Shopping: St-Laurent & Laurier Streets

Start your shopping expedition on the corners of St-Laurent and Sherbrooke, walking North on St-Laurent. Here are some of the cool shops you’ll find along the way.

Right past the gas station to the right you’ll find Lola & Emily, a very feminine and girlie boutique with unique pieces and accessories. You’re looking at clothes that will be a bit more expensive than average but the cuts and quality are one-of-a-kind. This is one of my favourite shops in Montreal.

Just across the street from Lola & Emily, to the right of Restaurant Buonanotte, is m0851, a Montreal line that specializes in fine leathers, linen, nylon and cashmere. This is an excellent place to pick up your signature fall leather purse

Once you pass Prince-Arthur Avenue, you’ll pass by U&I boutique – a great store with a New York and European feel. Clothes here are fine and expensive, so leave your shopping guilt at the door and head straight to their amazing collection of shoes.

As you keep walking, you will pass many other great shop; so many in fact that I just can’t name them all. I recommend you allot enough time to browse through a lot of cute little boutiques. Another segment of St-Laurent Boulevard that I really appreciate is a bit higher up, maybe 2 or 3 blocks, right before getting to Duluth Street. To the left side is a series of really nice and affordable vintage and second hand stores.

Once you pass Mont-Royal Avenue, you’ll notice there won’t be as many stores, but the point here is for you to walk to Laurier Street, because it’s home to another wealth of lovely boutiques. If you were walking on St-Laurent Street, from Sherbrooke to Laurier, without going into any stores it would probably take you about 20 minutes, just to give you an idea of the distance.

You’ll see Laurier Street, on the left corner you’ll pass a park and on the right corner you’ll see the blue sign of the Bank of Montreal. Turn left on Laurier, pass St-Urbain Street, and there you’ll find another stretch of really precious Montreal boutiques, including Billie, Mousseline, Mimi & Coco, Lyla and the famous chocolate shop, Juliette & Chocolat. There’s also a lot of restaurants and cafés for you to take a break at. I recommend Le Figaro, a typical Montreal French bistro which is just off Laurier Street (coming from St-Laurent, turn right on Hutchison).

Shopping Downtown

If the weather is getting chilly, you’ll be happy to know you can shop underground in Montreal, since the city has kilometres of underground shopping centers. The main street you want to go to is Ste-Catherine. Remember that these are mostly commercial shops, so if you want unique little boutiques and designers, you might be better off going to shop on St-Denis, St-Laurent or in Old Montreal.

The Eaton Centre between University and McGill College offers hundreds of shopping opportunities, including stores such as the Gap, Banana Republic, Blue Marine & Co. (which has a great selection of jeans).

Also, I never go to the Eaton Center without getting a box of Felix & Norton cookies. You have to try them! I eat the entire box in under 20 minutes. Find their cookie stand near the McGill metro entrance. Also near there is an underground pathway that leads to another shopping center called “Place Montreal Trust.” This shopping center is home to one of my favourite stores, Zara, and also Winners for good deals and Indigo for books. Along the way you’ll also find two escalators going up to Simons, which has a lot of great fashions for both men and women.

You should stop there. Beyond the escalators leading Simons, you’ll spot a food court, then go through doors and you’ll see the American Apparel store. That’s when you’ll know you’re in Cours Mont-Royal, aka, the rolls Royce of downtown Montreal’s shopping centers.

A new store that recently opened there, on the 3^rd floor, is David Lesage. I really enjoy their collection; it’s classic, yet every item has a twist. Nextdoor is 3 Monkeys, which has a nice, urban feel. You’ll also spot a Club Monaco, DKNY and Armani in addition to many little independent stores with great collections. One of my favourites for women is Karma. After checking out all the gems at Cours-Mont-Royal, I usually emerge back to the surface by going outside.

You’ll see the exit at ground level by club Monaco. That will lead you to the corner of Ste-Catherine and Peel streets, which is also where H&M and HMV are located. If you take a right on St-Catherine, you’ll find many other shops including Brown for shoes and purses, and bit higher up, Urban Outfitters.

As for metros, your choices are McGill (for the Eaton Center), Peel (for Cours-Mont-Royal).