Brampton - Brampton

For other places with the same name, see Brampton (disambiguation).
Gage Park

Brampton is a city within the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario. It is one of Canada's fastest growing cities and has a population of more than 500,000.

Get in

By plane

Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ IATA) in Mississauga is located immediately to the south-east of Brampton. From the airport a limo costs $45, and takes about 30 minutes, all depending on traffic. GO Transit operates a Route 34 – Brampton/Pearson Airport/North York GO Bus; Brampton Transit runs Airport Express (route 115) buses from Pearson Airport to Bramalea City Centre.

By public transportation

Map of Brampton

GO Transit provides commuter rail and bus service to Brampton. There are three GO train stations in Brampton: Bramalea, which serves the eastern end of Brampton; Brampton station, which serves central Brampton; and Mount Pleasant, which serves the western end of Brampton. GO trains serve the three stations during the day on weekdays only excluding holidays. The trip by train from Toronto Union Station takes 35 minutes. When GO trains are not running, they are replaced by GO buses serving the same area, however these buses generally run to and from Yorkdale and York Mills subway stations to the north of downtown Toronto instead of Union Station. Trains and buses run about every 20 minutes during rush hour and about every hour outside of rush hour.

Brampton station is also served by Via Rail intercity trains on the line from Toronto to Sarnia. Via runs 3 trains a day in each direction. These trains also serve Georgetown, Guelph, Kitchener and London among other places.

Bus route 501 Züm Queen (operated by Brampton Transit) links Vaughan Metropolitan Centre subway station to downtown Brampton. Note: If boarding a Züm bus at Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, pay your fare on the Züm bus; do not pay it on the platform as the platform ticketing/payment machines are for another public transit operator.

Get around

Public transportation

Brampton Transit. provides local bus service in Brampton including the Züm express bus service. Some routes extend into neighbouring municipalities. Fares (including for Züm buses) can be paid by Presto card or exact cash. Cash fare $4, Presto fare $3 for adults including seniors.. (updated Mar 2019)

If transferring from one of the three GO Transit train stations in Brampton to Burlington Transit (BT) to complete a trip, a reduced BT fare of 80 cents (as of 2019) is available. For Presto cardholders, just tap your card on both transit systems to get the discount which is calculated after the transfer. With Presto, the reduced fare is also available to transfer from BT to GO. If paying cash on BT, the reduced fare is available if you show your GO ticket to the BT bus driver when you pay the fare in exact cash.

A fare allows for 2 hours of travel on Brampton Transit including changing BT buses, or transferring to connecting Miway (Mississauga) and YRT (York Region) buses. If paying by cash, ask for a "transfer" to use as a receipt. For Presto users, transfer info is automatically stored on your card when you tap on.

See

Replica at Flying museum
St. Elias
  • 1 Garden Square, 12 Main St N (at Queen St E). A modern, off-street public square with fountain, tables and chairs; venue for free events. (updated Aug 2018)
  • 2 Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives (PAMA), 9 Wellington St E, ☏ 1 905 791-4055. Art gallery and local history museum, as well as the archives for Peel Region, where Brampton is located. Partly located in a former 1800s jail (with three preserved jail cells and exhibits of prisoner and staff memorabilia), and partially within the old Land Registry Building. 
  • 3 Great War Flying Museum, 13691 McLaughlin Rd (at Brampton Airport). Late May-late Oct: Sa-Su and holidays 11AM-5PM. A small museum and a workshop with volunteers who make replicas of World War I planes from scratch. (updated Jan 2018)
  • 4 World Art Gallery, Hwy 10 and Steeles Ave in Shoppers World. Featuring postcard-sized art from around the world, run by Visual Arts Brampton. 
  • 5 Saint Elias Church, 10193 Heritage Rd (just north of Bovaird Dr), ☏ 1 905 459-8888, ✉. A beautiful Ukrainian, catholic wooden church. Burnt to the ground in April 2014, rebuilt and reopened in October 2016. (updated Aug 2018)
  • 6 Artway Gallery (Artway Exhibit Space), 499 Main St S (Corner of Hwy 10 and Steeles Ave), ☏ 1 905-453-9142. Mall hours, daily. Artway Gallery is the primary exhibit space for Visual Arts Brampton members. Every month, our exhibits at the space features the creativity of VAB members and other area artists. First created in April 1998, Artway opened in Shoppers World Brampton in June 2004. Free. 
  • 7 [formerly dead link]Bovaird House, 563 Bovaird Dr E (at Kennedy Rd, southeast corner), ☏ 1 905 874-2804, ✉. Historic house from ca 1852, now a museum. Owned by the city. Operated by volunteers that will guide you through the house and tell you about everything. The grounds also feature heritage gardens including a rose garden, herb garden and orchard. Free (donations appreciated). 
  • 8 Gurdwara Dasmesh Darbar, 4555 Ebenezer Rd (at Nexus Ave), ☏ 1 416-875-5720. This beautiful building is a Sikh temple serving the large Sikh community in Brampton. It's uncertain whether the interior is open to the public, but the exterior is distinctive with attractive details. (updated Nov 2020)

