Landmark North America
Notre-Dame Basilica
Notre-Dame Basilica is a huge old stone church in Montréal, Canada. It has two tall square towers and an organ with thousands of pipes!
Notre-Dame Basilica stands in Old Montréal, facing the square called Place d'Armes. Built from 1824 to 1829, it was the first Gothic Revival church in Canada. Its twin towers were finished in 1841 and 1843, and it was made a National Historic Site of Canada in 1989.
Built from 1824 to 1829 to plans by the New York architect James O'Donnell, Notre-Dame in Montréal was the first significant example of the Gothic Revival style in Canada. Its Montréal limestone facade has a triple-arched portico between two massive square towers, completed in 1841 and 1843; Victor Bourgeau redesigned the interior in the 1870s.
Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Notre-Dame Basilica
Notre-Dame Basilica is in Montréal, a city in Canada.
It is a very big stone church with two tall towers at the front.
Notre-Dame Basilica stands on Notre-Dame Street in Old Montréal, right across from the square called Place d'Armes. It is a huge stone church with two massive towers, built from 1824 to 1829 to plans by the New York architect James O'Donnell.
Canada's Register of Historic Places calls it the flagship of the Gothic Revival style in Canada.
The Canadian Register of Historic Places describes an immense stone church built from 1824 to 1829 in the Romantic Gothic Revival style, with massive twin towers and a Gothic-arched, recessed portico, facing Notre-Dame Street across from Place d'Armes in Old Montréal.
It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1989 as the flagship of the Gothic Revival style in Canada, a style that would become prominent in Canadian architecture.
- Where
- Notre-Dame Street, Old Montréal
- Built
- 1824–1829
- Style
- Gothic Revival
- National Historic Site
- 1989
Built for 8,000 people
The old church here had become much too small.
So people built a new, much bigger one, with room for 8,000 people!
By 1819 the old church on this street could hold only 3,000 of its 15,000 churchgoers. A committee chose a New York architect, James O'Donnell, to design a new church for 8,000 people.
Builders could only work from April to October because of the winter weather, but the church was built in 35 months, from 1824 to 1829.
The basilica's own history says that by 1819 the old church could hold only 3,000 of 15,000 parishioners, so in 1823 a fifteen-member committee chose the New York architect James O'Donnell to design a church for 8,000. O'Donnell drew on the two towers of Notre-Dame de Paris and on the Church of Saint-Sulpice.
Work was possible only between April and October, yet construction took 35 months, from 1824 to 1829. The Register says that for the next half century it was the largest church in Canada or the United States.
Towers, arches and limestone
The walls are made of limestone.
The two towers took more than ten years to finish!
The walls are made of Montréal limestone. The front has three big pointed arches at the bottom, a row of arches above them and a notched top edge, between two square towers.
The towers took more than ten years: the west tower was finished in 1841 and the east tower in 1843, after O'Donnell's death, following his plan.
Heritage features listed by the Register include the triple arched portico under a blind arcade, flanked by twin square towers; a crenellated parapet; octagonal colonnettes at the tower corners; buttresses; pointed-arch windows with tracery; a complex wooden roof truss; and Montréal limestone walls.
Architect John Ostell finished the towers in 1843 to O'Donnell's original plan. The basilica dates the west tower to 1841 and the east tower to 1843.
Bells and an organ
One tower holds a giant bell that weighs 10,900 kilograms.
Inside, a huge organ has 7,000 pipes!
Since 1848 the west tower has held a huge bell from England called Jean-Baptiste, weighing 10,900 kilograms. The east tower holds a set of ten bells from the same maker, and the bells ring every hour from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Inside, the organ built by Casavant Frères, finished in 1891, now has 7,000 pipes: the biggest is 9.75 meters long and the smallest just 6.35 millimeters.
The west tower has housed the 10,900-kilogram bell Jean-Baptiste, made in England, since 1848; the east tower holds a carillon of ten bells from the same English maker. Between 1872 and 1880 the interior was redecorated to designs by Victor Bourgeau, with strong color, gold-leaf motifs and a vault painted intense blue with stars.
The Casavant Frères organ was finished in 1891; for its centenary its pipes were increased to 7,000, from 9.75 m down to 6.35 mm.
- Big bell
- 10,900 kg (since 1848)
- Organ finished
- 1891
- Organ pipes
- 7,000
- Interior redesigned
- 1872–1880
Lit up at night
This photo was taken at night.
