Originally a vaudeville theatre built in 1914, the Imperial is a Historic Monument owned by a…read morenon-profit organization and is the homebase for many film festivals that come through town. Watching a film here feels like a classy, out of time event. The lobby, the gorgeous ceiling, the balcony, all softly swoon worthy - the restoration was award-winning for a reason. It's wonderful that this place survived so many decades of change and offers such a soul-soothing space to experience the magic of movies. But they just don't show enough of them! The schedule should be packed, as far as I'm concerned, with the best modern and historic cinema has to offer, but all too often it sits empty waiting to be rented out for events. I think you could fill this place 3 times a day with creative programming involving the local university film programs and art galleries... just sayin.

One of the last, old, Grande Dames of theatres,along with the Outremont, still standing. This…read moretheatre, as the Outremont, was declared a heritage site, and was consequently restored to its former glory. Beautiful chandelier on the ground floor, old world wall sculpures on each side of the screen on the top floor, which can be clearly seen from a very impressive balcony. A pity this theatre is only open during certain film fests and not all year round.

This venue is a tiny independent theatre putting on mostly anglophone or bilingual shows…read more It is really just one room seating maybe 50 people and a little entrance hall where you can purchase tickets and a bottle of beer - nice and cozy. You might not get to see big famous companies here, but rather newcomers and those who enjoy the freedom of the fringe. I enjoy going to the Sunday Night Improv (every Sunday night 8 pm) - a competition in improv with many regulars and a few new faces every time, guaranteed to make you laugh! The crowd in the audience gets quite involved, too. And for those who want to be on stage themselves, there is a workshop every Sunday prior to the show. Everybody can attend for free, and then perform in the evening! The theatre is also one of the regular venues for the Zoofest, the more independent branch of the Montreal comedy festival.

I love art. This…read moretheatre is a gem, pushing work ranging from experimental to polished, from English to French and everything in between, from comedy to tragedy to some other thing. I've had the pleasure of performing here at their annual Sketch Festival. Alain and Mark run the place, and they treat their performers like performers are supposed to be treated. Which is, incidentally, very good. By consequence of performing here, I've also been able to catch a few of the shows they put on, including original bilingual productions, and weekly improv nights. It's all about the art here. It's about people who love what they are doing, and love pushing it to new levels. The venue itself is an intimate space, with a bar up front and two-ish levels of seating. It's across from a strip club where you might be able to catch the silhouettes of lovely-ish ladies dancing in the windows during the early hours of the night! If you live in the area, check out what they have going on, and go to it. I'm so upset I missed the a Capella / barbershop group that was performing last time I was in town.

Really loved my experience at Cinema du Parc. Located in the bottom level of a small mall right…read moreoutside McGill, it's easily accessible and great for a night of eclectic entertainment. Plenty of restaurants just blocks away. I watched The Old Oak (2023) and Un Varón (2022) during the latest Cinema Latino showings. Films available are mostly indie, so your mileage will vary on enjoyment but that's part of the charm - you will be hard pressed to find films like these elsewhere. In our late stage capitalist society, I love that you can always find a breath of fresh air at Cinema du Parc where most theatres are mostly showing blockbusters and franchises 24/7.

Nice location off the metro, clean, fun choice of movies, friendly staff, nice big seats, good…read morepopcorn, what more could you want?

This is not your typical movie theatre - it's a redefined cinematic experience!…read more Cinema Moderne moderne provides a unique space where you can enjoy a carefully curated selection of nifty animations, remastered classics, cult movies, documentaries, mainstream or more niche and short films, while enjoying a cup or coffee, glass of wine or cocktail before, during or after the viewing! In fact, pay attention to the programming as filmmakers and specials guests will be present, such as Denis Villeneuve during it's sold out presentation of Blade Runner 2049 last Sunday. A state of the art equipped theatre, with 4K projectors, seats about 54 people and provides daily screenings at 7pm and 9pm and all day on the weekends. The fronting intimate 'café-slash-bar' provides a perfect area to get out of our traditional "web streaming bubble", gather in an intimate yet vibrant environment, socialize and mingle with locals over a beverage or food or your choice at any time or the day. Although it wasn't too busy and people were strolling in and out quite a bit, I could imagine this place getting crowded at peak times. On the menu were an assortment of steamed bao buns including vegetarian, gravlax, chicken or smoked meat and even a breakfast bao which I had the chance to taste with a side salad with glass of fresh pressed orange juice during brunch. There's also a choice cleverly named brews on tap, as well nice wine card and hand crafted cocktails. Located upstairs, is a post-production company called Post-Moderne, where many movies are go through finalisation processes such as colorisation. Overall, the theatre, café-bar, and post-prod company combination is a very smart use of space and very interesting concept to discover. Please do come and experience what the founders, Roxanne Sayegh and Alexandre Domingue, have been researching for so long in Berlin, Paris, Barcelona, New York and Mexico City, and finally transform their dream into reality right here in Montreal - hopefully stating a revolutionary movement that will make pull us cinephiles out of our couches back into the theatre! You have a baby or kids? No worries, this place is very family friendly, especially on Saturday and Sunday mornings. So no excuses - come and join me!

Such a fantastic concept for a coffee shop, having regular showings of movies. Staff was helpful in…read moregiving dinner recommendations as well.

