If a new semi-detached home near Laval-sur-le-Lac has caught your eye, the first question is usually a practical one: how long does it take to get there from the far end of Île Jésus, and which way should you go?

This guide covers the trip from Laval-sur-le-Lac to Sainte-Julie, first by car and then by public transit, all the way to the BÉAcité sales office at 435 Geoffrion Street. Distances and travel times come from the OSRM route planner and assume no traffic, so allow extra time at rush hour. The starting point: Saint-Jean-Gualbert church, at 490 Rue les Érables, in the heart of the neighbourhood.

Setting out from the western tip of Île Jésus

Incorporated as a town in 1915 and folded into Laval as a neighbourhood when the municipalities merged in 1965, Laval-sur-le-Lac sits at the island's western end, where the Rivière des Prairies, the Rivière des Mille Îles and the Lac des Deux Montagnes meet. That location costs you kilometres: as the crow flies, Geoffrion Street is 46.6 km from the church; by road, it's about 58.

To put that in perspective, the same planner gives about 44 minutes from Laval city hall, compared with about 55 from Rue les Érables. The neighbourhood is one of the farthest starting points on Île Jésus. In the 2021 Census, 93.1% of commuters in the census tract covering the neighbourhood drove to work, so the car remains the usual way to get around, and it's also the easiest way to come and visit.

The shortest route: Highway 440, then Highway 25

This is the route the planner suggests by default: about 58 km and 55 minutes without traffic. Step by step:

Rue les Érables, then Chemin Saint-Antoine for about 1.9 km, then Avenue des Bois (Route 148) for about 3.1 km;
Highway 440 East, the Jean-Noël-Lavoie autoroute, for about 17 km, to Exit 35, "25 Sud : Montréal";
Highway 25 South, which crosses the Rivière des Prairies on the Olivier-Charbonneau Bridge, runs through east-end Montreal and joins the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine bridge-tunnel;
Highway 20 East for about 15 km, to Exit 105.

The Olivier-Charbonneau Bridge is a toll bridge. The toll is fully electronic and applies in both directions, so look into how billing works before your first crossing. On the way back, the same route in reverse runs about 57 km and 53 minutes; you leave Highway 25 North at Exit 17, "440 : Autoroute Laval".

Toll-free: Highway 13 or 15, then Highway 40

If you'd rather skip the toll bridge, Highways 13 and 15 cross the Rivière des Prairies at no charge. Via Highway 13, the trip is about 61 km and an hour's drive without traffic:

a few hundred metres on Highway 440, then Highway 13 South, the Chomedey autoroute, which crosses the river on the Louis-Bisson Bridge;
Exit 6, "40 : Québec, Ottawa, Gatineau", then Highway 40 East, first Félix-Leclerc and then the Metropolitan, for nearly 20 km;
Exit 80-S toward the bridge-tunnel, then Highway 20 East to Exit 105.

A third variation takes Highway 15 and the Médéric-Martin Bridge, then Highway 40: about 65 km and 65 minutes. Avoiding the toll via Highway 13 therefore costs roughly six extra minutes without traffic.

The bridge-tunnel and Exit 105: no way around them

Whichever route you pick, they all end the same way: the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine bridge-tunnel, under repair until 2027, then Highway 20 East. Leave yourself some slack, especially if your appointment is set for a specific time.

At Exit 105, "229 : Saint-Basile-le-Grand, Mc Masterville, Saint-Mathieu-de-Belœil", follow the signs for the Vallée-du-Richelieu golf club, then the BÉAcité project signs. Route 229 (Rue Bernard-Pilon and Montée des Quarante-Deux) leads to Avenue des Bâtisseurs, then to Geoffrion Street.

How do you get from Laval-sur-le-Lac to Sainte-Julie without a car, on weekdays?

No bus links the two neighbourhoods directly, and the neighbourhood's seasonal ferry goes to L'Île-Bizard, not to the South Shore. The trip is still doable on weekdays, as long as you're ready for three transfers:

STL route 76: it runs along Rue les Érables, with twelve stops in each direction in the neighbourhood, and reaches the REM's Sainte-Dorothée station in 4 minutes from the "les Érables / les Bouleaux" stop; 42 departures toward the station on weekdays;
the REM, from Sainte-Dorothée to Brossard with no change of train: about 50 minutes (calculated);
exo bus 600, from the Brossard terminus to the Sainte-Julie terminus;
the T34 taxibus, which must be booked, to the "des Pionniers / des Bâtisseurs" stop, about 90 m from Geoffrion Street.

In the example worked out for Monday, November 2, 2026, leaving the neighbourhood around 10 a.m. gets you to Geoffrion Street around midday: about 2 hours 15 minutes in all. During the sales office's opening hours, taxibus arrivals are few, so check the schedule and book the T34 ahead of time. Laval is in zone B and Sainte-Julie in zone C, so a trip on the REM calls for an All modes ABC fare.

On Saturdays and Sundays, neither bus 600 nor the T34 taxibus runs, so weekend visits are made by car, by appointment. Sainte-Julie has no train station, and no developed bike link between the two neighbourhoods was found.

Planning your visit: days, hours and who to call

The sales office at 435 Geoffrion Street welcomes visitors Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For an evening, a Saturday or a Sunday, visits are arranged by appointment. With an hour on the road ahead of you, a message the day before saves any surprises: Eddy Guessous, sales director, answers at 514-812-9633, by phone or text, and at ventes@beacite.com.

Once there, you can tour four turnkey homes: 405, 408, 423 and 435 Geoffrion Street. Make the most of the trip by asking about the upkeep; if the yard at your current home takes up a lot of your time, our article on the maintenance-free home near Laval-sur-le-Lac explains what changes. And if you're still weighing living in Sainte-Julie or Laval-sur-le-Lac, our comparison of the two neighbourhoods goes well beyond the drive.

Conclusion

The trip from Laval-sur-le-Lac to Sainte-Julie takes about 55 minutes without traffic via Highways 440 and 25, whose bridge has a toll, or about an hour via Highways 13 and 40. Every route goes through the bridge-tunnel, under repair until 2027, and ends at Exit 105 of Highway 20. Without a car, plan on a little over two hours on a weekday, with three transfers. The easiest option: come on a weekday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., or set up an appointment for an evening or the weekend.

From Laval-sur-le-Lac to Sainte-Julie: the roads, the bridges and the visit