GUIDE TO USING MONTREAL'S UNDERGROUND CITY (RESO)

Montreal’s underground city, also referred to as RÉSO by locals, is an underground, interconnected network of shops, malls, offices, hotels, museums, and entertainment venues. It is one of the largest underground complexes in the world. In total, it covers 12 square kilometers of space, with more than 33 kilometers of tunnels to explore. It can be accessed throughout downtown Montreal via seven metro stations, and there are also approximately 120 entrances at street level. To help you find your way around the underground city, Montreal’s tourism board, and public transportation authority have various maps of Montreal’s Underground City.

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 The map below is the most comprehensive map of the Underground City. It covers all Metro stations that connect to the Underground city along with their Metro line and schedule. Additionally, it highlights all sections of the Underground City in Blue. Major attractions and important landmarks such as the Quartier des Spectacles and Bell Centre are also highlighted on the map.  Download the Underground map provided by the STM.

Starting Point

Complexe Desjardins is your easternmost starting point for the RESO network: the guide to Montréal’s Underground City. Find the RESO signs throughout the Underground City to figure out where you’re heading on the Underground Pedestrian Network. Smack Bang in Quartier des Spectacles, Complexe Desjardins is a stunning mall right across from Place des Festivals (interior fountain included). It’s only the beginning: explore the whole 20 miles for lots more shopping, movies, activities, and unforgettable good times. With a total area coverage of 4 million square feet, Complexe Desjardins is the largest building in Montreal’s metropolitan area. The Complexe Desjardins consists of four towers that house several private and government offices. Built in 1976, the Complexe includes shopping centers, restaurants and so much more. It also contains a large atrium along with the Hyatt Regency Montreal Hotel. Considered to be a city within the city of Montreal, some of the highlights of the Complexe Desjardins include 3 office towers with a total of 99 floors, 3 parking levels, 15 ATM machines, and direct access to the luxury Hyatt Regency Montréal hotel. It also has a commercial gallery with 110 shops and restaurants, including a grocery store and one of the loveliest food courts in Montréal. It is an immense public plaza in the very heart of the Complex, where a wide variety of events are organized throughout the year. 

The Complexe Desjardins is connected to Montreal’s Underground City and the Place des Arts. Metro stations that connect to the Complexe Desjardins are the Place-des-Arts metro station and Place-d’Armes metro station. Because the Complexe Desjardins is right across the street from the Place des Arts and the Quartier des Spectacles, it often features shows from events such as the Montreal Jazz Festival and the World Film Festival. Many of the major events hosted at Complexe Desjardins are free.

Quarter Des Spectacles

Let the entertainment begin at the Montreal Quartier des Spectacles. The Quartier des Spectacles is French for Entertainment District. It is Montreal’s cultural heart, boasting North America’s most concentrated and diverse group of cultural venues. The district is the year-round host to countless festivals and events, many of which include free outdoor shows and activities. The Quartier also hosts innovative urban installations involving cutting-edge lighting design, immersive environments or interactive digital spaces. The Quartier des Spectacles is a one square kilometer area that is bounded by City Councillors, Sherbrooke, and Berri streets along with Renée-Lévesque Boulevard. This is where many of Montreal’s largest international festivals are held. It is also the heart of Montreal's vibrant tourism industry. The Quartier des Spectacles is bordered by Saint-Hubert, City Councillors and Sherbrooke streets, and René-Lévesque Boulevard. Within this area, you will find 3 metro stations, 10 bus lines, 9 BIXI stations, and 7 indoor parking lots. Access for people with reduced mobility is available on-site.

Place Des Arts

There's entertainment galore when you want a break from all the shopping, wining, and dining. The Underground City links to the Place des Arts and the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (temporarily at Place Ville-Marie, which is also very accessible via the Underground City). There’s also a whole art network in the Underground City itself, thanks to the Art Souterrain festival. Check out the public art network maps on the Art Public Montréal website too; many are reachable via the Underground City. Featuring an impressive program of music, theatre, dance, opera, song, comedy, and musicals all year round, Place des Arts is located in the cultural heart of the city, the Quartier des Spectacles.

