Where to find the best street art in Montreal? (by a local)

Montreal has become a hub for graffiti, murals, and urban art. It seems that almost every building and wall are decorated with gigantic works of art, giving a vibrant and colourful personality to the city. Luckily, you don’t need to search for hidden alleys or rooftops to catch urban art, in fact, it is the contrary as they are everywhere, ... for free!

There are around 3,000 murals around the city and it seems that a new one pops out every day. Yes, 3,000! So, you must be wondering where do we find them and which ones are worth the detour. Well, you are in luck! This is a local guide to the best street art in Montreal. As a bonus, I'm also giving tips on where to eat and things to do near all those beautiful graffiti. Read on how to discover Montréal through this unusual itinerary!

Montréal is a UNESCO City of Design and this love for art and design is also a government initiative. Before diving into the different routes for you to embark on, I will give you a mini-history of why Montreal has so many murals. Since the ’60s the Quebec government and the City have decided to invest- a lot- into art initiatives. In fact, the provincial government devotes 1% of their budget to the arts. This allows paying artists to create these beautiful works of art.

Chasing for murals is the quintessential activity to do while discovering the city during your 3-day trip to the city or even in the beautiful (but dreadful) months of Winter. Trust me, you cannot miss them!

I haven’t seen them all (obviously) but I do update this article often so keep checking back for more murals!

In the Plateau & Vicinity

Saint-Laurent Boulevard

Saint-Laurent Boulevard, one of Montreal’s busiest streets, is where you will find the most graffiti and murals, thanks to the Mural Festival (more on that later on). All you need to do is stroll down the street and hunt these gems. My all-time favourite mural is the first image that you see below and it is located near 3547 Saint Laurent, in a parking lot. The mural was done by the Spanish duo PICHIAVO which depicts the goddess Diana/Artemis on the right and a powerful woman carrying arrows representing the power of nature. While you are going up on St-Laurent Street don’t forget to pop in the small alley near Roy, it is full of graffiti as well.

Parallel streets to Saint-Laurent, like Rue Saint-Dominique and Rue Saint-Urbain, have countless graffiti as well. I would suggest going up Saint-Laurent Boulevard and then going down to Saint-Dominique Street if you are planning to do a full loop. Don't forget to stroll on Saint-Urban Street (2 streets away from Saint-Laurent) for some rare findings! On Clark Street, near Rue Marie-Anne West, you will find the works of ROA, a muralist from Belgium with its unmistakable look of animals in black and white.

The majority of the murals are between the streets of Sherbrooke and Mont-Royal Avenue, there are perpendicular streets to the boulevard. These 2 major arteries are around 7 blocks apart.

The boulevard is full of vintage shops and local eateries serving smoked meat, a Montreal signature dish. If Schwartz's has a big line-up, you can go across the street, the Main restaurant serves equally great smoked meat as Schwartz's!

If you continue North towards the Mile End, you will see Quai des Arts (arts dock) in the loading section of the theatre Espace Go, you will see massive work of the multi-artist collaborative drawing project, En Masse. This is 1,500 square feet of art is all in blank and white and was made by 10 different artists. This is a fun place to take pictures since the walls and the ceiling are all decorated!

If you decide to go South on Saint-Laurent, you will arrive in Chinatown, where the gates and a beautiful mural will welcome you to this part of the city. The Mural is by Gene Pendon and Bryan Beyung — both of Asian descent. While you are here, don’t forget to try some Chinese food while you are in the area. Don’t you love this combination?

If you want to do the whole street, this will take you a few hours but I would suggest you start down in the Old Port and Old Montreal and make your way up to Little Italy. After all, Boulevard Saint-Laurent is the heart of Montreal. The boulevard not only separates the city into East and West quarters, but it also takes you through major hotspots of the city, a true reflection of Montreal's rich history and immigrant heritage. After Chinatown, you will see other influences of immigrants that have paved the city such as Spanish and Portuguese and the Jewish communities around the Mile End. Past the Mile End, you will be entering Little Italy with its delicious espresso bars and pasta restaurants. The Main has many museums, theatres, boutiques and world-class restaurants. Visiting the main is truly one of the coolest streets to visit in North America!

