← Back to the South Shore map
Area · Varennes, South Shore of Montreal

Varennes

A shuttle that speeds to the Old Port, a village basilica, and a river that's part of everyday life. Here's my top 10, neighbour's version, not brochure version.

Let's talk about this area

Varennes is the South Shore's waterfront version. A town more than 350 years old that has kept its old village, its stone houses, and its basilica, while becoming one of the South Shore's biggest employment hubs. Locals will tell you: the river's out front, the fields are out back, and Montreal's right across the water.

I put together this top 10 for a simple reason: when you buy or sell, you're not just shopping for a property, you're shopping for a neighbourhood life. Each point comes with an opening to talk. Use it.

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

The area's top 10

What makes the heart of Varennes beat.

Ten reasons buyers fall for this riverside town, and why the people who settle here never leave.

01 The banks of the St. Lawrence River at parc de la Commune in Varennes
The icon

Parc de la Commune

Thirty-five hectares of greenery with more than a kilometre of shoreline directly on the St. Lawrence: a boat launch, picnic areas, play structures, and the Fête nationale set up here every year. In 2024 the town unveiled a vision to make even more of it, with a raised wooden boardwalk about 600 metres long along the shore as the first phase.

Ask me about it. Ask me which neighbourhoods let you walk to the park in five minutes. The radius is bigger than you'd think, and it shows in demand.
02 The Quai de Bellevue promenade along the river in Varennes
Waterfront

The river at the end of the street

The Quai de Bellevue, the riverside promenade, and the bike path along route 132: in Varennes, the St. Lawrence isn't some distant backdrop, it's the sidewalk across the street. People walk it in the evening, fish from it, watch the freighters go by with the islands as a backdrop. A lot of locals will tell you it's their own cottage, without the Friday traffic.

Ask me about it. Ask me why properties within walking distance of the river find buyers faster. The answer fits in one sunset visit.
03 The dock for Varennes's river shuttle to the Old Port of Montreal
Transportation

Crossing to Montreal without a bridge

There's no bridge in Varennes, and yet everything's close. From May to October, the river shuttle leaves from the Quai de Bellevue and reaches the Old Port in about 45 minutes, with a stop in Pointe-aux-Trembles, for a few dollars a crossing. The rest of the year, exo's 532 express runs to the Radisson terminus and the metro, while Highway 30 and route 132 connect to the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel and the entire South Shore.

Ask me about it. Ask me how my clients who work downtown organize their week from Varennes. There are more options than you'd think.
04 Ancestral stone house with a red roof on rue Sainte-Anne in Varennes
Heritage

Rue Sainte-Anne, a kilometre and a half of history

Over about 1.5 km, the old village street lines up ancestral stone houses, manors, a wayside cross, and two procession chapels classified as historic monuments since 1981. The Sainte-Anne chapel, designed by Victor Bourgeau in 1862, is considered the largest procession chapel in Quebec. Walking here feels like strolling through a history book, ten minutes from Highway 30.

Ask me about it. Ask me what an ancestral home's character is worth at resale, and especially what to check before buying one.
05 The Sainte-Anne-de-Varennes basilica and its two silver steeples
The emblem

A basilica in a suburban town

The Sainte-Anne parish was canonically established in 1725, and the current church, built from 1884 to 1887 to plans by Perrault and Mesnard, blends Romanesque, Byzantine, and Gothic styles. In the early 1990s, John Paul II designated it a minor basilica, an extremely rare title for a town this size. Its two steeples can be seen from the river and give the centre of Varennes a silhouette no other South Shore town can offer.

Ask me about it. Ask me why the area around the basilica and the old village is one of the most sought-after in town.
06 The path leading to the Sainte-Marguerite-d'Youville shrine in Varennes
History

Marguerite d'Youville, born here

The founder of the Grey Nuns was born in Varennes in 1701. Canonized in 1990, she became the first saint born in Canada, and her shrine was built on the exact spot of her birth, steps from the basilica where her remains have rested since 2010. Few towns in Quebec can tell a story like that within two street corners.

Ask me about it. Ask me for the heritage walk I suggest to buyers discovering Varennes for the first time. It takes an hour and sells the town all by itself.
07 The Varennes library and its large solar panel roof
Innovation

A library that generates its own electricity

Opened in 2015, the Varennes library is the first net-zero energy municipal library in Canada. Its photovoltaic roof and geothermal system produce enough energy to send surplus back to Hydro-Québec in some years. It's the kind of municipal facility that says something about a town: here, they invest, and they think long term.

Ask me about it. Ask me why the quality of municipal services matters for long-term resale value. Varennes is a great example.
08 The buildings of Hydro-Québec's research centre in Varennes
Economy

Energy as a jobs engine

Varennes is a quiet heavyweight of the Quebec economy. Hydro-Québec's research centre has been at work here since the 1970s with about 500 experts, including its centre of excellence in transportation electrification and energy storage. Add an INRS campus, the federal CanmetENERGY lab, and the Novoparc, where Jean Coutu set up its head office and warehouse. Thousands of people work here without ever crossing a bridge.

Ask me about it. Ask me what a local job market this size means for residential demand and for renting.
09 Collège Saint-Paul, a private high school in Varennes
Family life

A town built for families

Six elementary schools, école secondaire le Carrefour, and Collège Saint-Paul, a private school right in the old village. On the sports side, the Louis-Philippe-Dalpé arena and the regional multi-sport centre, with its 87,000 square feet of indoor surfaces for soccer, baseball, and football, keep kids happy twelve months a year. The residential neighbourhoods are quiet, green, and designed so kids can bike around.

Ask me about it. Ask me which areas young families target first, and which still offer the best space-to-price ratio.
10 Aerial view of île Sainte-Thérèse in the St. Lawrence River, facing Varennes
Nature

Île Sainte-Thérèse, the wild neighbour

Right across from the dock, a 5.4 km² island made up largely of public land, still little known even to Montrealers. It's part of Varennes's territory, and plans to turn it into an outdoor destination in the middle of the river are moving forward, with a small Navark shuttle already bringing curious visitors there in the summer. Having an almost wild island as your neighbour across the water isn't something you find in many towns.

Ask me about it. Ask me what a major park project across from town could mean for the riverside area ten years from now.
Let's talk

Thinking of buying or selling in Varennes? Let's start talking.

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

Photo credits