The Montréal Métro and I share a birthday month: October.
This is the story of my close and very personal bond with one of Montréal’s most important institutions.
On 14 October 2026, the Montréal Métro celebrates its 60th birthday. Since it officially opened in 1966, it has carried generations of Montrealers to school, university, work, concerts, hockey games, festivals, family gatherings and countless everyday destinations. For me, it has always been much more than public transport. It is a passionate relationship only those close to me are well aware of.
As a gift for the opening of the metro Paris gave us a little piece of their metro entrance where I am photographed at Victoria Square.
I Could Not Live Far from the Métro
I love the Montréal Métro and could not imagine living anywhere in the city that was not within walking distance of a station.
It is fast, convenient and part of everyday Montréal life. Only a minute to travel between stops. I can avoid traffic and move easily between Montréal neighbourhoods without needing a car.
I appreciate it even more during the winter and on rainy days. The windows of our city buses quickly become covered with salt, snow and winter grime, so there is often very little to see outside anyway. I would much rather travel underground during a Montréal winter or on a rainy day.
The Métro is part of my personal history, my education, my daily life and my relationship with Montréal.
My Most Concentrated Reading
While studying at Vanier College and McGill University, I did a great deal of my reading and studying on the Métro.
Sometimes, I would sit in my favourite seat, travel to the end of the line and return, reading and studying along the way. There was something about the movement of the train and the familiar rhythm of the stations that helped me concentrate.
Years later, I discovered that one of my closest friends used to do exactly the same thing. We had known each other for years without realising that we had shared this unusual habit even before we knew each other.
When I was still at school, I used to hop on the Métro every Friday and travel to Bonaventure station. From there, I would go to the lobby of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel and sit watching the movement of the hotel and the people arriving and leaving.
A doorman noticed me, and then security did as well. Every Friday after school, a glass of milk and a slice of banana bread would be waiting for me.
While at university, I worked for a transportation company whose office was located in the hotel. Later, the hotel hired me. The Métro brought me to the industry in which I was likely always meant to work.
Even today, on a rainy or gloomy Montréal day, I can take a book and ride the Métro with no particular destination in mind. Sometimes, the journey itself is enough.
I Have Explored Every Métro Station
Over the years, I have exited at, visited and researched every station in the Montréal Métro network, exploring each surrounding neighbourhood.
I did not simply pass through. I walked the streets, studied the architecture, visited local businesses and learned about the history and communities surrounding every station. At one time, I even offered special off season Montréal experiences featuring everything that could be discovered within a 15 minute walk of each Métro station.
Every stop opens the door to another part of the city. Within just a few stations, we can travel between historic destinations, university campuses, residential neighbourhoods, public markets, cultural institutions and busy commercial centres.
This knowledge cannot be acquired through online research alone. It comes from walking, observing, speaking with people and returning throughout the different seasons. What I have enjoyed most are the stories people have shared with me about growing up and watching the Métro transform their neighbourhoods.
The best way to reach the Bell Centre, where our beloved Montréal Canadiens play hockey, is also by Métro, with two stations directly connected to the shrine. Whether travelling to festivals, the beach, concerts, sporting events, visiting friends, going dancing or finishing an evening with a glass of champagne on a rooftop, the fastest way to get there is often by Métro. On busy nights after the fireworks, a concert, movies in park or events, we Montrtealers passionately wait our turn to board the metro and most of the time singing out load. Why not the acoustics are incredible.
There is no sitting in traffic, dealing with congestion, searching for parking or being blinded by a blizzard. Our entire system is weatherproof and underground. It rarely takes me more than 30 minutes to get anywhere.
Some people feel nervous about using public transport in their own cities. Then I encourage them to try our Métro, and they quickly realise that it is clean, well lit, safe and efficient.
An Underground Art Gallery
One of the most unusual features of the Montréal Métro is that the stations do not all look alike.
Different architects designed the original stations, allowing each one to have its own personality. The colours, materials, shapes, entrances and lighting change as we travel through the network.
The Métro is also an extraordinary underground public art gallery. Every station has its own artwork.
I have explored and photographed every work of art in the network. I have also studied the artists and architects who created them. The husband of one of my professors and colleagues was the architect who designed two Montréal Métro stations.
There are sculptures, murals, stained glass, ceramics and large architectural installations. Some works reflect important people and moments in history. Others connect directly with the surrounding neighbourhood.
All of our universities have a Métro station named after them, and they are connected to Montréal’s weatherproof underground network.
For anyone interested in Montréal architecture, public art, design, transportation history or urban development, the Métro is an experience in itself.
What Makes Our Métro Unusual?
The Montréal Métro uses rubber tyres exclusively on all its lines, and the entire system is underground. The brakes are made of wood and soaked in peanut oil.
The Yellow Line was created in preparation for Expo 67. It travels beneath the St Lawrence River, connecting Montréal with Île Sainte Hélène and Longueuil.
Many station names also reveal stories about historical figures, neighbourhoods, streets and important periods in Montréal’s history.
Even the familiar three note “doo doo doo” sound heard as the train prepares to depart has become part of the Métro’s identity.
The Métro and Montréal’s Underground City
Visitors sometimes confuse the Montréal Métro with the Underground City. They are connected, yet they are not the same.
The Métro is the city’s rapid public transportation network. The Underground City is a vast pedestrian network connecting hotels, office towers, shopping centres, universities, railway stations, restaurants, cultural venues and the Palais des congrès de Montréal.
Together, they allow people to travel through much of downtown Montréal while protected from the winter cold, snow, summer heat and rain.
Montréal’s Underground City, officially known as the RÉSO, is recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest pedestrian subway network
My private Downtown and Underground Montréal experience introduces guests to this city beneath the city. We explore indoors, outdoors and underground while discovering Montréal’s history, architecture, public art and daily life.
I also reveal untold stories and unusual features of the Montréal Métro and its weatherproof pedestrian network that even many Montrealers do not know. I bring our Métro system and Montréal’s Underground City to life.
Sixty Years of Métro Moments
The STM is celebrating the anniversary by gathering the memories and personal moments created throughout the network.
You can discover the official anniversary programme on the STM’s 60 Years of Métro Moments page.
My own Métro moments include a lifetime of memories: reading, studying, exploring, photographing and guiding. They also include those quiet journeys when I simply took a book and travelled without a destination.
The Métro continues to connect Montrealers, visitors and neighbourhoods. It also remains one of the best places to feel the true rhythm, heartbeat and movement of the city.
As a lifelong Montrealer, the Original Montréal Expert and a licensed professional tourist guide, I enjoy sharing the details that others often overlook.
I have a lifelong passion for public transportation systems around the world and enjoy exploring and comparing their differences. London is another city where I have spent years researching, exploring, documenting and photographing the Tube.
Cities with great public transport come to life.
My one wish is to visit the Metro after hours to see how everything works. Unlikely for security reasons but a girl can dream
Happy 60th Birthday to my metro !!!
