On Saturday, my little family and I decided to go for a quick trip to downtown Montreal, to do some shopping and take a walk. Accustomed to shopping in the various suburban shopping centers, we wanted to introduce our children to the dynamism and atmosphere of the city center by combining business with pleasure.
We fell from a height.
Photo credit Yasmine Abdelfadel
Cours Mont-Royal
Such a waste ! What was once a place where elegance, luxury and refinement coexisted has become a sinister, dark place with closed shops and restaurants resembling an old flea market where the only economic activity depends on cell phone repairers and convenience stores that remained open there.
Eaton
Quickly let’s get out of this nightmare, head to the Eaton center where we wanted to go and feed the children in what was once a huge food court on the first floor, at the level of the tunnel leading to Place Ville-Marie. To get there, you have to cross a construction zone linking Montreal Trust to Eaton. In the middle of Saturday, at dinner time, more than 80% of restaurants were either closed or completely abandoned. Disappointed and frankly sorry for this dilapidation, we decided to go out to Sainte-Catherine instead in search of better options, but above all to escape this sad spectacle.
- Listen to the political meeting with Yasmine Abdelfadel and Marc-André Leclerc via QUB :
Saint Catherine
It wasn’t much better. The work closing this street makes pedestrian traffic almost impossible. Walking there means zigzagging between sidewalk closures, trash bags littering the route and homeless people lying directly on the ground. A real shame.
It is clear that our little escapade turned into a disaster. Yet we were so motivated. Upon returning, I noticed that Tourisme Montréal continues to praise the non-existent attributes of underground Montreal. Imagining tourists arriving at Peel Station, excited to discover what we were once famous for, I am overcome by a feeling of shame and embarrassment. Run away, there’s nothing to see.