Did you know that there’s a 500-year-old chateau in the middle of Montreal?

Despite having visited Montreal regularly, I had no idea it was there. And when it was built in 1706, it was considered to be the finest house in Canada for several years! As a lover of historical buildings, how had I missed it?!

On one of my visits a few summers ago, the heat of the day was bearing down on us as we explored the Old Montreal section of the city. We were desperate for shade amongst all the stone and steel. I saw a walled garden up a small hill and headed towards it, not knowing if it was public or private. Happily, it was open to the public and we dragged our over-heated selves into the cool shade of this manicured garden. Splashing ourselves with some of the water from a whimsical fountain, we were so thankful for chancing upon it. This was the formal garden of that historical grand house, Chateau Ramezay.

Today it is a museum dedicated to the history of Montreal. Even though by modern standards it no longer feels like a castle or mansion, Chateau Ramezay is a beautiful building and in its time would have been very impressive with its multiple gardens, lawns and stables.

I will be forever grateful that it has been preserved, and especially the gardens which served as our oasis on a blistering summer day. I definitely wanted to preserve this memory of our fortunate discovery, and chose that sweet moment of relief and joy upon finding the fountain with its funny ram spout and cool running water.

This painting is still available at the writing of this post. For information about acquiring this painting, or any other, complete the Contact Form below and I’ll respond to you right away.