Vaughan travel guide

Vaughan, Canada

By the Travel Wiki editorial team

Vaughan

Introduction

Vaughan sits in Ontario's Regional Municipality of York, directly north of Toronto. Its position within the Greater Toronto Area makes it part of the wider urban region surrounding Canada's largest city, while keeping it a distinct municipality with its own identity.

That proximity to Toronto has shaped Vaughan's recent history: it grew faster than any other municipality in Ontario over a ten-year span beginning in the mid-1990s, and its population has climbed steadily since. Today it ranks among the larger cities in the Greater Toronto Area and in Canada as a whole.

Before you go

Vaughan is a conglomeration of former towns that have sprawled together into one city, and many residents still identify with those smaller communities rather than with Vaughan as a whole. The exception is Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, the new downtown carved out of Concord around Highway 7 and Jane, where new condominiums continue to rise. Elsewhere you'll find distinct local characters: Woodbridge, with its significant Italian population, Thornhill along Bathurst Street, with its significant Soviet-Jewish population, and the old towns of Maple, Kleinburg and Woodbridge, each with its own historic core.

Before you go, plan around the weather and how you'll get around. Vaughan is a very safe city; organized crime exists but rarely affects regular people, and pickpocketing is rare given how sparse the city is. You may encounter homeless people who ask for money at the side of the road, and pedestrians and cyclists should watch for vehicles making right turns. Heavy rain, thundershowers or melting snow can flood river and creek banks and bridge underpasses, softening soil so it can suddenly collapse under any weight, so avoid those spots during and after such conditions. Severe winter storms with significant snowfall, often mixed with freezing rain, ice or sleet, occasionally hit the city; avoid driving during and immediately after them, especially if you're unfamiliar with winter driving and controlling a car in a skid, and take public transit, walk, or stay inside instead.

Getting there

Toronto Pearson International Airport is the main gateway to Vaughan. By car from Pearson, take Highway 409 east, exit onto Highway 401 east, then head north on Highway 400; if you only need the west side of Vaughan, Highway 427 north from the airport will do instead. On public transit, GO Bus 40 runs from Terminal One to Highway 407 Station, where you can transfer to local transit, the subway, or another GO Bus. A few flights also arrive at Billy Bishop Airport in downtown Toronto; from there by car, take the Gardiner Expressway west, then Highway 427 north, Highway 401 east and Highway 400 north, or simply continue north on Highway 427 if the west side is your destination. From Billy Bishop, the subway is the cheaper transit option and the GO commuter train the faster one. General aviation can land at Brampton-Caledon Airport, roughly a half-hour drive west of Vaughan. Vaughan is served only by GO Transit commuter rail, so Via Rail passengers must transfer to GO Transit or another form of transport to finish the trip. The Barrie Line stops at Rutherford GO and Maple GO, running south to Union Station and north to Barrie; from either direction, get off at Rutherford or Maple. Arriving from the east or west means transferring at Union Station to pick up the Barrie Line. By subway, take Line 1 Yonge-University north towards Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, the terminus and the site of the "new downtown", with connections to VIVA rapid transit and other local buses; Highway 407 Station connects to regional GO Buses. A subway trip from Union Station to Vaughan Metropolitan Centre takes about 50 minutes, and there are no free transfers between the subway and YRT, Viva, GO Transit or Züm buses. Long-distance buses also serve the city, including FlixBus from Toronto Pearson Airport, Richmond Hill, Markham, Kingston and Ottawa, and Ontario Northland from Sudbury, Parry Sound, North Bay and Barrie. By car, three major freeways cross Vaughan: Highway 400 running north-south towards Barrie and Toronto, Highway 427 running north-south and ending in Toronto to the south, and Highway 407 ETR heading to Brampton and Richmond Hill. The 407 ETR is electronically tolled with no booths, photographing your licence plate and charging by mileage. Arterial roads form a grid roughly two kilometres square, with few turn restrictions outside busier areas, and parking is generally free and easy to find.

Getting around

Vaughan is large and spread out, so getting around is easiest by car. Arterial roads run in a grid, and the busiest routes include Highway 7, Bathurst Street, Rutherford Road, and Highway 27. Three major freeways cross the city: Highway 400 runs north–south between Jane Street and Weston Road, Highway 407 ETR runs east–west, and Highway 427 serves the west side. Parking is generally free and easy to find, and the grid layout makes navigation straightforward.

If you would rather not drive, transit covers much of the city. York Region Transit (YRT) is the main local agency, running buses from early morning until late at night, with schedules varying by route. VIVA is its rapid branch, found only on Highway 7, Centre Street, and Bathurst Street, where buses sometimes use median rapidways with heated waiting areas; on VIVA you pay at the stop before boarding, and you can be fined for riding without proof of payment. The TTC subway's Line 1 extends into Vaughan, with Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and Highway 407 stations connecting to local YRT and VIVA buses, while GO Transit's Barrie Line serves Rutherford GO and Maple GO, replaced by GO buses outside rush hour. Fares are integrated under the One Fare program, so transfers between regional services within the transfer window cost only the highest single fare. You can tap a credit or debit card, or use a PRESTO card, which is also usable on surrounding systems. Cycling is another option: it is legal to ride on sidewalks here, some routes have dedicated bike paths or lanes, and all YRT and VIVA buses carry bike racks. Watch for right-turning vehicles at intersections, since drivers may not expect cyclists or pedestrians.

