The City of Westmount, a Montreal neighbourhood that unsurprisingly flanks the west side of the mountain (Mont Royal), has historically been home to the province's Anglophone elite. Although residents of English descent still make up the majority of the city's demographic, the face of Westmount has been changing over the years as people of different ethnicities have moved to the community and become part of its social fabric.
While it is still the site of some of Canada's most spectacular real estate -- disappearing driveways, flood-lit front gates and ornate coach houses -- it is also a city where, surprisingly, half of its dwellers don't actually own, but rent, the homes they live in.
Most of all, what many may not realize is that Westmount has a bona fide neighbourhood vibe. A hotspot for families, its many parks are filled with strollers by day, soccer moms by night, and its many cafés are always abuzz with local chatter. It's easy for its residents to bump into someone they know; the sign of a real community.
Hoards of people flock with lawn-chairs, picnic baskets
and bottles of rosé to the park for a performance of
Shakespeare in the Park.
One of the town's main drag -- the strip of Sherbrooke Ouest from about Marlowe to Roslyn -- is home to bistros, boutiques, and bakeries. Its specialty stores draw shoppers from all over the city. The Bead Emporium, a candy store for jewellery makers, is a Westmount institution that sells beads and gives beading classes. Ben & Tournesol offers all sorts of trendy gift ideas, from Hello Kitty makeup kits to silver milk frothers. At Senteurs de Provence, the displays of lavender oils, floral ceramics and yellow woven cloths are as sensuous as a country market in the South of France.
And then there's the food. Westmount's gourmet boutiques give a new meaning to the term "eye candy." Sunsource, an epicurean bulk shop, offers more variations of the traditional almond than Manolo Blahknik has strappy sandals. The artisanal bakery Fournil makes comfort food cupcakes as dense as a Lindor truffle. At Cavallaro's Italian bakery, customers draw their own cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil from a metal keg. And rows of divinely pungent cheese greet the olfactory sense of anyone passing by the Foumagerie.
But Westmount is not only a shopper's heaven -- it is also famous for sustaining a high concentration of green spaces. Some of the city's most elaborate and well-maintained parks can be found here, including the elegant and extensive Westmount Park. In the summer, toddlers and elderly couples alike flock to the park's manmade ponds to feed the ducks. Families bike and rollerblade along its winding paths, and kids play Hide and Seek behind its hundred-year-old trees. It is also a favourite spot to catch Repercussion Theatre's Shakespeare in the Park.
Like Montreal in general, Westmount shows its true colours in the summertime. On a warm evening, the terrace at the Claremont Café is packed with happy diners noshing on pasta and sipping pints, while Dairy Queen's overflow of customers lick their dripping cones on the outside stoop. Hoards of people flock with lawn-chairs, picnic baskets and bottles of rosé to the park for a twilight performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream. The night owls at Java U finish their final martini just as the folks at De Gascogne start baking tomorrow's bread.
-----
Sarah Pearson keeps busy with freelance writing assignments, ongoing theatre projects, and singing with the award-winning Concerto Della Donna.
If you go
City of Westmount
www.westmount.org
Westmount Park
Corner rue Sherbrooke O. and rue Melville
Bead Emporium
368, avenue Victoria
(514) 486-6425
Open Mon.-Wed. 10h-18h, Thurs. 10h-19h, Fri. 10h-18h, Sat. 10h-17h
Ben and & Tournesol
4915, rue Sherbrooke O.
(514) 481-5050
Open Mon.-Thurs. 10h-18h, Fri. 10h-21h, Sat. 10h-17h
Senteurs de Provence
4859, rue Sherbrooke O.
(514) 369-7888
Open Mon.-Fri. 10h-18h, Sat.-Sun. 10h-17h
Sunsource
4822, rue Sherbrooke O.
(514) 487-7776
Open Mon.-Fri. 10h-18h, Sat. 9h30-17h30, Sun. 11h-17h
Boulangerie le Fournil
364, avenue Victoria
(514) 485-6647
Open Mon.-Sat. 7h-19h
Cavallaro
4865, rue Sherbrooke O.
(514) 484 0804
Open Mon.-Wed. 7h30-18h30, Thurs.-Fri. 7h30-19h, Sat.-Sun. 7h30-17h
http://www.cavallaro.ca |
La Foumagerie
4906, rue Sherbrooke O.
(514) 482-4100
Open Mon.-Wed. 9h-19h, Thurs.-Fri. 9h-20h, Sat. 9h-17h30, Sun. 11h-17h
Repercussion Theatre
www.repercussiontheatre.com
Claremont Café
5032, rue Sherbrooke O.
(514) 483-1557
Open daily 11h30-last call
http://www.claremontcafe.ca
Dairy Queen
4890, rue Sherbrooke O.
(514) 485-6583
Open daily 11h-21h.
Java U
4914, rue Sherbrooke O.
(514) 482-7077
Open Mon. 7h-18h, Tues.-Sat. 7h-22h, Sun. 8h-18h
http://www.java-u.com/
Patisserie De Gascogne
4825, rue Sherbrooke O.
(514) 932-3511
Open Mon.-Fri. 8h-19h, Fri. 8h-20h, Sat. 8h-18h, Sun. 8h-17h30 |
|
