Imagine this: You board a flight and about an hour later it touches down; you exit the plane and walk to your downtown hotel. Could such a place exist? Point of fact it does. In Toronto.

Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ) sets you down literally a stone’s throw away from the bustling downtown of the mini metropolis of Ontario. This is ideal for business commuters going up for the day; but even if you are staying longer, the public transit system (complete with charming trolley-style streetcars) makes the city easily navigable without having a car of your own.

However, should you choose to fly into Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and rent a car, you will, somewhat counter-intuitively, have a little more trouble getting around. The main culprit for this is parking, and traffic lights are a close second. Traffic engineering leaves something to be desired in the fair city of Toronto, especially during busy seasons such as the Toronto International Film Festival. Parking is at a premium everywhere in the city, and the local lot entrepreneurs know it, charging about $25 per day to simply occupy a place on their concrete slab. This blows the budget savings you thought you had flying into the other airport 15 minutes from the city.

The problem with the traffic lights is also, strangely, linked to parking. Motorists will park on the street, but there is no parking lane; so if there is a four-lane street, both outside lanes are filled with parked cars and the two interior lanes are easily impeded (green light or no) with stopping taxis, people turning right waiting for crossing pedestrians, or people turning left waiting for oncoming cars to pass. It would take me in some cases four cycles of light changes to pass certain intersections.

The city is a terrific host for such an event; but if you go, I highly recommend flying into Billy Bishop and spending your time enjoying the temperate climate and warm embrace of this charming Canadian destination.

— David Coker, advertising manager