Flower gardens

Brampton prides itself as the "Flower City", with several gardens open to the public. The city has a PDF brochure for a Brampton Floral Self-Guided Tour, with some of the gardens summarized here:

  • 9 Gage Park, 45 Main St S (at Wellington St W, SW corner). Floral gardens, large trees, gazebo and fountain. (updated Aug 2018)
  • 10 Charles F. Watson and Family Park, 398 Main St S (at Pine Village Pkwy, SE corner; parking at Shoppers World). Flower garden below street level. (updated Aug 2018)
  • 11 Donald M. Gordon Chinguacousy Park, 9050 Bramalea Road (at Queen St E, south end of the park). Gardens, greenhouse, ponds, petting zoo. (updated Aug 2018)
  • 12 Toronto Ontario Temple (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), 10060 Bramalea Rd (at Bovaird Dr E, NW corner). Open during the growing season, Su Tu-F noon-8PM, Sa 8AM-8PM. Flower garden with fountains, the gardens on four hectares (10 acres of land). No smoking, sports or picnicking on the grounds. (updated Aug 2018)

Downtown heritage structures

Peel Country Courthouse

Because of the presence of many modern buildings, Brampton's downtown does not quite have the quaint heritage image of towns such as Newmarket, Port Hope or Brockville. Despite that, the Brampton website has a 66-page PDF titled Downtown Heritage Walking Tour. Here are some of the heritage buildings; a longer description can be found in the aforementioned PDF. Many of the buildings listed here are not open to the general public, but all can be viewed from a public sidewalk.

  • 13 Old Fire Hall, 2 Chapel St. Built in 1854, this municipal building was used as the village market, as a fire engine house, and by 1860 as Village Council Chambers (second floor). The building has a tower perhaps for hanging fire hoses to dry. (updated Aug 2018)
  • 14 Peel Country Courthouse, 3 Wellington St E (at Main St S). Built in 1866, the courthouse features an onion-shaped copula. Next to it, at 7 and 9 Wellington, are the Peel County Registry Office (1890) and the Peel County Jail (also 1866), both of which today house the Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives. (updated Aug 2018)
  • 15 Alderlea, 41 Elizabeth St S (west side of Gage Park). A Victorian house built in the Italianate Villa style in 1867. Used today for group events. (updated Aug 2018)
  • 16 Dominion Building, 8 Queen St E (at Garden Square). Built in 1889 by the federal government, the building used to house a post office and a customs house. It has a textured stone facade and a clock tower with the royal coat of arms just below. Today, a coffee shop occupies the ground floor. (updated Aug 2018)
  • 17 Carnegie Library, 55 Queen St E (at Chapel St). Built in 1906, this is one of 156 free libraries in Canada that were financed by the Carnegie Institute between 1881 and 1917. Today, the building is owned by the City of Brampton and is used by the Brampton Concert Band for rehersals. (updated Aug 2018)
  • 18 Grand Trunk Railway Station (Brampton GO station), 15 Church St W. Built for the Grand Trunk Railway in 1907, and later acquired by Canadian National Railways, the station is still in use today for Via Rail and GO Transit passenger trains. The main entrance to the station is framed by a pair of small, round castle-style towers. (updated Aug 2018)

It seems that all the churches in downtown Brampton are 19th-century heritage buildings. For most, you don't need a map to find them as the tend to be prominent landmarks.

