MILE-EX & PARK-EX

Situated well north of Downtown, these former industrial areas are changing fast, with a new Université de Montréal campus bringing students, young professionals and families to the area — and plenty of places to eat are springing up as a result.

Start with a morning walk in Jarry Park, an urban oasis with bike paths, picnic areas, an outdoor pool, a lake and tennis courts. The park’s central element is the renovated IGA Stadium, the current home of the Rogers Cup tennis tournament, which you can check out even if you don’t have tickets to a match.

Grab lunch to go — a freshly fried samosa or gulab jamun from Ram Sweet Shop should tide you over before you make your way west through Little India, where old Greek snack bars sit adjacent to sari shops and West African grocers.

Take the new footbridge over the train tracks in the neighbourhood of Outremont to explore the grounds of the cutting-edge university campus on your way to dinner at

Le Diplomate, which pays homage to French cafe culture. The short, seasonal, small-plates menu is all very tempting, but cross your fingers it includes celery root with green curry and peanuts, or duck with napa cabbage and sea buckthorn. Don’t miss the sourdough with sunflower butter — chef-owner Aaron Langille is a fermentation expert. There’s a great allnatural wine list, too.

Where to finish the evening is a toss-up between the art deco Taverne Atlantic and experimental cocktail bar/cocktail school

Alkademie. The former has a rooftop patio, party atmosphere and a well-curated drinks list (from a royal daiquiri with violet liqueur to interesting wines, ciders and a CA$2 lager).

Alkademie, meanwhile, is set in a former car repair workshop. Open Thursday to Saturday, it has a regularly changing menu of sake, champagne and microbrews, plus cocktailspiked snacks, such as Angostura bitters pulled pork and Luxardo marasca cherry brownies. If you arrive early enough, be sure to spend some time in cocktail ingredients and accessories boutique Alambika, set within the same building — look out for the Japanese ice saws.