Montreal has two lovely outdoor farmers markets and we made a point to visit both.  

The first trip was to the Atwater Market by the Lachine Canal.  The market has been open since the 1930’s and is home to many vegetable and fruit stands and a large indoor area with butcher shops, fromagerie’s and boulangerie’s.

After all our poutine eating, we shopped around the market for some fruits and vegetables for a picnic lunch near the canal. 

Our picnic, some local cheese, buffalo mozzarella, heirloom cherry tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries and a fresh baguette.

On the other side of Montreal in Little Italy, you have the Jean-Talon Market.  It is much larger in size than Atwater and from what I saw Jean-Talon caters more to locals, while Atwater is more of a tourist destination. 

Jean-Talon Market opened the same year as the Atwater Market. The reason for the surge in public markets was because the city was suffering due to the Great Depression and in order to create jobs federal and municipal programs were instituted.  By building these markets and more, many people were put to work in the city and it helped raise the unemployment rate. 

Lobster tank or in french Homard!