel, Novodevichy Convent, Sparrow Hills or any place you wish
• + Russian lunch  in Metro Diner with artistic metro-style interior for 3-hour tour

Fun facts from our Moscow Metro Tours:

From the very first days of its existence, the Moscow Metro was the object of civil defense, used as a bomb shelter, and designed as a defense for a possible attack on the Soviet Union.

At a depth of 50 to 120 meters lies the second, the coded system of Metro-2 of Moscow subway, which is equipped with everything you need, from food storage to the nuclear button.

According to some sources, the total length of Metro-2 reaches over 150 kilometers.

The Museum was opened on Sportivnaya metro station on November 6, 1967. It features the most interesting models of trains and stations.

Coffee Ring

The first scheme of Moscow Metro looked like a bunch of separate lines. Listen to a myth about Joseph Stalin and the main brown line of Moscow Metro.

Zodiac Metro

According to some astrologers, each of the 12 stops of the Moscow Ring Line corresponds to a particular sign of the zodiac and divides the city into astrological sector.

Astrologers believe that being in a particular zadiac sector of Moscow for a long time, you attract certain energy and events into your life.

Paleontological finds 

Red marble walls of some of the Metro stations hide in themselves petrified inhabitants of ancient seas. Try and find some!

• Every day each car in  Moscow metro passes  more than 600 km, which is the distance from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
• Moscow subway system is the  5th in the intensity  of use (after the subways of Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai).
• The interval in the movement of trains in rush hour is  90 seconds .

What you get:

• + A friend in Moscow.
• + Private & customized Moscow tour.
• + An exciting pastime, not just boring history lessons.
• + An authentic experience of local life.
• + Flexibility during the walking tour: changes can be made at any time to suit individual preferences.
• + Amazing deals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the very best cafes & restaurants. Discounts on weekdays (Mon-Fri).
• + A photo session amongst spectacular Moscow scenery that can be treasured for a lifetime.
• + Good value for souvenirs, taxis, and hotels.
• + Expert advice on what to do, where to go, and how to make the most of your time in Moscow.

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Golden resident with a love of walking creates 177-mile trail orbiting Denver

GOLDEN, Colo. (KDVR) — It is fair to say Mike Tormey likes to walk — and walk — and then walk some more.

“When I’m going up for a walk, I try to do 10 to 15 miles,” said Tormey.

Tormey says there is simply no better place to go for a walk than right here in Colorado.

“I mean, just look at the scenery. There is always something to discover. The mountains are always changing. Go a couple of miles, and the vistas are totally different,” said Tormey.

Tormey moved to Colorado last summer for work and decided, you guessed it, to go for a walk.

“I went for a walk around my neighborhood in Golden and I discovered just how nice it is to be outdoors here. I was dealing with the altitude moving to Colorado. Yeah, I am still feeling it now,” he said.

Something magical happened to Tormey on that walk — unexpected and unplanned, but very welcomed. Tormey was inspired to create a map of the Denver metro area and the trails connecting it. He calls it the Denver Orbital Trail.

The map shows in detail the 177 miles that circumnavigate the entire Denver metro area. Tormey, on his own, created a website and built maps and just wants folks to know about the Denver Orbital Trail.

But Tormey will be the first to tell you it’s not his trail, it’s your trail. And he just wants you to know about it.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver.