Driving from Montreal to Quebec City
 

We are flying to Montreal in October and plan to rent a car to drive to Quebec City. Rather than renting a car at the airport and navigating through the city, we are considering taking a taxi or train to a less busy location before we pick up our car. Does anybody have any experience driving directly from the airport to Quebec City? Can anybody recommend a location near the outskirts of the city to rent a car to avoid driving in Montreal? Thanks.

There's freeway close to the airport. I don't see why you should rent it somewhere else, with the extra time and hassle of taking a taxi or bus...

To get from Montreal airport to Quebec, there's no way that you will avoid Montreal. However, get on Autoroute 40 from the airport and simply follow it all the way to Quebec. Traffic will be heavy until you leave the island, but it's the shortest and best route. The Trans-Canada (Autoroute 20) will also get you there, but it goes on the south shore, and is a bit longer (also pretty boring).

If you really want to avoid Montreal traffic, take the airport shuttle to Central Station and then the train to Quebec City. It's a 3 hour trip.

Its really not that difficult to get out of the airport and onto the T-Can (Trans-Canada Highway), and with a map you should be able to navigate through Montreal with little trouble. Traffic may or may not be an issue, depending on what time you arrive. I'd rent a car at the airport. Just my 2 cents...

how long is the drive?

laverendrye: your post above mentioned route 20 is a bit boring. does that infer that Rt 40 is more interesting? I'll be coming up from Burlington, VT, next Friday. Is Rt 40 enough better to make the few extra miles worthwhile?

dwooddon - Where are you going? If you're going to Quebec City, going Autoroute 40 will add a lot of travel time, compared to 20, because you need to fight Montreal traffic into, through, and out of the city. Definitely take 20.

I guess I need to engage my brain before starting to type. Yes, I am going to Quebec City from Burlington. If the weather is good, the amount of time it takes me to drive it is not a factor although Montreal traffic might be.

Since I'd like to take different routes up and back (again, assuming weather is not an issue), would anyone have suggestions for the trip up on Friday morning and the trip back to Burlington on Monday morning? My primary factor in selecting a drive is the visual appeal of the route and any interesting things to see along the way.

DwooddonComing from Burlington, the fastest way is by Autoroute 20, as 40 will take you out of your way. You get there via I89, Hwy 133, Autoroutes 35, 10 and 30.

If you want a more interesting route, stay on 133 and get on 20 at Sainte-Julie. If time really does not matter, you could follow 133 along the Richelieu river all the way to the St. Lawrence at Sorel, cross the river at Berthierville and then take either Autoroute 40, or Hwy 138 (the Chemin du Roy) to Québec.

Similarly, coming back you could take Autoroutes 40, 30 and 15, crossing into the US at Rouses Point NY and making your way to Burlington from there.

In terms of interest, there's not much to choose among the autoroutes, but the old highways go through many small towns and villages, which you might find interesting.

so, to recap, If driving on a Saturday afternoon from Montreal airport to Quebec City and rush hour traffic isn't an issue, should I take 40 or 20?

To answer myself, we took 40 both ways. The drive was 3 hours; our rental car's GPS said taking interstate 20 would be 10-15 min shorter but we did 40 anyway.