Type Town square Operated by City of Montreal Operator City of Montreal Major cities Montreal | Created 1847 (1847) Province Québec Public transit access Champ-de-Mars | |
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Location Old Montreal, Ville-Marie Montreal, Quebec, Canada | ||
Place jacques cartier montreal canada
Place Jacques-Cartier is a square located in Old Montreal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and an entrance to the Old Port of Montreal.
Contents
- Place jacques cartier montreal canada
- Map of Place Jacques Cartier MontrC3A9al QC Canada
- Montreal travel walking up place jacques cartier rue st paul
- Overview
- References
Map of Place Jacques-Cartier, Montr%C3%A9al, QC, Canada
Montreal travel walking up place jacques cartier rue st paul
Overview
In 1723, the Château Vaudreuil was built for Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil - its formal gardens occupying the space that is now the square. The Chateau burned down in 1803 and it was suggested by The Hon. Jean-Baptiste Durocher and The Hon. Joseph Périnault that the space be transformed into a public square, known as New Market Place. In 1809, Montreal's oldest public monument was raised there, Nelson's Column. In 1847, the square was renamed in honour of Jacques Cartier, the explorer who claimed Canada for France in 1535.
The broad, divided street slopes steeply downhill from Montreal City Hall and rue Notre-Dame to the waterfront and rue de la Commune. During the high tourist season, the street hosts many street artists and kiosks. During the Christmas season, the street is lined with lighted trees. At any time of year, one can find restaurants on both sides of the street and many more on the surrounding streets of Vieux Port, notably on Rue Saint-Paul.
It is a car-free zone in the summer. During the summer season, Jardin Nelson offers a garden restaurant on Place Jacques-Cartier. Other restaurants similarly offer classical Parisian-style "terraces" for taking a drink or dining in the open air.
Near Place Jacques-Cartier on rue de la Commune, an original piece of the wall of the old fortified city can still be seen in the basement restaurant of the Auberge du Vieux-Port. At the upper end of the Place stands Nelson's Column, built in memory of Admiral Horatio Nelson. The statue was removed in 1997 to preserve it from the weather, and was subsequently replaced with a copy.