What a gorgeous lovely concert venue! We attended the Orlando Consort and this was the perfect…read morevenue for the lovely acoustics. We had seats on the floor for the first half of the concert and it was lovely. The seats on the floor are not very comfortable. We asked if we could move to the balcony and we were allowed to go up for the second half of the concert. WOW! The balcony was amazing and an experience for the Orlando Consort. Just amazing! The seats in the balcony are more comfortable too. The stain glass windows are just wonderful and then I went up and realized these were Tiffany glass. This venue is well worth the visit to see any concert and see all the lovely stain glass. The staff working were all super friendly and helpful. The place is super clean. The bathrooms are super clean as well. TIP: Balcony seats are where you want to sit in this lovely place. Not only are the seats more comfortable, but the acoustics really make a difference in a live performance.

A fantastic, intimate concert venue! We attended a vocal performance of the group The Orlando…read moreConsort at Bourgie Hall recently. The venue is a former church that is now a concert hall. It's an intimate venue with great acoustics. Many of the stained glass windows are by the famous Louis Tiffany. We purchased floor tickets and sat in seats G16 and G18, excellent seats. Since the concert was not sold out, we asked if we could move to the balcony at intermission. The staff graciously allowed us to change seats. The acoustics in the balcony are much better compared to the floor. Overall cleanliness: excellent Bathroom cleanliness: excellent Wifi: free wifi but ver slow. Ran an Nperf test and it measured 10.6 down, 10.6 up. Not fast by any measure and this was on a day with only 25% of the seats occupied. Staff: pleasant staff Tip: Buy balcony seats. The benches in the balcony are more comfortable than the chairs on the floor, and the acoustics are better in the balcony.

The first time I came to Usine C was to see Nitzer Ebb a few years ago, nearly 18 years after I…read morefirst saw them opening up for Depeche Mode back in 1990 and couldn't get over what a great venue it was, small enough to feel intimately involved in the show, large enough to take a break from the crowd and mind your own business in the gardens outside. A bar, a place to buy T-shirts and just hang with your friends, Usine C is a very civilized, CLEAN and amazing venue to take in a show . The acoustics are great, the crowd and staff are really chill and I love the fact that it's an old, industrial factory which still maintains it's old architectural features while having a new lease on life as an artistic venue.

I love this venue. I believe it is usually used for theatre events in Montreal, but when I have…read morebeen to this venue it has been for the Kinetik music festival. There is one large room for the bands to play in, equipped with lighting and techies at the back. There is a smaller lounge on the other side of the building, down a spiral staircase as well. For me, this was a good spot to sit down and give those heels a rest, and still pound back the drinks so the feet hurt less. Usine C also has an outdoor patio for the smokers, the organizers of Kinetik had a hot dog and hamburger stand set up out here so that we wouldn't starve since the festival started at 4pm and went until 3am. Too bad they ran out of food each night! It was ok though, we had in/out privileges. Usine C had really cool lights in the main hallway that were made from broken glass bottles, making them look like glass chandeliers, which was very beautiful. There was an upstairs area as well, which, for the festival, had clothing vendors, artists, and this was also where the bathrooms were hiding. Now my rating could be biased, since we have pretty much NO venues like this in Vancouver, so having a venue like Usine C that you can rent out for live shows, that has two rooms, and a place where you can throw in your own vendors is pretty fucking amazing.

After several visits to the Centaur Theater, I can say that this place deserves to be known. This…read moretheater with magnificent exterior pillars is located in Old Montreal and is therefore easily accessible by public transport. The interior is not very extravagant but there is a lobby, a coat check and a bar which is always useful while waiting for the show to begin. The theaters are of medium size, which automatically gives an intimate scale to the performances. The programming is very diverse and the shows that I attended were among the best I've seen in recent years, they really allowed me to discover talented artists. I strongly recommend that place if you enjoy shows that are off the beaten track.

What I think is great about the Centaur is the effort they make to try and balance the needs of the…read morediverse communities they serve and have served since 1969 - everyone from young theatre innovators to amateur producers and lovers of musicals to season ticket holders who are senior in the community and want to see important groundbreaking work as well as lighthearted comedy. The space is wonderful. A short walk toward the Old Port from Place D'Armes metro along the tiny cobblestones of St Francois Xavier brings you to the sudden sense of open space created by the massive columns of the Centaur Theatre - formerly the Montreal Stock Exchange. The front of house and lobby bar and coat check are all on the ground floor. The bar is big and full of comfy chairs and the staff is generally made up of cool, friendly members of the local arts scene. The theatres are upstairs, they aren't incredibly spacious in terms of leg room, but they're not airplane-bad. They have a steep rake so pretty much every seat is a good one. About 15 years ago I saw a version of Waiting for Godot here that devastated me, and part of the shock and loveliness of it was that all the curtains and backdrops were removed leaving bare brick walls looming around the actors. The brick is over 100 years old and shows repair, windows bricked in, time passing. Something about this one production symbolizes everything I love about the Centaur after 15+ years seeing shows there, maybe something about the willingness to remove all the trappings to create a different kind of magic? Anyway I look forward to the years to come!

Every time I visit Montreal, the Phi Centre has some kind of interesting exhibit. The PHI Centre…read morewas developed to be at the intersection of art, film, music, design and technology. Through eclectic programming and a strong emphasis on content creation, the PHI Centre fosters unexpected encounters between artists and audiences. I have been there for virtual reality expositions, panel discussions about relevant topics, and visual art exhibits. Anyone can rent a space and present their artistry at the PHI Centre. A nice stage for different art forms for all to enjoy.

Went for Art, Unframed, did Pathway 3 which included: *…read moreHorizons VR * Marco Brambilla: Heaven's Gate Pretty good in the VR; rooms could be more unique and seperateseparatedd, also a separate communal room to relax between VR experiences would be great to decompress and reset.