Underground City, Montreal - Overview

Overview

In 2004 the downtown segments of the underground city were rebranded and given the name RÉSO. The name RÉSO is a homophone of the French word réseau, or network (as in a network of tunnels). The circle and downward pointing arrow which make up the logo or symbol of the Montreal metro (and can be seen outside all metro stations) is integrated within the RÉSO logo, as the "O" at the end of the word. Schematic maps bearing the RÉSO logo are found throughout the network. The largest and best-known segment is located in the centre of downtown, delimited by the Peel and Place-des-Arts metro stations on the Green Line and the Lucien-L'Allier and Place-d'Armes stations on the Orange Line.

The underground city is promoted as an important tourist attraction by most Montreal travel guidebooks, and as an urban planning achievement it is impressive. For most Montrealer's, however, it tends to be considered more as a large mall complex linking metro stations — they may not know they are in it. Many Canadian cities have some kind of tunnel or skywalk system downtown to help people avoid the weather. Most parts of the Montreal's Underground City are open during the entire hours of operation of the metro (5:30 AM to 1:00 AM); though many accesses are closed outside of business hours, others remain open. However, the tunnels between the Bell Centre arena and Bonaventure metro station cannot be used before and after events at the arena, owing to fire regulations (access is via Lucien-L'Allier station instead). Maps of the underground city and the metro can be obtained free of charge from all metro stations, and the network of buildings is indicated on most maps of the downtown core.