This little square in the west of Old Montréal marks the spot where the first fort, Ville-Marie, was erected. Defense was a key consideration due to lengthy fighting with the Iroquois. In the 17th and 18th centuries this was a marketplace; it’s now the paved forecourt of the 1836 Old Customs House and linked to the Pointe-à-Callière Cité d'archéologie et d'histoire de Montréal by an underground passage.
The neoclassical building looks much the same today as when it was built, but now serves as the museum’s gift shop.