Montérégie

Understand

The Montérégie, named after the mountains that are sporadically in the St. Lawrence River Valley, is a sort of "catch-all" tourism region rather than a distinct geographical or cultural area. The region is a mixture of Montreal suburbs and rural farming areas near the edges of Quebec. Despite this, a few generalizations can be made about the region:

In the 18th and 19th century, it was a military buffer region. Capturing Montreal was an American objective in the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Several battles were fought in the Montérégie, and the ancient forts that remain are interesting tourist attractions. As a mixture of suburban and rural areas, it is a swing political district. If you want to know which way the political wind is blowing in Quebec, ask people in the Montérégie. While most of the area is economically and culturally integrated with Montreal, the more rural towns were once isolated farming areas with their own traditions. If one digs hard enough, one can still find cultural relics from this era, such as the Brome County Fair.

Getting there

By car If entering the Montérégie from Montreal, M-F 16:30-18:30 is rush hour (often a 30-minute delay to cross a bridge). If entering the Montérégie from the United States, the border inspection is most crowded on Sunday nights; you might wait in line for an hour or more. The rest of the time, it usually takes 5-10 minutes. From New York: Drive north on Interstate 87. The Montérégie begins at the Canadian border. From Vermont: Drive north on Interstate 89. The Montérégie begins at the Canadian border. From Montreal:

Autoroute 138 crosses the Mercier Bridge to the Kahnawake Mohawk Reserve Autoroute 15/20/10 crosses the Champlain Bridge to Brossard Highway 112 crosses the Victoria Bridge to Saint-Lambert Autoroute 134 crosses the Jacques Cartier Bridge to Longueuil Autoroute 25 follows the Lafontaine Tunnel through to Boucherville. From Quebec City: Autoroute 20 leads into the northeastern part of the Montérégie. From Ottawa: Take Highway 417 eastbound. The Montérégie begins at the Quebec border. From Toronto: Take Highway 401 eastbound. The Montérégie begins at the Quebec border. From Sherbrooke: Autoroute 10 westbound takes you to the Montérégie.

By train The Agence Metropolitaine de transport has three commuter train lines that connect Montreal to some towns in the Montérégie near the city. (Blainville to Saint-Lambert, Candiac to Chateauguay, and Rigaud to Vaudreuil). Trains go toward Montreal in the morning; away from Montreal at night.

By subway Montreal's metro (subway) trains have one stop in the Montérégie, called "Longueuil-Université-de-Sherbrooke". This is on the yellow line, which begins at the Berri-UQAM metro station in Montreal. Longueuil-Université-de-Sherbrooke metro station is connected to the main bus terminal of the Reseau de Transport de Longueuil, which serves much of the South Shore.

By bus Regional public bus systems (known as "CIT"s) serve distinct parts of the Montérégie, linking nearby towns and connecting them with Mont

Getting around

By car The major highways through Montérégie are:

Autoroute 15, connecting Montreal with U.S. Interstate 87 to New York Autoroute 10, connecting Montreal to Sherbrooke and the Eastern Townships Autoroute 20, connecting Quebec City to Montreal through the eastern section of the Montérégie, and then reappearing in the westernmost section of the Montérégie on the way to Toronto Autoroute 30 connects Montérégie from east to west. As a bypass highway, it allows cross-country traffic to avoid Montréal by crossing to the south shore on a toll bridge at Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, continuing eastward through Montérégie and rejoining Autoroute 20 downriver.

By public transport Public transportation within the Montérégie region is quite limited, as most of its public transport focuses on getting people to and from Montreal rather than around the Montérégie region.

The Réseau de transport de Longueuil operates bus routes in the Montréal suburbs. It may be possible to get from one part of the Montérégie to another via Montréal (see the Montréal trains and buses in the "Get In" section).

See

Driving through Montérégie, two unusual geographical features will strike you. First, the farmland is divided into long, thin strips, rather than large squares like everywhere else in North America. This is a legacy of Quebec's French colonial past. Farmhouses were built at the edges of these strips, along rows called "rangs". Second, the otherwise completely flat region has isolated mountains popping out of the ground at near regular intervals. This is what gives the region its name ("Mountain region"). One of the prettiest is Mont-Saint-Hilaire; its mixture of mountain, river, forest, and farms make it picturesque, especially when the leaves change colour in October. There are paths to go hiking on the mountain.

There are a few other features of Montérégie that are pleasant to visit on a day trip from Montreal. Fort Chambly is a French fort dating from 1711 built to protect against the British. Fort Lennox National Historic Site is a British fort 22 km south of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu that was built in 1819 to protect against the Americans. The Coteau-du-Lac National Historic Site is about 40 km southwest of Montréal on the shores of the St. Lawrence River near Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. It features Canada’s first lock canal and the remains of a fort. Lac Brome is a pretty lake for watersports, hiking, or shopping in the village of the same name.

Do

Granby Zoo is the closest zoo to Montreal. It is home to nearly 1,500 animals from over 225 different species. If, after going to this zoo, you haven't seen enough animals, head over to Parc Safari in Hemmingford, an African safari and kids' amusement park. The International Hot Air Balloon Festival is held in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu every August. It attracts hundreds of balloons. The Ormstown Fair is an agricultural fair held in mid-June in a small town southeast of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. The Kahnewake Pow-wow is held in the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory 16 km south of Montreal on Routes 132 & 138 (off Mercier Bridge) in July. Pow-wows offer a time for Indigenous peoples to get together and participate in visiting, singing, and dancing. It is also a chance for non-Indigenous friends and families to take part in inter-tribal dancing as a Powwow is considered a cultural sharing event for all to learn about Indigenous peoples and share ideas and information.

Buy

The main arteries or commercial areas of Montérégie are:

boulevard Taschereau, between Laprairie and Longueuil; along the 30 between Candiac and the A20, notably the Quartier DIX30 and the Promenades Saint-Bruno; along the A20 in Boucherville, Sainte-Julie and Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil; along the Chambly road in Longueuil and Saint-Hubert; in Sainte-Julie, near the A20; in Beloeil, McMasterville and Mont-Saint-Hilaire; in Chambly; in Saint-Hyacinthe, near the A20; in Saint-Jean-sur-Ri