The Stations

Place-d'Armes

Place-d'Armes is a station on the Orange Line of Montreal's Metro. It is named after nearby Place d'Armes located to the south, a French name for a rallying point for a fort's defenders.

This station is connected to the sprawling Palais des Congress de Montéal. It is also connected to the RESO Underground City network of pathways. Other nearby destinations include the Old Montreal tourist area, Chinatown, Montreal Science Centre, Palais de justice de Montréal, Notre-Dame Basilica, Musée Pointe-à-Callière, Cirque du Soleil, just to name a few.

The station layout is quite simple, with entrances located at both ends. One entrance leads outside near Chinatown, while the other leads directly inside the Palais des congrès de Montréal.

A large and open Mezzanine area runs the length of the ground level of the station. Fare gates are located to the sides, to allow people to pass through the station. A skylight that runs the length of the station helps bring natural light to the mezzanine.

The depth of the station platforms is quite shallow at only 4.6m below ground. As a result, the trip from the mezzanine to the platforms is quick and short, either by stairs or elevators.

At the platform level, they are covered in a combination of yellow walls, concrete and brushed stainless steel panels (notably by the seating areas). Also at the platforms are some small glass exhibit cabinets, typically featuring archeological discoveries.

UNIQUE FEATURES

What makes the station unique is how well it integrates alongside the Palais des congrès building. Its shallow depth and wide open mezzanine area function very well for its use as a transit station as well as a popular gathering point.

PUBLIC ARTWORK

The main artwork of this station is entitled "Soleil de minuit" and was installed in 2017 on the mezzanine just past the fare gates. It is a combination of various types of glass, steel and epoxy resin, all illuminated by an LED backlight. "On 21 June 2015, the first day of summer and the longest day of the year, the sun rose in Brussels. At the same time, in Montreal, it was almost midnight." The artist used a spectrophotometer to measure the light spectrum of these first rays of the Brussels summer, and designed this series of stained glass windows which reproduce the intense colours of these natural lights.

STATION FACTS AND MAP
  • Opening Date: October 14, 1966
  • Line: 2
  • Previous Station: Square-Victoria-OACI
  • Following Station: Champ-de-Mars
  • Entrances: 2

STATION RIDERSHIP (2019)

  • Total Entries: 6,986,287
  • Weekday Average: 22,467
  • Saturday Average: 13,513
  • Sunday Average: 10,244

The numbers above are the total sum of entries at the station for the year 2019. Transfers between lines and exits from the station are not counted. The weekday and weekend averages are based on the fall 2019 period of Sept 3 to Dec 6, 2019.