As Canada's premier entertainment destination, the center has six venues, including the Maison Symphonique, with a total seating capacity of nearly 8,000. Place des Arts offers an extraordinary variety of programming, hosting major arts organizations, such as the Opéra de Montréal and the Grands Ballets Canadiens. To get to the Eaton Centre, you can either walk there via Sainte Catherines Street or take the Metro from Place Des Arts to McGill Station near the Eaton Centre. 

Montreal Eaton Centre

The Montreal Eaton Centre is located in the heart of it all: The downtown core, the Underground City, and the McGill Metro station. This excellent location makes Montreal’s Eaton Centre the most popular shopping mall in Montreal. Gateway to the famous underground pedestrian network, with direct access to the McGill metro station, the Montreal Eaton Center is your shopping destination of choice. This shopping center is buzzing with activity with its 125 shops selling clothes, shoes, glasses, lingerie, jewelry, etc. No wonder more than 30 million visitors per year browse its five floors of shops and enjoy its food court. The Montreal Eaton Centre shopping mall has 45,000 square meters of gross leasable area. 

The building features an additional 51,000 square meters of office space on the upper levels, branded as "1500 University." A bronze statue of hockey player Ken Dryden and a three-storey-tall tableau made by fine arts enamel painter Bernard Séguin Poirier is located in the mall. The Centre Eaton de Montréal is home to the Time Out Market, a food hall that brings together different counters by some of the city’s best and most famous restaurants (including Toqué!, Le Red Tiger, and Moleskine). 

McGill

If you want to visit the Downtown McGill Campus, you can get there from the Eaton Centre by walking through the McGill Metro. Founded in 1821 by royal charter, the university is one of the largest in Canada. It bears the name of James McGill, a Scottish merchant whose bequest in 1813 established the University of McGill College. In 1885, the name was officially changed to McGill University. McGill offers degrees and diplomas in over 300 fields of study, with the highest average entering grades of any Canadian university. McGill is the most internationally diverse of any medical-doctoral research university in Canada, with international students comprising over 30% of its student population and hailing from more than 150 countries. Additionally, over 41% of students are born outside of Canada. McGill also ranks among the world's top Universities by major educational publications and has held the top position in the country for the past 18 years in the annual Maclean's Canadian university rankings.

Place Ville Marie

Built in 1962, Place Ville Marie (PVM) complex which includes five office towers and a shopping center, is a downtown architecture gem. Its signature cross-shaped tower, the tallest of its kind in Canada, is for more than 50 years, synonymous with the Montréal landscape. Back then, PVM’s shopping arcade marked the first phase of Montréal's famous «underground city», or Underground Pedestrian Network now extending 33 km (20.5 miles) in length. Linked to the Central Station and the Centre Eaton, the elegant Galerie PVM brings together some 50 renowned boutiques and services, offering a unique selection of clothing, shoes, jewelry, eyewear, gifts, beauty products, and more. In addition, its epicurean food court opens up a world of flavors under an impressive glass pavilion, indoor garden, and all. 

Le Cathcart is an accessible gourmet destination in Place Ville Marie, which includes food counters, full-service restos, cafés, and a Biergarten in a 35,000-square-foot venue, the whole under an impressive glass pavilion housing an indoor urban garden. Designed as a public space bathed in light and greenery, Le Cathcart can accommodate a variety of events. More epicurean and social destination than a food hall, Le Cathcart is an everyday kind of place: it’s a lively meeting place and living space for workers and residents of the downtown core and a fabulous spot for visitors to stop and sit a spell while soaking up the Montréal vibe. A longstanding gathering place of distinction, Place Ville Marie is now more than ever at the epicenter of Montréal’s downtown urban experience.

Gare Centrale

From Place Ville Marie, you can use the RESO to get to Gare Centrale, just follow the signs. Montreal Central Station is a major inter-city rail station and a major commuter rail hub in Montreal. Nearly 11 million rail passengers use the station every year,[7] making it the second-busiest train station in Canada, after Toronto Union Station. The main concourse occupies almost the entire block bounded by De la Gauchetière Street, Robert-Bourassa Boulevard, René Lévesque Boulevard and Mansfield Street in downtown Montreal. The station is adorned with art deco bas-relief friezes on its interior and exterior. Central Station is at the center of the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor, the busiest inter-city rail service area in the nation (marketed as the Corridor), which extends from Windsor and Sarnia in the west, through Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal, to Quebec City in the east. Inter-city trains at Central Station are operated by Via Rail and Amtrak, while commuter rail services are operated by Réseau de transport métropolitain (RTM). Central Station is the second-busiest Via Rail station in Canada, after Toronto Union Station. Central Station opened in 1943, after several years of construction. It stands on the site originally occupied by the terminus of the Canadian Northern Railway's Tunnel Terminal, which had originally opened in 1918. The station is also connected to the Montreal Metro subway system via Bonaventure Station.

