Champ-de-Mars

The field known as Champ-de-Mars was used for military manoeuvres and as a parade ground as far back as the beginning of the 19th century. Over the years, this broad expanse of open land behind city hall also served other purposes. Archaeological digs in this area between 1986 and 1991 uncovered the vestiges of the original walled city's fortifications. Integrated into the layout of the Champ-de-Mars esplanade since 1992, these ruins give a sense of the scale of the ramparts that surrounded the city in its early days.

Cours Le Royer

The Cours Le Royer is a section of Le Royer Street that was converted to pedestrian-only use in the early 1980s. It is bordered by former store-warehouses built between 1861 and 1872, which were redeveloped into apartments and office space as part of a major, pioneering urban renewal project conducted between 1976 and 1980.

View the detailed record in the Heritage Inventories (French only)

Jardin du Gouverneur

Opened in 2000, the Jardin du Gouverneur is located behind the Château Ramezay Museum. Though it occupies only a small area, its layout faithfully reproduces the spirit of the private gardens of New France's élite in the 18th century. Divided into three sections (vegetable, ornamental and orchard), the garden teems with medicinal and aromatic plants. Guided tours and workshop activities are available in summer.

View the detailed record of the Château Ramezay in the Heritage Inventories (French only)

Parc des Frères-Charon

Parc des Frères-Charon honours Jean-François Charon de la Barre, who founded the Montréal General Hospital, and in 1694, the Hospitaliers de la Croix et de Saint-Joseph. Members of this congregation, the only hospice and religious community in the country for men, were known as the Frères Charon. The King of France, however, imposed restrictions on the religious status of the small community, causing it financial difficulties and eventually leading to its collapse. In 1747, the General Hospital was taken over by Marguerite d'Youville, founder of the Grey Nuns community. The space is currently being redeveloped.

View the detailed record in the Heritage Inventories (French only)

Place d'Armes

Place d'Armes, considered as a single heritage feature–the square itself, its central monument and the surrounding built environment–resonates with multiple historical meanings. It is, if you will, the heart of the city's historic centre, summing up its diverse heritage. The square is bordered by the Séminaire de Saint-Sulpice (whose earliest construction dates back to 1684), the great Notre-Dame Basilica (which, when completed in the 1820s, replaced the 17th-century church), the Bank of Montreal head office, two early 20th-century skyscrapers, and a modernist office tower built in the 1960s. In the centre of Place d'Armes is a monument to Montréal's founder, Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve. The work of sculptor Louis-Philippe Hébert, it portrays Maisonneuve surrounded by Charles Lemoyne, Lambert Closse, Jeanne Mance and an Iroquois brave. In the evening, Place d'Armes and the surrounding buildings are superbly enhanced by architectural lighting installed as part of the Old Montréal Lighting plan. Horse-drawn carriage tours leave from different points around the square.

View the detailed record in the Heritage Inventories (French only)

Place De La Dauversière

Place De La Dauversière is a space for rest and relaxation that opened in 1997. It is named for Jérôme Le Royer de La Dauversière (1597–1659), founder of the Société de Notre-Dame, which in turn was an instrument in the founding of Montréal.

View the detailed record in the Heritage Inventories (French only)

Place D'Youville

Place D'Youville extends from Place Royale westward to McGill Street. In 1843, Montréal was chosen to be the capital of the United Province of Canada, and the ground occupied by St. Anne's Market, on the western part of Place D'Youville, became the seat of Parliament a year later. In 1849, after passage of a bill compensating people for losses suffered during the Rebellions of 1837–38, mobs of furious Tory supporters set fire to the Parliament buildings. The eastern part of Place D'Youville, now called Place de la Grande Paix, was revitalized in 1998–99. The new public space, contemporary in design, is laid out in the form of a grass-covered shelf with a central axis evoking the Saint-Pierre River converted into canals, and a network of walkways that reminds users of the area's history as a physical link between the city, the faubourgs and the St. Lawrence River. The western part of Place D'Youville, which has been used for vehicle parking since the 1920s, is slated for redevelopment in the years to come.

View the detailed record in the Heritage Inventories (French only)

Place Jacques-Cartier

Place Jacques-Cartier was so named in 1847 in honour of the French navigator who was the first European to sail up the St. Lawrence River as far as Montréal. Its northern end is dominated by a statue of Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758–1805), erected in 1809 to commemorate the victory at Trafalgar four years earlier. Today Place Jacques-Cartier is a popular meeting point, almost always bustling with activity. It is entirely reserved for pedestrian traffic during the summer, when the sidewalk cafés bordering it are full of lively patrons and musicians, painters and street performers provide plenty of local colour. Special events are often held here. Horse-drawn carriage tours leave from points north and south of the square. The main Old Montréal tourist information bureau is on Notre-Dame Street on the northwest corner of Place Jacques-Cartier.

View the detailed record in the Heritage Inventories (French only)

Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle

Though technically lying outside the limits of the historic district, Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle is just a short walk north of Old Montréal and is well worth the trip. This square forms the heart of a newly designated area of the city, the International Quarter, created following extensive redevelopment in the early part of this decade. Flanked by the Palais des congrès (Montréal's convention centre) and the new headquarters of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the square is home to a public art work, "La Joute," completed in 1969 by the seminal Québec artist Jean-Paul Riopelle (1923–2002). Riopelle was a member of the Automatist movement, and was among the intellectuals who signed the "Refus global," a 1948 manifesto that denounced moral and artistic conformity and prefigured the Quiet Revolution. The square is named in honour of this internationally renowned artist. "La Joute" is a sculpted fountain, and in summer, every hour on the hour from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. it comes alive with water jets, mist and flame.

