Walk along Canal de Lachine

The Canal de Lachine is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, running 14.5 kilometres from the Old Port of Montreal to Lake Saint-Louis. The canal was built to bypass the treacherous Lachine Rapids on the Saint-Lawrence river upstream of Montreal. After completion of the canal in 1825, its banks became a major industrial area of the city. However, the canal closed to shipping traffic in 1970, a few years after the opening of the Saint-Lawrence Seaway (in 1959), which bypasses the rapids starting in Longueuil, on the other side of the river.

The canal is lined with a nice path, suitable for walking and biking, all the way from the Old Port to Lake Saint-Louis. I followed that path on foot until the Saint-Henri neighbourhood, where I took the subway back to Downtown.

Above, derelict silos in Jardin des Ecluses, in the southern part of the Old Port.

Above, Bassins Peel.

Above, new condo developments.

Above, path along the Canal.

Above, Mount Royal in the background.

Above, skyscrapers of Downtown.

Above, tower of Atwater Market, a farmer’s market.

Above, I continued a bit past that footbridge then doubled back to cross the canal.

Above, squirrel in Parc Sir-George-Étienne-Cartier, in Saint-Henri.

Above, Église Saint-Zotique.

Above, artists painting a large mural. Like the Plateau, the area has many murals and street artworks.

Above, concrete in Place Saint-Henri subway station.