We love Vancouver, when we remember to embrace its true nature, a young city still defining itself. The Vancouver lifestyle is laid back, unpretentious, and connected to the natural environment. Parks and mountains await hikers, snow lovers and mountain bikers. And true, the city might go to bed far too early, but it’s a small sacrifice for all that beauty.
The best example typified in the Grouse Grind evening rush hour. Office workers prefer to end their summer day by ascending a mountain, clamouring up rough stairs built into a North Shore mountain—nature’s stair master. With Stanley Park on Downtown’s back door, the North Shore mountains minutes from the city, or grander nature and world-class skiing within an hour’s drive (if you’re lucky), Vancouver is connected to outdoor activities.
Yet Vancouver is a city, Canada’s third biggest metropolis, and growing quickly. For some the city feels like the same small place they grew up in, and there are plenty fighting progress. Vancouver has excellent transit, but many people still prefer driving solo despite the traffic they create. Its region hemmed in by the solid mountains to the North, the Salish sea to the West, and the US border to the South. Multiple rivers still navigated by tall ships mean the roads need bridges reaching into the sky. And like most western places the infrastructure has struggled to keep up with the population growth.
There are two Vancouvers: the City of Vancouver (with a population over 660,000) and the whole Metro Vancouver region of suburbs and bedroom communities (with a population near 2.7 million). For outsiders, the region means Vancouver, but to locals, they can be proud of their patch, even if it’s outside the City of Vancouver. Vancouver took third place in Canada after knocking Winnipeg to fourth place by 1931.
The coastal area around Vancouver is the territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples of the Coast Salish, and unlike the prairies, the land was never ceded or given to the Dominion of Canada, and instead found themselves overwhelmed by a colony, railway, and settlers who drawn a grid and claimed land ownership. Early European settlement stuck to the shore around Burrard Inlet with most industry focused on logging and sawmills. The Canadian Pacific Railway was connecting BC to Eastern Canada as a promise to get the province to join the young country. As the transcontinental railway neared completion, the CPR changed the Western terminus to the South shore of Burrard Inlet and remained the townsite of Granville to Vancouver, because they thought people back East would recognize the name (already used for the big island off the coast). With the railway terminus built, the city was founded, and the CPR were some of the first to profit from Vancouver real estate.
The next 60 years saw double-digit grow in the city, slowing the 1950s, while the region was primarily used for farming once the trees had been logged. Growth in the city slowed through the 50s, 60s and 70s (even declining in the early 70s while the suburbs exploded). Vancouver finally arrived in the 1980s. It was still a hidden gem until the city welcomed the world hosted the 1986 World Exposition. Railway lands were turned into the fair grounds before being flipped and developed into the sea of glass towers around the False Creek inlet.
Film and television production was just starting to moving from Hollywood around the time of Expo 86 with MacGyer, 21 Jump Street and The Accused. Production then exploded in the 90s with shows like the X-Files and every Stargate iteration (Richard Dean Anderson clearly liked the place, David Duchovny less so). Today Vancouver stands in for every US city and many international locations, as productions both large and forgettable are filmed throughout the region. It’s often possible to spot celebrities, both minor or big name, or to come across a film shot in downtown Vancouver.
Vancouver Guide
Vancouver is not the cheapest city to visit and many of the best attractions do cost money. Below are a list of fun and interesting sights, and the price is including (in Canadian dollars). The city is fairly walkable and there are many neighbourhoods to visit.
Enjoy the weather
There once was a t-shirt celebrating the Vancouver Rain Festival, Sept 1 to August 30—and in realty it does rain a bit, but July and August have become so dry water restrictions have been put in place. Some winters are wet, some have broken sunshine records, while June has often been called Jun-uary thanks to rain and chilly weather. Be like locals and dress for the weather, you don’t need to wear Arc’teryx but you’ll certainly blend in.
Transit & getting around
Vancouver is well served by local transit service operated by TransLink. Trolleybuses cover most of the City of Vancouver with one route extended into neighbouring suburb Burnaby. The Skytrain automated trains were first introduced for Expo 86 and over the decades the Expo line was extended Southeast further into the suburbs, and new East-West line was added at the millennium. The 2010 Winter Games saw a new undersized line serving YVR airport called the Canada Line. Another unique mode is the SeaBus, a passenger ferry that crosses the Burrard Inlet between Vancouver’s waterfront and Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver.
TransLink has an easy to load pay-as-you-go fare card system called CompassCard. The system uses a 3-zone fare pricing structure with Vancouver as Zone 1. A weekday trip on the SeaBus or to YVR or the suburbs will have an additional add fare charge. YVR has its own $5 add fare charge when leaving from the three stations near the airport, yet if you purchase an all-day pass (although when the CompassCard is ordered online and mailed to you, the fee can be avoided).
Stanley Park
When Vancouver was founded the land set aside as a military reserve between Coal Harbour and the First Narrows where the Burrard Inlet narrows, and it was soon decided this land would be ideal for a public park. The park opened in 1888 and is named for Lord Stanley, who was at the time the sixth Governor General of Canada. Lord Stanley would also become the first Governor General to visit Vancouver a year later where he dedicated the park. (He also donated a silver cup to amateur Canadian hockey, which was awarded to the best team in Canada every year until it became the annual NHL championship trophy).
The park houses many attractions including the Vancouver Aquarium, that have been built up over the years, all bordered by the seawall walking path that extends beyond the park boundaries. An 18-hole pitch and putt golf course, seaside swimming pool, numerous walking paths, playgrounds, spray pads, and an outdoor theatre used for concerts and plays, are some of the main activities in the park. While the park has been developed over the years, the city Park Board has ensured the park’s nature remains untouched.
