This little square in the west of Old ²Ñ´Ç²Ô³Ù°ùé²¹±ô 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 ²Ñ´Ç²Ô³Ù°ùé²¹±ô 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.