This little 17th-century French settlement, initially baptized Ville-Marie, would grow and change quickly. The site of Old Montréal would become a fortified town in the 18th century, under French control up until 1760, and then British turning it into the bourgeois centre of the city in the early 19th century, as Montréal took the spotlight as the political and commercial hub of Upper and Lower Canada. It would become a Victorian showcase in the 19th century, in a Montréal undergoing changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution. It then changed to the heart of the metropolis in the early 20th century, symbolized by the head offices of banks on St. James Street. And now, it is the historic city centre, the old centre of Montréal, still thriving thanks to projects highlighting its heritage value since the 1960s.

Then on to Canada Day celebrations!