By Métro in Montréal

By Métro

The Montréal Métro, the city's impressive subway system, is clean, quiet (it runs on rubber wheels), and comfortable (it's heated in winter and cooled in summer). It's also very safe, but as in any metropolitan area you should be alert and attentive to personal property such as purses and wallets. The Métro is connected to the more than 30 km (19 mi) of the Underground City, meaning that you can go shopping around the city and never come above ground.

Free maps are available at Métro ticket booths. Try to get the Carte Réseau (System Map); it's the most complete. Each Métro station connects with one or more bus routes, which cover the rest of the island. Transfers from Métro to buses are available from the dispenser just beyond the ticket booth inside the station. Bus-to-bus and bus-to-Métro transfers may be obtained from the bus driver.

Fares & Schedules

Métro hours on the Orange, Green, Blue, and Yellow lines are weekdays 5:30 AM to 12:30 AM and weekends 5:30 AM to 12:30, 1, or 1:30 AM (it varies by line). Trains run as often as every three minutes on the most crowded lines -- Orange and Green -- at rush hours.

Tickets and transfers are valid on any bus or the subway line. You should be able to get within a few blocks of anywhere in the city on one fare. Rates are C$2.75 for a single ticket, C$11.75 for six tickets, C$19 for a weeklong pass, and C$65 for a monthly pass. Transfers -- correspondances in French -- are free. You can buy a day pass for C$9 or a three-day pass for C$17. Various bus passes can be obtained at many of the larger hotels, at the Berri-UQAM Métro station, and at some other downtown stations.

The Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) operates an automated phone line for information on bus and Métro schedules, but it's only in French. The STM Web site, however, is in French and English and is a particularly good resource, with excellent maps and route planners.

Contact

Société de Transport de Montréal (STM. 514/288-6287 or 514/786-4636. www.stm.info/).