What began as the grandest hotel in the British Empire is now one of downtown Montreal’s most architecturally striking retail complexes. Les Cours Mont-Royal occupies the former Mount Royal Hotel, a Beaux-Arts landmark designed by Ross and Macdonald in the 1920s and transformed into a mixed-use shopping centre in the late 1980s. The name refers to the mall’s interior layout—four central courts capped by a dramatic 12-storey skylight. High-end fashion retailers make up most of the offering, but you’ll also find a medical centre, an expansive spa, and one of the city’s more elegant public catwalks. Above it all: office space and luxury condos. Only the original hotel lobby remains intact, though even that’s had a facelift—the centrepiece is a chandelier reportedly sourced from the Monte Carlo casino.