Fast Facts

American Automobile Association (AAA) -- Members of AAA are covered by the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) while traveling in Canada. Bring your membership card and proof of insurance. The 24-hour hot line for emergency road service is tel. 800/222-4357. The AAA card also provides discounts at a wide variety of hotels and restaurants in the province of Québec. Visit www.caaquebec.com for more information.

Area Codes -- The Montréal area codes are 514 and 438, and the Québec City code is 418. Outside of Montréal, the area code for the southern Laurentides is 450, and the northern Laurentides (from Val-David up) uses 819. The Cantons de l'Est are the same: 450 or 819, depending on how close you are to Montréal. In August 2010, new telephone numbers in the 450 region were given the area code 579. Outside Québec City, the area code for Ile d'Orléans and north into Charlevoix is 418, the same as in the city. You always need to dial the three-digit area code, in addition to the seven-digit number. Numbers that begin with 800, 866, 877, 888, or 855 are free to call from both Canada and the U.S.

Business Hours -- Most stores in the province are open from 9 or 10am until 5 or 6pm Monday through Wednesday, 9 or 10am to 9pm on Thursday and Friday, 9 or 10am to 5 or 6pm on Saturday, and Sunday from noon to 5pm. Banks are usually open Monday through Friday from 8 or 9am to 4pm and are closed for the entire weekend. More and more, however, banks in Montréal are open on Saturdays; since February 2011 TD Canada Trust has 16 branches open on Sundays. Bankers' hours in Québec City are shorter, from 10am to 3pm. Post office hours vary wildly by location, but are generally open from 9:30am to 5:30pm on weekdays. Some are open 9:30am to 5pm on Saturdays, and most are closed on Sundays. While many restaurants are open all day between meals, some shut down between lunch and dinner. Most restaurants serve until 9:30 or 10pm. Bars normally stay open until 3am, while some "after-hours" clubs open when other clubs are closing and keep people dancing until noon.

Drinking Laws -- The legal drinking age in the province is 18. All hard liquor and spirits in Québec are sold through official government stores operated by the Québec Société des Alcools (look for maroon signs with the acronym SAQ). Wine and beer are available in grocery stores and convenience stores, called dépanneurs. Bars can pour drinks as late as 3am, but often stay open later.

Penalties for drunk driving in Canada are heavy. Provisions instituted in 2008 include higher mandatory penalties, such as a minimum fine of C$1,000 and 1 year driving prohibition for a convicted first offense, and for a second offense, a minimum of 14 days in jail and 2 to 5 years probation. Drivers caught under the influence face a maximum life sentence if they cause death, and a maximum 10-year sentence and possible lifetime ban on driving if they cause bodily harm. Learn more at www.saaq.gouv.qc.ca/en.

Electricity -- Like the U.S., Canada uses 110 to 120 volts AC (60 cycles), compared to the 220 to 240 volts AC (50 cycles) used in most of Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. If your small appliances use 220 to 240 volts, you'll need a 110-volt transformer and a plug adapter with two flat parallel pins to operate them in Canada. They can be difficult to find in Canada, so bring one with you.

Embassies & Consulates -- Embassies are located in Ottawa, Canada's capital. There are consulate offices throughout the Canadian provinces, including Québec. The U.S. Embassy information line tel. 888/840-0032 costs C$1.59 per minute. The U.S. has a consulate in Montréal at 1155 rue St-Alexandre (tel. 514/398-9695), where nonemergency American citizen services are provided by appointment only. There is also a U.S. consulate in Québec City, on Jardin des Gouverneurs at 2 rue de la Terrasse-Dufferin (tel. 418/692-2095).

The U.K. consulate in Montréal is at 1000 rue de la Gauchetière ouest, Ste. 4200 (tel. 514/866-5863). The U.K. consulate in Québec City is in the St-Amable Complex, 1150 Claire-Fontaine, Ste. 700 (tel. 418/521-3000).

For contact information for other embassies and consulates, search for "foreign representatives in Canada" at www.international.gc.ca.

Emergencies -- Dial tel. 911 for police, firefighters, or an ambulance.

Gasoline -- Gasoline in Canada is sold by the liter; 3.78 liters equals 1 gallon. At press time, a liter cost approximately C$1.40, the equivalent of about US$4.35 per gallon.

Hospitals -- In Montréal, hospitals with emergency rooms include Hôpital Général de Montréal, 1650 rue Cedar (tel. 514/934-1934), and Hôpital Royal Victoria, 687 av. des Pins ouest (tel. 514/934-1934). Hôpital de Montréal pour Enfants, 2300 rue Tupper (tel. 514/412-4400), is a children's hospital. All three are associated with McGill University.

In Québec City, go to the Centre Hospitalier Hôtel-Dieu de Québec, 11 Côte du Palais (tel. 418/525-4444). The hospital is in Upper Town inside the city walls.

Insurance -- Even though Canada is just a short drive or flight away for many Americans, U.S. health plans (including Medicare and Medicaid) do not provide coverage here, and the ones that do often require you to pay for services upfront and reimburse you only after you return home. As a safety net, you may want to buy travel medical insurance. Travelers from the U.K. should carry their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which replaced the E111 form as proof of entitlement to free/reduced cost medical treatment abroad (tel. 0845/606-2030; www.ehic.org.uk). Note, however, that the EHIC covers only "necessary medical treatment," and for repatriation costs, lost money, baggage, or cancellation, travel insurance from a reputable company should always be sought (www.travelinsuranceweb.com).

