21 researched places across 5 pockets — restaurants, shops, schools and parks.
The restaurants, cafes and pubs around the historic Four Corners — patios on Main and Queen, global kitchens, breweries and the lunch spots that fill up around City Hall and the GO.
The casual restaurants and takeout serving Peel Village around Main and the golf club — pubs, pizza, halal and homestyle spots in the leafy garden suburb.
The casual restaurants and takeout serving Avondale along Queen and Avondale — South Asian, Caribbean, halal and pizza spots in the plazas east of downtown.
The restaurants and takeout around Steeles and Main serving Brampton South — South Asian, halal, Caribbean and chain spots near Shoppers World and Sheridan.
The casual restaurants and takeout along Steeles east of Hurontario — South Asian, halal, Caribbean and pizza spots serving the townhouse and apartment community by the 410.
Peel's art gallery, museum and archives in a heritage courthouse complex across from City Hall — rotating exhibitions, regional history and the preserved 19th-century jail.
Local pick: The galleries and the historic jail
The neighbourhood plaza serving Peel Village — a grocery, pharmacy, bakery, salons and everyday services for the surrounding 1950s garden-suburb streets.
The plazas and storefronts around Avondale and Bramalea — grocers, pharmacies, bakeries and the everyday shops and services of an established east-downtown community.
The big community mall at Steeles and Main — anchored by grocery and big-box stores with a food court and a major bus terminal, the shopping hub of Brampton's south end.
Local pick: The grocery, big-box anchors and transit hub
The plazas and supermarkets around Steeles and Dixie serving Steeles East — grocers, pharmacies, banks, bakeries and the everyday shops of a busy southeast corner.
The schools serving the downtown core, including Central Peel SS and the nearby public and Catholic elementary schools — historic community schools near the Four Corners.
The schools serving Peel Village, including the local public and Catholic elementary schools — established community schools among the mature, tree-lined streets.
The schools serving Avondale, including the local public and Catholic elementary schools — community schools among the apartment towers and townhouse streets.
Sheridan's Davis Campus near Steeles and McLaughlin — the college's largest, with applied health, community services, engineering and technology programs and 12,000+ students.
Local pick: Sheridan's largest campus
The schools serving Steeles East, including the local public and Catholic elementary schools — community schools for the family streets along the southern boundary.
Downtown's cultural heart — a world-class performing arts theatre opening onto Garden Square, an outdoor stage with summer concerts, films and a winter skating rink at the Four Corners.
Local pick: Shows at the Rose and skating on the Square
Brampton's oldest park, a Flower City showpiece downtown — formal gardens, a bandshell, a wading pool and a winter skating trail famed for its Christmas light display.
Local pick: The flower gardens and winter light show
The public golf course and the green corridor woven through Peel Village — a walkable nine-hole course, the Etobicoke Creek ravine and parks that give the suburb its garden feel.
The neighbourhood parks and green space through Avondale — playgrounds, ball diamonds and Etobicoke Creek green linking the streets east of the downtown core.
The parks and Etobicoke Creek trails across Brampton South — playgrounds, sports fields and green corridors linking the streets around Steeles, Main and McLaughlin.
The neighbourhood parks and green space through Steeles East — playgrounds, cricket and soccer fields and creek-side trails serving the southeast Brampton community.