Place Jacques-Cartier in old port. Column has statue of Nelson on top.

Place Jacques-Cartier was so named in 1847 in honour of the French navigator who was the first European to sail up the St. Lawrence River as far as Montréal. Its northern end is dominated by a statue of Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758-1805), erected in 1809 to commemorate the victory at Trafalgar four years earlier. Today Place Jacques-Cartier is a popular meeting point, almost always bustling with activity. It is entirely reserved for pedestrian traffic during the summer, when the sidewalk cafés bordering it are full of lively patrons and musicians, painters and street performers provide plenty of local colour.

Photo 504, June 2010

Detail of Nelson Monument

Nelson's Column is a monument in Place Jacques-Cartier. Installed in 1809, Nelson's column was the second monument to be erected in Montréal.

The column was built in 1809 to commemorate Admiral Horatio Nelson's death at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

On August 17th 1809, the foundation of Nelson's monument is laid in Montréal. It is the first monument dedicated to the memory of this admiral in all of the British Empire. In Montréal as in Nelson's Column from London, the admiral stands with his back to the waves.

The Horatio Nelson statue that originally stood on top of Nelson's column in Place Jacques Cartier is now found at the Centre d'histoire de Montréal, after it was removed in 1997 to preserve it from the weather. A copy now stands atop of the column in Place Jacques Cartier.

Photo 902, June 2010

Crowd watching acts at Place Jacques-Cartier in old port. Column has statue of Nelson on top.

Place Jacques-Cartier was so named in 1847 in honour of the French navigator who was the first European to sail up the St. Lawrence River as far as Montréal. Its northern end is dominated by a statue of Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758-1805), erected in 1809 to commemorate the victory at Trafalgar four years earlier. Today Place Jacques-Cartier is a popular meeting point, almost always bustling with activity. It is entirely reserved for pedestrian traffic during the summer, when the sidewalk cafés bordering it are full of lively patrons and musicians, painters and street performers provide plenty of local colour.

Photo 06, Aug 2005