Place d'Armes (Montreal)

Place d'Armes is one of the oldest public squares in Montreal, laid out in the seventeenth century and framed by landmark buildings from four centuries of the city's history. At its centre stands a monument to Paul de Chomedey, the French officer who founded the settlement in 1642. The square is bordered by Notre-Dame Basilica, an early skyscraper and the domed head office of a historic bank. Its cobbled expanse serves as a gathering point in Old Montreal and a showcase of the city's architectural evolution.