Living · Duel · Notre-Dame-de-Grâce or Montreal's Sud-Ouest · October 11, 2026
Two neighbouring areas, the pros and cons of each side by side, and the con that most often decides between the two.
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce or Montreal's Sud-Ouest, the pros and cons side by side. Notre-Dame-de-Grâce: pro, Brick houses on quiet streets, two metro stations, the MUHC, schools in both languages and a bilingual neighbourhood. Con, A house costs $1.25 million: NDG is no longer an entry neighbourhood, and the plex condo is the alternative. Montreal's Sud-Ouest: pro, The Lachine Canal, its paths and parks, with downtown on foot or by bike from Griffintown and Saint-Henri. Con, Griffintown: density, construction, few trees and schools, and new condos that resell slowly against the supply. For families who want a brick house, a quiet street, the metro, English and French schools and a bilingual neighbourhood: NDG is the first address for newcomers from Ontario and MUHC professionals. For those who want downtown on foot with a new condo and services (Griffintown), or a plex and a restaurant street by the canal (Saint-Henri, Little Burgundy), or an affordable house near a metro station (Ville-Émard, Côte-Saint-Paul).
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and Montreal's Sud-Ouest are neighbours, and buyers often hesitate between the two. Here are the pros and cons of each, side by side, written by a team that sells in both; the figures are those published by the APCIQ for the second quarter of 2026, and nothing is embellished.
| Notre-Dame-de-Grâce | Montreal's Sud-Ouest | |
|---|---|---|
| Transit | The orange line serves NDG at Villa-Maria and Vendôme; Vendôme is also an exo train station (Vaudreuil-Hudson and Candiac lines) connected to the MUHC. | The orange line serves the borough at Lionel-Groulx (transfer to the green line), Place-Saint-Henri and Charlevoix (Pointe-Saint-Charles), then the green line at Monk, Jolicoeur and Verdun westward. |
| Parks and shops | Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Park is the neighbourhood's green heart, with its fields and skating rink; Loyola, Trenholme and Girouard parks add to it; Mount Royal and Westmount Park are neighbours. | The Lachine Canal, with its bike path and riverside parks, is the borough's leisure axis; Parc Angrignon, to the west, is one of the island's large parks; Atwater Market is one of Montreal's public markets. |
| Schools and services | The neighbourhood falls under the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal and the English Montreal School Board, with several English and private high schools nearby; Concordia's Loyola campus and Villa Maria College are in the neighbourhood. | The borough falls under the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal and the English Montreal School Board; the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) is in Griffintown. |
| The market in 2026 | NDG is one of the rare central neighbourhoods where the single-family home is a real market (94 active listings in Q2): $1,247,000 median, down 5 % year over year and 1 % over twelve months, at 49 days on market. | In the APCIQ's breakdown, the sector includes Verdun (excluding Nuns' Island). |
| Who it is for | For families who want a brick house, a quiet street, the metro, English and French schools and a bilingual neighbourhood: NDG is the first address for newcomers from Ontario and MUHC professionals. | For those who want downtown on foot with a new condo and services (Griffintown), or a plex and a restaurant street by the canal (Saint-Henri, Little Burgundy), or an affordable house near a metro station (Ville-Émard, Côte-Saint-Paul). |
| Not for | Less so for those seeking the lowest entry price or nightlife: NDG goes to bed early, and its house costs $1.25 million. | Less so for those seeking tree-lined streets and detached houses: the Sud-Ouest is urban, industrial in memory, and its quiet residential streets are earned. |
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce: For families who want a brick house, a quiet street, the metro, English and French schools and a bilingual neighbourhood: NDG is the first address for newcomers from Ontario and MUHC professionals. Montreal's Sud-Ouest: For those who want downtown on foot with a new condo and services (Griffintown), or a plex and a restaurant street by the canal (Saint-Henri, Little Burgundy), or an affordable house near a metro station (Ville-Émard, Côte-Saint-Paul).
The con that most often decides between the two. On one side, a house costs $1.25 million: NDG is no longer an entry neighbourhood, and the plex condo is the alternative. On the other, griffintown: density, construction, few trees and schools, and new condos that resell slowly against the supply. Whichever of the two you accept more easily names your neighbourhood. The detail of each is in Living in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (NDG): the pros and cons and Living in Montreal's Sud-Ouest: the pros and cons.
NDG is one of the rare central neighbourhoods where the single-family home is a real market (94 active listings in Q2): $1,247,000 median, down 5 % year over year and 1 % over twelve months, at 49 days on market. In the APCIQ's breakdown, the sector includes Verdun (excluding Nuns' Island). The price of a specific house is set on the comparable closed sales on its street, which the team pulls from the Centris system; our Living in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (NDG) and Living in Montreal's Sud-Ouest guides give the benchmark of each sector.
The neighbourhood falls under the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal and the English Montreal School Board, with several English and private high schools nearby; Concordia's Loyola campus and Villa Maria College are in the neighbourhood. The borough falls under the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal and the English Montreal School Board; the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) is in Griffintown. The exact school catchment varies from one street to the next: check before buying.
The orange line serves NDG at Villa-Maria and Vendôme; Vendôme is also an exo train station (Vaudreuil-Hudson and Candiac lines) connected to the MUHC. The orange line serves the borough at Lionel-Groulx (transfer to the green line), Place-Saint-Henri and Charlevoix (Pointe-Saint-Charles), then the green line at Monk, Jolicoeur and Verdun westward.
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce: A house costs $1.25 million: NDG is no longer an entry neighbourhood, and the plex condo is the alternative. Montreal's Sud-Ouest: Griffintown: density, construction, few trees and schools, and new condos that resell slowly against the supply.
The pros and cons are written by the Loaa & Manseur team from our neighbourhood guides and from what buyers tell us after the visits; no figure is added to those published by the APCIQ. The other neighbouring duels are in pros and cons, neighbourhood against neighbourhood.
The Loaa & Manseur team, led by Lotfi Manseur and Loaa Al Daow, is the number 1 team at RE/MAX Platine in 2024 and 2025, 6th RE/MAX team in Quebec, 15th in Canada and in the global top 50 of large residential teams according to the official RE/MAX ranking, computed on actual transactions. Its Google profile counts more than 220 reviews with a 4.9 rating. Its offices are at 55 avenue de l'Équinoxe in Brossard, one bridge from the island, and every broker's licence can be checked in the OACIQ public register. Three things to verify yourself before calling us, and to demand of any other broker.
Also available in French: version française de ce guide.
Published September 7, 2026 by the Loaa & Manseur team, the number 1 team at RE/MAX Platine in 2024 and 2025, 6th RE/MAX team in Quebec, 15th in Canada and in the global top 50 according to the official RE/MAX ranking. Tell us about your project.
Équipe no 1 de RE/MAX Platine en 2024 et en 2025, 6e au Québec, 15e au Canada et dans le top 50 mondial au classement officiel RE/MAX. Réponse en moins de 24 heures, sept jours sur sept.