  • 19 Grace United Church, 156 Main St N (just north of Church St). Opened in 1867. (updated Aug 2018)
  • 20 Christ Church, 4 Elizabeth St N. Built in 1875. (updated Aug 2018)
  • 21 First Baptist Church, 2 Wellington St E (just east of Main St S). Built in 1876. (updated Aug 2018)
  • 22 St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, 44 Church St E (at Union St). Completed in 1881 and constructed of Credit Valley stone. (updated Aug 2018)
  • 23 St Paul's United Church, 30 Main St S (at John St). Built in 1885 using Credit Valley Brownstone with multi-coloured slate roof. (updated Aug 2018)

Do

Treetop walk at Hear Lake

Buy

  • 1 Bramalea City Centre, 25 Peel Centre Dr, ☏ 1 905-793-9417. M-F 10AM-9PM, Sa 9:30AM-9PM, Su 11AM-7PM. 
  • 2 Trinity Common Mall, 130 Great Lakes Dr, ☏ 1 905-789-9734. 
  • 3 Shoppers World Brampton, 499 Main St S (Bus 2 from downtown Brampton or bus 11 from Bramalea GO train station), ☏ 1 905 459-1337. M-F 10AM-9PM, Sa 9:30AM-6PM, Su 11AM-5PM. This large mall was once Canada's top selling mall. It is a large regional mall serving the Brampton area. It is easily accessible by transit with its own bus terminal. It is served by Brampton Transit, GO buses and Mississauga Transit. 

Eat

You can find fast-food restaurants almost everywhere.Most of the better restaurants seem to be geared towards Italian food.

Splurge

  • 6 Terrace on The Green, 8672 Mississauga Rd, ☏ 1 905-459-4447. M-F noon-3PM and 5PM-10PM. One of the few fine dining restaurants in Brampton. Great food, friendly service and a nice view $35 entrees. 

Drink

  • 1 [dead link]Tracks Brewpub, Union St and Market Sq Blvd, ☏ 1 905-453-3063. Good beer and good simple food. There is a small outside patio away from any traffic noise, but as the name implies, it is next to the train tracks. (updated Jan 2018)
  • 2 Jake's Boathouse, 59 First Gulf Blvd, ☏ 1 905-451-9695, ✉. M-Th 11:30AM-11PM, F-Sa 11:30AM-2AM. Fun place with live music on weekends. (updated Jan 2018)

Sleep

Budget

Mid-range

Cope

Fitness

If you want to work out, Goodlife Fitness and LA Fitness offer day passes for $15. If it is your first visit it might also be possible to sign up for a cheap or free trial on their websites.

A cheap and easy option is the community centres where you can just show up and pay the entry fee in cash.

Stay safe

Brampton is a safe city, however be on your guard at night like in any other city. Muggings and assaults may happen.

Go next

Brampton is a short drive away from Toronto, Ontario; a mecca for fashion, entertainment, etc.

Routes through Brampton
Kitchener ← Georgetown ← W VIA Rail Sarnia Toronto icon.png E → Mississauga → Toronto
END ← Caledon ← N Ontario 410.svg S → Mississauga → Hamilton via Ontario 403.svg
Kitchener ← Georgetown ← becomes Ontario 7.svg ← W Peel Regional Road 107.png E → becomes York Regional Road 7.svg → Vaughan → Markham
Kitchener ← Georgetown ← W GO Transit Kitchener icon.png E → Mississauga → Toronto
This city travel guide to Brampton is a usable article. It has information on how to get there and on restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page .