Mount-Royal Avenue & Mile-End

Scattered through Mont-Royal Avenue you will also find some hidden gems, however, these are not as concentrated as in the Saint-Laurent Boulevard area. Still, the avenue is full of little boutiques and places to eat. The Plateau Mont-Royal is a great neighbourhood to spend some time with. It is also home to the quintessential houses with twirling outside stairs. In this neighbourhood, you can find 2 murals of the famous Montreal graffiti artist Five Eight, one near the great brewery Boswell.

In the Mile-End there are 3 murals that are worth admiring, two of them are on Saint-Viateur Street. The Mile-End is the hipster headquarters of the world (after Brooklyn) and by far one of the coolest and most artsy places to hang out. One has a line drawing of all the Montreal landmarks, perfect for a cool snapshot of the city. The other is located right after the famous Saint-Viateur Bagels, and yes they are better than any NYC bagels ;) This one is done by the Canadian artist Ola Volo. Mile-End is full of boutiques with Montreal designers so don’t forget to shop around for unique pieces.

The brand new addition to the hood is the GIGANTIC murals of 15,000 sq. Ft. on the north side of 5605 De Gaspé. If you are visiting during the summer, this is a nice place to hang out, Aire Commune, an outdoor patio with countless events with cool music and good beers. This is the largest mural ever made by a woman in Canada and it is also made by Ola Volo in collaboration with the Cartel collective. I have to confess that Ola is one of my favourite artists! If you like her work, there is a third mural intersection between Saint-Laurent Boulevard and Guilbault Street.

If you continue North, towards Little Italy, you will see the Van Horne Overpass. Usually, overpasses are sketchy and gloomy but this one is totally contrary. In 2010 and 2013, the city hired more than artists to create murals on the pillars supporting the overpass. The overpass is also a green space and a skate park, in recent years, the place has also hosted music and art festivals.

Park Avenue, near the McGill Ghetto, there are also a few murals, you will find the works of Hilda Palafox (AKA Poni) and many more. On Rue Saint-Cuthbert and Clark Street, you will find a mural by the well-known Montreal-based artist Five8. This creation is an abstract neon lettering. And on Clark Street near St-Zotique, you’ll see one of ROA’s pieces depicting monochrome animals.

Hidden in a building office staircase, you will find Musée Romeo, each floor has its own mural and each one is painted by a different artist. The museum is located in buildings 5455 and 5445 rue de Gaspé in Mile-End in Montreal. The place is free and open every day 24 hours a day. I did an IG reel to showcase the different work.

South-West Boroughs

The South-West Borough is composed of different neighbourhoods but for street art, Saint-Henri and Little Burgundy deserve a special mention. In Saint-Henri, the large artworks are a little more politicized since some of the artists are Native Americans. The walls of the neighbourhood are the canvas for the Unceded Voices: Anticolonial Street Artists Convergence, a biennial convergence of primarily Indigenous women which aims to open a dialogue with communities that tend to be underrepresented. The biggest one (and one of the few ones remaining of the 2017 biennial) is made by the Colombian-American artist Jessica Sabogal. It is located at the junction of Saint-Antoine & Saint-Jacques streets. At the intersection of Notre-Dame Street Ouest and Bérard Street, a mural gives an hommage to Liam, an 8-year-old who lost his life after being struck by a car while crossing at an intersection.

Also, a lot of restaurants have bought into the trend and have advertised their places with Graffiti. All these can be seen on Notre-Dame Street. Notre Dame is also known as the Restaurant Alley and offers some of the best tables in the city. Saint-Henri neighbourhood is probably one of the best-hidden gems in Montreal and my favourite hood of the city. The Hen, as locals call it, is definitely worth a stop during your travels. Here is a complete guide to the neighbourhood.

In Little Burgundy, you will find a lot of murals on Saint-Jacques Street and most of them pay tribute to the rock and jazz era that used to strive in the neighbourhood. Did you know that this neighbourhood is considered one of the birthplaces of jazz music in Montreal and in North America? Sadly this legacy is long gone. The biggest mural is located on Saint-Jacques between Richmond and Guy on the Hydro Quebec plant. It was the artist Roadsworth who was commissioned for the work. This gigantic mural brings all the history of this part of town into one place. It narrates the ties between the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Steel Company of Canada and Jazz. Nearby, you will find a second portrait by Kevin Ledo of Daisy Peterson Sweeney. The other portrait is of Leonard Cohen, the Montreal legend, and it is located on St-Laurence Boulevard.

