Montreal offers visitors a little bit of old Europe without the trans-Atlantic flight. The vibrant cafe and restaurant scene, the French language (although Parisians might scoff). But the cobblestone streets no longer. They are now being ripped up, to be replaced by concrete. These new streets may provide surer footing. Kinder on the ankles, perhaps. But there are some places they’ll never go.

All photos by Neil Watson

Montreal is notorious for summer road work, but the street work essentially brought a halt to all traffic in some parts of Old Montreal.

The metro station where our journey begins.

This concrete jungle is home to some rare local species.

The cobblestone that is not long for this world.

The Replacements.

Rue Barre is the unofficial name for much of the city.

One last look at the road back to the past.