The Old Port: the quays and the river
The Clock Tower, the silver dome of Marché Bonsecours, and the promenade along the St Lawrence. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Marché Bonsecours
Start under the silver dome — a grand 1840s market hall that has been parliament, city hall, and market in turn, now shops and exhibition space. The dome is the landmark you'll steer by all walk. Walk down the side to reach the water.

2. Quai de l'Horloge
The eastern quay, named for the Clock Tower at its tip. Walk the length of the pier; the tower is a 1922 sailors' memorial and you can climb it for the river view if it's open. The St Lawrence opens out wide here.

3. The Clock Tower Beach
An urban beach at the foot of the tower — sand, deck chairs, no swimming. Sit a while and watch the river traffic. Best on a warm afternoon; pointless in the rain, so save this walk for a clear day.

4. Quai Jacques-Cartier
The central pier and the busiest, with the promenade running along the basin and the Ferris wheel (La Grande Roue) turning at the river's edge. You don't have to ride it; the walk along the quay is the point.

5. Quai King-Edward / the Science Centre
The wide quay holding the Montréal Science Centre and an IMAX. Skip the building unless you've children in tow, but the pier head is the best place to stand and take in the whole port at once.

6. Habitat 67 view from the Promenade
Look across the water to Moshe Safdie's stacked-box housing from 1967 — the experiment that made his name. You can't walk to it easily from here; this is the view. End by cutting up into the city for Square-Victoria-OACI.

The Old Port: the quays and the river