USA to Montréal: your guide to a great road trip

How to plan a hassle-free road trip

As in most major cities, work to maintain and improve the road network takes place throughout the year. To avoid unnecessary delays, plan ahead by checking the Mobility Montréal website.

Mobility Montréal is a one-stop shop that not only provides detailed info regarding major road closures and construction, but is also your portal for getting up-to-date info on using the subway (or the metro, as it’s called in MTL), taking the bus, light rail transport (the REM), car-sharing, BIXI bike rentals, the whole transportation enchilada.

Driving from the USA to MTL is easy peasy

Montréal is located a short distance from the Canada/US border, and the main Québec border entry points are, not coincidentally, on the major US highways that most American visitors will take on their road trip to the city. 

• The I-87 going north from New York City past Plattsburgh gets you to the Champlain/Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle border crossing (only 45 minutes from downtown Montréal on Autoroute 15). 
• The I-93 west to I-89 north goes to the Saint-Armand/Highgate Springs crossing if you’re driving from Boston. 
• The I-91 goes north to the Stanstead/Derby Line crossing if you’re coming from parts further east in Vermont.

Towering bridges built between two nations

The many majestic bridges spanning the St. Lawrence River provide a dramatic and scenic crossing between Canada and the USA. 

If you’re crossing from New York State into Ontario via the majestic, sky-high Thousand Islands Bridge, Seaway International Bridge/Three Nations Bridge or Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge, and are planning to take the famous 401 highway into Québec, we strongly recommend you read these essential road trip tips to make the most of your drive to Montréal.

Pick your point of entry into Québec

You’ll want to have a good idea of which United States-to-Canada border crossing you’re going to use because there are many of them, both large and small, along the Québec border. Bear in mind that larger crossings tend to be busier and may take longer to traverse.

You can go to the Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) website to see current border wait times (it’s updated every hour) for the major crossings and to subscribe to email border alerts. The Government of Canada also offers detailed information regarding necessary documentation, duties and tariffs, travel tips and much more on its “Crossing the border into Canada” web page.

What to expect when crossing the border into Canada

Come on in! Entering Canada is a typically chill affair with a minimum of hassle in order to keep all the traffic moving seamlessly. 

• You can expect to answer questions about why you’re visiting, where you’re planning to go and how long you’ll be staying — the standard stuff. 
• You may also be asked if you’re bringing in any alcohol, tobacco, food or firearms. While alcohol and tobacco are permitted in limited amounts, many other items are a definite no-no. 
• Find out more about what you can and cannot bring when crossing the border here.

If you’re thinking of making the trip north more than once in the next five years (which you definitely should be), you may want to consider making a USD$120 investment in a NEXUS card. The card gives pre-approval to travellers to both Canada and the USA, as well as expedited entry using dedicated vehicle lanes at designated land border crossings.

What happens once you’ve crossed the border into Québec? 

The first thing that you’ll notice is that the road signs in Québec are in French. The second thing you’ll likely notice is that you can now drive 100 on the highway, woo-hoo! Except that the speed limits in Canada are in metric: kilometres per hour, not miles per hour. So 100 km/h is actually just a smidge over 62 mph.

Since Montréal is an island, you will have to access downtown (“Centre-Ville” in French) by bridge. The two main bridges that you should take are the following:

• The recently rebuilt Samuel De Champlain Bridge (one of the widest bridges in the world, and which will take you just west of downtown)
• The historic, iconic Jacques-Cartier Bridge (which will put you slightly east of downtown, and which turns into a giant, pulsing LED light installation at night). 

Driving in the city is not complicated, but it is different, so we highly recommend that you peruse our handy guide to driving in Montréal.

What about parking in Montréal?

Be sure to check out the Agence de mobilité durable’s website to see where parking is available near your destination. You can also download the P$ Mobile Service app to easily pay or top up your parking meter fees remotely. See you soon!