Place Marguerite-Bourgeoys

Place Marguerite-Bourgeoys sits next to the Lucien-Saulnier Building. Its name and sculpted fountain commemorate the life and work of Marguerite Bourgeoys, a key figure in Montréal's early history and the founder of the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre-Dame, a religious order devoted to teaching. The fountain was dedicated as part of the celebration of Marguerite Bourgeoys' canonization by Pope John Paul II in 1982.

View the detailed record in the Heritage Inventories (French only)

Place Royale

A focal point for the establishment of New France and the colony's later development, this site was variously used as pastureland, for the reading of Royal orders and decrees, and as a fur market, military parade ground, and public market. The years 1836 to 1838 saw the square's layout change along with the building of the Customs House in its centre. Named Place Royale in 1892, to commemorate Montréal's 250th anniversary, the square has long been at the core of city life.

View the detailed record in the Heritage Inventories (French only)

Place Vauquelin

Place Vauquelin, between City Hall and the Lucien-Saulnier Building (the former courthouse), is aligned perfectly with Place Jacques-Cartier, to the south. It features a statue sculpted by Paul-Eugène Benet erected in memory of Jean Vauquelin (1728–1772). Vauquelin, a captain of the French navy, was known for his exploits during the Seven Years' War. In the centre of the square is a fountain.

View the detailed record in the Heritage Inventories (French only)

Saint-Amable and Saint-Vincent Streets

Closed to vehicular traffic to allow artists and craftspeople to show and sell their wares, Saint-Amable Street with its boutiques is Old Montréal's "Artists' Row." The southern part of Saint-Vincent Street, also pedestrian-only, comes to life with terrasses and spaces for artists and craft designers.

View the detailed record in the Heritage Inventories: Saint-Amable Street , Saint-Vincent Street (French only)

Dalhousie Square

The renewal of Dalhousie Square, completed in 2004, recalls the site's railway heritage. Some elements, like the work by artist Jocelyne Alloucherie entitled "Porte de jour," also remind us that we are on the outskirts of the old fortified city. The former Dalhousie station, which stands on the north side of the square, is the oldest surviving railway station in Montréal, dating from 1884. When the inaugural Canadian Pacific train bound for Vancouver left the platform here in 1886, it marked North America's first direct transcontinental trip between an East Coast ocean port and the Pacific Coast. Dalhousie Square, the former station and the immediate surroundings now shine brighter than ever, as part of the Old Montréal Lighting plan.

View the detailed record in the Heritage Inventories (French only)

Victoria Square

This square, named in honour of Queen Victoria in 1860, includes two sections (south and north) and was laid out in different stages beginning in 1811. The fine statue of the Queen adorning the square is the work of sculptor Marshall Wood, and was unveiled in 1872 by Lord Dufferin, the Governor General of Canada. At the time, the area surrounding Victoria Square was a prestigious neighbourhood. The historic square changed much over the years with the construction of office towers around it, but has been reborn thanks to a major redevelopment project begun around the year 2000. Among other changes, the stretch of McGill Street between Saint-Jacques and Viger streets has been shifted back to its original configuration, which in turn has restored to the square its former presence. The new layout of the square reflects a contemporary design and now more emphatically links Old Montréal, the historic city centre, with the modern downtown district to the north. It also provides workers and sightseers with a magnificent new area to relax. Visitors can still admire the statue of Queen Victoria, as well as the splendid arch by Art Nouveau designer Hector Guimard–a genuine Paris Metro station entrance that was a gift to Montréal from the French capital's transit authority.

View the detailed record in the Heritage Inventories (French only)

Old Port of Montréal

The city's port operations were crucial to the fascinating saga of Montréal's development–a fact acknowledged by the current Old Port area's inclusion in the historic district of Old Montréal. Because the Lachine Rapids blocked further upstream navigation on the St. Lawrence River, the city was born and flourished at this natural shipping breakpoint. From that point on–literally–the port itself, the Lachine Canal (which opened in 1825 and allowed ships to bypass the rapids) and rail transportation made Montréal a bustling hub of commerce and trade between the North American continent and the rest of the world, and the pivotal point in an integrated transportation network moving both people and cargo and linking the Great Lakes, the interior of an entire, vast continent, and the coasts of two oceans (Atlantic and Pacific). For this role as a hub, Montréal merits the title "crucible of modern Canada."

With extensive redevelopment completed in 1992, Montréal's Old Port has grown into an animated parkland linking the city and the river, site of myriad artistic, heritage, recreational, nautical and sports activities. Although the area's history as a port dates back to the very founding of the city, the most tangible physical traces of that history reflect the 19th century and, especially, Montréal's emergence as a metropolis in the first half of the 20th century. Today, the Old Port is a place for skating (not just in winter), biking, hanging out, going on a cruise, watching frothy waters flow, or just going with the flow–a place to slow down and appreciate life in. The area hosts a variety of special events in all seasons, attracting several million visitors annually.

The majority of the city's actual port operations were shifted to facilities further downstream in 1976; the Port of Montréal remains a major facility handling containerized cargo traffic on the east coast of North America.

For more about the Old Port:
www.quaysoftheoldport.com

View the detailed record for the Old Port in the Heritage Inventories (French only)