Place Jacques-Cartier

Place Jacques-Cartier is a square located in Old Montreal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and an entrance to the Old Port of Montreal.

The street is named for Jacques Cartier, a French explorer popularly thought of as one of the major discoverers of Canada. 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.

During the high season, Jardin Nelson is a popular garden restaurant on Place Jacques-Cartier. Other restaurants offer classical Parisian "terrace" dining.

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 what may be the most controversial monument in all of Montreal: The Nelson Column, installed in memory of Admiral Horatio Nelson. 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 precedes that in London by 33 years. The statue was removed in 1997 to preserve it from the weather, and was subsequently replaced with a copy.

ee also

*Montreal Metro: Champ de Mars station

External links

* [http://www.vieux.montreal.qc.ca/eng/accueila.htm official website including a live webcam of Place Jacques-Cartier]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=45.507888,-73.553145&spn=0.005871,0.007033&t=h&hl=en Google satellite image]