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Château Frontenac, Quebec City

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Travel to Quebec City

Flying to Quebec City

Major airlines offering flights to Quebec City from the UK include Air Canada, Air France, United and Continental Airlines.

Flight times: 

From London - 8 hours; New York - 1 hour 45 minutes; Los Angeles - 5 hours 45 minutes; Toronto - 1 hour 30 minutes; Sydney - 19 hours.

Travel by road

Summary:

Quebec City is well served by a network of autoroutes (motorways). Road signs are international but usually in French. Traffic drives on the right and the minimum driving age is 16 years. Maximum speed limits are 100kph (62mph) on motorways, 80kph (50mph) on rural highways and 50kph (31mph) in built-up areas. Except on the island of Montreal, it is legal for drivers to turn right at a red light in the province of Quebec unless posted otherwise. It is illegal to talk on a hand-held mobile phone while driving in Quebec (though hands-free function can be used).

An International Driving Permit is recommended but not legally required. Visitors to Quebec may drive on their national driving licences for up to six months. Proof of insurance must be carried. Private insurance is still required to cover damage to property.

Emergency breakdown service:

CAA/AAA 1 800 222 4357 or *222 from most mobile phones.

Routes:

The main routes from the west (including Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto) are Highway 40, on the St Lawrence River's north shore, and Highway 20, which bypasses the city on the south shore. Access to the city from Highway 20 is via Highway 73, arriving from the south and the US border. North of the city, Highway 73 overlaps with Highway 175 from Chicoutimi. From the east, Highway 138 from Charlevoix becomes Highway 440, leading directly into the centre of the city. Many of these routes jump around - it is often necessary for drivers to exit the highway, follow another one for a couple of kilometres, and then rejoin the original one.

Coaches:

Orléans Express (tel: (418) 525 3043; www.orleansexpress.com) is the main coach company within the province of Quebec, serving areas to the west and all along the south shore of the St Lawrence. Intercar (tel: (418) 627 9108; www.intercar.qc.ca) serves the Lac St-Jean, Charlevoix and Côte Nord regions to the north and east of the city. Other companies serve smaller destinations.

All buses depart from the main bus terminal, Gare D'Autobus de La Vieille Capitale, 320 rue Abraham-Martin (tel: (418) 525 3000), which is directly adjacent to the railway station. Most buses arriving from the west also stop at the bus terminal in Ste-Foy, 3001 chemin des Quatre-Bourgeois (tel: (418) 650 0087).

Travel by rail

Services:

VIA Rail (tel: 1 888 842 7245/VIARAIL; www.viarail.ca) is Canada's national rail service provider. Quebec City's main rail station, Gare du Palais, is located a short walk northwest of Old Quebec, at 450 rue de la Gare-du-Palais, next to the main coach station. The château-like railway station contains restaurants, cafés and left-luggage facilities. Trains arriving from the west also stop at Ste-Foy Station, 3255 chemin de la Gare, to the southwest.

Operators:

Quebec City lies at the eastern end of the Quebec City-Windsor corridor, which accounts for most of Canada's passenger rail traffic. Both economy and first class (VIA 1) cars are available on corridor trains, which link Quebec City with Montreal to the west. The carriages are clean and quiet, with large windows that confer a sense of the country's vastness, as the train passes acres of farmland and mixed conifer and deciduous forests. VIA 1 fares include a surprisingly good meal and complimentary Canadian wines. From Montreal, VIA has connections to Ottawa and Toronto; and Amtrak trains (tel: 1 800 872 7245/USARAIL; www.amtrak.com) travel to New York City.

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