Ville-Marie, Montreal

Ville-Marie is the name of a borough ("arrondissement") in the centre of the city of Montreal, Quebec.

Location

The borough comprises all of downtown Montreal, the Centre-Sud area, most of Mount Royal Park, Saint Helen's Island, and Île Notre-Dame.

It is bordered by the city of Westmount (along Atwater Avenue) to the west and the boroughs of Le Sud-Ouest (along the Ville-Marie Autoroute, Guy and Notre-Dame streets, and the Bonaventure Autoroute) to the southwest, Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve (along the CN rail lines) to the east, Le Plateau-Mont-Royal (along Sherbrooke, University, and Pine and Park avenues) to the northeast, and Outremont and Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (along the border of Mount Royal Park) to the north. It is bounded on the south by the Saint Lawrence River.

It has a population of 78,876 and an area of 14,49 km².

Government

Municipal

The current borough mayor is Benoit Labonté of Vision Montreal.

The borough is divided into two districts, each with a city councillor and a borough councillor:

*Sainte-Marie—Saint-JacquesCity Councillor: Sammy Forcillo (Union Montreal); Borough Councillor: Pierre Mainville (Vision Montreal)
*Peter-McGillCity Councillor: Catherine Sévigny (Union Montreal); Borough Councillor: Karim Boulos (Vision Montreal)

Federal and provincial

The borough is divided among the following federal ridings:

*Westmount—Ville-Marie
*Laurier—Sainte-Marie
*Outremont
*Jeanne-Le Ber

It is divided among the following provincial electoral districts:

*Westmount—Saint-Louis
*Sainte-Marie—Saint-Jacques
*Hochelaga-Maisonneuve
*Saint-Henri—Sainte-Anne
*Outremont (three small corners of Mount Royal Park to the borough's northeast)

Features

Districts

Districts and neighbourhoods in Ville-Marie include:
* Downtown Montreal
* Old Montreal
* the Latin Quarter
* the Gay Village
* the Golden Square Mile
* the International Quarter
* Shaughnessy Village
* Peter-McGill
* Sainte-Marie-Saint-Jacques
* Chinatown

Transportation

Montreal's interurban rail and bus terminals, and its two commuter rail terminals (Central Station, Lucien-L'Allier and the Downtown Terminus) are in the borough. It is served by the Orange Line and Green Line of the metro; Berri-UQAM (which includes the terminus of the Yellow Line), the Central Bus Station, are also located in Ville-Marie.

Two autoroutes serve the area: Autoroute Bonaventure and the partly underground Autoroute Ville-Marie. Two bridges — the Victoria Bridge and Jacques-Cartier Bridge — provide access to the South Shore, while the Pont de la Concorde provides access to Saint Helen's Island and Notre Dame Island (Parc Jean-Drapeau). The Jacques-Cartier Bridge also provides access to Saint Helen's Island and Notre Dame Island.

Attractions

Many of Montreal's most famous attractions are situated in Ville-Marie. Most of its office towers, including 1000 de La Gauchetière, 1250 René-Lévesque, the Tour de la Bourse, Place Ville-Marie, the Sun Life Building, the Maison Radio-Canada, and many others are located here.

Three of Montreal's four universities — McGill, Concordia, and UQAM — are located in Ville-Marie, as are three of its four basilicas — Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral, Notre-Dame Basilica, and St. Patrick's Basilica. The Grande Bibliothèque du Québec is a recent addition, and the CHUM megahospital is planned for the borough.

Major parks and recreation areas include Mount Royal and its park, Parc Jean-Drapeau (the site of Expo 67), Dorchester Square and Place du Canada, and the Old Port.

Name

The borough is named after the French settlement that would later become Montreal (now Old Montreal), which was located within the present-day borough.

ee also

* Boroughs of Montreal
* Districts of Montreal
* Municipal reorganization in Quebec

External links

* [http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/pls/portal/url/page/arr_vm_en/accueil Borough website]
* [http://www.imtl.org/montreal/search.php?kind=1&vsearch=1&name=&floor=&floormax=&location=&borough=1&year=&yearmax=&subType=1&architect=&sub=Search&TYPE=&interval=10&resume=2&sortBy=FLOOR&sortType=DESC All Ville-Marie skyscrapers on IMTL website]