International Travel:Getting There by AirAir Canada (AC) (website:
www.aircanada.com)
and other international carriers fly into Montréal. Commuter services between Montréal and Toronto, Québec City and New York also exist. Local air services operate between the cities in the south and float planes serve the lakes and parkland of the north.
Main AirportsMontréal-Trudeau (YUL) (website:
www.admtl.com) is 25km (16 miles)
west of Montréal.
To/from the airports: A regular shuttle service connects the two airports. Buses leave Trudeau
every 30 minutes (0700-0100) for Montréal and its major hotels. Taxi and limousine services are also available for a fixed flat fee.
Facilities: Information desks, ATMs, bureaux de change, Internet access, bars, restaurants and cafés, duty-free shopping, left-luggage and VIP lounges are available.
Getting There by WaterMain ports: Québec City (website:
www.portquebec.ca) and
Montréal (website:
www.port-montreal.com).
Québec
City and Montréal are the most important Canadian ports on the St Lawrence Seaway, which links the Atlantic Ocean with the Great Lakes and the industrial heartland of Canada and the USA. Several international passenger ships sail to both Montréal and Québec City (some vessels are too big to go up the river to Montreal). Most of the province’s lakes and rivers (notably the Ouatouais, the Richelieu and the Saguenay) are served by local ferries, some of which are able to take heavy lorries.
Getting There by RailVIA Rail (tel: 1 888 842 7245, in Canada and the USA; website:
www.viarail.ca) connects Montréal and Québec City to Toronto with fast, regular services. It also offers services to Halifax from Montréal and Québec City. Links to the USA are with
Amtrak (tel: 1 800 872 7245, in Canada and the USA; website:
www.amtrak.com) and VIA Rail. Amtrak
operates two daily trains to the USA. VIA Rail
services connect the major cities in the south of the province, with three-times-daily mainline services from Montréal to Québec.
Getting There by RoadThe best way of traveling into and around Québec by road is by long-distance coach, especially
Orléans Express (tel: 1 888 999 3977, in Canada and the USA; website:
www.orleansexpress.com). The services in the southern region are especially frequent. Motorhomes
and campers
are best for seeing the northern parklands, and the area is connected to the south by several good highways, although the most extensive network is around the populous areas in the south.
Getting Around Towns and CitiesMontréal’s
bus and
metro services are operated by the
Société de transport de Montréal (STM) (tel: (514) 786 4636; website:
www.stcum.qc.ca). They are fully integrated, fast, safe, clean and operate on a flat-fare system. For transfers from metro to bus, transfer-tickets should be obtained from machines before leaving the underground. If transferring from bus to metro, ask the bus driver for a ticket. There are tourist passes for one day and three days, and CAM weekly and monthly passes, as well as multi-ticket books. Metro fares are the lowest in North America.
Commuter trains in Montreal are run by
Agence Métropolitaine de Transport (AMT) (tel: (514) 287 8726; website:
www.amt.qc.ca).
Québec City’s bus services are run by
Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC) (tel: (418) 627 2511; website:
www.rtcquebec.ca) and operate on a flat-fare system. No change is carried on board. Pre-purchase passes are available. There are good bus services in other towns.
Taxis can be hailed on the street in Montréal, but in other cities in the province they need to be ordered.
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