April 23 2012
Although I’m not a big fan of shopping, my favorite shopping center in Montreal has to be the fashionable Cours Mont-Royal on rue Peel between Sainte Catherine and blvd de Maisonneuve. Located in the former Mount-Royal Hotel, Les Cours Mont-Royal is an upscale shopping center in Downtown Montreal.
The shopping area is organized around four large courts, hence the French name “Les Cours”. Under the main skylight there are six bird-human sculptures by the Inuit artist David Ruben Piqtoukun.
There’s a wonderful water feature at one corner which was recently renovated. Before it used to be a pond with carp. I’m not sure what happened to the carp, but I like the new design.
The building was completed in 1922 and with 1,100 rooms was the largest hotel in the British Empire at that time. In the late 1980’s the interior was gutted and renovated and transformed to the shopping center, condos and offices. The only internal remnant of the hotel is the ceiling of the entrance lobby which now features a permanent catwalk for fashion shows. The Chandelier was acquired from the Monte Carlo Casino.
To view images in gallery format, simply click on one of the images below.
Thanks for stopping by. Until next time.
– Martin