Brampton

By plane

Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) 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

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.

Public transportation

Brampton Transitprovides 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.

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.

• Garden Square

  address: 12 Main St N
  A modern, off-street public square with fountain, tables and chairs; venue for free events.

• Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives

  phone: +1 905 791-4055
  address: 9 Wellington St E
  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.

• Great War Flying Museum

  address: 13691 McLaughlin Rd
  A small museum and a workshop with volunteers who make replicas of World War I planes from scratch.

• World Art Gallery

  address: Hwy 10 and Steeles Ave in Shoppers World
  Featuring postcard-sized art from around the world, run by Visual Arts Brampton.

• Saint Elias Church

  phone: +1 905 459-8888
  address: 10193 Heritage Rd
  A beautiful Ukrainian, catholic wooden church. Burnt to the ground in April 2014, rebuilt and reopened in October 2016.

• Artway Gallery

  phone: +1 905-453-9142
  address: 499 Main St S
  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.

• Bovaird House

  phone: +1 905 874-2804
  address: 563 Bovaird Dr E
  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.

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:

• Gage Park

  address: 45 Main St S
  Floral gardens, large trees, gazebo and fountain.

• Charles F. Watson and Family Park

  address: 398 Main St S
  Flower garden below street level.

• Donald M. Gordon Chinguacousy Park

  address: 9050 Bramalea Road
  Gardens, greenhouse, ponds, petting zoo.

• Toronto Ontario Temple

  address: 10060 Bramalea Rd
  Flower garden with fountains, the gardens on four hectares (10 acres of land). No smoking, sports or picnicking on the grounds.

Downtown heritage structures

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.

• Old Fire Hall

  address: 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.

• Peel Country Courthouse

  address: 3 Wellington St E
  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.

• Alderlea

  address: 41 Elizabeth St S
  A Victorian house built in the Italianate Villa style in 1867. Used today for group events.

• Dominion Building

  address: 8 Queen St E
  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.

• Carnegie Library

  address: 55 Queen St E
  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.

• Grand Trunk Railway Station

  address: 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.

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.

• Grace United Church

  address: 156 Main St N
  Opened in 1867.

• Christ Church

  address: 4 Elizabeth St N
  Built in 1875.

• First Baptist Church

  address: 2 Wellington St E
  Built in 1876.

• St. Andrews Presbyterian Church

  address: 44 Church St E
  Completed in 1881 and constructed of Credit Valley stone.

• St Paul's United Church

  address: 30 Main St S
  Built in 1885 using Credit Valley Brownstone with multi-coloured slate roof.

• The Rose Theater

  phone: +1 905 874-2800
  address: 1 Theatre Ln

• Brampton Flight Centre

  phone: +1 905 838-1400
  address: 13691 McLaughlin Rd
  Get a discovery flight lesson for $75 or a sightseeing flight for $180. The centre also have a restaurant: The Flying Pan.

• Wild Water Kingdom

  phone: +1 416-369-9453
  address: 7855 Finch Ave W
  Water-based fun park.

• Heart Lake Conservation Area

  address: 10818 Heart Lake Rd
  Great place to walk and hike.

• Bramalea City Centre

  phone: +1 905-793-9417
  address: 25 Peel Centre Dr

• Trinity Common Mall

  phone: +1 905-789-9734
  address: 130 Great Lakes Dr

• Shoppers World Brampton

  phone: +1 905 459-1337
  address: 499 Main St S
  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.

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

• Antica Osteria

  phone: +1 905 495-5555
  address: 3088 Mayfield Rd
  Real Italian food and great service

• Cristina's Bakery & Grill

  phone: +1 905-463-2091
  address: 131 Main S N
  Great place for breakfast and Portuguese cakes as well as chicken and steaks for lunch and dinner

• Fanzorelli's

  phone: +1 905-450-9752
  address: 50 Queen St W
  Good Italian food

• The Keg

  phone: +1 905 456-3733
  address: 70 Gillingham Dr
  Good steaks, but their salads and starters are also delicious.

• Turtle Jacks

  phone: +1 905-595-0519
  address: 20 Cottrelle Blvd
  Lively and fun place.

Splurge

• Terrace on The Green

  phone: +1 905-459-4447
  address: 8672 Mississauga Rd
  One of the few fine dining restaurants in Brampton. Great food, friendly service and a nice view

• Tracks Brewpub

  phone: +1 905-453-3063
  address: Union St and Market Sq Blvd
  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.

• Jake's Boathouse

  phone: +1 905-451-9695
  address: 59 First Gulf Blvd
  Fun place with live music on weekends.

Budget

Mid-range

• Best Western Brampton

  address: 30 Clark Blvd

• Howard Johnson Express Inn

  phone: +1 905-451-6000
  address: 226 Queen St E

• Holiday Inn Select

  phone: +1 905-792-9900
  address: 30 Peel Centre Dr

• Fairfield Inn

  phone: +1 905-874-7177
  address: 150 Westcreek Blvd
  .

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.

• Cassie Campbell Community Centre

  phone: +1 905-840-4041
  address: 1050 Sandalwood Pkwy W

• Chinguacousy Wellness Centre

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

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