Mini Guide for Montréal
If you have never been to Montréal.
Language and currency
Like any other part in Canada, currency is the Canadian Dollar. Its value is somewhat close to the US dollar, varying from USD 0.70 to USD 1.00 depending on how messed up the US economy is in any given year. $1 and $2 are coins, unlike in the US. Bills come in 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 denominations, and they're made out of polymer with lots of fancy things in them, so good luck trying to rip (or copy) them. There ar no more pennies (1 cents) so prices are rounded to the nearest 5¢
Prices are displayed without taxes. Sales tax in Quebec is roughly 15% and will be added to your bill. On top of that, in restaurants/pubs/etc., you are expected to add 15% tip. Yeah.
Québec is the only province in Canada whose official language is French. You can survive speaking only English, and Montréal is way more forthcoming for that situation so if you speak either French or English, there should be no problem.
Getting around
Montréal has a subway system, le Métro, and also buses. See STM. It is the best way to get around short of walking or bicycling
Tickets are $3 (you need exact change on the bus), day passes are $10 and week-end passes are $12.
There is also Bixi which is the original bike share system.
Coming from the airport
If you are flying in, you will land at "Montréal P. E. Trudeau" airport (YUL) in the Dorval borough.
There is a direct bus from the STM that links the airport to/from the métro and downtown. It is called the... 747. The ticket costs $10 and you can get it from a machine that is accross the international arrival (straight in front of you when you exit through the final doors and into the crowd of locals waiting for their family members), which is mostly where you should exit to get on that bus. STM employees are in the bus boarding area to help you and ensure you have your tickets purchased in advance to speed up the boarding process. The 747 bus ticket is actually an unlimited day pass for STM's whole transportation system, so it includes access to the métro or other buses. If you intend on getting on the métro I recommend getting off at Lionel-Groulx which is the first stop coming from the airport.
The 747 bus has wifi (when it works) and the advantage that the bus drivers actually know the tricks to not getting stuck in traffic, they sometimes use alternate routes.
Arriving by ground transportation
Montréal is about a 5 hour drive from the Boston area. As of 2009, a passport is required for those entering Canada by car. If you plan on driving, a few things to remember:
- There is no "turn right on red" on the island of Montréal
- Parking is complicated (read the signs and meters really carefully, and look for signs hidden in tree foliage)
- Canada uses the metric system. The "50" you see is in km/h.
- Montréal is notorious for having roadworks going on all the time, everywhere.
Overall, it is better to park your car at the hotel for the whole week-end and use transit, foot or bicycle.
Montréal is also located in "the corridor", with good train service from Via Rail, with frequent service and fairly low prices (as low as $39 per direction from Toronto, less from Ottawa or Quebec City). If you're coming in from Toronto and some other cities, you can get really cheap bus rides (~15$ per direction) from Megabus if you book a very long time in advance.
Drinking
Drinking age in Québec is 18. If you look young, you might want to carry an ID (passport, driver license, European ID card) as you might get carded.
You can buy beer and wine at Dépanneurs (corner stores) until 23:00 (11PM). Drinking age applies too.
Eating
Service (tip) is 15% and is not included in the bill like in most of North-America.