Brantford travel guide

Brantford, Canada

By the Travel Wiki editorial team

Brantford

Introduction

Brantford is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River. It sits within the wider Brant County area but is politically separate, with its own municipal government that operates independently of the county's.

Before you go

Brantford takes its name from Joseph Brant, the Mohawk chief who led his people from New York State to Upper Canada in 1784; the land grant they received along the Grand River, the Haldimand Tract, shaped the settlement that grew here, and the nearby Six Nations of the Grand River reserve remains home to many of his descendants and other First Nations citizens. The city's history runs deeper still: the Grand River valley was home to the Neutral Nation before the 17th century, and in the 1830s Brantford became a stop on the Underground Railroad, with several hundred people of African descent settling around Murray Street and in Cainsville and establishing their own school and church.

Before you arrive, it helps to know that Brantford has a rougher reputation after dark. The stretch from the Lorne Bridge down to Stanley Street is where most crime occurs, and Eagle Place, east of the downtown core, sees assaults and robberies as well; weekend bar fights are common. The downtown has improved considerably in recent years, with new buildings and local attractions, and police presence is heaviest in the problem areas. Walking in groups and taking the usual precautions makes trouble unlikely, but going alone at night can leave you vulnerable. For orientation and local information, the Brantford Visitor and Tourism Centre is on N Park Street at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre.

Getting there

Brantford sits on Highway 403 at Highway 24, with several major roads feeding into it. By car, it's about 90 minutes from Toronto and 45 minutes from downtown Hamilton; for downtown Brantford, exit at King George Rd./Fairview Dr. From the west, Highway 403 arrives from Woodstock, while Highway 24 runs south from Cambridge and north from Simcoe.

Getting around

Brantford is compact, and downtown is the easiest part of the city to explore on foot, with shops, restaurants and services clustered within walking distance of one another. Away from the core, some neighbourhoods are noticeably less walkable, so check how far your destination really is before setting out. There is no metro or tram system, so your choices come down to walking, cycling, buses, taxis and intercity rail. The city has an extensive trail system along the Grand River plus dedicated bike lanes on some streets, though the network remains incomplete in places, so a route that looks straightforward on a map may involve sharing the road for part of the way.

Brantford Transit runs a bus network on regular routes with a half-hour schedule, departing from the downtown Transit Terminal on Darling Street, with additional school service; coverage and frequency are limited, so the system suits planned trips better than spontaneous ones, and children twelve and under ride free. The same downtown terminal is the hub for regional services: GO Transit connects to Aldershot GO Station in Burlington with a stop at McMaster University in Hamilton, Brant eRide serves locations within Brant County including Paris, Burford and St. George, and FlixBus links Brantford with Windsor, St. Thomas, London, Hamilton, Toronto and Ottawa. Intercity trains use the station at 5 Wadsworth Street, where VIA Rail serves Brantford multiple times daily between Windsor and Toronto with stops including Chatham, London, Ingersoll, Woodstock, Burlington and Oakville. For door-to-door trips when buses do not line up with your plans, local taxi companies include City Taxi, Brant Taxi and Bell City Cabs.

Where to stay

Brantford's accommodation is concentrated along the main commercial corridors, with a handful of motels and chain hotels covering the budget and mid-range brackets. On the budget side, you'll find the Bell City Motel on Colborne Street, a straightforward option if you're watching your spending.

Mid-range choices cluster along the highways and main roads. The Best Western Brantford Hotel & Conference Centre on Holiday Drive offers a bar, buffet, indoor pool, whirlpool, Wi-Fi and a playground, making it a practical base if you're travelling with family. The Comfort Inn on King George Road has a café on-site, Wi-Fi, newspaper service, fax and copy facilities, and refrigerators and microwaves in ground-floor rooms; pets are welcome for an extra charge. The Days Inn on Fairview Drive provides a fitness centre, Wi-Fi, business and meeting facilities and breakfast, with pets allowed for an additional nightly fee. The Hampton Inn & Suites on Fen Ridge Court, near the industrial park, includes hot breakfast, newspapers, Internet, an indoor pool, whirlpool, fitness centre and meeting rooms; it is a no-smoking, no-pet property.

