Gay Village, Montreal
Montréal's Gay Village (Template:Ll, Le Village gai) is located on rue Ste-Catherine E, downtown, centred on Beaudry subway station, in the Ville-Marie borough of the city. The Village runs approximately from rue Berri to rue deLorimier, a distance of nearly two kilometres, making it the largest in North America in terms of scope of the complete area. A local Gay IN•FO hot-tip line, offered in English and is open every day. Communicate with them by E-mail at call_355_info@yahoo.ca Get intouch with them for all the dish on the local gay community scene in Montréal.
Formerly a poor working-class neighbourhood, part of the Centre-South area of the city, the area was occupied by the gay and lesbian community after the huge expulsion of many gay businesses from an area closer to blvd St-Lawrence (Saint-Laurent or "The Main" as the locals call it). The area has been considerably brightened up, thanks in part to recent investment from the various levels of all governments.
Indeed, despite repression as late as the early 1990s, recent government support of "Le Village" cannot be overemphasized. All three levels of government are aggressively promoting the Village, and with the accepting climate of Québec, and gay life in Montréal as a tourist attraction. In recognition of the Village's importance to the city, the borough of Ville-Marie recently hung a rainbow flag in its council chambers, to say nothing of the recently rebuilt entrance to Métro Beaudry (subway), decorated with HUGE Rainbow pillars. The Village is specifically marked on all official city maps as, "Le Village".
Finally, the governments lent their support in securing the Gay Games for 2006. The city later lost the right to hold the Games under that name because the Federation of Gay Games considered their plans too ambitious. Instead, Montréal Rendez-Vous 2006, the first edition of the World OUTgames, will take place in Montreal, with the 2006 Gay Games being moved to Chicago. Montréal's gain for sure, and a chance to show the world a city with life for the gay life or "Joie de Vivre" for sure.
The city government came under criticism recently for cutting funding to the Divers/Cité pride celebrations, which nevertheless are ranked among the largest and certinly the best held gay community festivity in the world. To be held at the same time as the OUTgames in 2006, as well as many other events that this world-class city hosts year after year.
Gays and lesbians live all over the highly accepting city, so their residential density in the Village is only slightly higher than elsewhere. However, the Village contains a variety of shops and services targeting the community, and so serves as an entertainment and tourism epicentre rather than as a gay neighbourhood strictly speaking. A wide range of local media, radio and TV stations are located in the same area as the gay community.
The Village contains a wide variety of nightlife: bars and discotheques catering to all tastes (Montreal has more gay bars and discotheques than Paris, and as many as San Francisco or New York), including three very large entertainment complexes, one of which is the largest of its kind in the world. There are also a wide range of boutiques, restaurants, cafés, bed-and-breakfasts, and hotels. Need help finding a place to stay ? A great service is the Cachet Accommodations Network (CAN), open daily from 9am to 12noon EST at (514) 355-4636. Their services include helping you with your room bookings or setting you up with a lodging location. You can reach them by E-mail at can_reservations@sympatico.ca They have been around since 1984 and are considered Montréal's gay community room booking, plus lodging reservations network. A proudly gay owned and operated service.
The city also contains a number of gay establishments outside of the Village area that can be accessed by the Métro (subway) system too. The Association des Commerçants et Professionels du Village (Village Businesspersons and Professionals Association) represents the businesspeople of the Village. The Centre communautaire des gais et lesbiennes de Montréal (Montreal Gay and Lesbian Community Centre) through the Mario-Racine Foundation http://www.fondation-mario-racine.qc.ca/, is currently planning on constructing an important community complex in the heart of the Village.
External links
- Montreal Restaurant Guide - Greater Montreal City guide to restaurants, cafés and bars. View restaurant profile pages complete with menus, videos, picture galleries and more...