Where to stay

Vaughan's accommodation clusters around a few distinct areas, so your choice depends on what you want to be near. Around the Highway 400 and Highway 407 interchange, close to Vaughan Metropolitan Centre subway station and the Viva Rapidway, you'll find the densest concentration of hotels, including Courtyard by Marriott, Residence Inn by Marriott, Hilton Garden Inn, Monte Carlo Inn, Homewood Suites by Hilton and Springhill Suites by Marriott. Next to Vaughan Mills Shopping Centre and Highway 400, both Novotel Toronto Vaughan and Aloft Vaughan Mills put you within walking distance of the mall. In Woodbridge, the Holiday Inn Express and Element Vaughan Southwest sit at the Highway 7 and Highway 27 intersection near Highway 427, while Vaughan Inn is at Highway 7 and Highway 50. At the city's southern border with Toronto, Four Points by Sheraton and Staybridge Suites Toronto - South Vaughan stand side by side on Steeles at Highway 400, handy for York University and Pioneer Village subway station — though note there's only a northbound exit onto Steeles.

Elsewhere, options thin out. Concord has the Pinecrest Motel on Highway 7 with access to the VIVA Rapidway, and Woodbridge also has the New Woodbine Hotel, a motel beside Highway 407 ETR near Highway 427. Kleinburg Inn is the only lodging in Kleinburg, though it actually sits in Woodbridge at Highway 27 and Major Mackenzie Drive, closer to Kleinburg than to Woodbridge proper. Liberty Suites Hotel is in Markham on the border between Markham and Vaughan, close to Steeles Avenue and Toronto. Maple has no hotels at all, so plan to stay elsewhere if that's your destination.

Food & drink

For an upscale Italian meal, head to Woodbridge, where Romano's Restaurant serves lunch on weekdays and dinner from Tuesday through Saturday. If you're in the mood for Thai, Siamese Thai Cuisine, also in Woodbridge, offers lunch specials and a full menu of dishes, with hours that stretch into the evening most days. In Maple, Churrasqueira Red Rooster specializes in Portuguese-style cooking, with grilled and rotisserie chicken, parisienne potatoes, rice and homemade Piri Piri sauce, plus sandwiches if you want something lighter. When it comes to nightlife, your options are limited: Luxy Nightclub in Concord is one of the few nightclubs in Vaughan, and possibly the only one.

What to see and do

Vaughan's strongest cultural draw is the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, devoted entirely to Canadian art and set in the woodland landscape that inspired much of the work it holds. Its permanent collection runs to thousands of pieces by Tom Thomson, the Group of Seven, their contemporaries, and First Nations, Inuit and other artists. Note that the gallery is closed for renovations until 2029, so plan around it rather than building a trip on it. Elsewhere in the city, the J.E.H. MacDonald House in Thornhill was once home to the Group of Seven founding member and his illustrator son, Thoreau, and now serves as an event space. In Maple, the Baitul Islam Mosque is the headquarters of the Canadian Ahmadiyya Muslim community. For a day out, Canada's Wonderland is the big seasonal theme park, open from May to October with a large line-up of rides, roller coasters and a waterpark. Outdoors, the Kortright Centre for Conservation near Kleinburg offers hiking, workshops and wildlife encounters, while the former landfill site at North Maple Regional Park has been turned into a vast green space. Boyd Conservation Area sits between Woodbridge and Kleinburg, and the Woodbridge Fairgrounds hosts fairs and events. Reptilia Zoo, close to Vaughan Mills and Canada's Wonderland, houses hundreds of reptiles and amphibians alongside a few arachnids.

When to go

Vaughan has a northern climate, so plan around two very different seasons. Winter is snowy and storm-prone, with severe storms that occasionally bring significant snowfall, often mixed with freezing rain, ice, or sleet. Driving during and right after these storms is risky, especially if you are unfamiliar with winter driving and skids, so public transit, walking, or simply staying inside is the safer choice. The warm season brings heavy rain and thunderstorms. Thundershowers can be intense, and periods of excessive rain raise water levels and soften river and creek banks. During and after heavy rain, avoid river or creek banks and bridge underpasses: recently flooded soil can suddenly collapse into the water under any weight.

Three days in Vaughan

Day one: Start in Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, the city's downtown, then head north to Concord. From there, follow Highway Jane north into Woodbridge, where the Italian community has shaped the food and the streets. End the day in Thornhill along Bathurst Street, a Jewish neighbourhood with its own rhythm.

Day two: Turn to Maple and Kleinburg. Kleinburg is the village end of Vaughan, quieter and more walkable than the highway corridors. If you are arriving from outside Canada, Toronto Pearson International Airport sits right on Vaughan's edge, and Billy Bishop Airport is reachable via the Gardiner Expressway. GO Bus and GO trains connect the city to Toronto and the rest of the Greater Toronto Area.

Day three: Use Vaughan as a base for Ontario and the Regional Municipality of York. The city is part of the Greater Toronto Area, so Toronto is a short trip south. Heavy traffic is common on the highways, and winter can be severe, so plan around the roads. Today you can loop back through the neighbourhoods you liked best before leaving.

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