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Area · Borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce

Côte-des-Neiges–NDG

Two neighbourhoods, two personalities: CDN, a crossroads of the world at the foot of the mountain; NDG, a brick village with tree-lined streets. My top 10, the neighbour's version, not the brochure version.

Let's talk about this area

On one side, Côte-des-Neiges, a welcoming neighbourhood where more than 100 cultural communities live side by side; on the other, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, once known as "Montreal's orchard," with streets lined by brick duplexes. Between the two: the mountain, two metro lines, ten stations, and the city's most populous borough, with 170,583 residents at the 2021 census. As a broker, I like to say CDN–NDG is not one area, it is ten.

I put this top 10 together for a simple reason: when you buy or sell, you are not just shopping for a property, you are shopping for a neighbourhood life. Each point comes with a conversation starter, feel free to use it.

Maxime Laforest, real estate broker · Équipe Loiselle, RE/MAX Dynamique

The area's top 10

What makes Côte-des-Neiges–NDG's heart beat.

Ten reasons buyers fall for this area, and why the ones who live here never leave.

01 Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal lit up in the evening
The icon

Saint Joseph's Oratory

Canada's largest church watches over the neighbourhood from Queen Mary Road, and its cross marks the highest point in Montreal. Founded in 1904 by Brother André, canonized in 2010, the shrine welcomes about 2 million visitors a year, an extraordinary neighbour, and a landmark that defines the whole area.

Ask me about it: ask me what happened to Brother André's heart in 1973. A theft and ransom story worthy of a movie. While we are at it, we can talk about the streets that live at the shrine's rhythm.
02 The Filipino community centre (FAMAS) in Côte-des-Neiges
Neighbourhood life

Côte-des-Neiges, the world in one neighbourhood

Montreal's welcoming neighbourhood since the 1970s, Côte-des-Neiges brings together more than 100 cultural communities, Filipino, South Asian, Jewish, Latin American and many others. According to the city, 76% of the borough's residents were born abroad or have a parent born outside Canada: a richness you can taste on every corner.

Ask me about it: ask me which street can take you around the world in one afternoon. Hint: it is named after a queen. It is also the best gauge for getting a feel of the neighbourhood before buying.
03 Aerial view of the Université de Montréal campus on the slope of Mount Royal
Knowledge

One campus on the mountain, another in NDG

Université de Montréal, HEC and Polytechnique bring together more than 66,000 students on the slope of Mount Royal, beneath the Art Deco tower of the Roger-Gaudry building. In NDG, Concordia's Loyola campus adds its own neo-Gothic style. And since November 2025, the REM Édouard-Montpetit station, the deepest in Canada, puts the campus just minutes from Central Station.

Ask me about it: ask me what student rental demand changes for a condo or plex owner in the area, and which metro stations make all the difference at resale.
04 Monkland Avenue, the commercial strip of the Monkland Village in NDG
The village

Monkland Avenue

A commercial street since the 1930s, Monkland is the heart of the NDG "village": cafés, neighbourhood restaurants like the Monkland Tavern, a butcher, a bakery, independent shops, nearly 200 businesses. It is that village-in-the-city feel that draws families in, and pushes demand up on the streets around it.

Ask me about it: ask me which streets around Monkland still feel like a well-kept secret, and why the families who move there often stay for good.
05 The Glen site of the MUHC, with the sculpture 'Havre' in the foreground
Health

A large-scale health hub

The Glen site of the MUHC, a super-hospital that opened in 2015, is connected by tunnel to Vendôme metro station, right at the edge of NDG. Côte-des-Neiges is home to the Jewish General Hospital, which became a university hospital centre in July 2026, CHU Sainte-Justine, the largest mother-and-child centre in Canada, and St. Mary's. An enormous employment base, within walking distance of thousands of homes.

Ask me about it: ask me why hospital employees are among the most reliable buyers and tenants in the area, and which pockets they look at first.
06 A fountain and greenery at Parc Martin-Luther-King, in Côte-des-Neiges
Nature

Parks, the mountain, and a green giant

NDG lines up its big parks: Girouard with its free outdoor summer movies, Loyola, the largest in the area, Trenholme, Benny. CDN answers with Parc Martin-Luther-King and direct access to Mount Royal. And the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery, the largest in Canada at 139 hectares, offers a unique heritage walk along the mountainside.

Ask me about it: ask me what is taking shape around the Saint-Jacques escarpment. A nature park project of more than 60 hectares is on the table, and it is worth keeping a close eye on.
07 Côte-des-Neiges Road, the neighbourhood's lively commercial artery
The safe bet

Brick duplexes and big projects

The housing stock dates overwhelmingly from before 1961: in NDG, cottages and brick duplex-triplexes from the 1920s through the 1940s; in CDN, a strong rental-dominant profile. And around Namur metro station, the future Namur-Hippodrome district is targeting about 20,000 homes, with a first project of more than 1,200 rental units getting the green light in July 2026.

Ask me about it: ask me what the Namur-Hippodrome project could change around the Namur and De la Savane stations in the coming years. Better to think about it before everyone else does.
08 The giant orange sphere of Gibeau Orange Julep on Décarie Boulevard
Local flavours

The Orange Julep, the big ball you can't miss

Founded in 1932 by Hermas Gibeau, the Orange Julep still serves its famous frothy drink at 7700 Décarie Boulevard, under a three-storey orange sphere about 12 metres across. On summer evenings, the parking lot fills with classic cars and families eating at the foot of the giant orange. Not many areas can claim a snack bar that became a landmark.

Ask me about it: ask me what living near the Décarie corridor really means for property values. Some streets feel it, others not at all.
09 The neo-Egyptian facade of the Empress Theatre on Sherbrooke Street West in NDG
In the works

The Empress, a neo-Egyptian treasure on Sherbrooke

Opened in 1927 and the only neo-Egyptian theatre in Canada, the Empress has sat dormant on Sherbrooke Street West since a fire in 1992. The file is finally moving: the borough plans to preserve the sphinx-adorned facade and open a public square behind it by fall 2027. All of NDG is watching closely.

Ask me about it: ask me what a public project like this one can do for the streets around Sherbrooke West. Corners coming back to life are worth watching before everyone talks about them.
10 Brick buildings of the Benny Farm sector in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
History

Benny Farm, from veterans to a fab lab

Built in 1946 and 1947 to house Second World War veterans, Benny Farm lined up 384 apartments in 64 brick buildings surrounded by greenery. The reinvented site has been home since 2016 to the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Cultural Centre and the Benny Library, with its Benny Fab, the first fabrication lab in a public library in Quebec. A piece of history that became the heart of the neighbourhood.

Ask me about it: ask me why the Benny sector has been drawing so many young families in recent years. The library effect is a real thing in a neighbourhood.
Let's talk about it

Thinking about buying or selling in Côte-des-Neiges–NDG? Let's start with a conversation.

A free evaluation of your property, a picture of the local market, or simply answers to your questions. No strings attached, and a straight answer.

Start my real estate project

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