Pointe-à-Callière Museum, Montreal, Guide du visiteur et quoi faire à proximité

Pointe-à-Callière is the Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History, built directly over the spot where the city began as Ville-Marie in the 1640s. Opened in 1992 for Montreal's 350th anniversary, it lets you walk among real archaeological remains beneath the streets of Old Montreal.

The story behind it

The museum stands on a point of land between two waterways, the place the first settlers chose for their colony. Rather than clearing the site, the builders constructed the museum over the excavations, so visitors can see the layers of the city's past in the place where they were found. Underground passages link the different parts of the museum.

One of the most striking chapters is Montreal's first Catholic cemetery, consecrated in 1643 and used until 1654. The point floods, and the ground was a poor place to bury the dead, yet it was what the young settlement had. The cemetery was later built over, and its story was recovered only when archaeologists excavated the site in 1989. Some of the tombs can be seen in the museum's lower level today.

What to look for

• The archaeological remains beneath the museum, where you can see the foundations of the earliest settlement from above and walk through the underground spaces.
• The tombs from the first Catholic cemetery, which show how close the earliest settlers lived to the water that shaped their lives.
• The contrast between the modern museum architecture and the old stone streets of Place Royale just outside.
• The Youville Pumping Station, one of the historic buildings linked to the museum, which shows how the site changed from a colony to a working port city.

Tips for your visit

• Allow about one and a half to two hours inside if you want to see the main exhibits without rushing.
• Check current opening hours before you go, and consider arriving early in the day to avoid the busiest periods.
• You can go inside, and the underground sections are a good choice on a cold or wet day.
• The museum sits in Old Montreal, so Place Royale, the Old Port and the cobbled streets nearby are all a short walk away.

See it on a quest

The Montreal - Old Port Highlights quest takes you on foot through the old harbour district, with this museum as one stop on a longer route. The app tells you about each place as you arrive and sets a puzzle based on what is in front of you. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.

If you prefer the darker side of the past, The Haunting File: Montreal - Nothing Stays Buried Here passes this site too. You reach it on foot as part of a route through the area, hear about it on the spot and solve a puzzle there. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.