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A block south of rue Notre-Dame, rue St-Paul , one of Montreal's most attractive thoroughfares, is lined with nineteenth-century commercial buildings and Victorian lampposts, the buildings little changed from when Charles Dickens stayed here, although they now house restaurants and specialist shops selling everything from Inuit crafts to kites. Mark Twain noted that in Montreal, "you couldn't throw a brick without hitting a church", and near rue St-Paul's eastern end is Montreal's favourite: the delicate and profusely steepled Chapelle de Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours (daily: May-Oct 9am-5pm; Nov-April 10am-3pm), or the Sailors' Church. The outstretched arms of the Virgin on the tower became a landmark for ships on the St Lawrence and, once safely landed, the mariners would endow the chapel with wooden votive lamps in the shape of ships, many of which are still here. The chapel dates back to the earliest days of the colony, when Maisonneuve helped cut the wood for what was Ville-Marie's first church, under the instigation of Marguerite Bourgeoys, who had been summoned to Ville-Marie to teach the settlement's children. The devout Bourgeoys also founded the nation's first religious order and was in charge of the filles du Roi - orphaned French girls sent to marry bachelor settlers and multiply the colony's population. She was canonized in 1982, becoming Canada's first saint. Today's chapel, postdating Bourgeoys by some seventy years, contains a small museum devoted to her life (May-Oct Tues-Sun 10am-5pm; Nov to mid-Jan & mid-March to April 11am-3.30pm; $5). Be sure to climb the narrow stairs leading to the summit of the tower above the apse, known as Le Monument , for excellent views. Opposite the chapel is the three-storey, high-chimneyed Maison du Calvet , built in 1725 and one of Montreal's best examples of French domestic architecture. Photographed, painted and admired more than any other house in the district, it was the home of a Huguenot draper and justice of the peace called Pierre Calvet, a notorious turncoat who changed his allegiances from the French to the British and then to the Americans. It houses a cafe today. Rue Bonsecours , which links rue St-Paul to Notre-Dame, is another typical Vieux-Montreal street. The Maison Papineau at no. 440 was home to four generations of the Papineau family, including Louis-Joseph who, as Speaker of the Assembly, championed the habitants of the St Lawrence farmlands against the senior Catholic clergy, the British government and Montreal's business class. Calling for democratic election of the executive officers of church and government, he fuelled the rage of the Patriotes - the leaders of Lower Canada reform - but deserted the scene as the 1837 rebellion reached a bloody climax . The house remains a private residence, but renovations have significantly altered its exterior facade from the days when the Papineaus lived here. The silver-domed Marche Bonsecours , with its long facade of columns, extends beyond the intersection of rue Bonsecours and rue St-Paul. For years this elegant building was used for municipal offices, but for the city's 350th in 1992 it was restored and transformed to house a farmers' market, designer boutiques, expensive artworks and special exhibitions.
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