The towers glow with lights, and the arches at the bottom shine bright blue!
Diego Delso took this photo on the evening of 11 August 2017. The stone front glows under lights, the three big arches shine blue, and blue windows sit in the towers. Cars in front look blurred, with streaks of red light.
In 1929, for the church's centenary, new stained-glass windows were made showing scenes from Montréal's history.
The photo (Diego Delso, 11 August 2017, a tone-mapped HDR image) shows the floodlit limestone front: twin square towers with pointed and round windows, the notched parapet, the blind arcade and the three blue-lit portico arches, ornate street lamps and cars blurred into light trails.
The basilica says ground-floor stained-glass windows made for the 1929 centenary show life in the early days of the city, with scenes from Montréal's history on the west side.
Amazing facts
-
The biggest organ pipe is almost 10 meters long!
The organ's biggest pipe is 9.75 meters long, and its smallest is just 6.35 millimeters.
Since its centenary the Casavant Frères organ has had 7,000 pipes, the largest 9.75 m (32 ft) and the smallest 6.35 mm (1/4 in).
-
Builders could only work in the warm months, but they finished in 35 months!
Winter weather stopped the work each year, yet construction took only 35 months, from 1824 to 1829.
Working only between April and October, the builders completed the church in 35 months, 1824-1829.
-
For 50 years it was the biggest church in Canada and the United States!
For about half a century after it was built, it was the largest church in Canada or the United States.
The Register of Historic Places says that for the next half century it was the largest church in either Canada or the United States.
Words to know
- Gothic Revival
- a building style of the 1800s that brought back the pointed arches and towers of the Middle Ages
- portico
- a porch with a roof held up by columns or arches
- crenellated
- having a notched top edge, like a castle wall
- limestone
- a kind of rock often used for building
- carillon
- a set of bells played to make tunes
- organ
- a large musical instrument that makes sound by pushing air through pipes
Discovery challenge
-
In which city is Notre-Dame Basilica?
In which Canadian city does Notre-Dame Basilica stand?
Notre-Dame Basilica faces Place d'Armes in which city?
- Montréal
- Toronto
- Vancouver
Show the answer
Montréal
Montréal!
Montréal, in Quebec.
Montréal (Old Montréal).
-
Which building style is the church built in?
Notre-Dame was the first church in Canada built in which style?
Notre-Dame is the flagship in Canada of which architectural style?
- Gothic Revival
- Art Deco
- Ancient Egyptian
Show the answer
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival!
Gothic Revival.
The Gothic Revival (in its Romantic form).
-
When was the church built?
In which years was Notre-Dame Basilica built?
Between which years was the church built to James O'Donnell's plans?
- 1824 to 1829
- 1924 to 1929
- 1724 to 1729
Show the answer
1824 to 1829
From 1824 to 1829!
From 1824 to 1829.
1824-1829; the towers followed in 1841 and 1843.
-
How many people was the church made to hold?
How many people was the new church designed to hold?
For how many people did the 1823 committee want the new church designed?
- 8,000
- 800
- 80,000
Show the answer
8,000
8,000!
8,000 people.
8,000.
-
How many pipes does the organ have?
How many pipes does the Casavant Frères organ have today?
To how many pipes was the organ enlarged for its centenary?
- 7,000
- 70
- 700,000
Show the answer
7,000
7,000!
7,000.
7,000.
Nearby places
-
Watch
City
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Quebec, a French-speaking province of Canada. It sits on an island in the St. Lawrence River, around a wooded hill called Mount Royal. It began in 1642 as a French settlement called Ville-Marie. Quebec's statistics institute estimated that 1,913,561 people lived in the city in July 2025.
-
Watch
Natural wonder
Adirondack Mountains
The Adirondack Mountains in New York State form a round cluster of peaks, not a long chain. NASA says they are made of rock more than a billion years old that began rising as a dome about five million years ago, and they are still rising.
-
Watch
Landmark
Rideau Canal
The Rideau Canal runs 202 kilometers from Ottawa to Kingston on Lake Ontario, in Canada. It was opened in 1832. Dams raised the rivers so boats could travel, and locks lift boats from one level to the next. Most lock gates are still opened by hand-turned winches.
-
Watch
City
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada. It stands where three rivers meet, beside the Ottawa River, which divides the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It began as a lumber town called Bytown, became the capital in 1857, and had 1,017,449 people at the 2021 census.
