Old Montreal: Charming Streets, Impressive Buildings, and Spectacular Churches

For many people, their first glimpse of Old Montreal is the Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal and the Place d'Armes, as these two major attractions are side by side and just a short walk uphill from the Place-d'Armes metro station. There's much more on the basilica below, but first I explored the rest of Old Montreal and the waterfront.

The facade, as viewed from the Place d'Armes, with a monument of Paul de Chomedey, founder of Montreal,
in the righthand foreground.

The Place d'Armes, with the same monument in the center, and the Bank of Montreal behind it.

There is also an interesting set of sculptures on the south side of the square (by which I mean actual south, or even south-west...cardinal directions are, well, difficult in Montreal, as rather amusingly highlighted in this story). They are of an English man with his pug and and a French woman with her poodle, each turning up their nose at the Basilica (symbol of French Canadian religious influence) and the Bank of Montreal (symbol of English economic and political power), respectively. While the people are oblivious to each other, the dogs have spotted each other and look eager to meet. 

One of the most visually striking aspects of Old Montreal is the way old buildings have clearly been subsumed by newer ones, often with multiple iterations.

Montreal--particularly Old Montreal--is perhaps the most "European-looking" North American city.

I meandered down to the waterfront and walked along the Promenade du Vieux-Port before cutting back into the heart of Old Montreal.

City Hall

City Hall, again, from across the street, standing in Place De La Dauversière.

You can't walk anywhere without seeing something of historical interest. One of the more imposing structures--you can see the dome from the waterfront--is the Bonsecours Market (Marché Bonsecours).



It served as Montreal's city hall for about 25 years and the main public market for over a century, in addition to hosting a session of the Parliament of United Canada in 1849.

The market is named after the church across the street, the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel (because clearly having one Notre-Dame isn't enough). Built in 1771, on the site of an even older chapel that burnt down in 1754, it is one of the oldest church buildings in Montreal, and it has a unique personality.

In the 19th century as the port of Montreal grew in importance, sailors frequented the chapel and it came to be regarded as "the Sailors' Church", a tradition commemorated by wooden ship replicas which hang throughout the chapel.

With that, I decided it was time for dinner, which I ate in a swinging egg chair at LOV, a vegetarian and vegan restaurant with some creative dishes.

The next morning I wandered a bit more, including past St. Patrick's Basilica, and then enjoyed a pastry and a pot of rooibus at Olive et Gourmando.

And then, finally, I visited the Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal (Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal). It was hard to decide which photos to share, because every direction I looked was simply spectacular.

The pulpit on the right here, is about halfway down the nave. It is intricately sculpted but is no longer used by the preacher.

Unlike most stained glass, and rather similar to the Washington National Cathedral in D.C., the stained glass along the ground floor of both aisles represents scenes from Montreal's history.

I was particularly struck by the stained class in the ceiling.

The organ was built in 1891 by Casavant Frères. After it's 100th-anniversary upgrades, it now has 7,000 pipes.

And here it is again from the outside. Interestingly, despite the overwhelming splendor inside, the exterior is almost sedate for a Gothic or neo-Gothic cathedral.

And that's a wrap on my two brief overnights in Montreal!