The newest addition to the area is the Nelson Mandela Mural by Franco Egalite and a team. Located at the Union United Church, the city’s oldest Black church. Historically, the church has always fought for equal rights. The mural marks Nelson Mandela’s visit to the city in 1990. The church is on Atwater and Delisle.

If you continue south, you will reach the Atwater Market and the Lachine Canal. One block north of the church, you will see the mural C.R.U.X by the artist Doras. In my opinion, this is the second-best hub for Montreal street art.

Griffintown has changed massively in the past 10 years. It is now condotown. The widely popular New City Gas club changed part of its vocation during the Covid-19 pandemic to host a bar, restaurant, and NFT gallery, called Bazart. If you are looking for street art it is its open-air gallery that’s been curated by Station 16 Éditions and Galerie S16. It combines framed pieces and huge what-pasted murals that are actually for sale, It’s open 24/7, open to the public during the summer. So after going through the open-air gallery, step inside to a super beautiful decor to continue admiring art at their NFT gallery and then stop for a drink.

Rosemont

Near Plaza Saint-Hubert, you will also find a lot of graffiti street art. In my opinion, you will find the best ones near the Beaubien Metro. My favourite is the Plaza St-Hubert by Benny Wilding.

You know what you will want to take a picture with the Montreal mural on 1103 rue Bellechase by NK410. On the same street, there are a few graffiti by the artist Tava. And on the corner of Bellechasse and St-Hubert, you will find the beautiful mural “La Mère Créatrice” by El Mac (one of the 2 by this artist).

While you are enjoying this part of the city, I would recommend trying some of the micro-breweries (Isle de Garde is my favourite), Rosemont has become a hub of craft beer in recent years. Click here for a curated list of the best craft beer bars in Montreal by me. Or here for a complete list of all the Microbreweries and Craft Beer Bars in the city.

Downtown & the Village

The downtown area has been getting more and more murals, especially around Guy and Concordia University. The two best ones are on Saint-Marc Street and near the AMC Forum on Lincoln and Atwater. The mural honours filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin and her commitment to the defence of First Nations. The mural was done by Meky Ottawa.

The biggest one in the area is located near the Fine Arts Museum, on 1420 Crescent Street. It is a Leonard Cohen 1,000 square metre portrait called “Tower of Songs by El Mac and Gene Pendon (this is the second mural from him cited in the article, he had 6 murals around Montreal). The mural is so big that you can even see it on the popular Mount Royal lookout view. This is a great spot to admire the mural along with the city skyline. This is in fact one of the 2 murals about the late singer and poet who used to live in Montreal in the Plateau area. The downtown core, around the Fine Arts Museum, has other types of Public art that can also be appreciated, for free.

From Dorchester Square, you can admire Façades: Fenêtres sur ma ville from Chilean-born Montréal artist Rafael Sottolichio

The new darling of the city is the bright and colourful Dazzle My Heart, by Canadian artist Michelle Hoogveld. The mural takes the totality of the 14-storey facade of the Saint-Germain Hotel (2050 Mansfield St) and has 75 different colours! The mural is one block away from the prestigious McGill University.

If you continue East, you will reach Quartier Latin, the university hub of l‘UQAM. If you arrived in the city by bus, you would have mostly seen the huge mural right across the entrance of the station. Take a walk through Les Habitation Jeanne-Mance, one of the biggest housing projects in the city. 8 painted murals give life to this complex. You will find these murals around the corners of Sanguinet & Maisonneuve. On Sainte Catherine Street East, you will also find a few murals. Along St-Denis Street you will find funky art and lively bars and restaurants.

At the heart of the Village, the Montreal Graffiti “50 Cakes of Gay” by Kashink can be found. The mural aims to promote a positive message surrounding gay marriage, thus the many wedding cakes. You will find this gorgeous mural at the Fugues magazine building on 1674 Cartier, Montréal. The village is also a great area to discover and has some of the top restaurants in the city.

If you follow the street Ontario from east to west, you will go through the neighbourhoods of Village and Hochelaga. Here you have 10 murals that you can discover and 8 are from the artist Laurent Gascon, the twist on these murals is that they are mosaics! Yes, how different is that? In Hochelaga, you will also have 2 murals of the Ashop production agency, my favourite is Pinocchio, on the North wall of Maison de la culture Maisonneuve.

