Visiting a new semi-detached home near Carignan starts with a question of roads. This guide covers the drive from Carignan to Sainte-Julie, all the way to Geoffrion Street, depending on where you set out, with distances and travel times for each part of town.

As the crow flies, Carignan city hall is only about fifteen kilometres from the Vilamo neighbourhood. By road, the gap varies a lot depending on your starting point: Carignan covers 62 km² and wraps around Chambly.

One note before we start: the travel times below were calculated with the OSRM routing engine, using OpenStreetMap data, without traffic. At rush hour, expect the trip to take longer.

The fastest route: Route 112, the A-30 and the A-20

From city hall at 2379 Chemin de Chambly, next to the Faubourg Carignan shopping centre, the fastest route is 26.4 km long and takes about 25 minutes:

Chemin de Chambly (Route 112) for about 3 km, then Boulevard Cousineau, still Route 112, in the Saint-Hubert borough of Longueuil;
Autoroute de l'Acier (A-30) eastbound for about 8.6 km, through Longueuil, Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville and Boucherville;
the ramp to Highway 20, then the A-20 East for about 6.3 km;
exit 105 (Route 229), Rue Bernard-Pilon, Montée des Quarante-Deux, Avenue des Bâtisseurs and, finally, Geoffrion Street.

After exit 105, follow the signs for the Vallée-du-Richelieu golf club, then the BÉAcité project signs.

Along the Richelieu, no highway

If you'd rather skip the highway, or if you're leaving from Île Goyer, a second route follows the Richelieu River through Saint-Basile-le-Grand:

Chemin Bellerive, then Chemin du Richelieu (Route 223) along the water;
Montée Robert, a short stretch of Boulevard Sir-Wilfrid-Laurier (Route 116) and Saint-Basile-le-Grand's Rue Principale;
Chemin Trudeau, Route 229 (Rue Bernard-Pilon) and Montée des Quarante-Deux, on to Vilamo.

From city hall, this way is 22.2 km and takes about 30 minutes: a little slower than the highways. From 2035 Rue des Roses on Île Goyer, though, it is the route the calculation picks: 19.6 km and about 27 minutes, compared with 31.3 km and about 36 minutes via the A-30.

From Carignan to Sainte-Julie, area by area

Here are the distances and times, calculated without traffic, from a few landmarks around the city:

Carignan-Salières area, to the west (Carignan-Salières school, Rue de l'École): 23.4 km, about 21 minutes;
city hall and Faubourg Carignan: 26.4 km, about 25 minutes;
Île Goyer (Rue des Roses): 19.6 km, about 27 minutes, via Route 223;
Centre area (École du Parchemin, Rue Gilbert-Martel): 29.9 km, about 29 minutes, via Chemin Bellerive;
Sainte-Thérèse area, to the south (Fort Sainte-Thérèse historic site): 42.7 km, about 37 minutes, via highways 35, 10, 30 and 20.

In other words, the drive from Carignan to Sainte-Julie takes roughly 21 to 37 minutes depending on the area, without traffic. The shortest distance isn't always the quickest: Île Goyer is the closest as the crow flies, but its route is slower than the highway.

At rush hour

The 2021 Census offers a glimpse of commuting habits: in May 2021, 78.8% of Carignan commuters worked outside their regional county municipality, only 7.1% in their own city, and 43.4% spent 30 minutes or more on the road; 94.6% drove. Those figures were collected in the middle of the pandemic and may not reflect the situation today.

For a visit, the takeaway is simple: on weekdays, the sales office is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and coming in the middle of the day spares you the rush; in the evening and on weekends, visits are by appointment. If you work elsewhere on the South Shore or in Montreal, try the drive at your usual times before you decide: that's the only measurement that really matters for you.

By public transit, is there a direct link?

Let's be upfront: from Carignan, you get to Vilamo by car. According to exo's published schedules, no Carignan bus route goes to Sainte-Julie, and no Sainte-Julie route serves Carignan.

On weekends, there is a transfer at Promenades Saint-Bruno: route 680, which stops in front of Faubourg Carignan on Route 112, then route 340 to the Sainte-Julie terminus. Depending on the time, the wait at the Promenades ranges from a few minutes to over an hour, and the connection has not been checked in person.
On weekdays, you have to go through the Longueuil terminus (route 681, then Sainte-Julie's route 350); that trip has not been timed.
The Sainte-Julie terminus is then 5.8 km from Geoffrion Street by road, and the T34 taxibus, which runs near Vilamo, operates on weekdays only.

If you're relying on public transit, check exo's schedules before heading out. Good to know for your other trips: the City lets transit users park at Faubourg Carignan on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., and its local taxibus service, booked in advance, is free for riders.

Visiting the model home

BÉAcité's sales office is at 435 Geoffrion Street, Sainte-Julie. Opening hours:

Monday to Friday: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.;
Saturday, Sunday and weekday evenings: by appointment.

Sales director Eddy Guessous can be reached at 514-812-9633, by phone or text, and at ventes@beacite.com. Let him know which of the homes at 405, 408, 423 and 435 you'd like to see: they can be visited by reservation. Bring the questions you've jotted down, and the floor plans if you already have them: you'll get more out of the visit. To gauge what would change day to day, read our comparison on living in Sainte-Julie or Carignan. And if your timeline is tight, our article on the pre-construction or turnkey home near Carignan will help you choose between a finished home and one you customize.

Conclusion

From Carignan to Sainte-Julie, allow about 25 minutes without traffic from city hall via Route 112 and highways 30 and 20, 21 to 37 minutes depending on your area, and more at rush hour. Public transit offers no direct link, so driving remains the easy way to get there. The wisest move is to make the trip once for a visit to the model home, on a weekday or, by appointment, on an evening or a weekend.

From Carignan to Sainte-Julie by car