A few notes about getting around. Finding a taxi never seems difficult. If you’re staying in the Old City, you can often find them roaming about, or calling a cab will bring one to you within a couple minutes. There’s also a taxi stand at Place d’Armes, across the square from the Cathedral de Notre Dame.
The Metro has two stops that are convenient to the Old City – Victoria Square and Place d’Armes. We’ve used each interchangeably. Taking the Metro in the direction of Henri Bourassa gets you to Berri-UQAM, where you have access to the other Metro lines. Each ticket is approximately C$2.50 and you save a little bit by buying in quantity. You get paper tickets that you deposit in a box and the stationmaster manually unlocks the turnstile for you. It’s not hard to do, not confusing, and the trains are frequent. You’ll probably save lots of cab fare this way.
The Undergound City is another very good option, especially in the winter. There are a couple routes that get you downtown to St. Catherine – one goes north from Victoria Square Metro station and another goes north from the Place d’Armes station. These two paths are interconnected through the Palais du Congres and you can easily enter or exit the Underground City to stop at other destinations. The signage is quite good and there are maps posted, too. When you’re outdoors, look for signs that say R E S O, with the “O” being the symbol of the Metro. From our experience, the first trip is a little confusing, but we’ve never been lost and after our tentative exploration of the Underground City last year, we felt like old pros this time around.
More about the Metro
Metro Maps
Metro System Map
More about the Underground City
Underground City Map