Downtown Montreal shops to stay open later on weekends
Last Updated: Monday, November 24, 2008 | 6:38 PM ET
CBC News
Shops within this zone in downtown Montreal are now allowed to stay open later on weekends. (City of Montreal)Merchants in downtown Montreal will be able to keep their shops open later on weekends as part of a government-sanctioned pilot project to stimulate tourism.
Downtown shops within a prescribed zone can now do business until 8 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, economic development minister Raymond Bachand announced Monday.
The 18-month project is designed to make the city's downtown core more attractive to tourists who flock to Montreal on the weekends and want to spend money, he said.
Shops currently close at 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
The new opening hours apply to shops located within the zone roughly bounded by Saint-Urbain St. in the east, Atwater Ave. in the west, Sherbrooke St. in the north and parts of St. Antoine, St. Jacques and Notre Dame streets in the south.
