Montreal has one of the biggest gay villages in the world. It’s literally an entire neighbourhood, officially recognised in city maps and social media tags.
And it’s got balls. Lots and lots of balls!
Seriously – each year, between May-September, Le Village Gai has a large display of around 200,000 pink balls hanging down across the main street, the mile-long Rue Sainte-Catherine. And we are LIVING for it! The atmosphere here is one of the best we’ve experienced from all the different gay scenes we’ve been to around the world. There’s always something going on, with plenty of bars, clubs, after-hours clubs, saunas, strip bars, cafes, and more, to suit everyone.
We visited gay Montreal in the height of summer during the Fierte Pride in August. My god, these guys sure know how to have a good time! We’d happily return in a heartbeat.
Montreal is sexy. Montreal is proud. Montreal is energetic. Montreal is bold. Above all else, Montreal is open, ready and WAITING to embrace you in!
This is our gay guide to Montreal featuring all the best gay hotels, bars, clubs, things to do, and more, to help inspire your trip. Be sure to also watch our vlog about the first-ever Fierte Canada Pride in Montreal.
Is Gay Montreal a friendly city?
Short answer: hell yeah!
This is definitely one place we felt absolutely comfortable walking the streets holding hands. Put it this way, even at government level there is immense pride in the city’s LGBTQ community – for Montreal Pride, not only the mayor and the Premier of Quebec led the parade, but alongside them was the country’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. Lovely Justin also happens to be one of Montreal’s famous residents, who made this beautiful speech about diversity:
“Diversity is the engine of invention. It generates creativity that enriches the world”