Knowing where you are and where you’re going: That kind of knowledge gives a run purpose, where every step takes you through moments in history and hubs of culture.
With these 5km & 10km running guides, you’ll explore a part of a borough that’s near and dear to Montreal: The Sud-Ouest via its neighbourhoods of Saint-Henri, Little Burgundy, Pointe-Saint-Charles, and Griffintown along the northern and southern banks of the Lachine Canal.
Starting and ending at espace | MTL, the Ciele Athletics flagship store in Griffintown equipped with washrooms and a water fountain, you’ll be running through this part of town’s pathways that are rich in stories of a developing city’s industry, famed artists, lasting communities, creative energies, and more.
You've got two choices:
The 5km route around the Sud-Ouest
START: Ciele Athletics' espace | MTL flagship on Notre-Dame
Get equipped, get hydrated, and get going.
#1: Cut through the park by Candide to the Daisy Sweeney and Oscar Peterson murals, and Oscar Peterson Park
Little Burgundy is often celebrated as the birthplace of Canadian jazz, and where many legendary Black musicians began their careers. It was a hotbed of musical creativity for the city’s private clubs and speakeasies, back when it was known as ‘Sin City’ and ‘Harlem of the North’ during the Jazz Age of the 1920s and 1930s.
Booze was flowing, and people would flock here for an escape from Prohibition in the United States. Even when this gave way to big band and bebop performances in the 1940s and 1950s, Montreal remained a destination for music.
In this part of the run, you’ll be heading past a park and mural created by Gene Pendon in 2011 to commemorate Oscar Peterson—a jazz pianist known for his technical mastery, speed, dexterity, and limitless creativity on the piano—and another commemorating Oscar’s sister and piano teacher Daisy Sweeney (née Peterson), whose legacy was cemented following decades of nurturing some of Canada’s greatest jazz talents.
Photograph: Cédric Bonel / @gophobservation
#2: Past former site of the former Negro Community Centre (NCC) to Rue Coursol
While the construction of the Ville-Marie Expressway and other mid-20th century urban redevelopments led to the demolition of many residential pockets in the area, streets like Coursol remain as reminders of its past.
On this street named after Charles-Joseph Coursol—a Montrealer who went on a Dickensian journey from orphan to the city’s 13th mayor—you’ll pass by rows of colourful houses dating as far back as the 1870s.
Around the early 20th century, Little Burgundy became known as the heart of Montreal’s Black community due to the settlement patterns of Black railroad workers employed by the Canadian Pacific and Grand Trunk Railways, fostering a close-knit community that remains to this day.
This population concentration led to sites like the former Negro Community Centre (NCC): Founded in 1927 by Reverend Charles H. Este, the NCC was a huge presence in the lives of English-speaking Black Montrealers for decades, providing them support in times of discrimination. Closing in 1989, it’s now an empty lot covered in overgrown grass, but its land was purchased by the City of Montreal in 2022. There’s still hope it’ll be rebuilt to revive the site’s original purpose.
#3: The Little Burgundy Community Garden
At community gardens like the one you’re running past between Rue Coursol and Rue Quesnel, residents from the area cultivate, maintain, and collect harvests from their own plots. It’s one of 97 community gardens found across Greater Metropolitan Montreal, serving around 10,000 people a year with 8,195 allotments—the largest community gardening program in Canada, and one of the most significant programs of its kind in North America.
Democratically accessible and supported by voluntary gardening committees, gardens like these provide essential food services for low-income and marginalized communities like Little Burgundy’s. Fresh produce that’s locally grown and accessed by a community has been shown to increase vegetables in diets, benefitting their physical and mental health and well-being alongside providing outdoor physical activities, and foster connections between people.
However, wait times for these kinds of greenspaces can be long, and urban agriculture is limited to the amount of available public land, making gardens like these all the rarer.
Photograph: Cédric Bonel / @gophobservation
#4: The Oliver Jones mural, Jazzmen Park, Vinet Park, and the former town hall / Centre Culturel Georges-Vanier
Little Burgundy was where jazz pianist Oliver Jones called home. You’ll be running past a mural—created by artist Dan Buller in 2014—commemorating his contributions to Montreal’s music history: Born here in 1934, Jones’s professional career started in the 1950s, establishing himself as one of Canada’s premier jazz musicians by the 1980s. That mural, as well as Jazzmen Park, are among many of the tributes to artists like Jones in the area, as well as Rufus Rockhead’s Paradise nightclub.
You’ll also be passing by the Centre Culturel Georges-Vanier: Built in 1904 according to plans by architects Joseph Cajetan Dufort (1868-1936) and Alphonse Piché (1874-1938). Once the city hall of the area’s original municipality, Sainte-Cunégonde, the building brought together services like a police station, a fire station, a post office, administrative offices, and what was then the first French-speaking public library in Canada under one roof. If you look closely at its façade, you’ll see remnants of its original purposes carved into the stone. Fun fact: Montreal strongman Louis Cyr worked here as a police officer.
