Embarking QC - should I fly in to Montreal and take the train?

[kbert92069]

My wife is in a wheelchair. So I can fly to Quebec CIty and embark there or fly less expensively to Montreal and take the train.  YUL airport to central Montreal train station? is it easy?  and at the Quebec City end is it easy?  Would the train be okay with a wheelchair?  Is it a nice train ride?

 

Thanks,

Karl

 

 

[martincath]

If you plan to stay over in Montreal (it's quite a lot bigger than Quebec City, plenty of attractions, and IMO also a bit easier in general for wheelchair pushing on streets - fewer steep slopes & cobbles in the touristy parts) then sure - VIA, and taxis in both cities, have legally mandated accessibility standards that are as good or better than ADA rules in the US. Quebec City will be your most troublesome place as Ye Olde Buildings are often very hard to retrofit for modern wheelchair ramps, lifts etc. Some upper/lower floors may be simply inaccessible at times, although mostly it's an inconvenience (e.g. have to go around the back to find the ramp).

 

If this is just about saving money by doing flight/train on the same day - no way I'd recommend it! Unless your time has no value at all, figure out how many hours you are spending to do this, factor in that while there will generally be English speakers around in Montreal there is zero legal requirement for any cabbie to speak English and if anything goes wrong and you need help, unless you speak good French you might need to get someone to fetch someone else or risk misunderstandings...

 

Back in the day I travelled around Ontario & Quebec pushing my granny, and she only really needed a travel chair for longer distances she was OK with short walks, steps etc., just slow. I struggled at times as a relative youngster, and one time my mum took her shopping alone in downtown Toronto she ended up being carried chair and all by a workie and a cop across an intersection - without their help they'd have had to backtrack several blocks. Montreal is notorious for roadworks - "We have two seasons, Winter and Construction" was coined there I think! - and while mostly on the actual travel surface this does sometimes impact sidewalks too.

 

So all in all, I'd advise against any additional steps and time spent just to save cash - more moving parts makes for more risk, and the potential language as well as wheelchair barriers just maginify those risks of missing a connecting piece - but if you are planning a few precruise nights then hitting MTL first is very common, it's a busier airport with more flight options than YQB, a superb food scene, and plenty of things to see and do even if it lacks the romance of QC's incomparably gorgeous setting with the city walls.

 

As to the train ride itself - mostly a bit Meh IMO, sometimes you get a nice view of the river, but we used to drive to Montreal and Quebec City from Toronto most often; fly if time was tight; and only took the train in winter when time wasn't an issue, it's not pretty enough to be worth doing as a train ride for its own sake.

 

 

[lx200gps]

15 hours ago, martincath said:

 Montreal is notorious for roadworks - "We have two seasons, Winter and Construction" was coined there I think! - and while mostly on the actual travel surface this does sometimes impact sidewalks too.

 

Lifelong Montrealer here. Boy are you out of date ;o) Construction is absolutely all year round in many areas. One of the major bridges into Montreal, part of the Trans-Canada, is reduced to ONE lane out of three while panic repairs taking months are being effected right now, 24/7. You can imagine the traffic jams we have to endure.  Yes, driving around here can be hell.

[CCJack]

On 1/22/2024 at 6:42 PM, martincath said:

 

 

So all in all, I'd advise against any additional steps and time spent just to save cash - more moving parts makes for more risk

 

 

I agree.   I would try to simplify this as much as possible.   Note you will have to negotiate the hills and slopes in QC no matter what (likely taking a taxi to the ship).

 

Also note that flights to QC can be limited.   Our cruise was delayed from 5 pm departure to 9 pm departure (announced well before the cruise) because the cruiseline was having a hard time scheduling the people to booked their air through the cruiseline into QC on time.  Many of those people ended up flying to Montreal and they couldn't get them to QC in time for a 5 pm departure.

