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Old Montreal | Vieux-Montréal

Old Montreal

Old Montreal (Vieux-Montréal) is the oldest area in the city of Montreal dating back to New France.


Located in the borough of Ville-Marie, the area is usually thought of as being bounded to the west by McGill St., to the north by Ruelle des Fortifications, to the east by Berri St., and to the south by the Saint Lawrence River. Following recent amendments, the district has been slightly expanded to include rue des Soeurs Grises to the west, Saint Antoine St. to the north and the St-Hubert Street in the east. It also includes the Old Port of Montreal. Most of Old Montreal has been declared historic district in 1964 by the Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec.


Old Montreal itself is a major tourist draw; with the oldest of its buildings dating to the 1600s, it is one of the oldest urban areas in North America.


In the eastern part of the old city, near Place Jacques-Cartier, are found such important buildings as Montreal City Hall, Bonsecours Market, and Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel, as well as preserved colonial mansions such as the Château Ramezay and the Sir George-Étienne Cartier National Historic Site of Canada.


Further west, Place d'Armes is dominated by Notre-Dame Basilica on its southern side, accompanied by the Saint-Sulpice Seminary, the oldest extant building in Montreal. The other sides of the square, however, are devoted to commerce; to the north is the former Bank of Montreal Head Office and to the west, the Aldred Building and the 1888 New York Life Building, the oldest skyscraper in Canada. The rest of Saint Jacques Street is lined with lofty old bank buildings - like the Old Royal Bank Building - from its heyday as Canada's financial centre. The southwest of the old city contains important archeological remains of Montreal's first townsite, around Place d'Youville and Place Royale, and in the Pointe-à-Callière museum.


Architecture and cobbled streets in Old Montreal have been maintained or restored to keep the look of the city in its earliest days as a settlement, and horse-drawn calèches help maintain that image. Finally, the old town's riverbank is completely taken up by the Old Port (Vieux-Port), whose maritime facilities are surrounded with a vast recreational space with a variety of museums and attractions.


Old Montreal is accessible from the downtown core via the Underground City and is served by several STM bus routes and the Champ-de-Mars, Place-d'Armes, and Square-Victoria metro stations. Ferries to south shore city of Longueuil are available during the summer as are a network of bicycle paths.