Before visiting a new semi-detached home near Westmount, a practical question comes up fast: how long does it take to cross the river, and can you do it without a car?

The trip from Westmount to Sainte-Julie crosses the river on the Jacques Cartier Bridge or the Samuel De Champlain Bridge, then follows Highway 20 to Exit 105. The distances and times below come from the OSRM route planner and are measured to Geoffrion Street, where BÉAcité's sales office is located. They are times without traffic: at rush hour, expect longer. Metro and bus schedules come from official STM and exo data for Monday, November 2, 2026.

From Westmount to Sainte-Julie by car: three starting points

Depending on where you start, OSRM gives:

City hall, 4333 Sherbrooke Street West: 35.5 km, about 41 minutes;
Westmount Square, on the city's east side: 34.2 km, about 38 minutes;
Victoria Hall, on Lansdowne Avenue, to the west: 35.5 km, about 41 minutes;
coming back, from Geoffrion Street to city hall: 34.8 km, about 38 minutes.

As the crow flies, the two points are only 26.5 km apart. From Westmount, OSRM doesn't suggest the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine bridge-tunnel, which is under major repair until 2027 according to Quebec's transport ministry (MTMD), with closures that shift from one phase of the work to the next: the two realistic options are the Jacques Cartier and Samuel De Champlain bridges.

Two bridges, nearly tied

Without traffic, barely a minute separates the two routes from city hall. So the choice comes down to road conditions on the day.

Via the Jacques Cartier Bridge (35.5 km)

This is the default route: Chemin de la Côte-Saint-Antoine, Metcalfe Avenue, Sherbrooke Street West and Greene Avenue, then René-Lévesque Boulevard for about 4.6 km to Papineau Avenue. You cross the bridge, roughly 3.1 km, follow Boulevard Taschereau in Longueuil, then take Highway 20 East for close to 15 km.

Via the Samuel De Champlain Bridge (41.6 km)

Six kilometres longer, but almost as quick without traffic, at about 42 minutes: Atwater Avenue, Highway 15, the Nuns' Island bridge, then the Samuel De Champlain Bridge. You carry on along Highway 10, then Highway 30 East for about 14 km, before joining Highway 20 East. From the west end of Westmount, OSRM goes by Girouard Avenue and the Décarie Expressway instead: 43.0 km, about 41 and a half minutes.

Either way, the ending is the same: Exit 105 off Highway 20 (Route 229), Montée des Quarante-Deux, Avenue des Bâtisseurs, Rue Bissonnette, then Geoffrion Street.

On weekdays, without a car: the green line, then exo

No metro station lies within Westmount's limits, but one entrance to Atwater station, on the green line, is in the city, near Westmount Square. There is no direct bus to Sainte-Julie; on weekdays, two combinations work:

Via Radisson: the green line runs from Atwater to Radisson with no transfer, in 22 to 25 minutes, with a train every 3 or 4 minutes between 7 and 9 a.m. Exo bus 520 then links the Radisson terminus to the Sainte-Julie terminus in 25 to 31 minutes, with 29 weekday departures from 5:50 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Via Longueuil: the green line to Berri-UQAM, in 7 to 11 minutes, then the yellow line to Longueuil–Université-de-Sherbrooke, in 6 or 7 minutes. Exo bus 350 reaches the Sainte-Julie terminus in 20 to 35 minutes, with 23 weekday departures; routes 325 and 330 make the trip too.

For the last leg, the T34 taxibus, which must be booked and runs on weekdays only, goes from the Sainte-Julie terminus to the "des Pionniers / des Bâtisseurs" stop, 91 m from Geoffrion Street, in 11 minutes. Two examples from the schedules for Monday, November 2, 2026:

via Longueuil: metro at Atwater at 6:29 a.m., exo 350 at 6:58, T34 at 7:25, arriving at 7:36, or about 67 minutes;
via Radisson: metro at 6:16 a.m., exo 520 at 6:50, the same T34 and the same arrival, or about 80 minutes, with one fewer transfer.

Walking times at the transfers haven't been checked, and how to book the T34 should be confirmed with exo.

The fare you'll need

Westmount is part of the Montreal agglomeration, which puts it in ARTM zone A; Sainte-Julie is in zone C. A trip between the two calls for an All modes ABC fare; check the current price before you buy, since the fare grid changes. Exo route 520, for its part, is free for as long as the closures on the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine bridge-tunnel last. Once in Sainte-Julie, local transit costs nothing.

On weekends, plan on driving

On Saturdays and Sundays, neither the exo 520 nor the T34 taxibus runs. Routes 350 and 340 do go to the Sainte-Julie terminus, but no bus continues to Geoffrion Street, 5.8 km away, about 8 minutes by car. Sainte-Julie has no train station, and no bus links McMasterville station, 9.1 km away, to Geoffrion Street.

Visiting the sales office at 435 Geoffrion Street

BÉAcité's sales office is open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; evenings and weekends, visits are by appointment. By car, take Exit 105 off Highway 20, follow the signs for the Vallée-du-Richelieu golf club, then the project's own signs. On a weekday, you can visit by public transit, as long as you book the T34 and plan your way back; on a Saturday or Sunday, come by car, after booking an appointment with Eddy Guessous, sales director, at 514-812-9633 (call or text) or ventes@beacite.com.

And day to day?

In the 2021 Census, 61.4% of Westmount commuters drove to work, 16.7% walked and 14.0% took public transit. In Sainte-Julie, the car clearly dominates: 90.2% of commuters drive. Settling on the South Shore usually means living with a car, which is where the charging outlet in BÉAcité garages comes in handy. Our comparison of living in Sainte-Julie or Westmount looks at that change. And if the upkeep of your current house is what has you looking elsewhere, read our article on the maintenance-free home near Westmount.

Conclusion

From Westmount to Sainte-Julie, count on about forty minutes by car without traffic, by either bridge, and a little over an hour by metro and bus on weekdays. On weekends, a car is a must to reach Geoffrion Street. The easiest way to judge the trip is to make it once, for a visit: the sales office is waiting for you at 435 Geoffrion Street.

From Westmount to Sainte-Julie: metro, bus or car