Photograph: Cédric Bonel / @gophobservation
#5: “Restaurant Row” on Notre-Dame to Atwater Market
After years of economic inactivity, Little Burgundy came to contemporary prominence with the arrival of a handful of new restaurants. Now famous for dining by day or night, this is where Joe Beef opened up in 2005, followed by its sister spots Liverpool House and Vin Papillon. Together, they formed the nexus point for what is now more than 2km of restaurants found up and down Notre-Dame Street West, from Saint-Henri to Griffintown.
Part of this is due in part to the proximity of Atwater Market, an Art Deco building designed by architect Ludger Lemieux which opened in 1933. Its modern day array of butchers, bakers, cheese shops, fishmongers, stalls for farms and produce resellers, and specialty grocers—plus seasonal outdoor restaurant terrasses with florists in the spring and summer and Christmas trees during the holiday season—make it a cornerstone in chefs’ daily routines.
Photograph: Cédric Bonel / @gophobservation
#6: Charlevoix Park (a.k.a. Daisy Peterson Sweeney Park) to Charlevoix Bridge
Charlevoix Bridge is one of the most impressive surviving heritage swing bridges on the Lachine Canal and one of its oldest crossings, dating back to around 1861. It no longer operates for boats as the canal closed to commercial traffic in 1970, but the bridge has retained its historic integrity with no major alterations. It was here that there used to be a small metalworks known as the Montreal Rolling Mills.
Photograph: Cédric Bonel / @gophobservation
#7: Cross the street and follow the train tracks until Arsenal Contemporary Art Gallery
A single, lone rail line is all the remains of the myriad train tracks that once followed the north and south banks of the Lachine Canal. This rail spur is kept alive by the nearby Ardent Mills, located on the north bank between the Des Seigneurs and Charlevoix bridges.
You’ll also be passing by the Arsenal Contemporary Art Gallery, opened in 2011 before spurring additional locations in Toronto in 2013 and New York in 2017. It’s an 80,000-square-foot building that hosts Canadian and International artist exhibitions each year. Once a shipyard dating back to 1853, built for the entrepreneur Charles-Auguste Cantin and their Montreal Marine Works company, it’s now dedicated to the support, promotion and development of contemporary art and has grown to include interactive exhibits like the Phi Centre’s VR works.
#8: Head down William Street, and turn back on Guy Street
Now on the last leg of your journey, you’ll be moving through some of the last vestiges of Montreal’s industrial history in the area—and when the city was firmly established as the cultural capital of Canada.
The building of the Lachine Canal in 1825 was crucial, as it allowed boats to bypass the Lachine Rapids upstream on the Saint Lawrence River. This led to a boom in manufacturing and industrial activity along its banks, attracting all kinds of breweries, tanneries, textile mills, and factories producing machinery, rubber, and tobacco products. It earned the nickname of ‘Smoke Alley’.
This in turn led to railway companies establishing their headquarters nearby, before expanding their networks elsewhere (hence the railroad porters who settled in Little Burgundy).
The opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 1959 reduced the canal’s importance for industrial transportation, leading to a downturn in activity, but there’s s been significant revitalization along the Lachine Canal over the last 20 years, transforming it from an industrial corridor into a recreational and residential area. Many of the old industrial buildings have been repurposed into lofts, offices, and commercial spaces, fostering a new economic and cultural vitality.
FINISH: Ciele Athletics' espace | MTL flagship on Notre-Dame
You've arrived! Grab a drink, walk it off, and make sure to stretch!
Photograph: Cédric Bonel / @gophobservation
Want to go further?
The 10km route around the Sud-Ouest
Follow the 5km route to #6, and then proceed down the following route.
Photograph: Cédric Bonel / @gophobservation
#7: Head south towards Parc Saint-Gabriel, then down Rue Hibernia (or Liverpool to see the long mural) to Marguerite Bourgeoys Park
Now in Pointe-Saint-Charles—aka ‘the Point’—you’ll be running through a neighbourhood that’s held onto its working class roots throughout history despite recent new residents and developments—40% of the housing stock in Pointe-Saint-Charles is subsidized.
The industrialization of the mid-1800’s brought together French Canadian, Irish, Scots, English, as well as Polish and Ukrainian populations into the area to be closer to work. Today, it’s considered the heart of historic Irish Montreal, yet maintains many of its churches that represent (?) each of its diverse populations.
Recognized as one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods, details like the nearly 2,000 square foot long mural by Annie Hamel of the first 36 “Filles du Roi” (the King’s Daughters)—young women recruited to journey to New France and increase the population by starting families—pay tribute to Montreal’s beginnings.
Photograph: Cédric Bonel / @gophobservation
#8: Take a detour to see the row houses on Wellington before heading back south to Maison Saint-Gabriel
By the 1860s, the Point was so busy that it became one of Canada’s first neighbourhoods to offer housing to industrial workers. These include the stacked duplexes you see in the area, based on British working-class housing that you can find throughout Montreal today.
