American Express-- Offices of the American Express Travel Service are located at 1141 bd. de Maisonneuve ouest near rue Stanley (tel. 514/284-3300), and in La Baie (The Bay) department store, 585 rue Ste-Catherine ouest (tel. 514/281-4777). For lost or stolen cards, call tel. 800/221-7282.
Babysitters-- Nearly all large hotels offer babysitting services (garderie des enfants). In the smaller hotels and guesthouses, managers often know of sitters they believe to be reliable. Give as much notice as possible, and make certain about rates and extra charges, such as carfare, before making a commitment.
Business Hours-- Most stores are open from 9 or 10am to 6pm Monday through Wednesday, 9am to 9pm on Thursday and Friday, and 9am to 5pm on Saturday. Many stores are now also open on Sunday from noon to 5pm. Banks are usually open Monday through Friday from 8 or 9am to 4pm.
Currency Exchange-- There are currency-exchange offices (sometimes called bureaux de change) near most locations where they're likely to be needed: at the airports, in the train station, in and near Infotouriste on Dorchester Square, and near Notre-Dame Basilica at 86 rue Notre-Dame. The Bank of America Canada, 1230 rue Peel, also offers foreign-exchange services Monday through Friday 8:30am to 5:30pm and Saturday 9am to 5pm.
Doctors & Dentists-- The front desks at hotels can contact a doctor quickly. If it's not an emergency, call your country's consulate and ask for a recommendation (see "Embassies & Consulates," below). Consulates don't guarantee or certify local doctors, but they maintain lists of physicians with good reputations. Even if the consulate is closed, a duty officer should be available to help. For dental information, call the hot line at tel. 514/288-8888 or the 24-hour dental clinic at tel. 514/342-4444. In a medical emergency, dial tel. 911.
Drugstores-- Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the branch of Pharmaprix at 5122 Côte-des-Neiges, at Chemin Queen Mary (tel. 514/738-8464), has a fairly convenient location.
Electricity-- Like the United States, Canada uses 110 to 120 volts AC (60 cycles) compared to 220 to 240 volts AC (50 cycles) in most of Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. If your small appliances use 220 to 240 volts, you'll need a 110-volt transformer and a plug adapter with two flat parallel pins to operate them here.
Embassies & Consulates-- All embassies are in Ottawa, the national capital. In Montréal, the American consulate general is located at 1155 rue St-Alexandre (tel. 514/398-9695). The United Kingdom has a consulate general at 1000 rue de la Gauchetière ouest, Suite 4200 (tel. 514/866-5863). Other English-speaking countries (Australia and New Zealand) have their embassies or consulates in Ottawa.
Emergencies-- Dial tel. 911 for the police, firefighters, or an ambulance.
Hospitals-- Hospitals with emergency rooms are Hôpital Général de Montréal, 1650 rue Cedar (tel. 514/937-6011), and Hôpital Royal Victoria, 687 av. des Pins ouest (tel. 514/842-1231). Hôpital de Montréal pour Enfants (tel. 514/934-4400) is a children's hospital with a poison center. Other prominent hospitals are Hôtel-Dieu, 209 av. des Pins ouest (tel. 514/843-2611), and Hôpital Notre-Dame, 1560 rue Sherbrooke est (tel. 514/281-6000).
Internet Access-- The CyberGround NetCafé, 3672 bd. St-Laurent (tel. 514/842-1726), has 16 computers with big 21-inch monitors for e-mailing, word processing, or just surfing. Time at the keyboard costs C$3.50 (US$2.50) per half-hour, plus tax. Hours are Monday through Friday from 10am to 11pm; Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 11pm. Another possibility is Club Internaute Montréal Café, 5825 rue Sherbrooke (tel. 514/256-3336). They charge C$5 (US$3.55) for thirty minutes, C$8 (US$5.70) for an hour. Sandwiches and light meals are available. Large hotels have business centers with computers for guests' use, as do many of the smaller boutique hotels in Vieux Montréal.
Liquor Laws-- All hard liquor and spirits in Québec are sold through official government stores operated by the Québec Société des Alcools (look for maroon signs with the acronym SAQ). Wine and beer can be bought in grocery stores and convenience stores, called dépanneurs. The legal drinking age in the province is 18. Liquor is sold every day of the week in SAQ stores.
Mail-- All mail posted in Canada must bear Canadian stamps. That might seem painfully obvious, but apparently large numbers of visitors use stamps from their home countries, especially the United States. To receive mail in Montréal, have it addressed to you, c/o Poste Restante, Station "A," 1025 rue St-Jacques ouest, Montréal, PQ H3C 1G0, Canada. It can be claimed at the main post office . Take along valid identification, preferably with a photo. Within Canada, letters cost C48¢ (US34¢), letters to the United States are C65 (US46¢), and C$1.25 (US$1.25) anywhere else. Postal cards cost the same as a first-class letter. These prices are increased by the astonishing imposition of a sales tax, another C8¢ (US5¢) for a first-class stamp!
