Marché Bonsecours de Montréal

Touristy, overpriced mall with goods of fine quality at a significant markup to what they would sell for anywhere other than in a beautiful and historic building in a beautiful and historic area — and yes, the building itself is quite gorgeous. The stores make for okay browsing but unless you’re a tourist on a whistle stop tour you’d be better off shopping in other districts.
Stop for photos, use the restroom, buy nice somethings if you have money to burn, otherwise move along.

I’m as usually not surprised to see the Montrealers have let the tourists write majority of the reviews about a signature building of the Old Port. Marché Bonsecours has a beautiful architecture and blends so well with the surroundings. It has been well reconstructed inside with the idea of multipurpose use. The main floor is occupied by little shops and it is true some of them are overpriced and can be called tourist traps, but indeed there are some beautiful Canadian items that are not necessarily souvenirs you can discover browsing around.
The locals don’t come to Marché Bonsecours for their weekend shopping. They come because of the beautiful exhibition space at the bottom floor, entrance from rue de la Commune that overlooks Saint Laurence river. For few years now I have been frequenting the heartbreaking World Press photo exhibition in the very same hall. They come for special events organized at the third floor as Je t’aime en chocolat, small venue full of literally sweet joy. They come for the few pubs and cafes that use some of the market space. They come out of respect for the old historic building.
So, if you are wondering what to do this weekend go check the building for its architectural value, eat some chocolate and write an appreciative review in Unilocal for Marché Bonsecours.

This old historic market place has once again been turned into a market. There are little shops with some clothing, art, and souvenirs. It is worth going to to see the old architecture alone. It’s a very beautiful building. The stores were not the reason for me to go. It’s absolutely worth a stop if in old Montréal.

The Marché Bonsecours de Montréal is an incredible building with a ton of small shops as well as unique vendors. The majority of the items in this Marché are fairly expensive but if you are looking for some interesting art, for your home, designer clothing, or a place to spend some time at a café, then this is the place to visit.
The overall feel here is really great but again be prepared to shell out a lot of money for some merchandise. If your wallet isn’t that thick, then you can do what we did and just wander enjoying the window shopping.

Je rejoins plusieurs des avis déjà postés, le marché Bonsecours est un beau bâtiment et il est agréable d’y aller une fois pour le découvrir. Plusieurs petites boutiques mais assez chères et plutôt touristiques.
A voir si on passé faire une balade dans le Vieux Montréal.

Nice place to get some souvenirs —
There are many little stores that offer variety of goods from foods to jewelry.
There is a store where you can try some local cider and fois gras before making a purchase.
The place is in a touristic area, so the prices are high.

Marche Bonsecours… I thought this was going to be a pretty awesome place to check out some local wares, food, and whatnot but as it turns out this is nothing more than a crappy shopping mall. Although the market looks great on the inside… there wasn’t much to draw you in for long periods of time inside. A quick breeze through the doors and we were done.

It Was closed but The Building is Awesome and the Locations on the water is Fantastic

not a fan of the place. it’s mostly souvenir shops which are all the same. you visit one, you’ve seen them all.
the only time i’m at marché bonsecours is for the special events like je t’aime en chocolat (which is not bad) and mostly la braderie de mode clearance sale (for the fashionista in you, this is what heaven looks like minus the golden gates!)
is the place worth visiting? only if you stay outside and admired the architectural structure or you have a lot of time to kill or you literally got lost

I purchased a nice wool blend scarf for my son in Red Canoe, a menswear shop within this historic building which is now a shopping «mall». Some of the boutiques are inexpensive while others are high end. While I was not that impressed with any of the shops, I appreciated the fact that they each sell only Montréal made items. Go Local!

Reviewing this building for its architectural significance to the city of Montréal:
This stately building served as both a Canadian parliament building and as Montréal’s City Hall in the mid-1800’s, and it was the city’s primary public market for the following century. It was designated a Canadian National Historic Site in the 1900’s.
It’s a beautiful elongated building with a centralized dome. The exterior is very impressive, whereas the interior is open and nondescript, occupied by Québécois artisans in glass-​partitioned spaces.
Tip to the wise: there are excellent, clean (and plenty) men’s and women’s bathrooms here on the ground floor, far west corner. FYI.

The impressive building that’s Marche Bonsecour drew our attention, but every time we’d mention it we were met with derisive retorts about its upscale boutiques, as if it wasn’t that interesting. Which was a little confusing since it’s regularly referenced as a public market.
We stopped in anyway and discovered a couple of things. First, there’s a rich history to the building and its place in Montréal’s history. Second, what binds these stores together is that they only sell items made in Quebec by Quebec artisans. It just so happens this is the headquarters of the Quebec Craft Council. These are not souvenir shops, but upscale gift shops that sell unique, locally made wares. It’s a great place to find a unique item to remember your stay. My favorite boutique was Red Canoe, a stylish men’s apparel store selling designs inspired by Canadian heritage. I loved the store and its way cool clothing line.
In addition, there are art galleries and several restaurants that I imagine would be bustling in the evening.
Stop in with an open mind and enjoy the craftsmanship of local artisans.

