Arrival
Arriving by air , you'll almost certainly land at Toronto's main airport, Lester B. Pearson International , about 25km northwest of the city centre. There are three terminals - terminals 2 and 3 are where most international flights arrive, and terminal 1 handles the majority of domestic flights. Each of the terminals has a full range of facilities, including money-exchange offices, ATMs and free hotel hotlines. The Airport Express bus service (daily: one every twenty minutes 6am-1am, every thirty minutes 1am-5.30am; tel 905/564-6333) picks up passengers outside the terminals and takes between forty and sixty minutes to reach downtown, though heavy traffic can make the journey considerably longer. The bus drops passengers at the bus station and several of Toronto's major hotels, with connecting minibuses taking passengers to most of the other downtown hotels. Tickets for the airport bus can be purchased either at the kiosks next to the bus stop outside the terminal buildings or from the driver. A one-way fare is $13.75, round-trip $23.65; the minibus service costs an extra $3 (round-trip $5). Round-trip tickets are valid for one year. Alternatively, there's an airport limo service (a shared-taxi system) next to each terminal's bus platform; limos cost about $30 per person for the journey from the airport to the city centre; they only leave when they're full. Individual taxis charge approximately $40 from the airport to downtown Toronto. Lastly, a subsidiary of Air Canada, Air Ontario (tel 1-888/247-2262, within Toronto tel 416/925-2311) operates flights from Montreal, Ottawa and London, Ontario, into the much smaller Toronto City Centre Airport , which is on Hanlan's Point in Toronto's harbour, close to downtown. From the airport, there's a free minibus service to the Royal York Hotel downtown. The minibus uses the car ferry that connects the airport to the mainland from the foot of Bathurst Street. Well connected to most of the major towns of eastern Canada, Toronto's bus station is conveniently located downtown on Edward Street at Bay Street, metres from Dundas Street West. The nearest subway station is a five-minute walk east at Yonge and Dundas. If you're arriving at night, note that the bus station's immediate environs are unsavoury, but it only takes a couple of minutes to reach more reassuring parts of downtown. Nonetheless, if you're travelling alone or late at night, it's probably best to take a taxi. Union Railway Station is also in the downtown core, at the junction of Bay Street and Front Street West, and has regular services from the larger cities of Ontario and Quebec, supplemented by more occasional trains from the Maritime Provinces, the Prairies and Vancouver. In addition, the station is the hub of Toronto's public transport system. The station complex includes a subway station and holds the main terminal for the GO trains and buses that service the city's suburbs. Details of GO services are available at their ticket offices here, or call toll-free tel 1-888/438 6646, within Toronto tel 416/869-3200. Note also that Ontario Northland, who operate trains north to Cochrane and the Polar Bear Express to Moosonee have an information desk in the main hall. Arriving by car from Niagara Falls and points along Lake Ontario, traffic approaches the city along the QEW (Queen Elizabeth Way), which funnels into the Gardiner Expressway , an elevated motorway that cuts across the southern side of downtown, just south of Front Street. From the east and west, the quickest approach is on Hwy 401 , which sweeps through the city's suburbs north of the downtown core. Driving in from the north, take Hwy 400 , which intersects with Hwy 401 northwest of the centre, or Hwy 404 , which meets Hwy 401 northeast of the centre. Note that on all routes you can expect delays during rush hours (roughly 7.30-9.30am and 4.30-6.30pm). To relieve congestion on Hwy 401, an alternative motorway, Hwy 407ETR , has been built further north on the city's edge. It was North America's first all-electronic toll highway: instead of toll booths, vehicles are identified either by an electronic tag or a license plate photo, and the invoice is posted later. Toll charges vary according to the time of day, the day of the week and the distance travelled. During peak periods (Mon-Fri 5.30-9.30am and 4-7pm), the charge is 10c per kilometre, daytime off-peak costs 8c, night time 4c. If you rent a car, be aware that rental companies slap on an extra administration charge (of around $10) if you take their vehicles on this road.
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