Ville souterraine RESO /Underground City
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
22 reviews for Ville souterraine RESO /Underground City
21 reviews in English
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Review from Terrie C.
1/20/2012
Smart Idea. When it's cold outside, create an indoor mall. Not only indoors but underground. Some areas are free to enter, some you have to pay. Best to ask the information desk for details and map.
Walked around and it was pretty packed. Montreal can get really cold.
Also ate at the food court. Tried the french savory crepes, Korean bbq beef, mediterranean fried fish, and a nutella crepe. All were pretty good!
The place can be like a maze, so best to carry a map. there are some exits that lead you to the outside. it's very exciting! -
Review from Jennifer K.
Markham, ON
2/24/2012 1 photo
RESO definitely worth a solid 3 star if it is cold and freezing and snowing or raining outside...
Great place to get lost... Gee, why am I going around in circle... I just want to walk South.... Don't follow me, I am lost!!
The stores can get a little boring if you are into shopping,,,.. I just want to have a break from the freezing cold
I end up just going back on the street... just walk South, a little cold but at least I find my way back to the hotel.Listed in: February 2012 Challenge!, A Weekend in Montreal!
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Review from Loli L.
12/21/2011
I think I was expecting too much. I heard it was an underground city. If someone would have just told me it was mostly just an elaborate mall I think I would have had a more realistic idea of what I was walking into.
If I lived here I think I would have a greater appreciation for being able to shop and walk around without having to step outside. However, I was here to see Montreal's sights and shopping centers don't really do it for me.Listed in: Montreal without a car
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Review from Matthew A.
11/12/2011
This place is worth it especially in the middle of winter. It sure beats walking outside in the cold and wind freezing your butt off.
A good way to get exercise too. It just goes on and on, mile after mile, store after store, metro to metro.
A fun way to explore Montreal in the winter. -
Review from Sarah L.
1/25/2012
If it had better food and store selections, then I'd give it 3 or 4 stars. I was expecting more and was underwhelmed. Maybe I hyped it up in my head too much. I'm sure if I was there in the winter, I'd be seeking refuge there, but above ground in Montreal in the summer was too pretty to miss!
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Review from Anne K.
8/28/2011
I think the most impressive part about RÉSO is its sheer magnitude. It's pretty much an underground mall that spans over 20 miles. If you're a shopaholic, this is the place for you. Otherwise, it's just a really, really, REALLY big mall.
There are lots of great things to do and see in Montreal, but if you're looking for a way to kill 30 minutes or so - just enter RÉSO through one of its many entrances throughout the city and try not to get too lost. -
Review from Rho L.
8/30/2010
Miles upon miles of relaxing (and potentially expensive) trots, skips and traversing await you in Montreal's underground city.
You can literally just get lost, not to mention really tired enjoying this very uniquely large area underneath the hustle and bustle above you. The underground city bridges many major buildings, universities, hotels, shops, restaurants, offices, even the metro.
It's always busy with people, brightly lit, impeccably clean, and is a safe haven from the wrath of mother nature. Although I will admit, I sometimes also love being in the open air as well.
The most impressive aspect, well to me at least, and other than the fact that the underground city stretches just shy of 20 miles, is the food court. It is quite an eye opener, offering every option that your hungry tummy can conjure up.
I obviously didn't come close to trekking the sub 20 miles but the food court alone is incentive enough to try.Listed in: I'm not ALWAYS eating you…
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Review from Beth M.
2/14/2010
I recommend visiting the Underground City to tourists especially if 1) It is cold when you are visiting 2) You tend to over-eat on vacation, like I do, and need some moderate exercise.
The Underground is something like 18 square miles underground--air-conditioned in the warmer months and heated in the colder months.
Shops, shops and more shops. And the biggest, most diverse food court I have ever seen.
Visiting Montreal during the dead of winter, we walked a good portion of it. It's pretty amazing that something like this was built. I can't imagine a city like Chicago having a system like this....our pedway is pretty sad compared to the Underground City and often under construction.
Free health care and the Underground City? Color me impressed!Listed in: A Midwesterner in Montreal
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Review from John K.
11/2/2009 1 photo
Inside, it looks just like a mall. But what gives it its charm is that it's underground! I felt like I was exploring an underground city that thrived after some horrific disaster that occured above ground. For a few seconds, I thought 'Waterworld' meets "Blast from the Past". There really is no logic behind it, but that's what I felt, and what I feel is a result of my feelings. That makes sense.
There weren't many chain-retail stores (they were all above ground, those snooty bastids), mostly off brands and family-owned businesses. But browsing through mom-and-pop shops made me feel warm inside. Some of the shopowners tried their best to push merchandise, and I was a victim of their puppy-face guilt-trip sales pitches. But no worries, I needed another pair of faux-shearling-lined cowboy boots. -
Review from David D M.
7/30/2009
29 km of underground corridors. It's basically a large network of connecting shopping malls. Nothing to scoff at when it is snowing outside and above, however. It connects to the metro and it's clean. You could, if in the area, do all your day to day errands and never go above ground.
Even though it is so big and in the middle of downtown, it's not used by everyone. One of my friends who lived in the area said she never could really use it well since it doesn't connect to the university. -
Review from Jane D.
