DETAILS

Stratford Festival

GETTING THERE: Stratford is about 90 miles west of Toronto's Pearson International Airport, served by numerous airlines including United nonstop from Dulles ($228) or Reagan National ($296) and Air Canada ($301) from Dulles or National.

From the Toronto airport, it's roughly a two-hour drive to Stratford. Or take the VIA Rail Canada train (888-842-7245, http://www.viarail.ca/ ) from Toronto for $40 to $52 round trip. A two-hour trip each way, the morning run gets you to Stratford in time for a quick lunch before a matinee, while the late-afternoon train arrives 15 minutes before evening curtain. Also, Stratford operates bus service from Toronto for certain matinees, but only through September.

THE FESTIVAL: The festival, which began April 24, runs through Nov. 12. "Coriolanus" and "The Liar," along with "The Duchess of Malfi," "Ghosts" and "Fanny Kemble" close Sept. 23; "Henry IV, Part I" and "The Blond, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead" on Sept. 24. Closing in late October: "Twelfth Night," "Oliver!," "Much Ado About Nothing," "Don Juan," "London Assurance" and "The Glass Menagerie"; the last 10 days of "Don Juan" will be performed in French. "South Pacific" plays through Nov. 12.

In summer's high season, the best seats for a play cost as much as $95 apiece, with musicals $10 higher. After Sept. 1, the festival offers discounts of 30 percent and more at virtually every performance. Mondays are dark, but otherwise there's always something to see.

WHERE TO STAY: If you're happy with down-to-earth lodgings, you can hardly go wrong in Stratford. The festival office (see below) provides assistance with lodging; on its Web site, just specify dates and requirements, and it produces a list of matches. The Web site can be a bit temperamental; if its lodging conclusion is "Nothing available," try again later. The same specifications may suddenly yield a range of choices.

Families, couples or singles who want to be left alone might do as I did and find an apartment. For $150, I got the second and third floors of a house whose first floor held the offices of my landlord, a chiropractor. The Doc (227 Erie St., 519-272-6578 or 519-393-6594) has two bedrooms (one of them enormous), a living room, a dining room, a kitchen and a porch with a grill, and is a perfect home base at the edge of downtown, a 10-minute walk from the Avon and a leisurely half-hour stroll to the festival.

I've also stayed at the Stone Maiden Inn (123 Church St., 866-612-3385, http://www.lanierbb.com/inns/bb6100.html ), an elegant bed-and-breakfast that may have space in the fall, though it's booked way in advance for summer. Rates range from $115 to $250 a night double, including breakfast and afternoon tea.

INFORMATION: Stratford Festival, 800-567-1600, http://www.stratfordfestival.ca/ .

-- Kelly Kleiman