Most people flying to Montreal will arrive at the Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) (Montreal-Trudeau) located in Dorval, some 15 km from the downtown core. The main highway, 2-20, normally takes you 15-20 driving minutes to downtown but, as is often the case, rush hour traffic or road construction (which is frequent in the Montreal area) will extend that trip to at least twice that time to get to your downtown hotel. There is not much you can do to go around it if you are driving.
There is, however, a nicer route which will take you, maybe, just as long but is a lot more scenic than the highway: from the airport exit follow the Dorval Avenue signs that will take you to Lakeshore Road (Bord du Lac). Take a left on Lakeshore Road and enjoy the ride and the sights to downtown following the shore of Lac St-Louis passing through historic Lachine, Ville St-Pierre and the west end of Montreal.
Another way to avoid the highway traffic is to take the commuter train which has a station near the airport. The commuter train schedule is designed for rush hour; so, if there is a traffic jam on the highway the train will be your best choice but, check the schedule first (note that you may use the commuter train from Montreal to Dorval, but not the other way around). You may want to take a short taxi ride to the train station which is less than one kilometer away or take the STM city bus [to access the search mode, click on ''Tous azimuts'' at the bottom of the page, then on ''Start tous azimus''] directly at/from the airport since the area is not pedestrian friendly. Travelling by city bus between the airport and downtown, or the other way around, implies some walking, at least 2 buses, and going through the subway - as quick [1 hour] and certainly cheaper than the shuttle bus, but could be excruciating if loaded with luggage. There is a shuttle bus ("Aérobus") between the airport and downtown; it stops at a few hotels, and terminates at the bus station (Station Centrale). A single way ticket costs CAD 15$ (adult full fare; return ticket is CAD 25$), and there are cheaper fares for senior citizens and child. A taxi ride from the airport to downtown costs CAD 38$, while a limo costs CAD 50$. These are flat rates. Visa, MasterCard and American Express are accepted. Some drivers accept American funds. However, provincial rules specify that clients must pay in Canadian dollars.
Landing in Montreal, heading for Québec City?
If you are landing in Montreal-Trudeau Airport (formerly known as 'Dorval') and are willing to head to Québec City as soon as possible, you may catch a direct intercity bus at the airport 4 times a day. Timetables and fares here (in French only). If your landing time makes it impossible to catch the direct Orléans Express bus at the airport, then you may take the shuttle bus or a taxi to the bus station downtown, and from there take one of the hourly buses to Québec City.
