Mile End, Canada’s "Hipster Capital", Montreal

Mile End, Canada’s "Hipster Capital" (Self Guided), Montreal

While in Montreal you really should take in Mile End, know as Canada’s “Hipster Capital”. The area isn’t very large – covering around ten blocks, which makes it ideal for leisurely exploring. The neighborhood abounds with interesting architecture and is home to a host of underground artists who regularly put on live shows in the local theatre and in most of the area’s bars. There are also plenty of galleries to discover works by well-known and local artists.

If you’ve got a sweet tooth, there are two wonderful bakeries which are renowned throughout the city for their delicious goodies and if you are staying on for a meal, you’ll find no shortage of very good restaurants and snack bars. The many coffee houses are frequented by artists, students and even filmmakers and are pretty lively places to enjoy a cup of excellent coffee.

Mile End is a great place for clothes shopping too; you will find something here to suite every taste and purse – from top-range designer fashions to very good second-hand stores where you can be sure of finding a bargain. All in all, Mile End is definitely one of the best areas in Montreal to visit.

Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and Jeangagnon.

How it works: A discovery walk features a route using which you can explore a popular city neighborhood on your own. This walk, along with other self-guided walks in over 1,500 cities, can be found on the app "GPSmyCity: Walks in 1K+ Cities" which can be downloaded from Apple App Store or Google Play Store to your mobile phone or tablet. The app's built-in GPS navigation functions allow following this walk route with ease. The app works both online and offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.

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Create Your Own Self-Guided Walks in Montreal

Guide Name: Mile End, Canada’s "Hipster Capital"
Guide Location: Canada » Montreal
Guide Type: Self-guided Walking Tour (Discovery)
Travel Distance: 3.0 Km or 1.9 Miles
Author: emily

12) Saint-Urbain Street corner Saint-Viateur West, Church of St. Michael and St. Anthony

Image Courtesy of Jeangagnon.

13) 5505 Boulevard Saint-Laurent, Ubisoft

Image Courtesy of Shuichi Aizawa.

14) 5723 Avenue du Parc Montréal, Rialto Theatre

Image Courtesy of Jeangagnon.

Walking Tours in Montreal, Canada

Create Your Own Walk in Montreal

Creating your own self-guided walk in Montreal is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.

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The religious fervor that inspired French settlers in the mid-17th century to build a “Christian commonwealth” on North American soil gave rise to a number of churches, chapels, and cathedrals. Each sacred edifice in Montreal's ecclesiastical panorama – notably, in its religion- and architecture-infused oldest area, Vieux-Montréal – is a testament to the divine craftsmanship and... view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 4.2 Km or 2.6 Miles

Montreal Introduction Walking Tour

The second-most populous city in Canada, Montreal is an old, yet at the same time, modern metropolis, flagship of Canada's Québec province. Sitting on an island in the Saint Lawrence River, with Mount Royal at its center, the city owes its name to this triple-peaked hill (Mont Royal in modern French, although in 16th-century French the forms réal and royal were used interchangeably).

The... view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.6 Km or 2.2 Miles

The RMS Titanic Walking Tour

Built as the ship of dreams, the RMS Titanic went down in history as the one that carried “both the hopes and the tragedies of a generation.” The luxury cruiser sank on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic in the early hours of April 15, 1912, and today is largely remembered throughout the world, in part, due to the blockbuster movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

Although Montreal's... view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.5 Km or 2.2 Miles

Historical Buildings Walking Tour

Whenever you gaze upon the historical buildings of Montreal, you are reminded that the true measure of a city's greatness lies in its ability to preserve its past while embracing its future. Old Montreal – home to four centuries of architecture shaped by French sophistication and English practicality – is a place all its own.

Here, modern buildings coexist with some of the oldest and... view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.8 Km or 2.4 Miles

Old Montreal Walking Tour

Old Montreal (Vieux-Montréal) is a historic neighborhood southeast of the downtown area, home to many architectural monuments of the New France era. Founded by French settlers in 1642 as Fort Ville-Marie, the settlement gave its name to the city borough of which it is now part.

Most of Montreal's earliest architecture, characterized by uniquely French influence, including grey stone... view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.3 Km or 2.1 Miles

Useful Travel Guides for Planning Your Trip

Montreal Souvenirs: 15 Trip Mementos to Bring Home

The outpost of Frenchness in North America (and the world's 2nd largest francophone city after Paris), Montreal is the meeting point of the New and Old World styles, the collision of the French, English and Aboriginal cultures. The historical and ethnic uniqueness of the city is seen throughout...