Quebec Travel Guide - Getting There

Air 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.

Montréal-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.

Main 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.

VIA 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.

The best way of travelling 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.

Montréal'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.