What’s happening in Toronto this week

Where to go in Toronto: events, concerts, games and shows worth your night

Toronto is the biggest city in Canada and its stage: a concert hall that every Canadian act plays on the way up, an opera house built this century, six professional teams, a comedy tradition that supplied a generation of American television, and a music scene that runs from Queen West to the Danforth. Below is where to go in Toronto for a night out, with addresses, and what tends to be on when.

Concerts and live music in Toronto: Massey Hall, the Danforth and the Horseshoe

Massey Hall (178 Victoria Street, mhrth.com), reopened in 2021 after a full restoration, is the room with the history, 2,700 seats and a century of recordings; Roy Thomson Hall (60 Simcoe Street) next door in spirit holds the Toronto Symphony. The Danforth Music Hall (147 Danforth Avenue), a 1919 cinema in Greektown, takes the mid-sized tours, and the Horseshoe Tavern (370 Queen Street West) has had bands on its small stage since 1947. Arena tours play Scotiabank Arena at the waterfront and the Rogers Centre; History, on the Danforth’s far end, is the newer 2,500-capacity room.

Toronto nightlife: Queen West, Ossington and King West

Queen West and Ossington Avenue have the bars, small venues and late cafés; King West has the clubs and the patios; Kensington Market the daytime and early-evening scene. Last call is 2 am; the streetcars run all night on the main routes and the subway until about 1.30.

Theatre, opera, ballet and comedy in Toronto

The Four Seasons Centre (145 Queen Street West, coc.ca) is home to the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada, seasons from October to June. Mirvish stages the big musicals at the Royal Alexandra, the Princess of Wales and the CAA Ed Mirvish; Soulpepper and Crow’s produce the new plays. The Second City (1 York Street) has been Toronto’s comedy engine since 1973, and Comedy Bar on Bloor West the alternative room.

Sports in Toronto

The Maple Leafs and the Raptors share Scotiabank Arena from October to April, the Blue Jays play the Rogers Centre from April to October, Toronto FC and the Argonauts are at BMO Field, and the Marlies and the PWHL Sceptres fill the smaller rinks. Leafs tickets are the hardest in the country; Jays weeknights the easiest.

Museums and galleries in Toronto for an evening

The Art Gallery of Ontario (317 Dundas Street West) is free on Wednesday evenings for locals and open late; the Royal Ontario Museum runs Friday night events, and the galleries of Dundas West and the Distillery District open late on the first Thursday of the month.

Toronto festivals and events by season

• Winter: the Toronto Light Festival in the Distillery District, and the Leafs and Raptors at full tilt.
• Spring: Hot Docs in late April and May, Doors Open Toronto in May, and Blue Jays opening day.
• Summer: NXNE and Pride in June, the Toronto Jazz Festival in June and July, Caribana at the start of August, and the CNE at the end of it.
• Autumn: the Toronto International Film Festival in September, Nuit Blanche all night in October, and the opera and ballet seasons opening.

Things to do in Toronto tonight and this weekend

The listings above are the live version of all this: every concert, show, game, club night and exhibition on in Toronto tonight, tomorrow and this weekend, with times, prices and tickets, updated every hour.