Montreal City Guide - Getting Around

Montreal is served by a métro system, an extensive bus network and commuter rail services. Public transport services for the whole of the island of Montreal are run by the Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) (tel: (514) 786 4636; website: www.stm.info). Commuter rail and off-island bus services are co-ordinated by the Agence Métropolitaine de Transport (website: www.amt.qc.ca).

The clean and efficient métro has four lines and 65 stations, 10 of which are linked to the Underground City. It is integrated with the STM bus routes that crisscross the island; each bus stop has a unique telephone number for up-to-date schedule information for the buses at that stop. The métro and buses run approximately 0600-0100 and are supplemented by a limited system of 20 night bus routes. The métro and bus routes also link to the five commuter rail lines, connecting Montreal with the outer suburbs.

Tickets for STM services are cheaper if you buy a carnet of six tickets. It is possible to transfer between the métro and bus at no extra cost, provided a transfer slip is obtained. The same applies to commuter rail within zone one; higher fares apply for outer zones. Off-island buses have separate fare structures. The Carte Touristique (Tourist Card) is a pass designed specifically for visitors to Montreal and provides unlimited use of bus and métro systems, for one or three days. Weekly passes (CAM Hebdo) are a good deal but are valid Monday to Sunday.

Taxis are available from taxi ranks, at major hotels and at the airports or they can easily be hailed on the street in Downtown and in areas where bars and restaurants are clustered.

Taxis can also be ordered by telephone: Taxi Diamond (tel: (514) 273 6331) and Taxi Co-op (tel: (514) 725 2667) are the best known of the many firms in the city. A tip of 15% is customary.

The large autoroutes that cross Montreal are both a blessing and a curse – with light traffic, they make it easy to get across the island; for most of the day, however, they are heavily congested. Visitors will also be surprised at how little notice is given of impending exits (which are on the left as well as the right on some motorways), especially on the east-west Autoroute Métropolitaine (Highway 40). Highway 20, the other main east-west route, becomes the Autoroute Ville-Marie when it tunnels under Downtown. The worst traffic bottlenecks, though, are the north-south Autoroute Décarie (Highway 15) and the tunnel and bridges to the South Shore.

Street numbers increase as one travels north from the St Lawrence River. The east-west divide is boulevard St-Laurent. Montrealers tend to translate ‘arrêt’ signs as ‘slow down’ rather than ‘stop’ and can be fairly aggressive drivers. Motorists are required to yield to city buses if they are signalling that they are moving into the main traffic lane.

Both parking lots and metered parking are abundant. Deciphering street parking signs can be difficult, even for those who speak French fluently – often there are multiple signs restricting parking on various days, times and even months of the year.

In general, drivers must be at least 21 years old and possess a national driving licence and credit card. An International Driving Permit is not required. Insurance is mandatory and drivers should carry proof of this.

Central branches of major car hire firms in Montreal include Avis, 1225 rue Metcalfe (tel: (514) 866 2847 or 1 800 321 3652; website: www.avis.com), Discount, 607 boulevard de Maisonneuve West (tel: (514) 286 1929; website: www.discountcar.com), Hertz, 1073 rue Drummond (tel: (514) 938 1717; website: www.hertz.com), Thrifty, place Dupuis, 855 rue Ste-Catherine East (tel: (514) 845 5954; website: www.thrifty.com), and Via Route, 1255 rue Mackay (tel: (514) 871 1166; website: www.viaroute.com).

Montreal has an extensive network of cycle routes, notably along the Lachine Canal. Roadside bike lanes can be dangerous where motorists do not have a clear line of vision. Sharing bike paths with pedestrians and/or rollerbladers can also cause problems.

The Maison des Cyclistes, 1251 rue Rachel (tel: (514) 521 8356; website: www.velo.qc.ca) is an excellent resource for cycling information, and also organises tours in the province and further afield. Outside the city, the P’tit Train du Nord is a 200km (124-mile) linear park through the Laurentians on an abandoned rail bed, part of La Route Verte (website: www.routeverte.com), a province-wide network of over 3,600km (over 1,800 miles) of cycle paths. The world’s largest bicycle race, the 45km (28 miles) Tour de l’Ile, attracts tens of thousands of participants in early June.

Cycle hire is available near the major cycle routes. Vélo Aventure, on quai des Convoyeurs in the Old Port (tel: (514) 288 8356), is near the Lachine Canal; they also hire rollerblades and offer group tours. On the Plateau, Cycle Pop, 1000 rue Rachel East (tel: (514) 526 2525; website: www.cyclepop.ca) is at the northwest corner of Parc Lafontaine. The Maison des Cyclistes (see above) also rents out bikes as well as selling maps of bike paths.