Place Jacques-Cartier is a large public square connecting Notre-Dame Street with the Old Port of Montreal. This space was originally a garden for the massive Château Vaudreuil. The private residence for the Governor-General of New France was built in 1726 and destroyed by fire in 1803. The vacant lot was then transformed into New Market Place. In 1847, the square was renamed to honor Jacques Cartier. Cartier was the first European to explore the Saint Lawrence River during the first half of the 16th century. He called the new territory The Country of Canadas and claimed it for France. Flanking the four-blocks of Jacques Cartier Square are quaint restaurants like Jardin Nelson on the right. The summer-only, English eatery operates in the former Maison Cartier. The historic house was built in 1813.
