This cultural capital is home of the most happening Polestar Space

Bite-sized facts about Canada’s cultural capital

Let’s kick this off with some light-hearted facts about Montréal, Canada. Pocket-sized info bits to make you shine (or keep up) at your next soiree.

The French-speaking and multicultural city of Montréal is the second most populous in Canada and is an island among over 400 islands on the Saint Lawrence River. (Bonus fact: it used to be the largest city before Toronto took over the title sometime in the 70s.)

Another brain basher is that Montréal is located on the same latitude as Venice, Italy. And that’s not all. Montréal has a city underneath the actual city. The beautiful, yet confusing, “Underground City” is a maze of interconnected tunnels and shops that runs for over 32 km (20 miles). Due to cold temperatures, the Underground City is heavily frequented during the winter when over 500,000 people frequent the tunnels daily to get to shopping malls, museums, universities, metros, and more.

Last, but not least, Montréal lives and breathes jazz. Every year, for twelve days straight, the metropolis becomes a venue for jazz-loving festivalgoers to enjoy the improv-based music genre.  

Montréal attracts more than 11 million yearly

Oh, Canada. This Quebecois city seemingly has it all: one of the world's best jazz scenes, multilingual citizens, a city mountain with a green oasis on top, and poutine. No wonder then that the city attracts over 11 million tourists each year.

11 million visitors. That’s more than twice the population of the jazz-loving city. This massive influx of people, particularly during summer, is something that the local tourism board, Tourisme Montréal, is looking at both proudly and critically.

With the world’s increasing climate challenges, the concept of green tourism is rapidly gaining popularity with cities across the globe keen to embrace resilience and sustainability as key elements to prosperous tourism. For Tourisme Montréal, that means becoming more proactive and strategic in managing the destination so that residents and tourists can coexist harmoniously with each other and the environment.

Beyond the vast number of travellers, tourism prosperity is defined by Tourisme Montréal as improved visitor experience, increased local satisfaction, local economic benefits, and the preservation of green spaces that support a vibrant living environment adapted to climate change. 

Shared knowledge means raising awareness of your impact

Let’s say those bite-sized snack facts about Montréal got you hooked on visiting the city. So, you’ve packed your bags and some edible snacks, and you’re out the door. Now, you might be wondering if there’s anything you can do to mitigate environmental and social damage to the city you're travelling to. And the answer is: yes, there is! Here are a few ways you can make a difference.

Calculate your carbon footprint

The city’s tourist board has developed a tool by which visitors can calculate their carbon footprints. By entering their main form of transportation to and from Montréal, what type of vehicle they’ll be using during their stay, and where they’ll be staying, visitors can get an estimate of the climate impact of their entire visit. Tourists are then given the opportunity to offset their carbon footprint by donating to a tree-planting organisation.

Become an honorary local

Another way of deepening your commitment to sustainable travel is taking the Visitor’s Pledge. It’s a reminder that all people must respect and take care of the cities we explore, even if one is just passing through. Taking the Visitor’s Pledge means you commit to using reusable bottles and cans, buying local, and travelling sustainably within the city.

Drive electric

Quebec (the region that Montréal is part of) is an EV-ally. Quebec has a plan for 2030 which includes accelerating the growth of the EV charging infrastructure and increasing the availability of fast chargers and charging compatible parking spaces. The government has already implemented a toll exemption program for electric vehicles, along with reserving lanes on the highways for those with a green plate on their EV, and creating financial incentives and benefits.

Polestar Montréal

The new Montréal space first opened its doors in February 2024 and is the largest Polestar space in North America. The city’s previous Space had proved to be one of our most popular, with an impressive number of handovers in the past years. Moving to a bigger space meant that Polestar Montréal could also accommodate those in need of servicing, making the Space a one-stop shop for all customers.

Space Manager Timothee Girard explains that the recipe for success is having a passionate, hard-working team eager to provide a great service. “We’re a five-person team that has learned to unite like the five fingers of a hand, to make the North Star shine bright above Quebec.”

And there’s no stopping the team now. “We finally have this extraordinary Space that really reflects our brand. Our goal will always be to give it our all because we’re so proud of what Polestar Montréal has become.”

Polestar Montréal welcomes all visitors at 4600 Boul Robert-Bourassa Laval Quebec H7E 0A6, Canada.