Best souvenirs from Montreal (by a local)

Montreal is a charming city with a unique character so the souvenirs that you will bring home need to be as special as the city. Below you will not find the boring shoot glass, fridge magnet or generic postcard made in China to bring home. In this article, I give you the best souvenirs from Montreal locally made souvenirs that will bring you joy every time you see them. This guide has everything from local food to charming bookstores and a variety of unique shopping locations in Montreal. The hardest part will be choosing which store will you visit first.

Add these to your Montreal itinerary, grab your wallet, and head to Montreal to start your shopping spree!

Maple products

Maple products are a must to bring home. After all, the maple leaf is in the Canadian flag! Also, did you know that the province of Quebec is the largest producer of maple syrup in the world? Quebec provides about 75% of the global supply!

You can buy a maple syrup can at any supermarket and it will cost you around $5. If you want other maple syrup products, you can buy maple butter, maple candy, maple tea, maple cones, maple liquor and maple cookies! To name a few other products. You can also buy them at the supermarket or you can go to Délices Érable & Cie or Autour de l’érable in Old Montreal. Domaine des 15 lots, Le Marché des Saveurs du Québéc located in the Jean-Talon Market are also good options.

If you are visiting between March & April you will be probably going to the Sugar Shack and you will be able to buy things directly from the producers.

Food

While doing your research, might have seen that Montreal is a foodie city and we have 11 must-eat dishes. Luckily for you, you can buy some of them to bring home.

Bagels are an easy option to bring home, they can easily be stored and won't go bad immediately.

Le Petit Dep – Café et épicerie fine is local gourmet shop with products from more than 50 Quebec artisans. such as chocolatey spreads from Allo Simonne and La Lichée or Logan Petit Lot and Tigidou jams made with native fruits. Or you can have local honey from Miels d’Anicet. Or you can bring home the famous Joe Beef spices

There is also locally made chocolate. the award-winning Etat de Choc makes delicious chocolate and incorporates Quebec ingredients like pine and maple. Some of the packaging is inspired by Montreal which makes a great gift to bring back home. Whenever I go see my family in Florida this is what I bring them.

Toutes les choses parfaites is an upscale Montréal Dep (the local nickname for a corner store) with only local products. There’s also a plant selection, a café, local drinks and other souvenirs.

Local Cheeses can be a good gift like the squeaky cheese curd, one of the main ingredients in the famous poutine. However, do take into consideration the refrigeration and the smell factor in your luggage.

Alcohol

The city has plenty of craft beer with different types and flavours. Most of the Montreal breweries have a boutique or a fridge where you can buy some cans to take home or you can buy some of the cans in the supermarkets.

Quebec has a lot of locally made alcohol such as local wine from the Eastern townships. Ice Wine is the local specialty where the grapes are harvested while completely frozen resulting in a very sweet wine. You have the same process with Ice Cider. Cider is also a great local product to bring back home. You can buy local wine and cider at the SAQ.

Quebec has jumped into the crafts gin and the results are amazing! We have a lot of northern botanicals with flavorful tastes that you will not have elsewhere! One of my favourite gins is Gin Neige a gin flavoured with ice cider, a perfect combination of 2 local specialties. There are also maple-flavoured products like the famous Coureur des Bois. All of the hard alcohol needs to be purchased at the SAQ.

Hockey memorabilia

You might have seen that Montrealers are crazy about ice Hockey! If you happen to visit between late September and early May, be sure to try to buy tickets to see a game. Whether you are going to a game or not, you can buy Hockey memorabilia.

Visit the official Canadiens store to buy souvenir gifts near the Bell Center, which offers hundreds of items from traditional hockey jerseys to license plate frames.

Jewelry

Montreal has plenty of hand-made jewelry stores. All the stores below have their style and specialties and they are all scattered around the city, perfect to discover a new neighbourhood. Here is a handpicked list of Montreal hand-made jewelry: Camillette bijoux, Atelier LAF, Corail Blanc, Femme Mécanique Designs, KEMMI, Myel, Anne-Marie-Chagnon, Impact Galerie, Argent Tonic, Ecksand, Ruby Mardi, Deux Lions, Lidia jewelry.

Cosmetics

If cosmetics, beauty products, soap and candles are your thing, then I have some suggestions for you!

BKIND is a vegan, all-natural, eco-responsible beauty brand. Les Mauvaises Herbes has beauty products and homemade artisanal crafts. Savonnerie M'Nonga specializes in natural soaps, bath salts, oils, and body butter that are eco-responsible. Les Citadines is a candle store that has a fun Montréal collection with 7 different candles representing the different neighbourhoods.

Clothes and other accessories

Forget the dull basic Montreal souvenir shirt that everyone buys at regular tourist shops, here is a list of Made in Quebec brands.

