Getting There

Served by highways, transcontinental trains and buses, and several airports, Montréal and Québec City are easily accessible from any part of the United States and Europe.

By Plane

As of January 2007, all travelers traveling by plane between the U.S. and Canada are required to present a valid passport. This is a change from prior travel requirements. Even children under 18 need a passport to get into Canada and to return to the U.S. Have your passport at the ready to show at check-in, the security checkpoint, and sometimes even the gate.

Most of the world's major airlines fly into the Aéroport International Pierre-Elliot-Trudeau de Montréal (airport code YUL; tel. 800/465-1213 and 514/394-7377; www.admtl.com), known more commonly as Montréal-Trudeau Airport. Aéroport Mirabel, farther from the city, is an all-cargo facility.

Visitors from the U.S. fly into Trudeau on Air Canada and its lower-cost sister carrier Air Canada Jazz (tel. 888/247-2262; www.aircanada.ca); American (tel. 800/433-7300; www.aa.com), Continental (tel. 800/231-0856; www.continental.com), Delta (tel. 800/221-1212; www.delta.com), Northwest (tel. 800/225-2525; www.nwa.com), United (tel. 800/241-6522; www.united.com), and US Airways (tel. 800/432-9768; www.usairways.com).

Visitors from overseas fly in on a wide variety of carriers including British Airways (tel. 800/247-9297; www.britishairways.com).

Your choice of airline and airplane will definitely affect your leg room. Find more about U.S. airlines at www.seatguru.com. For international airlines, the research firm Skytrax has posted a list of average seat pitches at www.airlinequality.com.

By Car

U.S. citizens do not need an international driver's license to drive in Canada. A U.S. license is legal as long as you are a visitor and are actually resident in the U.S.

Passport rules may change on January 1, 2008, requiring a passport for all land travel between the U.S. and Canada. As of this writing, a passport is only required for air travel. The most up-to-date information is at the U.S. State Department website http://travel.state.gov.

Highway distances and speed limits are given in kilometers (km) in Canada. The speed limit on the autoroutes (limited-access highways) is 100kmph (62 mph). In the unlikely event you are stopped, there is a stiff penalty for not wearing seatbelts. Passengers must buckle up in the back seat as well as in the driver's and passenger's seats up front. And if you possess a radar detector, it can be confiscated, even if it isn't connected, and you can be fined.

You cannot turn right on red on the island of Montréal. It is permitted in the rest of Québec and Canada.

Members of the American Automobile Association (AAA) are covered by the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) while traveling in Canada.

For details on road conditions and road repair, there is a 24-hour hot line (tel. 888/355-0511).

Driving north from the U.S., the entire journey is on expressways. From New York City, all but the last 40 or so miles of the 603km (375-mile) journey are within New York state on Interstate 87. I-87 links up with Canada's Autoroute 15 at the border, which goes straight to Montréal. From Boston, I-93 north goes up through New Hampshire (and the beautiful Franconia Notch in the White Mountains) and merges into I-91 north to cross the tip of Vermont. At the border, I-91 becomes Autoroute 55. Signs lead to Autoroute 10 west to Montréal. From Boston to Montréal is about 518km (322 miles).

Fill Up Before You Cross Over -- Gasoline in Canada is expensive by U.S. standards. Although prices fluctuate as they do in the U.S., don't be surprised if you have to pay as much as 30% more than you're used to in the states. (Europeans will find the prices less of a shock.) Gas is sold by the liter, and 3.78 liters equals 1 gallon. Recent prices of C$1.15 a liter (US$1/49p) are the equivalent of about US$4.35 a gallon. If you're driving from the U.S., fill up just before you cross the border.

By Train

Montréal is a major terminus on Canada's VIA Rail network (tel. 888/842-7245; www.viarail.ca), with its station, Gare Centrale, at 895 rue de la Gauchetière ouest (tel. 514/989-2626). The VIA Rail trains are comfortable -- all have Wi-Fi, some are equipped with dining cars and sleeping cars. Amtrak (tel. 800/USA-RAIL [872-7245]; www.amtrak.com) has one train a day to Montréal from New York that makes intermediate stops. Called the Adirondack, it is a no-frills, coach-only affair, and very slow, but its scenic route passes along the eastern shore of the Hudson River and west of Lake Champlain. The Adirondack is scheduled to take about 10 1/2 hours from New York if all goes well, but delays aren't unusual.

Traveling between Québec City and Montréal

Train service between Montréal and Québec City is through VIA Rail Canada (tel. 888/842-7245; www.viarail.ca). Travel time is about 3 hours. Round-trip prices start at about C$96 (US$84/£41) for supersaver economy class. Wi-Fi is available on board.

Air Canada's low-cost sister carrier Air Canada Jazz (tel. 888/247-2262; www.flyjazz.ca) has frequent flights between Montréal and Québec City.

Buses run nearly hourly between the two cities on the Orléans Express (tel. 888/999-3977; www.orleansexpress.com) and take 3 hours, 15 minutes. A one-way ticket is C$50 (US$44/£22) adult.

When driving between Québec City from Montréal, there are two main options: Autoroute 40, which runs along the north shore of the St. Lawrence, and Autoroute 20, on the south side (although not hugging the water at all). The trip takes less than 3 hours without stops.