One Of Canada's Largest Italian Communities Is In A Vibrant Food And Shop-Filled Neighborhood

Neighborhoods like Old Montreal, Mile End, and the Plateau Montreal are typically the first spots mentioned when talking about where to see in Montreal. However, if you want fresh produce and a charming local atmosphere, Little Italy should be considered a low-key must-stop for enjoying a different taste of the city. While Montreal is often considered a Canadian destination to visit for Parisian vibes, this multicultural metropolis is much more than a charming French dialect dripping in poutine and bagels. Twist and turn along Montreal's bike-friendly streets long enough, and you'll soon find yourself sitting in front of a plate of fresh pasta. 

Little Italy is about 5 kilometers from the Quartier des Spectacles and the bright lights of downtown Montreal, split off by train tracks from the city's busiest areas. From downtown, you can take the Boulevard St. Laurent directly through the gates of Little Italy. If you're coming from Laval, the neighborhood starts at the massive, open-air Jean-Talon Market on Jean-Talon Street. Most of the action is boxed between these two streets plus St. Denis Boulevard and Clark Street, although you'll find great Italian gems like La Panzeria in neighborhoods well outside the boundaries of Little Italy.

I've spent the last several months living and working a stone's throw from Little Italy, staying with a family of born-and-raised Montrealers who head through this neighborhood daily. The combination of my lunch breaks spent smacking down slices after playing pick-up basketball on Little Italy's mural-covered courts and enjoying the fresh cheeses and local produce my hosts frequently brought home from the neighborhood left quite an impression. If you ask me, no trip to Montreal is complete without a waltz through Little Italy.

If you arrive hungry, stop for a slice at Pizza Bouquet or pick up a cannoli at Pasticceria Alati Caserta, home of the best cannoli in the city. Or, you can head straight to the epicenter at the Jean-Talon. My hosts described the Jean-Talon to me as the "lung" of Little Italy, excitedly encouraging the idea that roaming through culinary excellence at bustling public markets Is what traveling is all about. Stroll through the stalls, peruse the old Italian plum sellers, and check out the vegan pogos at Bouffe-moi. 

The Jean-Talon is also where Spade & Palacio's non-touristy food tour starts. This tour is the most efficient way to see all of Little Italy and other Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie neighborhood highlights — showing you highlights and hidden gems while covering the whole neighborhood in (roughly) three hours. Your hosts will walk you through Montreal's Farm-to-Table local producers at Jean-Talon before guiding you into the neighborhood and gems like the Fruiterie Milano, a pumping Italian grocery with walls of canned tomatoes straight from the Italian countryside. If all the action starts to wear you down, ask them to take you by the Cafe Italiafor an authentic afternoon expresso, and don't forget to pick their brains about a dinner spot after the tour. 

Bar Mamie's cheese boards and incredible wine list are a great place to start, and the Pizzeria Napoletana is a wonderful place to cap off your night by enjoying some of the oldest pizza-making traditions in Montreal. If you want to walk for miles on end, cross over from Little Italy into Mile End, a youthful, vibrant Canadian Neighborhood. Heading to this hip neighborhood after Little Italy is a great way to see Montreal's multicultural, colorful faces in one afternoon.