Old Montréal is a safe and lively neighbourhood. It is located along the St. Lawrence River, five minutes’ walk from downtown and just a short walk from the Palais des congrès (convention centre). The historical district is a key part of the city’s cultural and economic life; around 4,000 people live here, and more than 35,000 travel to it daily to work. Wonderful experiences and unforgettable moments are in store for you in Old Montréal.
The city's port operations were crucial to the fascinating saga of Montréal's development–a fact acknowledged by the current Old Port area's inclusion in the historic district of Old Montréal. Because the Lachine Rapids blocked further upstream navigation on the St. Lawrence River, the city was born and flourished at this natural shipping breakpoint. From that point on–literally–the port itself, the Lachine Canal (which opened in 1825 and allowed ships to bypass the rapids) and rail transportation made Montréal a bustling hub of commerce and trade between the North American continent and the rest of the world, and the pivotal point in an integrated transportation network moving both people and cargo and linking the Great Lakes, the interior of an entire, vast continent, and the coasts of two oceans (Atlantic and Pacific). For this role as a hub, Montréal merits the title "crucible of modern Canada."
With extensive redevelopment completed in 1992, Montréal's Old Port has grown into an animated parkland linking the city and the river, site of myriad artistic, heritage, recreational, nautical and sports activities. Although the area's history as a port dates back to the very founding of the city, the most tangible physical traces of that history reflect the 19th century and, especially, Montréal's emergence as a metropolis in the first half of the 20th century. Today, the Old Port is a place for skating (not just in winter), biking, hanging out, going on a cruise, watching frothy waters flow, or just going with the flow–a place to slow down and appreciate life in. The area hosts a variety of special events in all seasons, attracting several million visitors annually.
The majority of the city's actual port operations were shifted to facilities further downstream in 1976; the Port of Montréal remains a major facility handling containerized cargo traffic on the east coast of North America.
