Parc La Fontaine

Parc La Fontaine is the Plateau's neighbourhood park — a 36-hectare green space with two ponds, a free outdoor theatre, and the kind of organic community atmosphere that planned parks can never quite achieve. The park is where the Plateau comes to picnic, play pétanque, ride bikes, and engage in the outdoor socialising that Montreal's short but intense summer demands.

The park was created in 1908 on the site of a military practice field, and its two artificial ponds — connected by a waterfall — provide the focal point. In summer, paddleboats circle the larger pond while families picnic on the surrounding slopes. In winter, the ponds freeze into natural skating rinks, and the park fills with skaters, cross-country skiers, and the hardy Montrealers who treat minus-20 temperatures as a lifestyle rather than an obstacle.

The Théâtre de Verdure, a free outdoor performance space in the park, hosts concerts, film screenings, and theatre throughout the summer — sit on the grass, bring wine (Montreal's parks have a pragmatic approach to alcohol that doesn't involve enforcement), and watch a show under the trees. The park is also the unofficial headquarters of Montreal's LGBTQ+ community — the Village, the city's LGBTQ+ neighbourhood, borders the park's eastern edge, and Pride events use the park as a gathering point. On a July evening, with the pétanque players clicking, the theatre performing, and the entire Plateau seemingly outdoors, La Fontaine feels like the living room of a neighbourhood that has 100,000 residents.