Food & drink

Brantford's eating options cluster along King George Road, where you'll find a run of casual spots. Angel's Diner covers breakfast, lunch and dinner, while Zander's Fire Grill and Brew Lounge brings a rock-and-roll theme with live music, burgers, wings, pastas and ribs. Sociable Kitchen & Tavern offers a broad menu that includes vegan and gluten-free choices alongside sharing plates and mains. For something more distinctive, The Olde School Restaurant occupies a converted 1870s schoolhouse filled with school-days memorabilia and a piano bar with nightly entertainment; it's wheelchair accessible. Taal Fine Indian Cuisine on Colborne Street East serves Indian food with a buffet at lunch and dinner.

For drinking, the downtown core holds most of the city's bars. Boston Pizza on Market Street functions as a popular bar here and gets packed on weekends, with a bouncer on the door. Brando's Beach House and Two Doors Down sit side by side on Market Street and draw a student crowd; the occasional drunken bar fight happens, but the area is generally safe.

What to see and do

Brantford's history is the main draw for visitors. Just outside the city, the Alexander Graham Bell Homestead at 94 Tutela Heights Road is the site of the invention of the telephone; Bell's house has been restored to its 1870s appearance and includes an exhibit on the history of the telephone. On the outskirts of town, Her Majesty's Chapel of the Mohawks on Mohawk Street was the first Protestant church built in Ontario and the first Royal Chapel to belong to First Nations people, built by the British Crown in 1785 for the Mohawk and Iroquois and later granted Royal status in 1904; Joseph Brant and his son John Brant are buried in the peaceful graveyard surrounding it. South of Brantford on Highway 54, Chiefswood is the birthplace and home of Mohawk poet E. Pauline Johnson, now a National Historic Site. In the city itself, the Canadian Military Heritage Museum on Greenwich Street covers Canada's military history from the United Empire Loyalists of the 1700s to today's peacekeepers, with artifacts from the War of 1812, the South African War and both World Wars, plus a Motorcycle Museum on the same site. The Woodland Cultural Centre at 184 Mohawk St occupies a former residential school building taken over by the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve and holds three art galleries, a history museum and a library; it serves as a memorial to the Indigenous children who suffered abuse at the school, and visits may require an appointment. The stone and brick Brant County Courthouse on Wellington Street was built on land purchased from the Six Nations in 1852 and once housed court rooms, county offices, a law library and a gaol.

When to go

Brantford has a humid continental climate, with warm summers and cold, snowy winters. Snow usually falls from October through April, so a visit in those months can mean snowy ground and cold conditions, and winter nights can be bitterly cold — pack for serious cold.

Summer days are warm, making it the time for lighter clothing and outdoor time.

Three days in Brantford

Day one: Start by getting your bearings in Brantford, a city in Southwestern Ontario shaped by the Grand River, which runs through it. Stop at the Brantford Visitor and Tourism Centre on Park Street for orientation, then take a walking route that touches the city's history, from Joseph Brant and the Mohawk to the Haldimand Tract and Six Nations, and the Underground Railroad and African settlement in the area. Cross the Lorne Bridge over the Grand River and continue into Eagle Place, where you can spend the rest of the day on foot.

Day two: Head to the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre for a morning of skating or swimming, then use Brantford Transit to reach the commercial stretches along King George Rd and Fairview Dr. In the afternoon, follow Murray Street and Stanley Street to see more of the city's older neighbourhoods, and take time to read up on the Neutral Nation and First Nations history that predates European settlement in Brant County.

Day three: Use the city as a base for the surrounding region. Brantford sits within easy reach of Toronto, Hamilton, Woodstock, Cambridge and Simcoe, and Highway access makes day trips straightforward, including across to New York State. If you stay local, spend the morning in Cainsville and the afternoon revisiting the Grand River, thinking about the Loyalists and Upper Canada history that shaped this part of Ontario.

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