Parc La Fontaine

A 34 Hectare Park In The Plateau Laid Out From 1874 On A Former Militia Firing Range; Two Linked Artificial Ponds, An Outdoor Theatre, And The Neighbourhood'S Principal Open Space · Montreal, Quebec

Parc La Fontaine is thirty-four hectares in the middle of the Plateau, and it is what the neighbourhood uses instead of gardens. The land was a MILITIA FIRING RANGE before the city took it in 1874 and turned it into a park in the formal French manner - two linked ARTIFICIAL PONDS with a channel between them, mature trees, broad paths and a good deal of grass. In summer the whole Plateau is on that grass: picnics, drumming, the THEATRE DE VERDURE staging free outdoor performances, tennis, pedal boats on the ponds. In winter the ponds are flooded and become one of the better outdoor SKATING rinks in the city, lit at night. It is not a spectacular park and it is not trying to be - it is the everyday one, the place that tells you more about how Montrealers actually live than any monument does.

3819 avenue Calixa-Lavallee, Plateau Mont-Royal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

OPEN DAILY, FREE, WITH NO GATE - it is a city park. Paths and grounds are accessible at all hours and are lit on the main routes. SEASONAL FACILITIES HAVE THEIR OWN HOURS: the PEDAL BOATS on the ponds run in summer, the TENNIS COURTS and the SNACK PAVILION operate in the warm months, and the THEATRE DE VERDURE stages FREE OUTDOOR PERFORMANCES through the summer on a published programme - it has been closed for extended renovation in recent years, so CONFIRM IT IS OPERATING before planning an evening around it. IN WINTER THE PONDS ARE FLOODED FOR SKATING, lit into the evening, with a heated chalet and skate rental on published hours, weather permitting. Sherbrooke and Mont-Royal metro stations are both a short walk.

Parc La Fontaine on Spottos · Explore more places on Spottos