This was my first stop on my Montréal Old Port wanderings… and truth be told, it was 35 degrees outside, so I was pleased to find the light on and people inside the Marche Bonsecours. A soon as I walked in, I was optimistic that I would find unique and locally made gifts to bring home to my LA peeps. This seemed to me to be a mini artists bazaar. As a perused the small shops I saw some neat things and some unique things, but the more unique and neat things were super expensive. I don’t want to sound like that horrible American tourist that wants to pay $ 5 for meticulously handmade crafts… but I’m talking three-​digit prices! Most other shops had touristy items, tshirts and keychains, etc.
I think if you have the budget to spend on some locally made gifts, this is a must. If not, its definitely a nice space to walk thru and have a cup of coffee or tea at the Café d Arts down toward the end of the space.

En général quand j’entends parler de marché je me dis cool je vais voir des fruits, des légumes et pleins de produit locaux… En plus de cela quand j’ai vu la façade du bâtiment je me suis dis ce Marché est vraiment magnifique (refait à neuf on dirait) et lorsque l’on rentre c’est la déception.
En effet il n’y a à l’intérieur aucun marché mais plus des boutiques type souvenir ou autres. C’était je pense un marché dans le temps mais c’est maintenant plus un lieu touristique qui selon moi n’a d’intérêt que l’extérieur. Et oui comme il y a plein de boutique tout est fractionné à l’intérieur et on perd la beauté des voutes et tout: c’est presque trop moderne à l’intérieur. Bön il faut relativiser car le bâtiment est tout de même sympa et c’est un lieu à voir car mythique dans le passé. En plus de cela il y une salle d’exposition au sous sol donc il y a de quoi voir mais ca né sert a rien d’apporter de sac de course.

En général quand j’entends parler de marché je me dis cool
je vais voir des fruits, des légumes et pleins de produit locauxEn plus de
cela quand j’ai vu la façade du bâtiment je me suis dis ce Marché est vraiment
magnifique (refait à neuf on dirait) et lorsque l’on rentre c’est la déception. En effet il n’y a à l’intérieur aucun marché mais plus des
boutiques type souvenir ou autres. C’était je pense un marché dans le temps
mais c’est maintenant plus un lieu touristique qui selon moi n’a d’intérêt que
l’extérieur. Et oui comme il y a plein de boutique tout est fractionné à
l’intérieur et on perd la beauté des voutes et tout: c’est presque trop
moderne à l’intérieur. Bön il faut
relativiser car le bâtiment est tout de même sympa et c’est un lieu à voir car
mythique dans le passé. En plus de cela il y une salle d’exposition au sous sol
donc il y a de quoi voir mais ca né sert a rien d’apporter de sac de course.

Magnifiquement situé en face du Vieux Port, après avoir paraît-​il abrité successivement le Parlement du pays, l’Hôtel de Ville et avoir subi plusieurs années d’abandon, le Marché Bonsecours accueille maintenant une succession de boutiques, de galeries et de restaurants.
Architecturalement c’est assez nul, on pénètre dans un grand couloir central qui n’a aucun cachet et né met absolument pas en valeur le bâtiment.
Commercialement c’est mitigé, quelques boutiques présentent un certain intérêt, d’autres sont de pures copies de ce que l’on trouve dans les rues adjacentes du Vieux Montréal.
Idem pour les galeries, dans l’ensemble pas folichonnes.
Au global, une déception.

Think Faneuil Hall In Boston. Some nice stuff that is just a bit overpriced and the rest is overpriced touristy stuff. Worth a walk through but wouldn’t rearrange the day to make it here either.
Not much else to say.

I end up visiting Marché Bonsecours de Montréal every time I visit Old Montréal. Just the exterior building does look awesome and well maintained.
The inside though was a MEH. as nothing much historical architecture left and the emphasis is on the artisan boutiques and galleries.
I never buy anything here… nothing for me to buy and most of the merchandise are over priced.
But it is a great place to get away from the winter cold and use their clean washrooms.
Do I really have to get out in the cold again!!!

En pensant à ce que je voulais dire à propos du Marché Bonsecours, je me disais un peu la même chose que Virginie. C’est un très bel édifice et de l’extérieur, il est assez impressionnant. Par contre, pour moi c’est là que ça s’arrête. À chaque fois que j’y rentre, je trouve que ça deviens un centre d’achat trop chi-​chi qui est fait pour les touristes riches seulement. On dit y exposer des oeuvres d’artistes québécois et montréalais, mais on dirait que toutes les choses se ressemblent et sont beaucoup plus dispendieuses qu’ailleurs. Allez-​y si vous êtes en visite juste pour le voir, mais né vous attendez pas à être impressionné à part pour l’architecture du bâtiment.

