M Street

The main street of the old quarter runs busy and lively, lined with historic brick storefronts now filled with shops, restaurants, and cafes, the crowds flowing past old facades. This is M Street, the commercial heart of the neighbourhood, where its history and its modern life meet.

The street has been the quarter's main thoroughfare for centuries, and behind the modern shopfronts the buildings are often old, so the bustle of today plays out against a backdrop of preserved nineteenth-century and older architecture.

Today it is one of the city's prime shopping and dining streets, with a mix of well-known brands, independent shops, and a wide choice of places to eat, drawing both locals and visitors, especially at weekends.

The crossing with the other main avenue is the busy heart of it, a corner of constant movement, from which the quarter's grid of historic side streets runs off into quieter residential blocks.

Among the shops stand reminders of the street's age: the reputed oldest house in the city, old churches, and historic markers, so a walk mixes browsing with glimpses of the past.

The side streets just off the main strip, lined with elegant old townhouses, are worth a detour, far quieter than the busy street and giving a sense of the wealthy, historic residential quarter behind the commerce.

The street runs down toward the river and the old canal, so it connects the shopping heart of the quarter to the green towpath and the waterfront below.

It is busiest in the afternoons and evenings and at weekends, lively and crowded, so those wanting a calmer wander come earlier or step onto the quieter residential lanes.

For all the modern retail, the street keeps the feel of a historic main street, walkable, human in scale, and full of character, rather than a sterile mall.

It makes the natural spine of a visit to the quarter, the place to eat, shop, and people-watch between the historic houses, gardens, and canal nearby.

Walk the length of the street among the old brick facades and the crowds, then slip onto a quiet side lane of historic houses, and the two sides of the quarter, busy commerce and elegant old residence, come together. When you head down toward the canal, the noise of the street fades behind you.