{"id":504389,"date":"2026-02-28T03:07:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T03:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/504389\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T03:07:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T03:07:17","slug":"montrealers-glide-beneath-place-ville-maries-ring-at-new-downtown-rink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/504389\/","title":{"rendered":"Montrealers glide beneath Place Ville Marie\u2019s ring at new downtown rink"},"content":{"rendered":"

Get ready to glide into winter fun.<\/p>\n

A new outdoor rink has opened beneath the iconic ring at Place Ville Marie, turning the Esplanade PVM into a lively gathering spot for skaters of all ages.<\/p>\n

The Patinoire sous l\u2019Anneau is open from Feb. 27 to March 29, 2026, offering free access in the heart of downtown. Visitors can bring their own skates or rent equipment on site for a fee.<\/p>\n

The rink operates Monday to Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Saturday from noon to 10 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., with hours subject to weather conditions and events. <\/p>\n

The project is presented in collaboration with Jeux Urbains and includes programming throughout the month.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Patinoire sous l\u2019Anneau rink on Feb. 27, 2026, on its first day open to the public in downtown Montreal. (Adriana Gentile, CityNews)<\/p>\n

A first year on the ice<\/p>\n

Sara Jade Allard-Th\u00e9berge, chief of communications and marketing at MAD Collectif, said the installation marks a first for the team and is meant to help people embrace winter in Montreal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve installed it so that people would be able to enjoy winter in Montreal and its whole culture. We\u2019re not afraid of the cold, and we\u2019re not afraid to have fun outside. And how could you not want to skate under this beautiful view? So that\u2019s why we did this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Sara Jade Allard-Th\u00e9berge, chief of communications and marketing at MAD Collectif, at the Patinoire sous l\u2019Anneau rink on Feb. 27, 2026. (Adriana Gentile, CityNews)<\/p>\n

She highlighted the downtown setting as a defining feature.<\/p>\n

\u201cEsplanade PVM at Place Ville Marie is one of the most picture taken places in the city. So it\u2019s a great way for us to promote our city and also Quebec as a destination. It\u2019s always a good way for people to move, have fun \u2014 and we\u2019ll have DJ sets. So it\u2019s also a great way to enjoy culture in its many ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chalet 1664: a warm-up next to the ice<\/p>\n

Chalet 1664, located right beside the rink, offers a cozy spot for visitors to warm up, grab a drink, or lace up their skates before heading back onto the ice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great way for people to get warmed up and put on their skates. They can have a drink. We have beer available, propelled by 1664. We also have coffee and all sorts of drinks so that you can enjoy winter but not get frozen outside while you do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Inside Chalet 1664 at the Patinoire sous l\u2019Anneau on Feb. 27, 2026. (Adriana Gentile, CityNews)<\/p>\n

Following the launch, which featured a fashion-on-ice show, Allard-Th\u00e9berge said the response has been overwhelmingly positive.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very happy. Yesterday was our launch. We had a fashion-on-ice show and we were overwhelmed with joy. People showed up, and we\u2019re really happy to see what we were able to do here. It\u2019s the first for us. You never know how it\u2019s going to be \u2014 if people are going to show up. As we can see, people are there. They want to skate. They want to maybe have a new destination where they can enjoy time with their family, with their friends. So we\u2019re very happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for next year, she said it\u2019s too soon to say.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know. We hope it will be coming back, but that\u2019s the people that will decide. If people like it and they enjoy it, it could come back next year. We would be very happy to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Skaters take to the ice<\/p>\n

On Friday, families, downtown workers, and longtime Montrealers laced up to try the rink.<\/p>\n

Amely Poulin, visiting from the South Shore with her child, said the downtown location made it easy to get out and enjoy winter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to do an activity, and we used to skate a lot, we decided to come with the little one. We\u2019re glad we found this rink because it\u2019s downtown, and it\u2019s so rare to have a nice outdoor activity downtown \u2014 and it\u2019s figure skating. I used to skate, so I\u2019m super happy to be here today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Amely Poulin\u2019s skates at the Patinoire sous l\u2019Anneau on Feb. 27, 2026, as she took to the ice on the rink\u2019s first day in downtown Montreal. (Adriana Gentile, CityNews)<\/p>\n

She said the surrounding buildings make it feel special.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s downtown, under the big ring, it\u2019s very special. There are a lot of buildings around, and it feels kind of warm but also super exciting to be in the middle of these buildings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dennis, who has worked at Place Ville Marie for years, said the rink felt like a backyard playground.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been a person working in Place Ville Marie for a long time, and this is like my backyard. Having a backyard rink outside my office is just tremendously great fun, so that\u2019s why I\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The Patinoire sous l\u2019Anneau rink on Feb. 27, 2026, on its first day open to the public in downtown Montreal. (Adriana Gentile, CityNews)<\/p>\n

He said he came straight from court to be part of opening day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a lawyer, and I came from court. I was in Superior Court this morning and we finished early. I said if it\u2019s possible, I\u2019ll come to the skating rink on opening day \u2014 so here I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

After skating, he described feeling energized.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel totally invigorated. It\u2019s a tremendous feeling to be able to do this in the middle of downtown, outside of Place Ville Marie. There\u2019s so much history in this building, and it\u2019s been my work home for such a long time that it really meant a lot to me to be able to participate and be here when it counts, as they say.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The Patinoire sous l\u2019Anneau rink on Feb. 27, 2026, on its first day open to the public in downtown Montreal. (Adriana Gentile, CityNews)<\/p>\n

Marilyn Basvous, a Montrealer, called the rink iconic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re super excited to have a rink in the middle of downtown. It\u2019s such an iconic spot under the ring. It\u2019s beautiful weather, so I just wanted to come out, check it out and have a good time. It makes it iconic because c\u2019est centre-ville \u2014 it\u2019s downtown Montreal. I think it\u2019s a really cool idea to have a rink right here.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said accessibility sets it apart.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost rinks are not as central in this area. I feel like this one is super accessible for people who are just coming around, checking out the city, and there\u2019s just a rink right here. I feel like it\u2019s different than anything else we\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Marilyn Basvous at the Patinoire sous l\u2019Anneau rink on Feb. 27, 2026. (Adriana Gentile, CityNews)<\/p>\n

Another visitor, who came with her young child after noticing the rink earlier in the week, said the timing was perfect.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were crossing by some days ago and we found that you were doing something interesting here, so we planned to come here. The weather is good, so why not?\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the size works well for young children.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fine. It\u2019s small \u2014 it\u2019s okay for kids, because they are one and a half, and her friend also, and they are enjoying it. It\u2019s winter \u2014 winter should be with skates. It\u2019s a very interesting place here in the city centre, and I also like this area inside. It\u2019s very good to change your skates. It\u2019s very beautiful.\u201d <\/p>\n

On the ice beneath Place Ville Marie\u2019s ring, Montrealers are proving that winter isn\u2019t something to endure \u2014 it\u2019s something to celebrate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Get ready to glide into winter fun. A new outdoor rink has opened beneath the iconic ring at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":504390,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194292],"tags":[49,48,2338],"class_list":["post-504389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-montreal","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-montreal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=504389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/504390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=504389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=504389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}