Not too far from Parc Marguerite-Bourgeoys stands Maison Saint-Gabriel, built in 1698 as a farm for community self-sufficiency. Eventually it became a school, whose students included the Filles du Roi, but it continued to have its land farmed until 1955. As many as eighty-six sharecroppers took care of the land over time. It was the heart of its congregation’s educational and agricultural activities for nearly 300 years.
Now a museum and historic site, it’s the oldest example of rural architecture in Montreal.
#9: Go around the back of Maison Saint-Gabriel and follow the path to Parc Le Ber
If you want to get a sense of what life is like in the Point, you need only look around parks like this one or the larger Parc Marguerite-Bourgeoys you passed: People shooting hoops, playing soccer, and picnics in the summer alongside hockey games and sledding in the winter. You’ll also find a live mural here on the basketball court that’s seen multiple artists over the years, each giving it a fresh coat of paint every now and then.
Photograph: Cédric Bonel / @gophobservation
#10: Go around the PSC Observatory and take in that great view
Montreal boasts several belvederes, elevated spots that allow you to look over the city. Here, you’ll find a great view of the city, albeit from closer to the ground: Head up the 20 steps of a incline resembling a wall meant to shield houses on the street from the wind, you’ll find yourself perched just above the rooftops of Pointe Saint Charles, overlooking the railway tracks and facing an unanticipated panoramic view of Montreal’s skyline.
Nearby, you'll find Bâtiment 7, a 90,000 square foot space that's been converted into a shared community space. Managed by the 7 à Nous collective since 2018, it now features projects like a volunteer-run grocery store, a cooperative brewery, and educational workshops for various trades. It serves as a hub for affordable food, skill development, and community collaboration.
#11: Zigzag north to Arsenal via Centre & Shearer
A single, lone rail line is all the remains of the myriad train tracks that once followed the north and south banks of the Lachine Canal. This rail spur is kept alive by the nearby Ardent Mills, located on the north bank between the Des Seigneurs and Charlevoix bridges.
You’ll also be passing by the Arsenal Contemporary Art Gallery, opened in 2011 before spurring additional locations in Toronto in 2013 and New York in 2017. It’s an 80,000-square-foot building that hosts Canadian and International artist exhibitions each year. Once a shipyard dating back to 1853, built for the entrepreneur Charles-Auguste Cantin and their Montreal Marine Works company, it’s now dedicated to the support, promotion and development of contemporary art and has grown to include interactive exhibits like the Phi Centre’s VR works.
Photograph: Cédric Bonel / @gophobservation
#12: Head east along the Lachine Canal, cutting through a passageway to reach Parc Saint-Anne
By now, you’re passing through the historic neighbourhood of Griffintown. Its origins trace back to the early 19th century when it was primarily farmland. Named after Mary Griffin, who obtained the lease on the land in 1804, Griffintown is another notable historic Irish part of Montreal dating back to the Industrial Revolution. It was known for its factories, foundries, and warehouses, becoming a significant industrial hub in Montreal.
By the mid-20th century, deindustrialization led to economic decline and the area fell into disrepair. In recent years, however, Griffintown has transformed into a trendy district, highly developed with residential condominium towers designed by a bevy of Montreal architects. There are pockets of rich heritage here, and a lot of interesting ghost stories.
Photograph: Cédric Bonel / @gophobservation
#13: Get back on track via the Ottawa Street bike path, and turn on Guy Street
Now on the last leg of your journey, you’ll be moving through some of the last vestiges of Montreal’s industrial history in the area—and when the city was firmly established as the cultural capital of Canada.
The building of the Lachine Canal in 1825 was crucial, as it allowed boats to bypass the Lachine Rapids upstream on the Saint Lawrence River. This led to a boom in manufacturing and industrial activity along its banks, attracting all kinds of breweries, tanneries, textile mills, and factories producing machinery, rubber, and tobacco products. It earned the nickname of ‘Smoke Alley’.
This in turn led to railway companies establishing their headquarters nearby, before expanding their networks elsewhere (hence the railroad porters who settled in Little Burgundy).
The opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 1959 reduced the canal’s importance for industrial transportation, leading to a downturn in activity, but there’s s been significant revitalization along the Lachine Canal over the last 20 years, transforming it from an industrial corridor into a recreational and residential area. Many of the old industrial buildings have been repurposed into lofts, offices, and commercial spaces, fostering a new economic and cultural vitality.
Photograph: Cédric Bonel / @gophobservation
FINISH: Ciele Athletics' espace | MTL flagship on Notre-Dame
You've arrived! Grab a drink, walk it off, and make sure to stretch!
The Ciele Athletics flagship store espace | MTL is located at 1630 Notre-Dame St West in Griffintown.
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