Montreal by car
From Toronto, take Highway 401 east about 5 h until it becomes Autoroute (Expressway) 20 on the Quebec side of the border. It will then take about an hour to get to downtown. Be alert for frequent speed-limit changes along this road. To reach downtown follow the Centre-Ville signs and take Autoroute 720 (Autoroute 20 continues over the Pont Champlain bridge to the South Shore).
Rideshare
Save money with a rideshare. There are daily rides from Toronto to Montreal and back for $30-50, which is cheaper than any other means of transportation between the two cities. A good website for ridesharing in Canada and the USA is Craigslist . Dedicated rideshare sites include LiftSurfer and eRideShare
Warning: Advertisement for a van (with a DVD player) that offers rides to Montreal and back every day has drivers that hardly speak any English at all (nor French). The service provider is unreliable. Service is also very poor.
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From Ottawa, it's about 2 hours east along Highway 417 (which becomes Autoroute 40 in Quebec) to Montreal.
From Quebec City, it's about 3 hours west on either Autoroute 40 or Autoroute 20.
From New York City, take Interstate Highway 87 north through Albany and the eastern half of New York State for about six hours. After the border crossing near Plattsburgh, the freeway becomes Autoroute 15, which leads directly into downtown Montreal over the Pont Champlain, the most beautiful approach to the city. The drive time from Plattsburgh to downtown Montreal is approximately one hour.
From Boston, take Interstate Highway 93 to Highway 89 after you cross into New Hampshire. Follow Interstated 89 north to and through Vermont to the border crossing, where it turns into Highway 133. This secondary road continues to Autoroute 10, which leads directly into downtown Montreal. The whole trip takes about 5 hours. Once you cross the border it is about 1 1/2 hours to Montreal.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Montreal