|
Walking back up towards downtown, take a slight detour to rue St-Francois-Xavier to find the Centaur Theatre . Located at no. 453, and housed in the former Montreal Stock Exchange - Canada's first - it is the main English-language theatre in Montreal today. Back up on rue St-Jacques, going east, you'll pass the sumptuous Molson and Royal banks at nos. 362 and 360 rue St-Jacques ouest. When it was built in 1866, the 23-storey Royal Bank was the tallest building in the British Empire. At the northwestern end of Vieux-Montreal, the entire block of rue St-Jacques between rue St-Pierre and Square Victoria is taken up by the Centre de Commerce Mondial , an architectural gem and the city's most prominent business address. Inaugurated in 1991 with the hope of reviving the former business district, the structure incorporates the facades of the centuries-old buildings that formerly stood there. Inside, the ruelle des Fortifications , so named because it marks the location of the city's stone walls, is a lovely interior arcade adorned with boutiques, restaurants, a soothing fountain and a statue of Amphitrite, Poseidon's wife. At the easternmost end is a chunk of the Berlin wall. Across the street, there isn't much left of Square Victoria , surrounded by Second Empire and neo-Renaissance buildings and bustling with activity from the city's haymarket. The imposing building bracketing the west side of the square used to be the digs of the Montreal Stock Exchange , but futures are traded there now instead of shares. Also of note is the Art Nouveau grill adorning the Metro station entranceway - which once graced a station on the Paris Metro - donated to the city for Expo '67.
Your Tip for Square Victoria
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Square Victoria - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Square Victoria - visit the main Square Victoria forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Square Victoria webguide section below! Thanks.
| 
