Montreal, Québec

The Murals on Saint Laurent Boulevard

Every year, the colorful murals of Montreal get a complete makeover.

On Saint Laurent Boulevard in Montreal is something of a living museum. Enormous murals stretch across the buildings at every intersection, and each June, the walls get a makeover, with artists from around the world converging on the city to redecorate this famous street.

Given the stigma that graffiti artists face, street art is often found stashed away in dark corners or secluded alleyways— but in recent years, graffiti has been gaining recognition as its own art form. On Montreal’s Saint Laurent Boulevard, urban art is celebrated as a legitimate form of expression that promotes the accessibility of art.

For a week every June, Montreal invites urban artists to set up shop on Saint Laurent Boulevard and take part in its Mural Festival. Visitors can watch as the artists paint over the previous year’s murals, adding their own colorful masterpiece to the mix for people to enjoy in the coming year.

From enormous cephalopods to skeletons in suit jackets, the subject matter of the murals is as lively as their color palettes. Whether you’re hopping between the trendy bars of Saint Laurent Boulevard or doing some shopping at its chic boutiques, strolling along this street is an experience in itself.

Every new intersection feels like an entirely new world, decorated with art that was made to be enjoyed not by museum-goers or art critics, but by regular people going about their daily business in the streets of Montreal.