Endless Holiday

To visitors of Montreal, Canada, discovering the 19 miles of an underground city is an absorbing and fascinating activity. Although part of everyday life to local residents, Montreal’s Underground City has drawn tourists for several decades who want to experience something unique while traveling.

Montreal’s Secret City

The Underground City in Montreal, Canada, is a set of complexes located under the residential and commercial streets of Montreal, Quebec. It is sometimes referred to as the Ville Intérieure–the Indoor City–or the Secret City, and is the world’s largest underground structure of its kind. This underground city was originally created by Vincent Ponte, who designed the tunnels in 1966 as a way to conceal the visible the railway tracks of Montreal’s Central Station. Initially, the structure featured only one tunnel that linked the Queen Elizabeth Hotel and the Central Train Station of Montreal with the Place Ville-Marie Underground Shopping Mall. Over the next few years, the tunnels were quickly expanded and a new city came to life under the streets of Montreal.

However, not all portions of the secret city are actually underground. The connections are regarded as tunnels from an architectural standpoint, but the airflow and lighting in the underground complex is just as adequate as the lighting and ventilation seen in the living spaces of most traditional buildings.

A Variety of Attractions

The connected areas feature shopping malls, seven metro stations, several museums, a university, apartment complexes, hotels, condos, banks, business offices, two train stations, a regional bus terminal, and the Bell Center Arena and Amphitheater. Over 100 exterior entrances to the underground city exist in Montreal and each entry point leads to one of over 50 commercial or residential complexes. Throughout winter, more than half a million local residents use the underground city on a daily basis and a countless number of tourists visit Montreal each year to discover the many interesting activities and attractions located in the Secret City. Offering something for everyone, no one should miss a trip to the Underground City in Montreal, Canada when visiting Quebec.