The Traveling Monk: Rue Saint-Amable of Montreal

I am not a born traveler. But, traveling to some of the places gave me the best moments of my life. I had to leave my beautiful hometown (Kolkata, India) which captures most of my childhood and period up to my graduation. In mid-20s, I lived in Delhi and Gurgaon for work. Then I moved to Canada. Traveling gave me an itchy feet and I just wanted to travel more. 

I don't make rigorous travel plans. Travel mostly stems from my curiosity, inspirational stories shared by other travelers, or, travel documentaries. In fact, I try to watch at least one travel documentary a day (but that's a different story). I don't chase popular destinations. Nothing discourages me when it comes to traveling and I enjoy all modes of travel (e.g car, metro, bus, bike, cruise etc.). 

I live in Montreal, Quebec - a multicultural universe to be precise. Today, I have shared a story of an alley. If you are in the Old Montreal, loitering at the famous Jacques-Cartier Square or sipping coffee at “Café Olimpico”, you cannot miss the Rue Saint-Amable, an intimate 4.9 meters wide alley joining Rue Saint-Vincent and Place Jacques-Cartier. 

The signage of Rue Saint-Amable

About 200 years ago, this Rue Saint-Amable was known as the Ruelle Viger after the “Vigers”, one of the affluent families of Montreal. Denis-Benjamin Viger was a notable lawyer and a politician, son of Denis Viger and Périne-Charles. Périne-Charles (widow of Denis Viger) acquired a plot in this area facing the Place Jacques-Cartier. She wanted to build a narrow service road parallel to Rue Saint-Paul. Legal documents from 1842 suggest that Denis-Benjamin Viger inherited the plot from his mother (and sister) and renamed the alley as Rue Saint-Amable after his wife - Marie-Amable Foretier. 

In the late '60s, Rue Saint-Amable got very busy housing art galleries. Today, it serves as a nexus of local artists and photographers and houses ice cream shops and eateries in its vicinity (you check the images below).

Rue Saint-Amable in 2021

Rue Saint-Amable in 1915
(Source: Archives of BAnQ)


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