-
Watch
City
Boston
Boston is the capital of the state of Massachusetts, on a harbor of the Atlantic Ocean. Settlers founded it in 1630 on a small peninsula, and Bostonians later made thousands of acres of new land. Many events that led to the American Revolution happened here. About 673,000 people lived in the city in 2025.
-
Watch
Natural wonder
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is the last of the five Great Lakes in a chain of water that flows to the Atlantic Ocean through the St. Lawrence River. It is the smallest Great Lake by surface area but holds about 1,640 cubic kilometers of water. Its basin once held a much bigger lake fed by melting ice.
-
Watch
City
Toronto
Toronto, on the shore of Lake Ontario, is the capital of the province of Ontario and the most populous city in Canada. People from all over the world have made their homes here. The 2021 census counted 2,794,356 people in the city and 6,202,225 in the metropolitan area.
-
Watch
Landmark
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal was dug across New York State from 1817 to 1825. The first canal ran 363 miles (about 584 km) from Albany to Buffalo, linking the Hudson River with the Great Lakes, and climbed with 83 locks. It made travel faster and cheaper, helped cities grow along its banks, and has carried boats ever since 1825.
Explore next
-
Watch
Country
Canada
Canada is the second-largest country in the world, stretching across the north of North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific and up into the Arctic. It has the Rocky Mountains, thousands of islands and about 42 million people, who speak English, French and many other languages.
-
Watch
City
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Quebec, a French-speaking province of Canada. It sits on an island in the St. Lawrence River, around a wooded hill called Mount Royal. It began in 1642 as a French settlement called Ville-Marie. Quebec's statistics institute estimated that 1,913,561 people lived in the city in July 2025.
-
Watch
Landmark
Notre-Dame de Paris
Notre-Dame de Paris is the cathedral of Paris, a Catholic church begun in 1163 on an island in the Seine River. Its towers are 68 meters tall. In 2019 a fire destroyed most of its roof and its spire, and after five years of work it reopened in December 2024.
-
Watch
Landmark
Aasivissuit–Nipisat
Aasivissuit–Nipisat is a World Heritage landscape in West Greenland, north of the Arctic Circle. It stretches from the sea to the ice sheet, and UNESCO says it holds evidence of 4,200 years of people hunting, fishing and moving with the seasons.
-
Watch
Landmark
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge crosses the East River between Brooklyn and Manhattan in New York City. Built from 1869 to 1883, it was the first bridge to use steel wire for its cables, and its main span was the longest in the world until 1890. Every day, cars, walkers and cyclists still cross it.
-
Watch
Landmark
Calakmul
Calakmul is the ruin of a great Maya city in the rainforest of southern Mexico. People lived in this region for about 1,500 years, from about 500 BCE to about 1000 CE, and UNESCO calls Calakmul the largest site in the area. Today the city and the forest around it are a World Heritage Site.
-
Watch
Landmark
Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca
The Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca is a stone fortress on a rocky headland at the mouth of Santiago de Cuba Bay. UNESCO says it has guarded the entrance to the bay since 1638, and it is built in a series of terraces that climb the cliffs.
-
Watch
Landmark
Chichén Itzá
Chichén Itzá is the ruin of a great Maya city on the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. Its people built pyramids, a huge ball court and a round building for watching the sky. Its most famous pyramid, El Castillo, has 365 steps, as many as the days in a year.
For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Recognize features of the Gothic Revival style.
- Explain how winter weather shaped the way the building was built.
- Describe how an organ makes sound with pipes of different lengths.
Recommended ages: 4 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why might builders copy the style of buildings from hundreds of years earlier?
- Why do you think the towers took so much longer than the rest of the building?
- Why do long organ pipes make low sounds and short ones make high sounds?
Try at home or in class
- Blow across the tops of bottles filled with different amounts of water and compare the sounds, like organ pipes.
- Draw a pointed arch and a round arch side by side, and look for each kind on buildings near you.
Key vocabulary: Gothic Revival, portico, crenellated, limestone, carillon, organ
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Notre-Dame Roman Catholic Church / Basilica National Historic Site of Canada , Canada's Historic Places (Parks Canada)
- History and heritage , Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal
- Art and architecture , Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal
- File:Basílica de Notre-Dame, Montreal, Canadá, 2017-08-11, DD 20-22 HDR alt.jpg , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.