For information on traveler's insurance, trip cancellation insurance, and medical insurance while traveling, please visit www.frommers.com/planning.

Language -- Canada is officially bilingual, but the province of Québec has laws that make French mandatory in signage. About 65% of Montréal's population has French as its first language (and about 95% of Québec City's population does). An estimated four out of five Francophones (French speakers) speak at least some English. Hotel desk staff, sales clerks, and telephone operators nearly always greet people initially in French, but usually switch to English quickly, if necessary. Outside of Montréal, visitors are more likely to encounter residents who don't speak English. If smiles and sign language don't work, look around for a young person -- most of them study English in school.

Legal Aid -- If you are arrested, your country's embassy or consulate can provide the names of lawyers who speak English.

Mail -- All mail sent through Canada Post (tel. 866/607-6301 or 416/979-8822; www.canadapost.ca) must bear Canadian stamps. That might seem painfully obvious, but apparently a large number of U.S. Visitors use U.S. stamps. A letter or postcard to the U.S. costs C$1.03. A letter or postcard to anywhere else outside of Canada costs C$1.75. A letter to a Canadian address costs C59¢. FedEx (tel. 800/463-3339; www.fedex.com/ca) offers service from Canada and lists locations at its website.

Newspapers & Magazines -- The Globe and Mail (www.theglobeandmail.com) is the national English-language paper. La Presse (www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/regional/montreal) is the leading French-language newspaper. A sister publication, Le Soleil (www.cyberpresse.ca/le-soleil), is published in Québec City. Montréal's primary English-language newspaper is the Montréal Gazette (www.montrealgazette.com). The most extensive list of arts and entertainment happenings appears in print on Friday (the Sun paper, by the way, is web only). Visit www.montrealgazette.com/arts. Most large newsstands and shops in larger hotels carry the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and International Herald Tribune.

Packing -- Both Montréal and Québec City have four distinct seasons. It goes without saying to pack light, breathable fabrics in warmers months, and warm layers in colder ones. For more helpful information on packing for your trip, download our convenient Travel Tools app for your mobile device. Go to www.frommers.com/go/mobile and click on the Travel Tools icon.

Police -- Dial tel. 911 for police, firefighters, or an ambulance.

Smoking -- Smoking was banned in the province's bars, restaurants, clubs, casinos, and some other public spaces in 2006. Most small inns and many larger hotels have become entirely smoke-free over the past few years as well. Check before you book if you're looking for a room in which you can smoke.

Taxes -- Most goods and services in Canada are taxed 5% by the federal government (the GST/TPS) and 8.5% by the province of Québec (the TVQ). Confusingly -- and, once you figure it out, maddeningly -- the provincial tax comes out to 8.92% because the federal tax is added to the cost of the good or service before the provincial tax is calculated. In Montréal, hotel bills have an additional 3.5% accommodations tax. Nonresident visitors used to be able to apply for a tax rebate, but that practice was eliminated in 2007. A Foreign Convention and Tour Incentive Program provides limited rebates on the GST for services used during foreign conventions held in Canada, for nonresident exhibitors, and for the short-term accommodations portion of tour packages for nonresident individuals and tour operators. Details are at www.cra-arc.gc.ca/visitors.

Time -- Montréal and Québec City are in the Eastern Standard Time (EST) zone, that is, 5 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Canada has six primary time zones: For example, when it's 9am in Vancouver, British Columbia (Pacific Time), it's 10am in Calgary, Alberta (Mountain Time), 11am in Winnipeg, Manitoba (Central Time), noon in Montréal and Québec City, Québec (Eastern Time), 1pm in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Atlantic Time), 1:30pm in St. John's, Newfoundland (Newfoundland Time), 5pm in London, U.K. (GMT), and 2am the next day in Sydney, Australia.

Daylight saving time (summer time) is in effect from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November. Daylight saving time moves the clock 1 hour ahead of standard time.

For help with time translations, and more, download our convenient Travel Tools app for your mobile device. Go to www.frommers.com/go/mobile and click on the Travel Tools icon.

Tipping -- Tipping practices in the province are similar to those in large Western cities. In hotels, tip bellhops C$1 per bag and tip the chamber staff C$3 to C$5 per day, which seems to go a long way if you enjoy getting extra chocolates or candies on your pillow. Tip the doorman or concierge a few dollars only if he or she has provided you with some specific service (for example, calling a cab for you or obtaining difficult-to-get theater tickets). Tip the valet-parking attendant C$2 to C$3 every time you get your car. In restaurants, bars, and nightclubs, tip waiters 15% to 20% of the check, tip checkroom attendants C$1 per garment, and tip valet-parking attendants C$1 per vehicle. Other service personnel: Tip taxi drivers 15% of the fare, tip skycaps at airports C$1 per bag, and tip hairdressers, barbers, and estheticans 15% to 20%.

For help with tip calculations, currency conversions, and more, download our convenient Travel Tools app for your mobile device. Go to www.frommers.com/go/mobile and click on the Travel Tools icon.

Toilets -- You won't find public toilets on the streets in Montréal or Québec City, but they can be found in tourist offices, museums, railway and bus stations, service stations, and large shopping complexes. Restaurants and bars in heavily visited areas often reserve their restrooms for patrons.