Why is the underground city so popular in winter?

It shelters people from cold and snow

It is the only place with shops

Montreal Underground City Quiz: Life Below the Streets

When winter hits minus 20, many Montrealers can still walk to work, shop and catch a hockey game without going outside, and this Montreal underground city quiz explains how. Play 10 interactive questions on RÉSO, Place Ville Marie, I. M. Pei, Vincent Ponte, the 1966 metro, Expo 67, the Bell Centre and the network's size.

Start Montreal Underground City Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Length
Roughly how long are the walkways of Montreal's underground city?
Name
What is the network's official name?
Start
Which complex began the underground city in 1962?
Architect
Which architect designed Place Ville Marie's cross-shaped tower?
Planner
Which urban planner promoted the idea of a connected underground network?
Metro
When did the Montreal Metro open, linking key parts of the network?
Why
Why is the underground city so popular in winter?
Arena
Which hockey arena connects to the network?
Toronto
What is Toronto's similar underground network called?
Expo
Which world's fair spurred building in Montreal in the 1960s?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Roughly how long are the walkways of Montreal's underground city?
Answer: About 32 km
It is one of the largest pedestrian networks of its kind.
Q2: What is the network's official name?
Answer: RÉSO
It plays on réseau, the French word for network.
Q3: Which complex began the underground city in 1962?
Answer: Place Ville Marie
Its shopping concourse connected to the train station.
Q4: Which architect designed Place Ville Marie's cross-shaped tower?
Answer: I. M. Pei
Pei's firm designed the landmark office tower.
Q5: Which urban planner promoted the idea of a connected underground network?
Answer: Vincent Ponte
He envisioned separating pedestrians from traffic.
Q6: When did the Montreal Metro open, linking key parts of the network?
Answer: 1966
The metro arrived just before Expo 67.
Q7: Why is the underground city so popular in winter?
Answer: It shelters people from cold and snow
Office workers and shoppers can avoid harsh weather.
Q8: Which hockey arena connects to the network?
Answer: Bell Centre
The Montreal Canadiens play there.
Q9: What is Toronto's similar underground network called?
Answer: PATH
Toronto's PATH is also among the world's largest.
Q10: Which world's fair spurred building in Montreal in the 1960s?
Answer: Expo 67
The city modernized quickly before hosting it.

Montreal Underground City Quiz – Life Below the Streets

Montreal's underground city, officially called RÉSO, is a network of about 32 km of walkways linking shopping centers, offices, hotels, universities and metro stations. Its name plays on the French word réseau, meaning network.

It began in 1962 with Place Ville Marie, whose cross-shaped tower was designed by I. M. Pei's firm, and planner Vincent Ponte promoted the idea of separating pedestrians from traffic. The metro, opened in 1966 before Expo 67, connected the pieces.

In winter, the network lets people travel around downtown without facing cold and snow. It links to venues such as the Bell Centre, home of the Canadiens. Toronto's PATH is a similar system.

What This Quiz Teaches

Travelers and city fans will enjoy these questions.

How large RÉSO is
How it began
Who designed key parts
Why locals use it
How it compares with Toronto

Did You Know?

Much of the network is technically below ground but sunlit by atriums.
Several universities connect to RÉSO.
Signs use the RÉSO logo.
Many buildings link through private passages.
Montreal winters can bring heavy snowfall.