Place Jacques-Cartier

Old Montréal

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The liveliest spot in Old Montréal, this gently inclined square hums with performance artists, street musicians and the animated chatter from terrace restaurants lining its borders. A public market was set up here after a château burned down in 1803. At its top end stands the Colonne Nelson, a monument erected to Admiral Lord Nelson after his defeat of Napoleon’s fleet at Trafalgar.

Nelson’s presence is a thorn in the side of many French Québécois, and there have been many attempts to have it removed. Francophones later installed a statue of an obscure French admiral, Jean Vauquelin, in the nearby Place Vauquelin, just west of Hôtel de Ville on Rue Notre-Dame.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • October 18, 2017: Visitors seated on the grass around a lake in Mont Royal Park during autumn.

    Parc du Mont-Royal

    1.71 MILES

    The charming, leafy expanse of Parc du Mont-Royal is charged for a wide range of outdoor activities. The wooded slopes and grassy meadows have stunning…

  • Montreal, Quebec, Canada - 18 May 2017: Sherbrooke Street West with the Facade of the Montreal Museum of Fine Art. 688955530 fine, arts, culture, exterior, classical, column, sightseeing, outdoor, view, building, construction, scene, american, famous, place, historical, heritage, architectural, chagall, totem

    Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal

    1.44 MILES

    Montréal’s Museum of Fine Arts is an accessible and beautifully updated oasis of art housed in architecturally striking buildings. A visit here is a must…

  • Notre Dame Basilica (Montreal, Canada).

    Basilique Notre-Dame

    0.28 MILES

    Montréal's famous landmark, Notre Dame Basilica, is a 19th-century Gothic Revival masterpiece with spectacular craftsmanship – a visually pleasing, if…

  • May 28, 2017: St Joseph's Oratory on Mont Royal with a woman praying on steps.

    Oratoire St-Joseph

    3.28 MILES

    The stunning Oratoire St-Joseph church built on the flanks of Mont-Royal commands grand views of the the Côte-des-Neiges area and northwest Montréal. The…

  • 1197761248

    Jardin Botanique

    3.55 MILES

    Montréal’s Jardin Botanique is the third-largest botanical garden in the world, after London’s Kew Gardens and Berlin’s Botanischer Garten.

  • Montreal, Canada. July 31, 2019 . Exterior of the basilica of Notre Dame in Quebec. Sunny day. 1219240147

    Place d'Armes

    0.3 MILES

    This open square is framed by some of the finest buildings in Old Montréal, including its oldest bank, first skyscraper and Basilique Notre-Dame. The…

  • The Old Port of Montreal on a sunny day. 613324236 Skyscraper, Photography, Vieux, City, River, Old Port, Canada, Horizontal, Crowd of People, Summer Solstice, Outdoors, Capital Cities, Monument, Crowded, Summer, Montreal, Street, Cityscape, City Street, People, Quebec, Pedestrian, Downtown District, 100326, 60595

    Old Port

    0.11 MILES

    Montréal's Old Port has morphed into a park and fun zone paralleling the mighty St Lawrence River for 2.5km and punctuated by four grand quais (quays)…

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Nearby Old Montréal attractions

1. Château Ramezay

0.07 MILES

A home of French governors in the early 18th century, this mansion is one of the finest examples from the ancien régime. It was built for the 11th…

2. Marché Bonsecours

0.09 MILES

This sprawling neoclassical building houses shops selling tourist-targeted arts and crafts, leather goods and garments, and several cafes. The upstairs…

3. Hôtel de Ville

0.1 MILES

Montréal’s handsome City Hall was built between 1872 and 1878, then rebuilt after a fire in 1926. Its rigid square-based dome and nod to the baroque makes…

4. Old Port

0.11 MILES

Montréal's Old Port has morphed into a park and fun zone paralleling the mighty St Lawrence River for 2.5km and punctuated by four grand quais (quays)…

5. Courthouses

0.15 MILES

Along the south side of Rue Notre-Dame Est near Place Jacques-Cartier, three courthouses stand bunched together. The most fetching is the neoclassical…

6. Quai Jacques-Cartier & Around

0.15 MILES

This pier is the anchor of the Old Port area, home to restaurants, an open-air stage and a handicraft center. Every year the port stages a number of…

7. Rue de la Commune Est

0.17 MILES

Set back from the waterfront, ‘the Common’ is a showcase of the rejuvenation that has swept Old Montréal. Compare it with old photos and you’ll see the…

8. Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours

0.18 MILES

Known as the Sailors’ Church, this enchanting chapel derives its name from the sailors who left behind votive lamps in the shapes of ships in thanksgiving…