Place Jacques-Cartier
Encyclopedia
Town square
A town square is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, and town green.Most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets,...
located in Old Montreal
Old Montreal
Old Montreal is the oldest area in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, dating back to New France. Located in the borough of Ville-Marie, the area is bordered on the west by McGill St., on the north by Ruelle des Fortifications, on the east by Berri St. and on the south by the Saint Lawrence River...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and an entrance to the Old Port of Montreal
Old Port of Montreal
Stretching for over two kilometres along the St-Lawrence River in Old Montreal, the Old Port Of Montreal has been the social, economic and cultural soul of Montreal ever since early French fur traders used it as a trading post in 1611...
.
Overview
The street is named for Jacques CartierJacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier was a French explorer of Breton origin who claimed what is now Canada for France. He was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he named "The Country of Canadas", after the Iroquois names for the two big...
, a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
explorer popularly thought of as one of the major discoverers of Canada. The broad, divided street slopes steeply downhill from Montreal City Hall
Montreal City Hall
The five-storey Montreal City Hall is the work of architects Henri-Maurice Perrault and Alexander Cowper Hutchison, and was built between 1872 and 1878 in the Second Empire style. It is located in Old Montreal, between Place Jacques-Cartier and the Champ de Mars, at 275 Notre-Dame Street East...
and rue Notre-Dame
Notre-Dame Street
Notre-Dame Street is a historic east-west street located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It runs parallel to the Saint Lawrence River, from the eastern tip of the island to Lachine . In French, it is known as rue Notre-Dame....
to the waterfront and rue de la Commune. During the high tourist season, the street hosts many street artists and kiosk
Kiosk
Kiosk is a small, separated garden pavilion open on some or all sides. Kiosks were common in Persia, India, Pakistan, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward...
s. During the Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
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
Car-free zone
Pedestrian zones are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian only use and in which some or all automobile traffic may be prohibited. They are instituted by communities who feel that it is desirable to have pedestrian-only areas...
in the summer.. During the high season, Jardin Nelson is a popular garden restaurant on Place Jacques-Cartier. Other restaurants offer classical Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian "terrace" dining.
Near Place Jacques-Cartier on rue de la Commune, an original piece of the wall of the old fortified city
The Citadel, Montreal
The Citadel of Montreal was a former fortress used to defend the city.Smaller than the one in Old Quebec, the Citadel was built by the French in 1690, with a cannon battery added in 1723....
can still be seen in the basement restaurant of the Auberge du Vieux-Port. At the upper end of the Place stands what may be the most controversial monument in all of Montreal: Nelson's Column
Nelson's Column, Montreal
Nelson's Column is a monument in Place Jacques-Cartier, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.Installed on the Place Jacques-Cartier in 1809, Nelson's column was the second monument to be erected in Montreal.- History :...
, installed in memory of Admiral Horatio Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
. Dating from 1808, it was erected by the English merchants of the city. The 8-foot statue is the world's first Nelson commemorative and predates that in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
by 33 years. The statue was removed in 1997 to preserve it from the weather, and was subsequently replaced with a copy.
