Bank of Montréal

Lonely Planet review

Modeled after the Pantheon in Rome, the grand colonnaded edifice of Canada's oldest chartered bank, built in 1847, dominates the north side of Place D'Armes and is still a working bank. The imposing interior has 32 marble columns and a coffered 20m ceiling in Italian Renaissance style over a long row of tellers behind glass partitions. The helmeted marble lady is Patria, representing a minor Roman god of patriotism to honor the war dead.

Take a closer look at the pediment above the entrance: a sailor in the scene represents commerce, and a settler depicts agriculture. A small money museum inside the bank has a replica of a cashier's window, old banknotes and an account of early banking in Canada.