Français après,
Maybe it’s only the fact that it’s touristy but overall like previous comments says: It’s quite overtook by this Faneuil Market feeling to it. I would have to compare Marché Bonsecours to Faneuil Market in Boston. I know my review will mostly help the Bostonian but I mean Montréal is always compared to Boston so I think it’s fair to say that it looks like it. The place has lot of tourist trap with some nice product and everything but supremly overpriced and I don’t judge them; rent must be stupidely expensive. The place I like A LOT at Marché Bonsecours is Le Cabaret du Roy. You can have a Game and Big Game meal that’s really nice. Issue could be the price and the service that is super friendly, don’t get me wrong, but the Let’s-pretend-we-are-in-Nouvelle-France is just not my thing most of the time. It’s an amazing destination, but look my other review about Cabaret du Roy to know more about it.
On the cross-​street of Marché Bonsecours, the Church and some historical site like the house of Louis-​Joseph Papineau (an imminent political figure in the 1800’s), plus the backside of Marché Bonsecours on De La Commune has nice view of the Fleuve St-​Laurent and overall it’s a nice spot for jogging in the Summertime.
Peut-​être que c’est seulement parce que cette place-​là c’est une trappe à touriste où tout est vraiment dispendieux. On y retrouve les traditionnelles cochoneries. JE compare dans la version anglaise de cette critique au Faneuil Market dans Boston qui est le même genre de place avec des cossins typiques et des cochonneries qu’on retrouve partour. Honnêtement, je pense que c’est un véritable fiasco à l’intérieur. Trop Moderne, trop pour les petites madames qui n’ont pas internet qui aime les t-​shirt Montréal pis le sirop d’érable dans des petites bouteilles en forme de sirop d’érable. Je sonne p-​e un peu amer en parlant de tout ça mais le folklore est parfois réducteur à un point déluré. Comme le chandail rayé et le béret pour les parisiens j’imagine…enfin une chose est certaine, il y a le Cabaret du Roy que j’aime pour deux raisons: 1) Soirée de contes traditionnels; Pas quétaine et j’adore ce retour à la tradition orale. Des conteurs à qui j’ai eut des discussions, très bien! 2) Le menu: Beaucoup de gibiers, sans trop changer cet Avis sur le resto (que vous pouvez lire dans mes avis précédent) est tenu par un restaurateur à succès avec de bons coup: Retour à la cuisine recherché de plat de l’Époque de la Nouvelle-​France. L’ambiance acting du On-​est-​en-​Nouvelle-​France-​Avec-​une-​Parlure est un peu typique mais c’est ça le Marché Bonsecours! En Revenche, l’arrière sur la rue De La Commune offre une belle vue du fleuve, bon coin pour relaxé, jogger. Dans les rues avoisinantes on retrouve la Maison de Louis-​Joseph Papineau puis quelques Églises très mignonnes.

A beautiful heritage building that is unfortunately boring. The boutiques in the main hall have some beautiful versions of the same touristy things you’ll find in the alley shops around Old Montréal. There is a surprising and gorgeous space in the basement with huge windows — architectural magic achieved on a hill — used for special events.

If you want to spend an afternoon browsing at useless stuff you’ll never use, come here. The only thing I like is the physical attributes of the building and the fact that its in Old Montréal. At least you can escape to other better sights and sounds and you’re not coming here just for the Marché Bonsecours.
Just not my cup of tea. A lot of Artisan goods being sold if you’re into that kind of stuff.

Petit espace sur deux étages proposant des boutiques, un café avec accès wifi et des expositions d’art contemporain.
(Voir photo ci-​dessous)

This is basically a small boutique-​market, in a prime location in Vieux-​Montréal. There are not many stores; a few boutiques, an art gallery, a souvenir shop, and a couple restaurants. Everything here seems to be on the pricey side, too.
But hey, if you are there, it’s not gonna cost you anything to just go walk through — maybe you’ll find something you like and it’ll be worth your while? Not at all a «must-​see» if time is short.

Alors oui, c’est un beau bâtiment. N’hésitez pas à le prendre en photo d’ailleurs. En plus il est situé dans le vieux Montréal, un quartier vraiment beau tout en vieilles pierres et rues pavées (éviter les talons Mesdames…) dans le genre So-​French! Maintenant l’intérieur… Bön c’est joli aussi hein. Mais c’est juste que le choix de boutiques casse pas trois pattes à un canard. Des galeries d’art et des boutiques d’artisanat qui se confonde un peu trop avec des magasins de souvenirs à mon goût pour né pas paraître suspectes… Bref, à voir éventuellement. Pas forcément à visiter.
A noter: il y a parfois des stands au dehors qui valent le coup, ce sont des producteurs locaux de vins, sirop d’érable, miel, etc. Leurs produits sont généralement bons.

Definitely a glitzy, artsy, lackluster tourist trap. Not sure why this is a must do in every single guide book and website. The building is beautiful but the interior is marred by galleries I would never buy anything from. Oh well.

Marché Bonsecours or Bonsecours Market in English is a covered marketplace distinguished from the outside by the pointy dome in the middle of the building. It houses a few restaurants on the bottom floor and a bunch of art galleries on the main floor. Some of them are touristy, but quite a few are very cool and worth looking at. One Asian guy was selling «old» paintings. There were some neat glass sculptures (there’s a glass lab in the basement). I remember there being a gallery with such expensive work that I was afraid to lean in the wrong direction. Many of the galleries will ship the art for you if you purchase it. We escaped in here during a rainy day and it was a perfect way to spend a few hours.
The business hours are seasonal, so check the website for exact times.