Architectours 2016 : Art & Design in the Metro

L'Histoire de la Musique à Montreal, Frédéric Back, stained glass, Place des Arts station

This year, Heritage Montreal's summer walking tours will focus on select metro stations, celebrating the 50th anniversary of our underground subway system. When built, our subway stations were meant to be a showcase for Quebec design as well as the nexus for our world-famous underground city. The system opened just one year before Expo 67, our World's Fair, and there was a palpable excitement, energy and optimism about showing off our beautiful city.

Marcelle Ferron, stained glass, Champ-de-Mars station

In past summers I have enjoyed informative architectural walking tours organized by Heritage Montreal, with topics like The Main, Shaughnessy Village, The Golden Square Mile and our heritage hospitals: The Royal Victoria, The Allan Memorial, the Montreal Neurological and Hôtel Dieu. The walks are usually scheduled in the hottest part of the summer, so this year I look forward to exploring these underground sites, protected from heat and rain.

Mosaika Art & Design, ceramic mosaic, Place-des-Arts station

Tours are about two hours long, offered in both English and French, and cost $12 - $15.

Here's the schedule for 2016:

Université-de-Montréal and Édouard-Montpetit: New approaches to the campus, 

August 6 and September 4

Peel and Bonaventure: Right where the action is, 

August 7 and September 3

Champ-de-Mars and Place-d’Armes: A succession of mega-projects, 

August 13 and September 18

Acadie and Parc: From industrial crossroads to hubs of student life, 

August 14 and September 10

Atwater: Mini-downtown in the west, 

August 20 and September 11

Place-des-Arts and Saint-Laurent: At the heart of Montreal arts and culture, 

August 21 and September 17

Pie-IX and Viau: New stations for the Olympics, 

August 27 and September 25

LaSalle, De l’Église and Verdun: Three neighbourhoods, three stations, 

August 28 and September 24

For more information about the walking tours, visit the Heritage Montreal website. To get an idea of some of the artistic treasures of our underground city, visit the Untapped Cities website or the STM's website.