After Old Montreal was saturated in development, Sainte-Catherine Street became the place for businesses and offices.  Multiple stores set up on the street. Even today, the street remains a major Montreal artery for shopping. A mix of unique independent stores and mega shopping malls offer a variety of options. The shopping malls provide a warm indoor environment in winter and an air conditioned environment in summer. In addition to having food courts, it also provides access to the underground city and metro.

The tramways used to roll along the street but have long since been retired and replaced with buses.

At lunch time, during the summer months, the street gets crowed with workers taking a break mixed with students between classes, shoppers, and, of course, tourists. The one way, two lane street can get pretty busy and you should expect traffic if traveling by car.  Finding a parking place on the street is by luck.  Part of the street near the Festival Plaza is pedestrian only.  Sometimes, in summer, during the Festival period, a longer part of the street becomes pedestrian to present beautiful performances. This is the main street for both the Santa Claus and the St-Patrick parades.  The city’s main street is active day and night.

The long Sainte-Catherine Street traverses different kinds of neighbourhoods where diverse crowds meet. I have to admit that along your walk on Saint-Catherine Street you will come across  irregular architectural styled buildings along with different clientele. 

Like any big city, Montreal has a few skyscrapers, but it does not have the tallest building in the world and for a good reason: by law, no building can be taller than 233 meters, the height of Mount Royal.

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