Artgang is an art collective that sells fun local redux spins on iconic designs. They also collaborate with local illustrators. They do T-shirts, caps and more.

Le Cartel is also an art collective that sells clothes and prints. The hubby loves to shop here, unfortunately, I find that their clothes don’t fit me properly. Le Cartel produced the largest mural ever created by a woman in Canada - 15,000 square feet in the Mile End neighbourhood. You can see the beautiful piece by Ola Volo on de Gaspe Street. I have a whole article dedicated to Montreal Street Art where you can learn more.

While not made in Montreal, the city has plenty of thrift stores and curated vintage shops like La Caravane Vintage, Le Chaînon, Kapara Vintage, Annex Village and Marché Floh.

Looking for upscale and designer products, here are some stores recommendations for you: Rudsak, M0851, Frank and Oak, Mat and Nat, Harricana, Denis Gagnon, Betina Lou, Atelier B, BODYBAG by Jude, Ca Va de Soi, Odeyalo, Maguire. Tourisme Montréal collected some of the brands with descriptions of each one.

Stationary & Art Prints

If you love postcards, fun stationery and lovely prints, then this is the section for you.

Designed and printed in Montréal, Paperole has postcards and prints as well as books and mugs. They define themselves as a gallery and store. They have a lot of Montreal theme articles.

Station 16 is a gallery for contemporary urban art. They have prints from their artists and a collection of prints of Montreal neighbourhoods. We have the Saint-Henri print at home.

Quebec literature and music

I love reading books from the destinations I visit, this not only allows me to revisit the places but also to deepen my understanding of the place. Same for music!

Here is a list of independent bookstores and music stores for you. Ask the clerks to point you to local authors or musicians. For the libraries, you can visit Le Port de tête,Librairie Bertrand, Librairie St-Henri Books, Librairie Drawn & Quarterly. For music go to Aux 33 Tours, the city’s biggest vinyl album boutique.

Or you can go to bigger stores like Renaud Bray or Archambault.

All-in-one Montreal souvenir shops

If you are visiting Montreal for only 3 days, you might be wondering if there is a one-stop shop where you can do all your souvenir shopping, luckily for you, there are some stores where you can buy anything from postcards to T-shirts to coffee mugs, all made from local artisans. As you might have guessed, most of them are concentrated in Old Montreal.

Boutique Bonjour Montréal in the Place Jacques-Cartier is the place to find original made-in-Quebec gifts at reasonable prices. They have anything from bagel-shaped Christmas Ornaments to mugs, prints and more! I find this store very cute, I pop in every time I’m in the old Montreal.

Also in the old Montreal, Marché Saint-Laurent is located in the historic Aldred Building adjacent to the Notre-Dame Basilica. The store does not have a big selection of products. They sell locally sourced products ranging from books to clothing. They also have specialty coffee.

Another store in the old town is Artisans Canada, they sell over 200 ingenious artisans' and designers' Canadian souvenirs. They have everything from leather bags, cute bear sculptures, winter hats, and hoodies to jewelry.

Finally, L'empreinte coopérative is a gift shop that showcases the work of many passionate Quebec designers. You will find a variety of original gifts handmade in Quebec.

Arloca is a Quebec family business. All their products are made 100% either in Montreal, Quebec or Canada. They are also eco-responsible. They have everything from jewelry, clothes, souvenirs and home artifacts. They are located near the Beaubien metro.

Artpop Montréal is a little shop in the Plateau Mont-Royal that has local souvenirs anything from jewelry to posters to magnets. Everything is locally made.

Pony’s boutique has limited-edition prints, books, vinyls, clothes, pins, scented candles and stuffed toys that are perfect for the little one. Everything is super colourful and they are located on rue Saint-Hubert

Bref, ART + DESIGN has anything from mural art to glasses and other home decor. Bref is a gallery shop that hosts monthly exhibitions of different artists and emerging brands from here and elsewhere. They are in the Mile End.

Tah-dah! offers handmade Québec products, located right next to the JeanTalon market. You'll find jewellery, candles, ceramics and much more.

Museum boutiques

Museum boutiques are always a great place to find local artists and Montreal Museum boutiques are no exception.

The Montréal Museum of Fine Arts offers large art books, ceramics and jewelry.

McCord Stewart Museum which focuses on Montréal history offers fun STM (public transit) memorabilia.

The Boutique de Pointe-à-Callière also offers original and unique local items such as jewellery and a lot history books or books about Montreal and Quebec.

What are you bringing home from your Montreal travel? Let me know in the comments below.

Happy shopping!

BRB acknowledges that Montreal is located on unceded Indigenous lands. The Kanien’kehá:ka Nation is recognized as the custodian of the lands and waters on which we gather today. Tiohtià:ke/Montréal is historically known as a gathering place for many First Nations. Today, it is home to a diverse population of Indigenous and other peoples.

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