← Back to the island map
Area · Westmount, a related municipality on the island of Montreal

Westmount

A city in its own right on the mountain's slope, right at downtown's doorstep. My top 10, neighbour's view, not brochure view.

Let's talk about this area

Westmount isn't a neighbourhood of Montreal, it's a complete city, with its own city hall, library, greenhouses, and woods on the summit, plus schools that built its reputation, including two CEGEPs within its borders. Here, the Victorian and Edwardian built heritage has been watched over for more than a century, and you can feel it on every street.

I put this top 10 together 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 for a conversation, so use it.

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

The area's top 10

What makes Westmount tick.

Ten reasons buyers fall for the area, and why the ones who live there don't leave.

01 Westmount's city hall, a stone Neo-Tudor style building
The icon

A city, not a neighbourhood

A village incorporated in 1874, Westmount regained its status as an independent city on January 1, 2006, the only one of the island's fifteen demerged cities that borders downtown directly. The result: the character of a complete small city, with the heart of Montreal literally at the end of the street.

Ask me about it: ask me what independent city status actually changes for an owner, it's one of the first things I explain to my buyers.
02 Victoria Hall, Westmount's heritage community centre, on Sherbrooke Street
Heritage

A national historic site… that people live in

The Westmount district is designated a national historic site of Canada (2005): a model of Victorian and post-Victorian suburb, with its residences, library, parks, and public staircases climbing the mountain. An architecture committee has overseen development since 1914, which explains that rare visual consistency, a mark of stability and limited supply.

Ask me about it: ask me what the architecture committee changes when it's time to renovate, better to know before you buy, and I'll explain it without the jargon.
03 Summit Circle lookout in Westmount, with a view over the city
Nature

Summit Woods, a sanctuary on the summit

About 23 hectares of urban forest on the summit, designated a bird and wildflower sanctuary in 1991: more than 150 bird species have been spotted here. At the Summit lookout, the view stretches over downtown, the river, and the South Shore. And McGill sold the land in 1940 on the condition that it remain parkland in perpetuity.

Ask me about it: ask me where to enter Summit Woods on a May morning, binoculars around your neck, that's where you understand why people up in Westmount never leave.
04 The entrance to the Westmount Conservatory, in Westmount Park
The gem

Free greenhouses at the heart of the park

Westmount Park, about 11 hectares laid out in 1912 in the spirit of Frederick Law Olmsted, stream and duck lagoon included, hides a gem: Victorian-inspired greenhouses (1927), restored at a cost of $6.5 million and reopened in June 2022. Free admission, floral displays through the seasons.

Ask me about it: ask me which sides of the park I look at first when a client wants to walk everywhere, between Sherbrooke and De Maisonneuve, not all blocks are created equal.
05 The Westmount Public Library, a red brick building with a turret
Culture

The library from 1899

Founded in 1897 for Queen Victoria's Jubilee and opened in 1899, it's Quebec's first public library funded by municipal taxes, still operating in its original building, at the heart of Westmount Park. With Victoria Hall right next door, it's the city's shared living room.

Ask me about it: ask me why I often route my showings through the park and the library, you understand the neighbourhood in ten minutes, far better than with statistics.
06 Greene Avenue in Westmount, seen from Sherbrooke Street
The village

Greene and Victoria, two villages in one city

Victoria Village lines up cafés, florists, and fine grocers, and draws destination retailers. Greene Avenue, for its part, cultivates its red brick sidewalks, art galleries, antique shops, and institutions like Chez Nick, a diner serving customers since 1920, steps from Westmount Square (1966), designed by Mies van der Rohe.

Ask me about it: ask me which side, Victoria or Greene, I'd picture you on, based on your lifestyle. The answer often shapes the rest of the house hunt.
07 The former Westmount train station, a heritage railway building
Transit

Framed by Atwater and Vendôme

No station within Westmount itself, but two hubs right at the city's edges: Atwater metro (green line), linked by the underground city to Place Alexis Nihon, Westmount Square, and Dawson College; and the Vendôme hub, orange line, three exo train lines, and direct access to the MUHC.

Ask me about it: ask me which streets you can actually walk from to reach Atwater or Vendôme, on a map everything looks close, on the ground it's a different story.
08 The black towers of Westmount Square, designed by Mies van der Rohe
Architecture

Two towers by Mies van der Rohe

Westmount Square, opened in December 1967, carries the signature of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a towering figure of modern architecture. Black aluminum and smoked glass towers, a shopping concourse, and a pedestrian tunnel to Atwater metro: you go from your living room to downtown without stepping outside. Grand international style in the middle of a Victorian city took some nerve.

Ask me about it: ask me how Westmount's towers compare as condo purchases. Between Westmount Square and the Sherbrooke buildings, the profiles and the fees are nothing alike.
09 The entrance of Westmount High School on Sainte-Catherine Street West
Schools and families

Schools that built the reputation

Westmount High, founded in 1873, counts Leonard Cohen among its class of 1951: he grew up nearby on Belmont Avenue. Add Selwyn House, a boys' school established in 1908, The Study for girls, and Marianopolis College, one of Quebec's most reputed private CEGEPs, with Dawson connected to Atwater metro at the eastern edge. Few cities pack in this many school options.

Ask me about it: ask me which part of Westmount fits your school plan best. It often drives the choice of street before the choice of house.
10 The 1739 Hurtubise House on chemin de la Côte-Saint-Antoine
History

A 1739 farmhouse still standing

At the corner of chemin de la Côte-Saint-Antoine and Victoria Avenue hides the Hurtubise House, built in 1739: the oldest house in Westmount and a rare witness to New France's rural architecture on the island. Classified as a heritage property in 2004, this fieldstone farmhouse recalls the days when Côte-Saint-Antoine was a country road.

Ask me about it: ask me what a heritage status means for upkeep and value. In Westmount the question comes up weekly, and the answers are more nuanced than people think.
Let's talk

Thinking about buying or selling in Westmount? 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