 

[travelberlin]

On 1/23/2024 at 11:21 AM, lx200gps said:

Lifelong Montrealer here. Boy are you out of date ;o) Construction is absolutely all year round in many areas. One of the major bridges into Montreal, part of the Trans-Canada, is reduced to ONE lane out of three while panic repairs taking months are being effected right now, 24/7. You can imagine the traffic jams we have to endure.  Yes, driving around here can be hell.

Our cruise is living from Quebec City. We will be flying from Miami and I do not see any options than to fly to Montreal (YUL). Or to the YQB with one stop in YUL. 
 

What will you recommend is the best way to get to Quebec City? We like trains (not buses) but our experiences are trains in Europe. If possible we would like to take the train from Montreal to Quebec City after a stop in Montreal. Would you recommend to take the train? Are they reliable? 
 

Where to stay in Montreal close to the train station? How many days to plan for visiting Montreal? We do not speak French unfortunately 😔

Edited February 3 by travelberlin

[lx200gps]

9 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

Our cruise is living from Quebec City. We will be flying from Miami and I do not see any options than to fly to Montreal (YUL). Or to the YQB with one stop in YUL. 
 

What will you recommend is the best way to get to Quebec City? We like trains (not buses) but our experiences are trains in Europe. If possible we would like to take the train from Montreal to Quebec City after a stop in Montreal. Would you recommend to take the train? Are they reliable? 
 

Where to stay in Montreal close to the train station? How many days to plan for visiting Montreal? We do not speak French unfortunately 😔

Unfortunately, as a lifelong Montrealer, I can't claim any great knowledge of our train system, as we drive everywhere. I've driven up to Quebec City to go skiing more times than I can remember, but have never taken a train from Montreal.

 

If you do decide to fly in and take the train from here up to Quebec City, there are lots of options. If you are planning to stay here for a day or two before proceeding up, I would strongly recommend staying right in the heart of downtown, due its plethora of hotels and ready access to the train system from downtown. Lots of folks who actually have done this trip will now chime in here with their recommendations, but a very good option would be to fly into YUL, taxi it into downtown and stay at a big downtown hotel Like the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth, which is right in the middle of everything and is connected to one of Montreal's main train station Gare Centrale/Central Station. If you were actually sailing from Montreal, Old Montreal would also be a good bet for its history, but since you are connecting up the river to Quebec, That would be pointless.  If you stay here for a few days before heading to Quebec, then a trip to Old Montreal would be a good option. Old Montreal is very busy in the summer tourist season.

 

Re the language thing, don't worry about it at all. Large swathes of Montreal and surroundings are very French and language issues can and do arise there, but any area that  you as a tourist would visit will be  perfectlyfine. Taxis, hotels, stores, restaurants etc. in the downtown are completely bilingual.

[princeton123211]

5 hours ago, travelberlin said:

Where to stay in Montreal close to the train station? How many days to plan for visiting Montreal? We do not speak French unfortunately 😔

As lx200gps said, the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth is by far the most convenient hotel in the entire city to stay in if your plans involve taking the train to Quebec City after. It's very centrally located and when you do head to QC it is literally a private elevator ride down to the Gare Centrale. 

 

Montreal has some fabulous restaurants (Joe Beef, Au Pied du Cochon for fine dining and some more casual and approachable places like Ma Poule Mouillee, Schwartz's). Reservations are necessary ahead of time if you want to dine in some of the top spots. 

 

You do not need to speak French fluently-- if anything Quebec City has a slightly higher language barrier than Montreal. Montreal is a wonderful cosmopolitan city and as noted previously most in any of the tourist areas or tourist trade speak fluent English. 

 

6 hours ago, travelberlin said:

What will you recommend is the best way to get to Quebec City? We like trains (not buses) but our experiences are trains in Europe. If possible we would like to take the train from Montreal to Quebec City after a stop in Montreal. Would you recommend to take the train? Are they reliable? 

Via Rail is Canada's better run and slightly more upscale version of Amtrak in the US. Very easy, very reliable, and the trip from Montreal and QC is an easy 3 or so hours. Have done it many times and highly recommend. Just book tickets online a couple weeks out on Via's website. 