8/26/2011
I don't see the city part of it-- it's an underground mall with many exits. I tried the poutine (poo-TEEN) for the first time in the food court, it's pretty good. French fries with cheese curds covered with brown gravy, delicious!
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Review from Lenny Z.
7/3/2011
More like underground mall. There's nothing city about. It's a bunch of shops and places to eat, and just happens to be bellow ground. If you want a good mall, sure check it out. But if you're looking for something more, this is a waste of your time.
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Review from Jenni B.
5/14/2009
Perhaps if I had visited in the winter I would have been more impressed.
The underground city is interesting to me as we don't have them in Vancouver, however it is essentially a series of connected malls (and the University of course), and offers the same stores with shameless repetition. There are limited stores which are not chains, so if you are visiting from anywhere in Canada this will not offer a unique shopping experience with few exceptions.
The food courts were however handy for quick bites. -
Review from Janel Y.
6/10/2010 1 photo
Perfect day to check out the Underground City since it was wet and rainy. I had planned to walk the entire thing, but halfway into it, I was getting bored so we ended up leaving and walked around Chinatown instead.
The place is filled with lots of shops and eateries. There's quite a food court (didn't eat there) there and it links malls together as well as takes you to the Metro. It's clean and there are places to sit and rest your feet.
It reminds me of the underground tunnels in Houston, TX which serves as an underground network of shops and eateries for locals to escape the harsh conditions of the Texas heat. I imagine when Winter comes, people are more apt to travel in the Underground City to get their errands done or to get to the Metro. -
Review from Amy S.
7/31/2010
First off - I found this place bloody difficult to find! Maybe I just didn't understand the concept but I thought that I'd be able to zip down after a visit to the museum and at the point on my map where it said there was an entrance, I'd be able to pop underground. Well, I spent nearly 2 hours looking for the ruddy place! I was finally headed back to the hotel when, by lucky chance, I found an entrance! Yay!!!
I was more interested in the Underground City as, well, an underground city than I was interested in it as a mall. The concept fascinates me and I wanted to see what it was like. But unfortunately, once you're in it you forget that you're underground and just feel like you're in a mall. The concept still amazes me, and I'm glad that I checked it out (and I think that you should too if you're in Montreal) but I'm not sure if it would be someplace I'd make a point in putting on my itinerary again.
I can definitely see this being a benefit in the winter especially if you could use it as part of your commute so you could walk without having to trudge through the slush and freeze your toesies off! -
Review from Andy H.
8/7/2008
What an amazing feature in this extremely cold city in the winter. I went to Montreal in February 2007, and while many people said I was crazy, I knew about this underground city while researching my trip.
Montreal's underground city is directly underneath this amazing city. It is 19 miles long, and it links many major buildings and shopping options.
This underground city is spotless! As a New Yorker, I walked through this tunnel, and was amazed by the cleanliness of the passageways.
So many restaurants, stores and other things to do while walking around the city below Montreal. My hotel, the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth had an escalator outside its lobby door that brought you down to the underground city. -
Review from Gregor G.
6/1/2010
While I appreciate shiny things (they instantly distract me) and occasional refuge from the elements, I think there is something romantic about freezing your arse off walking outdoors and having to dust the snow off your noggin when you go into a shoppe. Maybe the whole underground mall thing just brings out my claustrophobic side if I think about it for too long, but all-in-all, I wasn't that wowed by this 18-mile retail explosion. Ask me again when I'm a geriatric, sporting a track suit.
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Review from Mahsa Y.
Montréal, QC
1/12/2010
I guess I was a little disappointed, so I wouldn't want to get anyone else's hopes up.
Imagine half a dozen underground malls that are connected. That is pretty much it. If you enjoy food courts, and shopping all day without seeing daylight, then this might be your place. But the shopping above is better, in my humble opinion. And the food as well.
I don't find the underground as charming as I find it convenient, but if you like spending your day as a mole, then I think you'd like it here. I have lived in Montreal for 6 months, and don't use if very often.
And yes, it is clean, and it is impressive how big it really is. It is huge. -
Review from Jay A.
9/21/2010
A mole-like world...who knew, right? Miles and miles of subterranean pathways and shopping, fountains, and plantlife (???) so that you can avoid the extreme weather of Montreal (very hot or very cold). A very interesting place for one who doesn't live in Montreal.
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Review from Jenna R.
8/30/2008
We were all -- me and the 12-year-old niblings -- impressed with the cleanliness and efficiency of the underground walkways and buildings. "This is nothing like New York, it's clean," they repeated several times. It's truly a terrific idea in a city that can get blisteringly cold. Even though we were here at summer's end, we really enjoyed the uniqueness of subterranean shopping, and even the pre-teens could appreciate the practicality. I only wish the entrances were better marked, since it seems we passed several before finally figuring out how to get in.
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Review from Ari S.
Ottawa, ON
9/5/2008
You must be kidding me. I don't get what people are talking about when they talk about the underground city (much less as an actual tourist attraction). Tourists all know about it but ask any Montrealer and they scoff at the very idea. The "underground city" is nothing more than a series of interconnected shopping malls on St. Catherine in the downtown of Montreal. Lots of boring, overpriced stores (just remember: if you miss one Aldo shoe store, just keeping walking and you'll be sure to find another) and crappy food courts. Sure, wandering through that dizzying maze of consumer nothingness is preferable to walking outside when it's 30 below in February but that's not saying much now, is it?
