When most people go shopping in Montreal they head right to busy Sainte-Catherine Street downtown that is just full of chain stores that you’ll usually find in shopping malls. The best shopping in Montreal is in the Mile End neighbourhood that has lots of local boutiques and vintage stores. On my most recent trip to Montreal I explored this area a bit more and found all the best shops.

In addition to shopping around Mile End you’ll find lots of cool street art, cafes, restaurants and the famous Montreal bagels Fairmont Bagel and St. Viateur Bagel.

Right around this area are a few really good places to eat or grab a coffee. Larry’s is one of my favourite restaurants and it’s great for dinner but also breakfast and lunch but it does get very busy. Down the street a little bit on Laurier Ave E is Noble Cafe which is great for a coffee and pastry. A bit further down on the Plateau on Sainte Laurent is Cafe Melbourne which is a great little cafe for a take away coffee or brunch. It would be really nice to start your shopping spree from there and work your way up Sainte Laurent. Just a bit further down is Hof Kelsten which has amazing sandwiches. Up in the middle of the Mile End neighbourhood by the famous St. Viateur Bagel is Myriade Mile End, a great place to sit and grab a coffee and snack once you’ve shopped your way through the neighbourhood.

With food out of the way lets get to shopping. The main street for shopping is Boulevard Sainte Laurent. I recommend actually starting in the Plateau neighbourhood at Boulevard Sainte-Joseph E so that you can hit V de V, the cutest home store. I seriously wanted to buy everything and it was a real struggle.

Continuing up the street is Boutique Unicorn, Ruse Boutique and Général 54 for some beautiful clothes, again I wanted to buy everything. There is also the cutest paper store Boucle & Papier next door as well. Across the street is Vestibule for more fashions and home decor. It’s only been 2 blocks and there is so much good stuff! Don’t miss Lowell for some amazing Quebec made leather goods and Habitat for more great fashion and accessories. There was also a really cool modern home store on the street but I forget the name.

Empire Exchange, Citizen Vintage and Annex Vintage are some of the best vintage stores in the city and all within a few blocks of each other.

For plants look no further than Vertuose, the had one of the biggest cacti I’ve even seen in a store. I have no idea how they’ll ever get it out when someone buys it.

There are so many more stores that I didn’t make it to but basically if you walk between Blvd St. Joseph O, Blvd St. Laurent, Rue Bernard O and Ave du Parc you’ll find lots of great stores. In general it’s really nice walking around this area. A lot of the buildings are really interesting and old, there are lots of nice streets lined with big trees and it’s a very lively neighbourhood.