Musée McCord

Lonely Planet review

With hardly an inch to spare in its cramped but welcoming galleries, the McCord Museum of Canadian History houses nearly a million artifacts and documents illustrating the social, cultural and archaeological history of Canada from the 18th century till the present.

The eclectic collection has large sections on Canada's earliest European settlement and the history of Québec's indigenous people; another displays highlights including embroidered gowns, toys, prints and First Nations' works. Sunday workshops ( 14:00 ) are geared toward children.

One particular highlight is the Notman Photographic Archives, regarded as one of the finest composite works of photojournalism in Canada. William Notman and his sons captured hundreds of thousands of images from 1850 to 1930. The museum ran a special exhibit comparing his views of Montréal a century apart, and many hundreds of his other shots remain on display.

The 2nd-floor gallery entitled 'Turning Point: Québec 1900' neatly encapsulates French-Canadian history in Québec. There's a gift shop with quality gifts and books, a documentation center and tearoom.