The Old Port of Montreal (french: Vieux-Port de Montréal, italic=no) is the historic

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. Located adjacent to

Old Montreal Old Montreal (French: ''Vieux-Montréal'') is a historic neighbourhood within the municipality of Montreal in the province of Quebec, Canada. Home to the Old Port of Montreal, the neighbourhood is bordered on the west by McGill Street, on th ...

, it stretches for over along the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...

. It was used as early as 1611, when French

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

rs used it as a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

. In 1976, Montreal's Port activities were moved east to the present

Port of Montreal The Port of Montreal (french: Port de Montréal) ( ACI Canadian Port Code: 0395, UN/LOCODE: CA MTR) is a cruise and transshipment point located on the St. Lawrence River in Montreal, Québec, Canada. The port operates as an international contain ...

in the borough of

Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve is a Montreal borough, borough of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada located in the southeastern end of the island. History ''See Mercier, Montreal, Mercier and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve#History, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve ...

. The Old Port was redeveloped in the early 1990s, under the direction of architects

Aurèle Cardinal Aurèle Cardinal is a Quebec architect, urban planner and academic. In 2007, his plan for the Outremont, Quebec, Outremont campus of the Université de Montréal received the award of excellence for urban design from the Canadian Institute of Planne ...

and Peter Rose. It is today a recreational and historical area and draws six million

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

s annually.

Attractions

The historical Old Port offers Montrealers and visitors alike access to a wide variety of activities, including the Montréal Science Centre, with an

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme F ...

Theatre, and the

Montreal Clock Tower The Montreal Clock Tower, also known as the Sailor's Memorial Clock and Tour de l’Horlodge in French, is located in the borough of Ville-Marie and is situated in the Old Port of Montreal. The construction of the tower began in 1919, and was ...

. It offers riverfront access for walking, cycling, roller-blading, quadricycle, pedalo and

Segway The Segway is a two-wheeled, self-balancing personal transporter invented by Dean Kamen and brought to market in 2001 as the Segway HT, subsequently as the Segway PT, and manufactured by Segway Inc. ''HT'' is an initialism for "human transp ...

rentals. It is also located at the eastern end of the

Lachine Canal The Lachine Canal ( in French (language), French) is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running 14.5 kilometres (9 miles) from the Old Port of Montreal to Lake Saint-Louis, through the boroug ...

, which has itself been extensively refurbished as a popular destination for cycling, roller-blading and pleasure boating. Cultural events include the Festival Montréal en lumière,

Igloofest Igloofest is an annual outdoor music festival which takes place at the Old Port of Montreal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Co-produced by '' Piknic Electronik'' and ''the Quays of the Old Port'', it began in January 2007 and now draws crowds in the ...

and the Matsuri Japon festival. In June 2012, an

urban beach An urban beach (also city beach and sometimes beach club) is an artificially-created environment in an urban setting which simulates a public beachfront, through the use of sand, beach umbrellas, and seating elements. Urban beaches are designed t ...

, called the ''Plage de l'Horloge'' ( Clock Tower Beach), opened adjacent to the

Clock Tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

.{aMKOAKZM3EJ3DNF RJL3K4M2E1,.DEFMR The Old Port of Montreal changed its name to The Quays of the Old Port of Montreal in 2005. Approximately every two years the

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

launches a new show from the Jacques Cartier Quay. The Old Port was rejected as the site of a proposed

aerial gondola A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate sup ...

. The Old Port was also known as one of the most famous fishing spots in the greater Montreal area. A popular shore fishing position is Parc de la Cité-du-Havre, which provides a fishing spot with a wide range of fish species. In the winter, ice fishing events were held on the ice inside the old port. The Grande roue de Montréal Ferris Wheel opened in 2017 at the Old Port. It is the tallest ferris wheel in Canada.

Management

The Old Port is managed by the Old Port of Montreal Corporation, a subsidiary of

Canada Lands Company Canada Lands Company Limited (french: La Société immobilière du Canada) is a self-financing federal Crown corporation reporting to the Parliament of Canada through Public Services and Procurement Canada. The company is responsible for managin ...

. The Old Port of Montreal reports directly to Canada Lands Company.

References

External links

Old Port official website
{{Coord, 45.504886, N, 73.552386, W, source:frwiki_region:CA_type:landmark, format=dms, display=title 1830 establishments in Lower Canada Adaptive reuse of industrial structures in Montreal Bike paths in Quebec Economy of Montreal Old Montreal Parks in Montreal Ports and harbours of Quebec Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in Canada Saint Lawrence River Tourist attractions in Montreal

Attractions

Management

See also

References

External links