Saint-Boniface

Saint-Boniface is the historic centre of French Manitoba and the largest francophone community in western Canada. Its cathedral burned in 1968, and rather than clear the ruin the parish left the stone facade, rose window and walls standing as a shell and built a smaller modern church inside the footprint, so the two are seen together. Louis Riel, the Métis leader who founded Manitoba and was hanged for treason in 1885, is buried in the churchyard. The Saint-Boniface Museum occupies an 1846 convent, the oldest building in Winnipeg and the largest oak log structure in North America. Festival du Voyageur runs in February.

What you actually see

• The cathedral shell - a burned 1968 facade with a modern church inside it.
• Riel's grave - the Métis leader's burial place in the churchyard.
• The 1846 convent - Winnipeg's oldest building, now the museum.
• Festival du Voyageur - a February winter festival of Métis and French culture.

When to go

Year-round; Festival du Voyageur in February is the quarter's biggest event, held in deep cold. Summer suits the riverwalk and the Esplanade Riel footbridge from The Forks.

Honest expectations

The cathedral interior is a modern building inside a ruin, which divides opinion. The museum is small. February festival conditions are genuinely severe.

Nearby

The Forks lies across the footbridge; the Exchange District is beyond it.