montreal st denis/plateau
 

In asking about cool shopping I've been told St Denis St and the Plateau area. Are they the same place ? Thanks!

St-Denis could be seen as the heart of the Plateau area... it's a road that heads north-south in the eastern end o downtown Montreal. However, not all of St-Denis is in the Plateau area. This is what I gather from my 2 visits to Montreal, although perhaps a native Montrealer would be able to provide more precise info!

Born and bred in Montreal says that they are essentially the same, However shopping is normally reserved for St. Catherine street and SHerbrooke not st. Denis, St. Denis is more for clubbing and the cafe seen. We have two major clubbing areas Crescent street and St. Denis and instead of streets I will say area because one street more or less. For Shopping we normally prefer st. Catherine which is the major central street in Montreal, Montreal is very simple all streets run N-s E-W so St Catherine is the E-W main activity area Crescent and St. Denis as well as St. Laurent another hub of activity run N-S and intersect St. Catherine in fact within a half hour of walking briskely you can walk from Crescent to St. Denis along Sye Catherine.

We also have another area called Old Montreal or the Vieux Port which is an authentic 19th century area of town chock full of clubs and superb restaurants.

If this only serves to confuse you write more detail and I will reply again, I love Montreal.....only second to Spain in my books

There is great shopping on St. Denis street;
there are no indoor malls , only street level shops, some chains and a lot of privately owned shops which is far more interesting than Ste Catherine st. (which is a great shopping area also)
Mont Royal ave would be right in the center of it all, so from there you can go up and down the street and across and depending on what you like to shop for, you will find a variety of things. Clothing, shoes, home decor, you name it. Medium scale shops with a few upscale thrown in.
Lots of cafes to stop at here and there.

They are not "the same". Here's the distinction:

Rue Saint Denis is a major commercial thoroughfare that runs through the heart of the Plateau district. The part of St. Denis in the Plateau extends from Sherbrooke to Laurier. Saint-Denis however runs below the Plateau as well and is also the main commercial strip in the Latin Quarter below Sherbrooke. Saint-Denis also continues north of Laurier to become the fringes of Rosemont and eventually Petite Patrie.

Le Plateau Mont Royal as is its full name, is a large swath of land (perhaps 15 x 30 blocks) whose southern boundary is Sherbrooke St., northern boundary a block or two north of Laurier Avenue, western boundary Boul. Saint-Laurent and eastern boundary about d'Iberville. (The official boundary I believe extends west of Saint-Laurent, although in Montreal parlance these areas tend to be referred to as "the McGill Ghetto" or "Milton-Parc" in the south and "Mile-End" in the north.)

Saint-Denis on the right day is one of my favourite streets in Montreal, but it's by no means the only place to shop in the Plateau. I personally love certain locally-run restaurants/shops that are sometimes on inconspicuous and surprising locations in the Quartier. The Plateau is a district that I even now, having lived in Montreal 8 years, always enjoy meandering in, admiring the charming architecture, people-watching, relaxing in Parc Lafontaine or stopping in a cafe. Despite a recent yuppification, I've felt for some time that the Plateau is my spiritual home, so magnetically drawn am I to the neighborhood's unique energy.

DAN

thanks to everyone for all the good feedback. I love unusual clothes, as we have Malls at home. Going next weekend, can't wait!

CSS, if you like clothes that you can't find in large chains, do stick to the Plateau and not downtown. Be sure to explore Mont-Royal street East of Mont-Royal. Lots of great "friperies" (vintage clothing) and cool new designers... I also like Jeune Amérique on St-Denis, just below Duluth. Have fun!

Although I'm not into shopping, my wife loves exploring the countless shops in Montreal, especially in the Plateau district. I agree with Dan that St. Denis may be my favorite street in the city, but there are so many streets that have interesting shops. We just came back from a weekend in Montreal, and explored the length of Mt. Royal St. which is another shoppers nirvana. Rue St. Laurent is another interesting street for shopping, and there was a street fest going on when we were there. Of course downtown St. Catherine street and the underground also have a mind boggling array of stores and shops. Montreal can keep a serious shopper busy for many many days! For what it's worth, my wife's favorite store is the Le Chateau chain.

ttt for research