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Montreal's Underground City (officially RÉSO or La Ville Souterraine in French) is the set of interconnected complexes (both above and below ground) in and around Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is also known as the indoor city (ville intérieure), and is one of the largest underground complexes in the world.

The lower floors of the Eaton Centre between the McGill and Peel metro stations
Not all portions of the indoor city (ville intérieure) are underground. The connections are considered tunnels architecturally and technically, but are air conditioned and have lighting as good as any building's liveable space does. Many tunnels are large enough to have shops on both sides of the passage. With over 32 km (20 mi) of tunnels spread over more than 12 km2 (4.6 sq mi), connected areas include shopping malls, apartment buildings, hotels, condominiums, banks, offices, museums, universities, seven metro stations, two commuter train stations, a regional bus terminal and the Bell Centre amphitheatre and arena.[citation needed] There are more than 120 exterior access points to the underground city. Each access point is an entry point to one of 60 residential or commercial complexes comprising 3.6 km2 (1.4 sq mi) of floor space, including 80% of all office space and 35% of all commercial space in downtown Montreal. In winter, some 500,000 people use the underground city every day.


Le Montréal souterrain, ou ville intérieure, est le réseau de ville souterraine de Montréal. Ce réseau souterrain couvre plus de 30 kilomètres de tunnels sous la terre. Il est considéré comme le plus grand complexe souterrain au monde. On lui donne depuis l’année 2004 le nom officiel de RÉSO.

Les tunnels et galeries permettent de relier de l’intérieur plusieurs édifices à bureaux, des complexes résidentiels, des centres commerciaux, des universités, des résidences de luxe et des hôtels. Les tunnels contiennent eux aussi une large gamme de restaurants et de boutiques allant du très chic au bon marché. Le Montréal souterrain contiendrait d’ailleurs près de 35 % de tous les commerces du centre-ville. En plus de permettre aux Montréalais de se déplacer en évitant les intempéries de l'hiver québécois, le réseau souterrain de Montréal permet donc de faire ses emplettes dans le confort de la ville intérieure.
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Categories & Keywords
Category:Architecture and Structures
Subcategory:Buildings
Subcategory Detail:
Keywords:city, montreal, pedestrian, reso, sousterrain, underground, walkway