Resident’s Guide: how to spend
​a weekend in Outremont

SEE    EAT    SHOP    DO
Outremont literally meaning “beyond the mountain” in French, this tree-lined, park-filled, mostly residential neighbourhood is located on the northwestern flank of Mount Royal. Its oldest properties date back to the early 19th century, when Montréal’s French-speaking upper echelons built their country houses there. Outremont has long been Montréal's residential Francophone enclave. It has grand homes architecture, tree-shaded streets, perfectly groomed parks, and two upscale shopping and dining strips along rue Laurier and avenue Bernard. The latter, with wide sidewalks and shady trees, is particularly attractive. The eastern fringes of Outremont are home to Montréal's thriving Hasidic community.

The happening avenues to shop and eat are few, but fabulous: Laurier between Côte Sainte-Catherine and Parc is replete with beautiful boutiques, while Bernard and Van Horne are restaurant city.
1. Victorian
2. Victorian Modern
One of the great pre-war Modern houses in Outremont, Aristide Beaugrand-Champagne House was designed and built by architect Aristide Beaugrand-Champagne for himself and his family in 1922. The house was given a "patrimoine" building in 2004 by the city of Montreal, representing a “completely unique piece of architectural vision and ingenuity that syntheses [sic] a great wealth of influences and ideas and is executed with an intensity and conviction that is entirely personal”. Presented to the market in beautifully original condition with a few remodeling. The house is part of an important movement in pre-war housing, and stands out as an historic example of Outremont's innovative approach towards design.

​The concept is a clear demonstration of Beaugrand-Champagne’s understanding of pioneering European modernism, sharing designs found "Le guide du constructeur - cottages et constructions rurales" published 1912 in Paris. As the Montreal patrimoine suggestions, despite the obvious influences, the house possesses a consistency and novelty of vision that is entirely Beaugrand-Champagne’s”.

3. Modernism
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This modernist residence was designed in 1934 by the architectural firm Shorey & Ritchie. The Simon-Kirch residence was at the time one of the most avant-garde houses in Outremont.
4. Mid-Century
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Built in 1961 on a magnificent meticulously landscaped plot. The original architect is Pierre Boulva, but the interior has been redesigned by architect Alain Carle and renovated in 2017.

Pierre Boulva did not build many residential homes but completed a number of modernist landmarks in the 1960s, including the Palais de justice de Montréal, 500 Place D'Armes, Théâtre Maisonneuve, the Dow Planetarium and the Place-des-Arts, Atwater and Lucien-L'Allier metro stations.