Look at all the people! As it always has, Place Jacques-Cartier attracts sun-seekers as soon as the first yellow rays begin chasing the winter blues away.

The square was built here by the city in the first half of the 19th century, but this initiative was simply an acknowledgement of a much older reality. As archaeologists have found, people have gathered at this site for generations. It has always been one of the most popular spots in Montréal!

 
A trail once passed through here, across from the present-day square, leading back into the woods. Yet traces and remains discovered where Rue Saint-Paul now runs shows that it was more than a simple stopping-off point—Natives stayed here for long periods, living from fishing and perhaps even planting crops.

... then a "castle"  

In the days of fortified Montréal, the Governor had a prestigious home erected here. Nobles and craftspeople alike frequented the hôtel de Vaudreuil, built for Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil, and modelled on the hotel particuliers of France. The "Château," as it was nicknamed, later served as a residence for French governors and, following the Conquest, as a boys' college. It was destroyed by fire in 1803.

Evidence of earlier occupation—gardens, outbuildings, orchards and the main building—lies just below the surface, in very good condition, a treasure trove for Montréal archaeologists. In the remodelled Place Jacques-Cartier, darker paving sotnes mark the footprint of the Château's walls.

The square was built here by the city in the first half of the 19th century, but this initiative was simply an acknowledgement of a much older reality. As archaeologists have found, people have gathered at this site for generations. It has always been one of the most popular spots in Montréal!  

Now we are on Montréal's oldest street. Here, at the confluence of the city and the Port, warehouse-shops once welcomed customers through their front entrances on Rue Saint-Paul and brought in goods through their back doors on de la Commune.

Art galleries, shops, restaurants, shows at Deux Pierrots... Rue Saint-Paul has regained its former vibrant character with the rediscovery of Old Montréal.