Le Plateau

CHARACTER AND FEEL

A vast area at the bottom of Mont Royal which, unlike many others in the city, is actually flat. Le Plateau is arguably the "hippest" neighbourhood in Montreal. You will find a multitude of bars, cafes and restaurants, including a very good selection of inexpensive ethnic ones.

POPULATION AND DEMOGRAPHICS

Before becoming the hippest neighbourhood in town, Le Plateau was actually more of a poor enclave popular with the newly arrived immigrants. Many arrived from post-war Portugal (mostly from the province of the Azores and the city of Porto) and that gave part of the area a distinct lusophone identity.

Nowadays, most (new) residents are professionals and students in their 20's and early 30's, although plenty of oldtimers and some families remain.

In addition to being the hipster central, Le Plateau is quite popular with French expatriates (which number almost 100,000 in Montréal) and the French accent here is heard almost as often as the local Québecois accent. It should be noted that Quebec's French expatriate community (125,000 in all of Quebec inlcuding Montreal) is the largest outside of France.

Speaking of languages and accents, although Le Plateau as a neighbourhood is clearly majority-francophone, its western edges (Blvd St-Laurent) are more mixed: one hears French, English, Portuguese, Spanish and several other languages all the time.

APARTMENTS & REAL ESTATE

Although several high-rises exist (particularly along rue Sherbrooke on the southern edges of the neighbourhood), most Plateau dwellers live in two-three story row houses. The quality of apartments varies and if you're the type who's into ultra-modern amenities, Le Plateau may not necessarily be your thing.

On the other hand, older apartments often have high ceilings (the bane of most high-rises being their excrucitating efficiency and the 8' ceilings that come with it - older houses were built more on a human scale and boast 9' or 10' ceilings).

Apartment rents and sales prices here are generally above average, but deals can often be found.

Selected Rental Buildings:

• 4455 Ave Coloniale (4455 Avenue Coloniale, Le Plateau) - Low-rise building
• Le Cherrier Sur Le Parc (1010-1030 rue Cherrier, Le Plateau) - Building next to Parc Lafontaine.
• Le Neuville (1101 rue Rachel Est, Le Plateau)
• Le Royal Urbain (3777 rue St-Urbain, Le Plateau)
• The Saguenay (135 rue Sherbrooke Est, Le Plateau)

See all Le Plateau Rental Apartment Buildings

Selected Condo Buildings:

• 333 Sherbrooke (333 rue Sherbrooke Est, Le Plateau) - Project by architects Roch Cayouette and Aurele Cardinal. Interior design by Andrés Escobar.
• 801 Signature (801 rue Sherbrooke Est, Le Plateau) - A recently remodeled building at the southern edge of Le Plateau. Fomerly an office building converted into condos in 2005. Wide variety of interior designs and layouts.
• Les Paris Lofts (4225 rue St-Dominique, Le Plateau)
• L'Orée du Parc (1245 rue St-Grégoire, Le Plateau) - Units from 665 s/f to 1,560 s/f
• Sir Mortimer B. Davis (265 Avenue du Mont-Royal Ouest, Le Plateau)

See all Le Plateau Condo Apartment Buildings

LINKS & RESOURCES

• www.bonjourplateau.com