Newspapers & Magazines-- Montréal's primary English-language newspaper is the Montréal Gazette. (To familiarize yourself with events in the city and province before your arrival, log on to the paper's website, www.montrealgazette.com.) Most large newsstands and those in the larger hotels also carry the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, and the International Herald Tribune. These papers are available at several branches of the Maison de la Presse Internationale, two of which are at 550 and 728 rue Ste-Catherine ouest. In Plateau Mont-Royal, a similar operation called Multimags, at 3550 av. St-Laurent, sells hundreds of foreign newspapers and magazines. For information about current happenings in Montréal, pick up the Friday or Saturday edition of the Gazette, or the free bimonthly booklet called Montréal Scope, available in some shops and many hotel lobbies.
Pets-- Dogs and cats can be taken into Québec, but the Canadian Customs authorities at the frontier will want to see a rabies vaccination certificate less than 3 years old signed by a licensed veterinarian. If a pet is less than 3 months old and obviously healthy, the certificate isn't likely to be required. Check with U.S. Customs about bringing your pet back into the United States. Most hotels in Montréal do not accept pets or require that they be kept in cages, so inquire about their policy before booking a room.
Police-- Dial tel. 911 for the police. There are three types of officers in Québec: municipal police in Montréal, Québec City, and other towns; Sûreté de Québec officers, comparable to state police or the highway patrol in the United States; and RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police), who are similar to the FBI and handle cases involving infraction of federal laws. RCMP officers speak English and French. Other officers are not required to know English, though many do.
Post Office-- The main post office is at 1250 rue University, near Ste-Catherine (tel. 514/395-4909), open Monday through Friday 8am to 6pm. A convenient post office in Vieux-Montréal is at 155 rue St-Jacques (at rue St-François-Xavier). See "Mail," above, for information on having mail sent to you in Montréal.
Safety-- Montréal is a far safer city than its U.S. counterparts of similar size, but common sense insists that visitors stay alert to their surroundings and observe the usual urban precautions. It's probably best to stay out of the larger parks at night, for example. There are reports of escalating road-rage incidents, so expressions of impatience and anger with the actions of other drivers can be unwise.
Taxes-- Most goods and services in Canada are taxed 7% by the federal government. On top of that, the province of Québec has an additional 7.5% tax on goods and services, including those provided by hotels. In Québec, the federal tax appears on the bill as the TPS, and the provincial tax is known as the TVQ. Non-resident tourists can receive a rebate on both the federal and provincial tax on items they have purchased but not used in Québec, as well as on lodging. To take advantage of this refund, request the booklet called Tax Refund for Visitors to Canada at duty-free shops, hotels, and tourist offices. It contains the necessary forms. Complete and submit them, with the original receipts, within a year of the purchase. If you leave Canada by plane, train, bus, ferry, or boat, you'll have to attach your original boarding pass or travel ticket to the application. New procedures are being phased in, so contact the Canadian consulate or Québec tourism office for up-to-the-minute information about taxes and rebates.
Telephones-- The telephone system, operated by Bell Canada, closely resembles the American model. All operators (dial tel. 00 to get one) speak French and English, and respond in the appropriate language as soon as callers speak to them. Pay phones in Québec require C25¢ (US15¢) for a 3-minute local call. Directory information calls (dial tel. 411) are free of charge. Both local and long-distance calls usually cost more from hotels -- sometimes a lot more, so check. Directories (annuaires des téléphones) come in White Pages (residential) and Yellow Pages (commercial). At this writing, the area code for Montréal is 514, but those in surrounding areas have changed recently, and the new additional code of 438 will be in operation in the city by the time you arrive. It is also expected that callers will have to dial all ten digits, even within the city limits.
Time-- Montréal, Québec City, and the Laurentians are all in the eastern time zone. Daylight savings time is observed as in the U.S., moving clocks ahead an hour in the spring and back an hour in the fall.
Tipping-- Practices are similar to those in the United States: 15% to 20% of restaurant bills, 10% to 15% for taxi drivers, C$1 per bag for porters, C$1 per night for the hotel room attendant. Hairdressers and barbers expect 10% to 15%. Hotel doormen should be tipped for calling a taxi or other services.
Transit Information-- Call STCUM (tel. 514/288-6287) for information about the Métro and city buses. For airport transportation, call L'Aérobus (tel. 514/931-9002).
Useful Telephone Numbers-- For Alcoholics Anonymous, call tel. 514/376-9230; for the Institute for the Blind, call tel. 514/529-2040; for transport for disabled persons, call tel. 514/280-5341; for the Poison Centre, call tel. 800/463-5060; for 24-hour pharmacies, call tel. 514/738-8464; for the Sexual Assault Center, call tel. 514/934-4504; for Canadian Customs, call tel. 514/283-9000; for U.S. Customs, call tel. 514/636-3875.
