This metropolis illustrates the different stages of city’s evolution. Its oldest part located on St. Lawrence River bank and called Vieux-Montréal is a network of narrow old streets. Downtown in nearby location is a business center with many glass office buildings. Generally, Montréal - the capital city of province of Quebéc in Canada - is dominated by boring flat-roofed neighborhoods. For American tourists this town has so-called European charm, but for other travelers this is just another North American city.

Basilique Notre-Dame built in the first half of 19^th century is a true masterpiece of Gothic Revival architecture. It should be seen not as a replica of a European cathedral, but rather as neoclassical structure characteristic of Industrial Revolution in North American continent.