 

[travelberlin]

1 hour ago, princeton123211 said:

 

 

Via Rail is Canada's better run and slightly more upscale version of Amtrak in the US. Very easy, very reliable, and the trip from Montreal and QC is an easy 3 or so hours. Have done it many times and highly recommend. Just book tickets online a couple weeks out on Via's website. 

 

Thank you for your answer. I have looked at the web page of Via Rail and it appears that one can only bring a small bag that either fits under or over your seat. But for our cruise this is definitely not possible. We have to take one carry on and one piece of luggage each. How do people transport their luggage on Via Rail?

[martincath]

4 hours ago, travelberlin said:

Thank you for your answer. I have looked at the web page of Via Rail and it appears that one can only bring a small bag that either fits under or over your seat. But for our cruise this is definitely not possible. We have to take one carry on and one piece of luggage each. How do people transport their luggage on Via Rail?

You can always bring at least one 'medium' (~25") bag plus a small personal underseat one on all the Windsor-Quebec corridor trains, even with Economy tickets. Since passengers have been very understandably complaining about the new restrictions, with fees for all cheap-ticket checked bags and even large carry on bags introduced for the first time, those fees are not currently being taken... but I would assume that they will be in place by the time you cruise, i.e. 'plan for the worst'! If you are bringing a bigger-than-25" case that would mean $25 fee whether you carry it aboard yourself or check it in the baggage car, if one is available on your train, unless they are Oversized or Overweight.

 

Note also that all carry-ons are supposed to be liftable onto overhead racks by you - although I would expect VIA will remain compliant with laws on disability access and still have at least one porter available to schlep bags on and off at each station for folks with mobility problems, and I seriously doubt they would get too picky if e.g. you just look older. Frankly I'd also be shocked if anyone struggling to lift a bag wouldn't be offered help by other passengers.

[Ashland]

Make it easier on both of you and fly directly to Quebec City. Several hotels in the upper area around the Frontenac Hotel. Taxi to hotel and to ship.

[travelberlin]

1 hour ago, Ashland said:

Make it easier on both of you and fly directly to Quebec City. Several hotels in the upper area around the Frontenac Hotel. Taxi to hotel and to ship.

Unfortunately it looks more difficult to flight directly to Quebec City if you are coming from Miami. No direct flights to Quebec City. Connecting flights only give you a little over an hour to make the connection, which it is nowadays very risky to book (you might make the connection if there is no delay but your luggage might not). The flights arrive late in the evening unless you take an 8.00 am flight from Miami (meaning you have to be at the airport at 5.00 am making the night before the flight stressful with little sleep). And arriving late in an unknown city is something we avoid to do.

 

This is the reason why making a stop in Montreal and taking a couple of days to visit the city is easier than trying to fly to Quebec City on the same day. 

[Ashland]

10 hours ago, travelberlin said:

Unfortunately it looks more difficult to flight directly to Quebec City if you are coming from Miami. No direct flights to Quebec City. Connecting flights only give you a little over an hour to make the connection, which it is nowadays very risky to book (you might make the connection if there is no delay but your luggage might not). The flights arrive late in the evening unless you take an 8.00 am flight from Miami (meaning you have to be at the airport at 5.00 am making the night before the flight stressful with little sleep). And arriving late in an unknown city is something we avoid to do.

 

This is the reason why making a stop in Montreal and taking a couple of days to visit the city is easier than trying to fly to Quebec City on the same day. 

That's too bad. I wrongly assumed you would have similar flights as we've had from LAX to YQB. 

 

Regardless, sounds like you're doing what will work out for you.

Enjoy Quebec and your cruise.

[SoloAlaska]

Make sure you give yourself extra time in case the train runs late. I haven’t taken that particular section in many years but via rail does not run as smoothly as European trains. Plan to arrive in Quebec City a few hours earlier than required just in case.