Montreal itinerary for first-timers

A compact Chinatown of ornamental gates, bakeries and small grocers on and around the pedestrian Rue de la Gauchetière, squeezed between downtown and the old town, with the little Place Sun-Yat-Sen at its heart.

• Chinatown gates
• Rue de la Gauchetière
• Place Sun-Yat-Sen

The twin towers of Notre-Dame Basilica face Place d'Armes, the old square at the centre of Montreal's history, ringed by early bank buildings and stone offices. Inside the basilica, the vaulted ceiling glows deep blue and gold above a carved wooden altar.

• Notre-Dame Basilica
• Place d'Armes
• Old bank buildings
• Cours Le Royer

The basilica charges for entry; go in the morning, when the light through the windows is softer and the tour groups are fewer.

Rue Saint-Paul is the oldest street in the city, a narrow cobbled lane of grey stone buildings, galleries and shops. It leads to Place Jacques-Cartier, a sloping square of flower stalls and street performers below City Hall, and on to the silver dome of the Marché Bonsecours and the small Sailors' Church beside it.

• Rue Saint-Paul
• Place Jacques-Cartier
• Montreal City Hall
• Marché Bonsecours
• Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel

The side lanes off Rue Saint-Paul and the courtyards behind the old warehouses are quieter than the main square at lunchtime.

The old harbour along the St Lawrence is now a long riverside park of quays and promenades, with a big Ferris wheel and, at the far end, the white Clock Tower looking out over the river towards the islands.

• Old Port promenade
• Ferris wheel
• Clock Tower Quay
• St Lawrence River views

Walk out to the end of the Clock Tower Quay late in the day for the widest view back over the old town.

Downtown Montreal mixes glass towers with Victorian stone. Crescent Street is lined with old greystone townhouses, and Dorchester Square leads to Mary, Queen of the World, a cathedral built as a smaller copy of St Peter's in Rome, before Sainte-Catherine Street carries you east past Christ Church Cathedral and Phillips Square.

• Crescent Street
• Dorchester Square
• Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral
• Sainte-Catherine Street
• Phillips Square

In winter the underground city links the downtown malls and metro stations, so you can cross much of the centre indoors.

The hill behind downtown is a large wooded park laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of New York's Central Park. From the terrace of the Kondiaronk Belvedere beside the Chalet, the whole downtown skyline spreads out below with the river behind it, and wide paths wind down through the trees to the George-Étienne Cartier Monument on the eastern side.

• Kondiaronk Belvedere
• Mount Royal Chalet
• Park paths
• George-Étienne Cartier Monument

On summer Sundays the Tam-Tams drum circles gather at the Cartier Monument at the foot of the mountain, with dancing and picnics until sunset.

Montreal's entertainment district is built around open squares made for festivals, with Place des Arts and its concert halls at the centre. After dark the buildings are lit with projections and neon, and in summer the squares fill with free shows and outdoor stages.

• Place des Festivals
• Place des Arts
• Light projections
• Sainte-Catherine Street at night

Check the festival calendar before you go; in summer there is something on in the squares almost every week.

The Plateau is the Montreal of postcards: rows of brick houses with outdoor iron staircases climbing to the upper flats, leafy side streets, murals and terraces. Saint-Laurent Boulevard runs through it, crossed by Duluth Avenue, a narrow street of small restaurants and painted facades.

• Outdoor staircases
• Saint-Laurent Boulevard
• Duluth Avenue
• Street murals

The side streets between Saint-Laurent and Saint-Denis have the best staircases and the least traffic.

North of the Plateau, Mile End is the creative corner of the city, where immigrant heritage meets indie culture: coffee shops, record and vintage stores, studios in old factory buildings, and the wood-fired bagel bakeries that made the Montreal bagel famous.

• Saint-Laurent Boulevard
• Fairmount Avenue
• Bagel bakeries
• Side-street murals

Buy a bag of bagels straight from the oven and eat one warm on the street, the way locals do.

Further up Saint-Laurent, Little Italy keeps the feel of an old neighbourhood: espresso bars with terraces on the pavement, Italian grocers, and quiet side streets such as Saint-Zotique and Dante around the church of the Madonna della Difesa.

• Saint-Laurent Boulevard
• Rue Saint-Zotique
• Rue Dante
• Neighbourhood terraces

One of the largest open-air markets in North America, with long rows of stalls piled with Quebec fruit and vegetables, flowers, cheese, maple products and local specialities, and a covered hall that stays open through the winter.

• Produce stalls
• Covered market hall
• Maple products
• Quebec cheeses

Late summer and early autumn are the best season, when the stalls overflow with berries, corn and apples.