Chateau Ramezay Museum, Montreal

Overlooking the Montreal City Hall from across Notre-Dame Street is the Ramezay Castle (Château Ramezay). This historic "château" was built in 1705 as the residence of the then-governor of the city, Claude de Ramezay, who paid for its construction out of his own pocket. This was the first building proclaimed as a historical monument in Quebec and was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1949.

Over the course of its three-century-long history, the building went through many incarnations, changing several owners and serving different functions. These included head offices for the French West India Company (1745-64) and the Canadian headquarters for the Continental Army in 1775. Benjamin Franklin stayed here overnight in 1776 while trying to raise troops to fight for the Americans in the American Revolutionary War. After the British Conquest, the house once again served as a governor's residence, this time for the British governors. And in 1878, the building hosted the University of Montreal's (Université de Montréal) first Faculty of Medicine.

In 1894, the property was bought by the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Montreal and turned into a historical museum and portrait gallery. Today, its collection comprises some 30,000 objects, mainly gifts from private donators, including manuscripts, printed publications, numismatics, ethnological items, paintings, prints, and other works of art, as well as furniture.

Although multimedia displays take you through the building's evolution, the real focus is on the history and progression of the city, from the time of its foundation until Confederation. One of its highlights is the Salle de Nantes, a mahogany-paneled room from 1725, whose decoration was rightly or wrongly attributed to Germain Boffrand, chief architect to Louis XIV and Louis XV. The room was part of the French pavilion at the 1967 Expo and was donated to the museum shortly after. There are also kid-oriented exhibits, at the basement level.