Westmount: Urban Forest, Culture and Architecture

Westmount combines the natural urban forest of Summit Woods with special insights into the area’s cultural and architectural history. Viewpoints, floral displays and historic buildings offer different highlights for your trip. When choosing a holiday rental, you can consider whether you would like to focus primarily on nature, outdoor activities or cultural discoveries.

Urban Forest and Views on Mount Royal

Summit Woods is located on the western summit of Mount Royal. The natural urban forest is also a bird sanctuary and part of the protected Mount Royal heritage area. At just over 57 acres, it is Westmount’s largest green space. This combination makes it a distinctive natural area within the destination—of interest to travellers who would like to include woodland landscapes and birdlife in their stay.

A walking trail in Summit Woods was inaugurated in 2017. Summit Lookout offers views of Westmount, downtown Montréal and the St. Lawrence River. The forest offers both a nature experience and views over the surrounding cityscape. Westmount also has a network of public staircases connecting certain streets and providing access to viewpoints. These staircases are another feature that may interest visitors who want to explore Westmount on foot.

Activities and Recreation in Westmount Park

Westmount Park has a cycling path. Its sports complex includes two indoor ice rinks and an outdoor swimming pool beneath a green roof. Alongside nature and scenic views, these are places to consider for sports-related interests. If you are travelling with family members who have different preferences, these facilities can help you decide which aspects of Westmount you would like to explore during your stay.

Art, Exhibitions and Floral Displays

Cultural and recreational activities take place in publicly accessible areas of Victoria Hall. The facilities include an auditorium, a multipurpose room and an art gallery. The Gallery at Victoria Hall hosts rotating visual art exhibitions and is occasionally used for lectures and social events.

The Westmount Horticultural Conservatory offers another perspective on design: since it was built in 1927, it has presented floral displays every year. The building was designed and built by Lord & Burnham. Its architectural design follows the same design as the greenhouses at the New York Botanical Garden and the U.S. Botanical Garden in Washington, D.C. This adds a distinctive cultural highlight to your trip planning: alongside art and events, the history of greenhouse architecture is also one of Westmount’s notable subjects.

Historic Buildings and Local History

Maison-Hurtubise is a heritage site in a residential neighbourhood of Westmount and one of the rare reminders of the island of Montréal’s first rural settlements. It consists mainly of a farmhouse built in 1739, a barn built in the 1880s and the associated property. As Westmount’s oldest building, the Hurtubise House preserves original features: fieldstone walls, a bread oven, a stone sink and cedar beams in the basement. This historic ensemble connects a tangible building with insights into earlier rural settlement.

Other buildings also point to different chapters in the area’s history. Today’s Victoria Hall is a three-storey sandstone building in the Tudor style, rebuilt after the fire of 1924. Goode House retains its original form and Colonial Revival architecture in the Regency style. Westmount Public Library was built in 1899 and is Québec’s oldest municipal library.

Westmount’s historic site represents a wealthy Victorian and post-Victorian Canadian suburb; its architectural and landscape heritage dates from the period between 1890 and 1930. A large part of Westmount was designated a National Historic Site in 2011. Westmount Train Station was built in 1907 and recognized as a Heritage Railway Station in 1994. Church of Saint-Léon-de-Westmount dates from 1901 and was designated a National Historic Site in 1997. Together, these buildings and designations offer culture enthusiasts different ways to learn about Westmount’s built heritage.

Discover More Places

Other destinations at the same level include Mont-Royal, Pointe-Aux-Trembles and Dorval.

For the broader travel overview: Communauté-Urbaine-De-Montréal.