Bonaventure

Bonaventure station is a Montreal Metro station operated by the Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) and serves the Orange Line. It opened on February 13, 1967, four months after most of the initial network. It served as the western terminus of the Orange Line for 14 years until the extension to Place-Saint-Henri station opened in 1980. Until 1992, the station had only one outdoor entrance, in front of Windsor Station, and two additional accesses led directly to Place Bonaventure and Gare Centrale on one end, and Place du Canada on the other. When 1000 de La Gauchetière was built almost directly above the station, additional accesses were added to the office tower and to the Downtown Terminus (metropolitan bus terminal for Réseau de transport de Longueuil and South Shore buses) within it, as well as a street entrance on the western side of the building on Cathédrale Street and improved access to Central Station and Place Bonaventure. This was named for Bonaventure Station, a former station on the Grand Trunk Railway, which in turn was named for its location on Saint Bonaventure Street, now Saint Jacques Street. From Bonaventure Station, there is an exit you can take to get to Bell Centre.

Bell Centre

Bell Centre (French: Centre Bell), formerly known as Molson Centre, is a multi-purpose arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Opened on March 16, 1996, it is the home arena of the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL. With a capacity of 21,105 in its hockey configuration, Bell Centre is the largest ice hockey arena in the world. Alongside hockey, Bell Centre has hosted major concerts, and occasional mixed martial arts and professional wrestling events. Since it opened in 1996, it has consistently been listed as one of the world's busiest arenas, usually receiving the highest attendance of any arena in Canada. 

La Place du Centenaire (Centennial Plaza), located on De La La Gauchetière and corner of De La Montagne outside La Centre Bell, was inaugurated on December 4, 2008, one year to the day of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Montreal Canadiens. The Plaza features three other bronze monuments, all by Fortier, honoring the Canadiens' greatest legends, Howie Morenz, Maurice "Rocket" Richard, Jean Béliveau, and Guy LaFleur. The Royal Canadian Mint created special dollar coins, which are embedded in a commemorative plaque at the foot of each monument along with original five-cent circulation coins marking the career of each player. The Centennial Plaza also includes over 20,000 personalized bricks by Canadiens fans, a plaque describing each of the 24 Stanley Cup Championships, a small monument for each of the 15 Canadiens players who had their jersey retired by the Club, and bricks commemorating the 100 most memorable moments in franchise history.

Windsor Station 

Directly next to Bell Centre is Windsor Station, Windsor Station is a former railway station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It used to be the city's Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) station and served as the headquarters of CPR from 1889 to 1996. It is bordered by Avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal to the north, Peel Street to the east, Saint Antoine Street to the south and the Bell Centre to the west. Windsor Station was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1975 and was designated a Heritage Railway Station in 1990, and a provincial historic monument in 2009. The walls are gray limestone from a quarry in Montreal. Outside, the columns reach up to 2.1 meters wide.

Since 1993, the structure is no longer connected to the rail network. It was sold by CP to Cadillac Fairview in 2009, consequently, it was classified as a provincial heritage site that same year. The rest of Windsor Station has been redeveloped into an office complex and houses some restaurants and cafés. The interior concourse, which is open to the public, can be rented for private and public events. The lower floor is part of the RÉSO and connects the Bonaventure metro station with the Lucien-L'Allier commuter rail station as well as the Bell Centre. The 13 terminal tracks running into Windsor Station and the overhead canopy have been removed, and replaced by a public square. 

There are many more places you can get to via the RESO including Place du Canada, Atrium Le 1000, Place Montreal-Trust, Les-Cours Mont-Royal, Complexe Guy Favreau, Palais des Congres, Place Victoria and Tour Bell. It's also helpful to note that you can access the RESO from access from any metro  station in the downtown area.