Sex Sells.

Not all of Montreal is picturesque rows of hipster houses and bike racks and cute dogs. A point of contrast with London, one that I personally find pretty disturbing, is that in strip clubs here, touching the girl is absolutely part of the deal. Obviously, having a shred of self-respect and respect for fellow womankind, I haven't set foot in one, but they really are all over Montreal, especially the main drag of Rue Sainte-Catherine. Not tucked away down that particularly charming alley between Brewer and Berwick Street in Soho, these are in-yer-face, loud and proud business operations. For example, here's one I snapped whilst standing outside one of the larger malls on Sainte-Catherine on my evening stroll today:

All the strip clubs you walk past advertise 'danse nue' and 'danse contacte', and the fact that there are no rules or laws that prevent customers from touching the girls surely means they're little more than a glorified brothel? Unsurprisingly, I'm unwilling to do the research myself, but suffice to say, I think it's 1-0 to England on this one.
xx