adma
Superstar
Montreal's probably perceived as more "Euro", if that's synonymous w/anything "artistic"...
Instant Coffee is also a good place to start.
Having lived in both cities I would say Montreal certainly has the artistic edge (on the surface at least). I’m talking about fashion, independent music, photography, modern art....
I don't know if this has anything to do with the perception, but there are many more students in downtown Montreal. UQAM, University of Montreal, McGill, Concordia, Dawson College... just to name a few.
Clearly, a lot has changed in the past 30 years, but sometimes mass opinion takes times to catch up to reality.