Héritage Montréal promoting the city's DNA for 50 years! For Montreal, for you.
Guided tours
On the occasion of Héritage Montréal’s 50th anniversary, revisit Old Montréal’s east end and surrounding suburbs, and their evolution. From Faubourg Québec to the Viger Hotel-Station area, via the emblematic De La Gauchetière Street, Héritage Montréal offers three tours to help you discover the richness of Montreal’s architecture, but also the great modern ruptures and the actions taken to preserve its heritage. Visits take place from April 22 to June 5, Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5:30pm.
Tour 1 – Faubourg Québec: when rails and river shape the city
The eastern part of Old Montreal and the Faubourg Québec have undergone major transformations since the 18th century. Commerce, housing, tourism, port and rail activities have all left their mark on the district. This tour takes a particular interest in how the markers of the past have been integrated into today’s buildings.
Tour 2 – Around the Viger Hotel-Station: a changing urban crossroads
From the demolition of the fortifications to the construction of the Ville-Marie expressway, the area around Viger Square and its hotel station has undergone profound transformation. This tour looks at the urban metamorphoses that have reshaped this once bucolic and bourgeois landscape, as well as the solutions put in place to redevelop and revitalize it.
Tour 3: De La Gauchetière Street: witness to Montreal’s contrasts
Founded in the 18th century, rue De La Gauchetière was one of the city’s first passages linking the suburbs from east to west. Now running parallel to the highway, this axis bears witness to the densification of Montreal. From the CHUM, through Chinatown, to Beaver Hall Hill, let’s take a look at how this emblematic thoroughfare reflects the challenges of contemporary integration with downtown’s ancient fabric.
IDMS
Héritage Montréal, in collaboration with ICOMOS Canada, invites you to a virtual round table on April 15, 2025, from 12 noon to 1:30 pm, Montreal time.
The roundtable will be hosted in French by Dinu Bumbaru, Policy Director at Héritage Montréal, alongside Laurent Généreux, an architect and board member of ICOMOS Canada. It will mark the International Day for Monuments and Sites and coincide with the 6th anniversary of the fire at Notre-Dame de Paris.
Panelists :
Daniel Beaulieu
Director of Prevention and Mutual Aid, Mutuelle d’assurance en église
Chantal Bibeau
Assistant Director, Prevention and Integrated Risk Management, Service de sécurité incendie de Montréal
Benjamin Mouton
Chief Architect and Inspector General of Historic Monuments, former Vice-President of ICOMOS and President of the French Section of ICOMOS
Serge Villeneuve
Deputy Director Operations, Service de sécurité incendie de Montréal
In recent years, here and elsewhere, major fires have struck heritage buildings and complexes, causing not only loss of life, but also significant damage and even irreparable loss. These disasters have often prompted awareness and preventive action.
How can we reduce the vulnerability of our heritage to fire and other hazards? What experiences could we learn from?
News
Over the past two centuries, Montreal’s neighbourhoods have reflected its cultural diversity, marked by the communities that inhabit them. But this feature of the city’s personality evolves from one generation to the next. What part does human geography play in the city’s cultural landscape? How can we look ahead?
Open Letter
Twenty years ago, the Government of Québec and the City of Montréal took decisive action to recognize and protect Mount Royal, a symbol of both the metropolis and the province. On March 9, 2005, a government decree granted it the status of a historic and natural district, which was later reclassified as a declared heritage site in 2011. The following day, the City of Montréal established the Mount Royal Round Table (Table de concertation du Mont-Royal – TCMR) to bring together municipal, institutional, and community stakeholders to collaborate on its preservation.
This status, obtained through the persistent advocacy of our organizations and the support of the public, raised awareness and reinforced our collective responsibility for Mount Royal’s conservation. The Ministry of Culture, along with the cities of Montréal and Westmount, has closely monitored interventions within its territory to preserve its heritage value. Several studies, including inventories, tree diagnostics, visitor access analyses, and mobility reports, have contributed to a better understanding of the site.