Getting Around Montreal
Much of Montreal's business life runs through Ville-Marie. The Palais des congrès, between downtown and Old Montreal, covers 1.4 million sq ft, about 510,000 of them rentable for congresses and trade shows. Office towers, hotels and the Underground City sit around it, and in spring and summer the festivals take over the Quartier des spectacles a few blocks away.
For a day of meetings that moves from a head office on boulevard René-Lévesque to a plant in the West Island and back to a restaurant in Old Montreal, hourly chauffeur service is the easier choice: one chauffeur and one vehicle stay with you for the time you reserve.
Gare Centrale, VIA Rail's main station, is on rue De La Gauchetière and connects to the Underground City, Bonaventure metro station and the REM. Add the train and its arrival time to the booking, and the car is scheduled for that arrival. Cruise passengers come ashore at the Grand Quai in Old Montreal from late April to the end of October, with a peak in the foliage season. For a hotel or restaurant in Old Montreal, send the full address with the booking and we will tell you how close the car can go.
Airport Transfers in Montreal
Montréal–Trudeau International Airport is 19 km from downtown, usually 25–35 minutes by car via Autoroute 20 or 520. It has a single terminal with domestic, international and US sections. With US preclearance, you clear US customs before boarding a flight to the US. Book with your flight number. For an arrival, your chauffeur checks the flight status and times the pickup to when you actually land, and your booking confirmation shows where to meet the chauffeur.
There is no rail link to the airport yet: the REM station at the terminal is due at the end of 2027, and until then the 747 bus is the public option to downtown. Some travellers to the US fly from Plattsburgh, 106 km south across the border, 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes. Ottawa airport is 197 km away. The right one depends on your airline and route.
For a departure from Montreal, what counts is the length of the drive, not the time on the clock: allow 25–35 minutes to Trudeau on a normal day, more at rush hour or in a snowstorm. Journey times vary with traffic and weather. You set the pickup time yourself, and the confirmation shows it.
Long-Distance & Cross-Border Travel from Montreal
Mont-Tremblant is 138 km north, 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours 20 minutes on Autoroute 15 and Route 117, with skis and boots in the same car. Bromont in the Eastern Townships is 84 km, 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes. Québec City is 254 km, 2 hours 55 minutes to 3 hours 55 minutes, and Ottawa 199 km, 2 hours 10 minutes to 2 hours 55 minutes; a car from door to door saves the transfer to and from the station at both ends.
Burlington, Vermont, is 150 km away, 1 hour 40 minutes to 2 hours 15 minutes, with the same chauffeur and car from start to finish, with no change of vehicle at the border. On the Autoroute 15 route to New York State, the St-Bernard-de-Lacolle crossing is being rebuilt until winter 2027, and waits may be longer than usual. Visitors who need an ESTA must have it approved before they cross into the US by land, and they receive their I-94 record at the land port. Carry the travel documents your nationality and itinerary require.
Groups & Congress Travel in Montreal
Montreal's busy season starts in late May with the Grand Prix du Canada at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve on Île Notre-Dame; from 2026 the race moved from June to May. The Jazz Festival follows from late June into early July in the Quartier des spectacles, Just for Laughs in July, and Osheaga at Parc Jean-Drapeau around the turn of July and August.
When you book for other people, all their transfers can be kept in one account, each with its own booking and confirmation. If a congress team comes in on several flights, every arrival gets a transfer of its own. For a group travelling together, a Sprinter van carries up to 12 people with their bags, and bigger groups go by coach, with up to 56 seats; the vehicle is matched to the load, from exhibitors with display crates to a ski club on its way to Tremblant.
Plan the Grand Prix weekend and festival weeks well ahead: local vehicles and drivers are booked up early for those dates. If your plans go beyond a standard booking, write to support with the dates, addresses, number of passengers, flights and luggage, and the team will arrange it.
