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Rue St-Jacques (formerly Saint-James Street)
was Canada's financial center for over a century. You can still
admire old bank headquarters on the stretch of the street
between blvd St-Urbain and rue McGill.
Built over several decades from 1824 on,
Notre-Dame de Montréal was Montreal's answer to the
revered Paris cathedral.
Curiously, this quintessentially
catholic church it was built by a protestant anglophone
architect, James O’Donnell
(he eventually converted to Catholicism and was buried in the same church).
Located across the Lachine Canal from Old Montreal proper,
Habitat 67 is a very unusual (at the time
of its contruction, it could even be considered revolutionary) housing complex. It can be easily seen from rue de la Commune.
If you're a movie fan and liked The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), you should walk down Rue St-Pierre, especially the
part closer to the river. The entire "Parisian" café sequence, as well as some
of the old "Russia" in that movie were shot there over a few days.
The following are the places of interest in Old Montreal that we profiled:
- Musée d'archéologie Pointe-à-Callière
 - 350 Place Royale
Occupying the spot where the French explorers docked when they
arrived at what was to become Montreal, this triangular building
(whose shape evoking a silhouette of a ship), houses the
Musée d'archéologie et d'histoire de Montréal - the only sizeable
archeology museum in the country. (The museum actually
occupies several buildings, the Pointe-à-Callière being
the main one, marking the museum's entrance).
Built for the celebrations of the
350th anniversary of the city, the Pointe-à-Callière is considered one of
the better examples of post-modern buildings in the city.
- Notre-Dame de Montréal
- 110 Rue Notre-Dame Ouest
Overlooking Place d'Armes in the very center of
Old Montreal, this
impressive church was designed by James O'Donnell,
an Irish-American Protestant from New York
(who did, however, converted to catholicism before his death).
- Habitat 67
 - 2600 Avenue Pierre-Dupuy
Commissioned by the city for World Expo 67, this groundbreaking housing
complex by then very young architect
Moshe Safdie elicits contractictory
emotions from Montreal visitors and residents alike. Some praise its
unique concept, valuing privacy, access to the city center, versatile apartment
shapes providing multiple exposures and a patch of green space ("everybody gets
a rooftop garden!"), street-like configuration of its
hallways and amazing views afforded by its location. Others criticise
the stern fortress-like look and point out that the project essentially failed
as a stand-alone housing community (because of the unexpectedly
high cost of engineering, the complex was only partially built).
One thing is certain, nobody is indifferent.
- Marché Bonsecours
- 350 Rue St-Paul Est
Architecturally imposing building of the former city market.
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