August 12, 2013 -- I took an early morning VIA Rail Canada train from Montreal Central Station (Gare Centrale) to Quebec City Palace Station (Gare du Palais) for a short two-day excursion to the most European city in North America.
The trip between French Canada's two largest cities takes a little over three hours with stops at Charny, Drummondville, Saint-Hyacinthe, Saint-Lambert and Sainte-Foy. While the WiFi service can be a bit spotty (just like Amtrak!), the train cars are clean and the chairs are comfortable with lots of leg room and big windows to watch the Quebec scenery go by . The service is typically Canadian friendly as instead of a cafe car as on Amtrak, the food and beverage is delivered airline-style directly to your seat.
The châteauesque design of Quebec City's historic train station is similar to the Château Frontenac. The station was built in 1915 by the Canadian Pacific Railway and is well worth a look around at the intricate details of this magnificent rail destination.
Here are photos of the Montreal-Quebec City rail ride:
And here is video of the VIA Rail journey:
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