Montreal

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

By Plane:

Pierre-Elliot-Trudeau Airport accepts most of the world's major airlines, nearly 50 in all. (Mirabel Airport, farther from the city, accepts only airfreight and some charter flights.) Most visitors fly into Trudeau from other parts of North America on Air Canada, American, Continental, Delta, or US Airways. In the United States, Air Canada flies out of New York (Newark and LaGuardia), Miami, Tampa, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Air Canada has launched a small low-cost airline, Jazz, which connects Montréal and Québec City with Hartford, Connecticut; White Plains, New York; LaGuardia, New York City; and Newark, New Jersey.

Other carriers that serve Montréal include Air France and British Airways. Regional airlines, such as Air Atlantic, American Eagle, and Inter-Canadian, also fly into the city.

By Train:

To Montreal -- Montréal is a major terminus on Canada's VIA Rail network, with its station, Gare Centrale, at 935 rue de la Gauchetière ouest . The city is served by comfortable VIA Rail trains -- some equipped with dining cars, sleeping cars, and cellphones -- from other cities in Canada. There is scheduled service to Québec City, and to and from Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, and points west. At this writing, Amtrak; www.amtrak.com) has one train a day to Montréal from Washington and 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 takes about 10 1/2 hours from New York if all goes well, but delays aren't unusual.

Passengers from Chicago can get to Montréal most directly by taking Amtrak to Toronto, then switching to VIA Rail.

Don't forget to bring along proof of citizenship (a passport or birth certificate) to use when crossing the border.

By Bus:

Montréal's main bus terminal is the Terminus Voyageur, 505 bd. de Maisonneuve est. The Voyageur company operates buses between here and all parts of Québec, with frequent runs through the Cantons-de-l'Est to Sherbrooke, to the various villages in the Laurentians, and to Québec City. Morning, noon, early afternoon, and midnight buses cover the distance between Toronto and Montréal in less than 7 hours. From Boston or New York, there is daily bus service to Montréal on Greyhound and between New York and Montréal on Adirondack Trailways. The trip from Boston takes about 8 hours; from New York City, it takes 9 hours. Both companies have departures from New York City five times daily.

By Car:

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), although enforcement is lax. In the unlikely event you are stopped, there is a stiff penalty for not wearing seatbelts. And if you possess a radar detector, it can be confiscated, even if it isn't connected. Passengers must buckle up in the backseat as well as in the driver's and passenger's seats up front.