Urban architecture vs. housing styles in Montreal

Montreal is known for it's wide range of different architectural styles, varying from old to new, and influenced by many different cultures. This is why Montreal was the first city to be appointed a UNESCO city of design in 2006. Going for a walk through Montreal is like travelling through time. You will pass the most luxurious buildings in the Victorian architectural style, next to great historic churches, stemming from the 18th and 19th century, such as the Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal, located on Old Montreal and the Old Port. You might also come across modern looking skyscrapers, and building complexes, or futuristic constructions, such as the Expo 67.

When it comes to living styles in Montreal, you will find that there are great differences in the architectural styles as well. In urban areas of Montreal there are many huge apartment buildings, stretching over several lots, which may even take up a whole block. The more modern ones are secured through doormen, and might offer special amenities, such as pools, gyms, and rentable party rooms.

A rather new trend, which has been growing in popularity in Montreal in recent years, is apartments located in recycled buildings. These recycled, residential buildings can mostly be found in central neighborhoods of the city, and offer spacious standard apartments in addition to open lofts, where bathrooms are typically the only separated rooms.

Finally, another form of apartment building in Montreal is small apartment houses. Small apartment houses have one main entrance, and are usually used as rental apartments, rather than being sold.

Montreal also offers their residents several kinds of row houses. They include regular cottages (with porches, balconies and overhanging windows), so called working-class duplexes, which typically have plain redbrick facades. 2-/3-unit duplexes also fall under the category of row houses, they usually have a small porch and a small garden attached to them, as well as an exterior staircase leading up to the second floor units. Row houses also included triplex buildings with three, five, or six units. Three unit triplexes physically have one unit on each level, which are all connected through an exterior staircase. Five and six unit triplexes are known for their big balconies, supported by columns.

You will also find Semi-detached houses in Montreal. Semi-detached houses are usually two houses sharing one wall, with a front garden, a rear garden, and a driveway. Generally, there are two types of semi-detached houses in Montreal. One kind is a semi-detached duplex, where each side of the semi-detached house contains two units. They usually have a small porch, as well as a garden. Another kind of semi-detached house is the so-called semi-detached cottage. Semi-detached cottages typically have two stories, a garden and have usually the same layout as row houses, however they are more luxurious than simple row houses.

Finally, another common housing style in Montreal is detached houses, which are also called single family homes. They can mostly be found in the suburbs of Montreal, but sometimes they also appear in less-dense areas of the city center, meaning neighborhoods like Mercier, or Rosemont.

If you are looking for more information on the different architectural styles, which can be found in Montreal, as well as more information on the different buildings, and open hours you can have a look at the official website of Montreal under http://www.tourisme-montreal.org.

For more details on the different housing styles in Montreal, please visit http://www.louer.com/info-centre/montreal-housing-types.htm . If you are interested in buying a house or apartment in Montreal visit bestmortgagemontreal.com, or call 1-855-777-1711 to learn more about the best mortgage rates you will find.