Sports

Montreal is a big sports city so of course, some murals will share our passion for the different games. Ice Hockey is woven into the city NDA, the Montreal Canadiens are our pride and sorrow. In the city, there are 3 murals dedicated to our team. The biggest one is right across the Bell Center at the intersection of Saint-Antoine W. and de la Montagne. The second is the work of Stikki Peaches. He created a 3-meter collage style featuring a battle-ready Youppi!, the mascot, on top of a weird-looking vehicle. The work needs to be analyzed closely since it has several details like fans chanting, and Maurice Richard's legendary No. 9. The number 215 is also visible which highlights the memory of the 215 Indigenous children discovered in Kamloops B.C. Lastly, Wax Heart did an anthropomorphic version of the Habs' iconic torch. This 3-meter creation is located in Montreal's Mile End neighbourhood just off St-Viateur, near St-Laurent.

Did you know that Montreal used to be a baseball city as well? Montreal Royals were a minor-league professional baseball team. This is where Jackie Robinson used to play. In case you did not know, Robinson was the first African American to play in Major League Baseball. He broke the baseball colour line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. To make a tribute to the trailblazer of sports, ASHOP Crew created a tribute mural. You can admire it at the southern corner of Napoléon Street and St-Laurent Boulevard.

Street art festivals

If you are visiting the city in June, you must go to the Mural festival! The event showcases more than 80 artists and it is the biggest street art festival in North America. During the festival, Saint Laurent Boulevard closes for a few days and you can see the artists in action and see how the murals come to life. This is one of my favourite festivals in the city. This is one of the events that kick the Summer festivities in the cities. The festival offers a great walking tour by providing you with information about the art piece, the artist, its inspiration, techniques and more! Having the mural festival also means that the streets get a makeover and that the art constantly changes. so if you come several times you will see that the works of art get replaced and renewed. while a little sad, this is the nature of street art where it can get tagged and painted on top.

In August, there is also the graffiti festival, the Under Pressure festival which shines a light on urban art. This festival takes over Quartier Latin every summer. These murals might be a little harder to find as you might have to go into some hidden alleys but if you are on the constant lookout, you will find them without a problem! The festival has a strong focus on community development, it strives to empower artists by giving them a chance to display their art legally. It also has skateboarding, talks and urban music.

Artist doinf a mural durin Mural Festival in Montreal

Looking for more?

In the heart of the Old Port, Vandale is a street art bar. It has all of its walls covered with graffiti, murals and tags. The owners, tired of being vandalized, embraced the medium and the culture and transformed their speakeasy into this cool work of art.

Most of the artists sign their work, if you like their work, I would suggest checking out their sites to find out more! Thanks to the initiative of MU Montreal we now have these beautiful street arts, the aim of the organization is to make Montreal an open-air museum. For a complete list of all the artwork in the city check out their site! Art Public Montreal has mini-online tours of some of the best street art in the city. The best part is that you can learn more about the artist and the work of art. Their website will give you a pre-trip adventure! Or post if you want to learn more about the artist and the meaning behind each work of art. The city and the mural festival sometimes do partnerships for art city walks and tours to discover the murals.

The art gallery Station 16 represents some of these artists and sometimes sells affordable prints for you to take home. Galerie LeRoyer has shifted gears in the last couple of years to integrate more emerging artists with more street art, in particular with the mixed media of artists like Rock Therrien. Both galleries are situated in Old Montreal, ironically, the only place in the city that has only 1 mural. Gallery C.O.A in Boulevard Saint-Laurent features artists like MissMe. She is dubbed as Montreal’s Premier Art Vandal, and she is a fearful artist who uses her art to amplify societal struggles such as feminism and class. Gallery Yves Laroche is also a big name in the contemporary art world with pieces from Shepard Farely for example. Most of these art galleries are located in the old port on St-Paul Street.

You can also check Instagram under #mtlstreetart for new places, I feel like every day there is a new mural.

Happy scavenger hunt!

BRB acknowledges that Montreal is located on unceded Indigenous lands. The Kanien’kehá:ka Nation is recognized as the custodian of the lands and waters on which we gather today. Tiohtià:ke/Montréal is historically known as a gathering place for many First Nations. Today, it is home to a diverse population of Indigenous and other peoples.

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