Visiting Toronto

For those troupes visiting Toronto for the festival, we've assembled a few resources to help you get your trip started on the right foot. Visit the links below for some awesome Toronto maps, tips on getting around and other resources for checking out our great city.

Festival Location

Festival venues (The Diesel Playhouse and The Second City) and the festival hotel are centrally located in the heart of Toronto's Entertainment District, which is walking distance to many of Toronto's main tourist attractions including: The Eaton Centre, the CN Tower, Rogers Centre (home of the Toronto Blue Jays), The Air Canada Centre (home of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors) Steam Whistle Brewery, the Queen West shopping district, MuchMusic, Kensington Market, Chinatown and many others. The district is Toronto's theatre hub with The Princess of Whales Theatre, The Royal Alexandra Theatre, Roy Thompson Hall and the new Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts all a stone's throw away from the festivals two venues. At night, the district comes alive with numerous dance clubs and swarms of weekend clubbers.

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Getting Around

Public Transit: The TTC - (Toronto Transit Commission) is your best bet for getting around the downtown area if your feet fail you. You can grab surface transportation by way of Streetcars, or go subterranean with the Subway. The cash fare is $2.75 (more info). A couple important things to know about taking the TTC:

Your fare is good for a single, uninterrupted trip. That means you cannot jump on and off of transit over a span of time as some transit systems allow.
to transfer from route to route you'll need to obtain a transfer from either the driver of your streetcar/bus, or from the dispensing machines inside subway platforms. Your transfer is only good at route intersection points.
On surface routes you must pay exact change. Drivers do not give change.
The TTC's website is an utter nightmare. Don't use it unless you're desperate!

Also available are transferable Day Passes and Weekly Passes.

Parking

Driving in Toronto is a challenge at the best of times. We advise you to take advantage of public transit and your sneakers at every opportunity. If you must drive, note that Parking in Toronto is very scarce and expensive.

The City of Toronto offers limited meter parking on main streets, but mind the hours that meters are in effect. You will be towed if your car is parked illegally.

Your best bet for parking is to be on the lookout for this symbol:
Green P Parking

Green P Parking are municipally-run parking lots and generally offer the best rates for parking. Some have overnight rates. Check out the website for more information.

Finally, if you're billeting with a local troupe, you may be able to purchase a temporary street parking permit online through the City of Toronto. Some neighbourhoods do not offer this service, and permits are available only if there are spaces available in your area. You'll need the address where you're staying, your licence plate information, a credit card and a printer to print out your permit. This is a very good idea. Parking tickets in Toronto are $30 each. Your temporary street parking permit is $13.50 (+taxes) and is good for one week.