Areas Served
Québec City
Vieux-Québec, Sainte-Foy and the business district — the 20 or the 40 depending on the season.
Québec City at a glance.
- Area codes418 · 581
- From MontréalAbout 3 hours
- RouteA-20 south shore or A-40 north shore
- AirportYQB Jean-Lesage
Three hours each way makes this a journey rather than a transfer, and the vehicle choice matters more than on any short run. The Navigator is the usual recommendation for its sound isolation.
Route selection is seasonal. The 20 along the south shore and the 40 along the north are similar in distance and very different in winter, and the right answer depends on the day.
In the city we cover Vieux-Québec, Sainte-Foy, the Grande Allée hotels and Jean-Lesage airport.
Frequently asked
- Which route do you take?The 20 or the 40, chosen on the day for conditions.
- Is it cheaper than flying?Often, once you count the transfer at each end — and it is door to door.
- Can you wait and return the same day?Yes. Waiting time is quoted with the journey.
The route
The drive, in detail.
A-20 east along the south shore is the usual choice — flatter, faster, and it delivers you over the Pierre-Laporte bridge into Sainte-Foy and the old city. The A-40 along the north shore covers much the same ground and is the better call when the south-shore approach is backed up. About 250 km either way, and two and three-quarter to three hours in ordinary conditions.
What changes it
- Friday afternoonLeaving Montréal eastbound between four and six is the slowest hour of the week on the 20.
- The bridge approachPierre-Laporte and the Quebec bridge funnel everything arriving from the south shore. At rush hour that is where the time goes, not on the highway.
- WinterThe stretch between Drummondville and Villeroy is open farmland and drifts across the lanes. It is the reason a departure time is set the night before, not the morning of.
- City weekendsCarnaval in February and the summer festivals fill the old city and close streets inside the walls. The drop-off point sometimes has to move a block or two.
