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This beautiful Neo-Classical domed structure was once home to Canada’s parliament but is today used variously as a produce market, art gallery, concert venue, reception hall and shopping mall. The symmetrically designed gem of Vieux-Montréal features a Greek Revival portico and cast-iron columns made in the early 1800s (see Marché Bonsecours).

Travers (1894–1941), born to an impoverished family on the Gaspé Peninsula, was a natural entertainer and began her career at family soirées playing jigs on the fiddle and spoons. Known as “La Bolduc,” she rose during the Great Depression to become the first popular singer-songwriter from Québec. A new generation of Quebecers has recently discovered her musical traditions.

The single most important First Nations (native Canadian) collection of artifacts in Québec is on permanent display at the McCord Museum, and includes the most extensive library of costumes and textiles in Canada. Perhaps the most thrilling attraction is the Notman Photographic Archives, which record life in Montréal, Québec and Canada from 1840 to 1935. Over one million pictures are preserved, identified and housed in over 200 albums, which experts around the world use for research purposes.

A remarkable campus spreads itself over 80 lush acres of the Downtown district. The land was a bequest from Scottish fur-trader James McGill in 1821 and was chartered by King George IV. Fine examples of Victorian architecture mix easily with the contemporary bustle of student life, making the 80 buildings on campus a testament to McGill’s personal dream and a city’s passion for education – McGill’s School of Medicine has one of the finest reputations in the world. With over 30,000 students active around the city center McGill is considered an integral contributor to the dynamics of this handsome neighborhood.

Montréal’s largest monument is the setting for the popular Tam-Tam Festival (see Tam-Tam Festival).

The Montréal novelist, essayist and critic (1931–2001) was known for his sarcastic wit and biting opposition to Québec’s separatist elements. His most popular book, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1959), was adapted for film, launching Richard Dreyfuss to Hollywood stardom in 1974. Richler is best known for writing about greed and the human condition, as in St Urbain’s Horseman (1971) and Barney’s Version (1998) but he also wrote a number of humorous essays.

This elegant stone home was originally constructed to house the Governor of Montréal, Claude de Ramezay (1657–1724) and his 16 children. Once the Ramezay family departed it was thereafter known as the Maison des Castors (beavers) because it was home to the Compagnie des Indes (West Indies Company) and their burgeoning fur trade with Europe. In 1775 General Richard Montgomery lived here with his band of rebellious Americans while they made a failed attempt to capture the city for the US. It has been a museum since 1895, with artifacts illustrating the early settlement of Québec, from tools to uniforms to historic documents. Of particular note is the Nantes Salon, lavishly decorated by 18th-century French architect, Germain Boffrand (see Château Ramezay, Montréal).

Architect Moishe Safdie mirrored the surrounding neighborhood by incorporating the French Regime style in his design for this interesting building. Inside, however, it is another story – a futuristic world complete with a range of interactive exhibitions, as well as displays of folk art, religious icons, antique furniture in period settings, and everyday items that illustrate life in the city during its 400-year history. There are also collaborative exhibitions at Place Royale and the Musée de l’Amérique française, the additional space allowing for a more comprehensive program covering multiple themes and generations (see Musée de la Civilisation de Québec).

One of the oldest Canadian bastions of visual and decorative arts. The museum houses vast permanent collections and visiting exhibitions heralding the accomplishments of contemporary artists, as well as creative works by masters from other eras (see Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal).