Parc Jeanne-Mance

Parc Jeanne-Mance — the Plateau’s big lawn, at the foot of Mount Royal

This is one of the rare places in Montreal where you feel the pulse of the city and the pulse of the mountain at the same time. Backing onto the east flank of Mount Royal, facing the winged figure atop the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Monument, Parc Jeanne-Mance is at once a neighbourhood sports complex, a picnic lawn and the natural overflow of the Sunday Tam-Tams. Fourteen flat, open, tree-lined hectares where the Plateau-Mont-Royal comes to play soccer, sunbathe, skate and listen to the drums.

Highlights

• The overflow of the Tam-Tams — every Sunday of the warm season, the gathering of drummers born at the foot of the Cartier monument spills over onto the park’s lawns, with dancers, craft vendors and costumed medieval combat.
• The Sir George-Étienne Cartier Monument — unveiled on September 6, 1919, the work of sculptor George William Hill, crowned by a winged figure of Fame and surrounded by eighteen bronze figures; it faces the park from across the road.
• Place Fletcher’s Field — the entrance esplanade that keeps the site’s historic name, with public washrooms built underneath.
• The Louis-Rubenstein fountain — an Art Deco drinking fountain dedicated to the Montreal skater and sports organizer Louis Rubenstein (1861-1931).
• A synthetic-turf soccer field — usable for a good part of the year, with tennis courts lit in the evening right beside it.
• The head-on view of Mount Royal — the park looks straight at the wooded flank of the mountain, which makes it the best starting point for walking up to the lookout.

What’s inside

Jeanne-Mance is a heavily used park: fourteen hectares almost entirely programmed, where every strip of ground has a function. The sports section takes up the centre and the north, the big open lawn runs along the mountain side, and the family areas are spread across the two ends.

• A softball field and tennis courts with night lighting.
• A synthetic-surface soccer and football field and a multi-sport area.
• An outdoor pool and wading pool open in summer.
• An outdoor rink set up during the cold season.
• Playgrounds for children and a fenced dog park.
• Large open lawns edged with mature trees, unfenced and freely accessible at all times.

What to do and who it’s for

• The curious and Sunday strollers — take in the Tam-Tams without being a musician: you settle on the lawn, you watch, you listen, and it costs nothing to get in.
• Neighbourhood athletes — soccer, tennis, softball and volleyball are played here in informal leagues practically every summer evening.
• Families — the wading pool, the playgrounds and the flat lawns make the park an easy outing, with no climbing, unlike the mountain next door.
• Urban hikers — the park is the handiest entry point to the Mount Royal trails, right across the way.
• Dog owners — the fenced dog area is one of the most used in the Plateau-Mont-Royal.
• Lovers of history and sculpture — the Cartier monument, with its ensemble of bronzes from 1919, is one of the most ambitious public monuments in Montreal.

Getting there and practicalities

The park occupies the western edge of the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, directly across from Parc du Mont-Royal. By métro, Mont-Royal station on the orange line is the closest: count on about ten minutes’ walk west. Several STM bus routes, including the 80 and the 435, run along the park and connect it to downtown in a few minutes; Place-des-Arts station, on the green line, is another convenient starting point by bus. Access to the park is entirely free and it stays open year-round. Some facilities — the pool, bookable fields, supervised activities — run on seasonal schedules and may be charged separately. Allow an hour just to walk across, half a day on a Tam-Tams Sunday.

When to visit

In spring, as soon as the snow leaves the lawns, the park goes back to being the neighbourhood’s first improvised soccer pitch, and the Tam-Tams start up again with the first mild Sundays. Summer is high season: the wading pool full, sports leagues every evening, an informal craft market and a dense crowd on Sunday afternoons. Autumn offers a rare contrast — the maples on the flank of Mount Royal, just across the way, turn red and gold while the lawns empty out, which makes it the best moment for photography and for a quiet walk. In winter the park does not go dormant: the outdoor rink runs as soon as the cold settles in, the gentle slopes toward the mountain serve for sledding, and the park is a natural jumping-off point for snowshoeing and winter walking on Mount Royal.

Worth knowing

The park was long called Fletcher’s Field, after a resident who grazed his cows along the edge of the ground. The place has a dense public history: Montreal’s Crystal Palace was moved here in 1878 before burning down in July 1896; the ground served as a parade and military training site in the early twentieth century, notably during the First World War; the Montreal Lacrosse Club and, in its early days, the Royal Montreal Golf Club played here. The movement to give the park a French name gathered strength around the Eucharistic Congress of 1910, in honour of Jeanne Mance (1606-1673), co-founder of Ville-Marie in 1642 and founder of the Hôtel-Dieu in 1645. The name remained unofficial for decades: the City of Montreal only made it official in 1990. The entrance esplanade, for its part, still carries the name Place Fletcher’s Field. As for the Tam-Tams, the tradition goes back to the mid-1960s, when a small group started drumming at the foot of the Cartier monument; the event took shape over the 1970s to become a Montreal Sunday institution.

Visitor tips

• On a summer Sunday, get here before noon if you want a shaded spot: the lawn on the mountain side fills up very fast.
• The park is flat, but the mountain starts immediately across the way — bring good shoes if you plan to carry on to the Mount Royal trails.
• The public washrooms are under the entrance esplanade; spot them as you arrive, because they are the only permanent facilities in the area.

Questions and answers

Do the Tam-Tams take place in Parc Jeanne-Mance? The core of the gathering is at the foot of the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Monument, on the mountain side, but the crowd, the vendors and the role-playing groups spill well over onto the park’s lawns. In practice, you experience the Tam-Tams on both sides.

When do the Tam-Tams happen? On Sundays during the warm season, generally from early afternoon until sunset. There is no ticketing and no registration: it is an open, free gathering.

Why is the park called Jeanne-Mance? In honour of Jeanne Mance (1606-1673), co-founder of Ville-Marie and founder of the Hôtel-Dieu in 1645. The name, used unofficially since 1910, was made official by the city in 1990.

Is the park connected to Mount Royal? Yes. It faces Parc du Mont-Royal directly and is one of the handiest pedestrian approaches to the mountain’s trails and lookout.

Which métro should I use? Mont-Royal station, on the orange line, followed by about ten minutes’ walk. Bus routes 80 and 435 also serve the park’s perimeter directly.

What is there to do in winter? Skate on the outdoor rink, slide down the gentle slopes, and use the park as a starting point for snowshoeing or winter walking on Mount Royal.

Is the park suitable for young children? Yes. It is flat and open, with playgrounds and a wading pool in summer, which makes it far easier with a stroller than the sloping trails of the mountain next door.