Vancouver Aquarium
Located in Stanley Park, the Vancouver Aquarium is both a popular tourist attraction and a marine research facility advancing marine animal rehabilitation, climate conservation and activism, and ocean education. Some of the exhibits feature BC coastal and arctic marine wildlife, though thankfully the Aquarium has not held orcas (killer whales) in captivity since 2001 (you can see seas lions though).
Prices range between $40.95 and $53.95 based on when you book (and how far in advance) — as of 2024
Checkout the Vancouver Aquarium
Vancouver Seawall
The Seawall is a waterfront path that runs for 28km uninterrupted from Canada Place on Burrard Inlet, around Stanley Park, circling False Creek past ScienceWorld, Granville Island and ending at Kitsalano Beach. For much of the path, a stone wall creates a barrier with the waters, though in recent years King Tides have crested the wall causing the path to be closed at times and damaged in major storms. Construction took from 1917 to 1971 just to encircle Stanley Park, and additional paths have been build after Expo 86 and the 2010 Winter Games gentrified former industrial lands using the False Creek waterfront. You can cycle portions of the path, with diversions in place at busy and narrow sections, but the section around Stanley Park is one-way counter-clockwise.
Gastown
Gastown was one of the first European settlements in Vancouver, before the Granville townsite or the railway created Vancouver. As one of the oldest areas of Vancouver, the preserved buildings are a popular tourist area, with the famous Gastown Steam Clock as a major free attraction. The streets are lined with shops, restaurants and cafes, and in places you may wonder if you’re still in North America. Further East the land becomes quite industrial with the Port of Vancouver at the waterfront. Gastown borders the area around East Hastings and Main streets, and part of town that sees considerable drug activity and poverty. From Gastown, head along Abbott or Carrall streets to access Chinatown (Carrall Street takes you to the next sight).
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
The Chinese Garden is arranged based on Taoist principles and create a peaceful and serene space. Entry is approximately $16 for an all-day pass (last entry at 3:30pm). The Gardens are often closed for film shoots, as the area can easily stand in for any stereotypical Asian country.
Learn more about the Dr. Sun Hat-Sen gardens
Science World
One of the last remaining temporary buildings created for Expo 86, the pavilion featured the Omnimax Theatre (an IMAX Dome cinema) still in use today as part of the STEM focused attraction. Tickets are $34.85 for adults (as of 2024), and the Omnimax Theatre is temporarily closed.
Granville Island
Granville Island is an area filled with artist studios, galleries, a public market, boat and fishing tour launches, and a few small theatre spaces. You can access to the Island (it’s really a peninsula) by boat on one of the private ferries that serve False Creek (either taking the shorter distance from the Hornby Street terminal or a longer cruise around False Creek), or by foot from the South under Granville Bridge. If you visit Science World before (or after), you can either walk the Seawall path or hop aboard a False Creek Ferry or the Aquabus.
Vancouver Museum
Interested in Vancouver’s history, including many Indigenous stories? The checkout the Museum of Vancouver (MOV) on Kits Point. One previous exhibit was a collection of neon signs that used to be a major feature of Vancouver’s downtown and commercial districts—the exhibit was permanently closed and is awaiting reopening at the old Post Office building downtown.
A nearby Maritime Museum awaits those more into boats. Also on the museum site is the separate Planetarium.
H.R. MacMillan Space Centre & Planetarium
Into space? Well the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre is worth a visit for both their exhibits and the planetarium shows. There’s an observatory on site, though how much of the night sky can be seen with urban light pollution is anyone’s guess.
Kitsilano neighbourhood
One of the more interesting Vancouver neighbourhoods filled with shops and restaurants, Kitsilano (or simply Kits) is the old hippie and environmentalist hood, but it’s now home to yoga-lovers. In fact it’s where lululemon began—their headquarters are in Kits Point, and the first store is located on West 4th.
Vancouver Art Gallery
Located between the Pacific Centre shopping mall and the stretch of Robson Street filled with similar shops, the Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is currently housed in the old Vancouver Courthouse (they’re moving when the build their new home). The Georgia Street plaza and courthouse entrance is used for events throughout the year, and stands in for city halls and courthouses in numerous tv shows (CW’s Arrow, Superman & Lois, The Flash and Supergirl all used the exterior, as well as X-Files).
Grouse Grind
Trail closed for trail maintenance as of Sept 2023.
The Grind is a 2.5km trail up the face of Grouse Mountain, a popular sky hill on the Northshore known locally as nature’s stairmaster. There are many trails throughout the Northshore mountains including the longer and less-challenging BCMC Trail, and while the trails are free, the Grind is one-way (up) and the options down are to take the BCMC trail or purchase a $20 Skyride gondola ticket (included with the full $80 Mountain pass, if you’d like to skip the climb, and just enjoy the view and other mountain activities). The BCMC trail clocks in at 3km, slightly longer than the Grind but less intense. There is a paid parking lot at the base of the trail and gondola, or a TransLink bus runs from Lonsdale Quay to the mountain (236 Grouse Mountain). The trails are on public park land, however the gondola and mountain activities are run privately.
Capilano Suspension Bridge
Along the way to the Grouse Grind is another Northshore attraction, the Capilano Suspension Bridge, a simple 140m cable bridge suspended 70m above the Capilano River. Tickets start at $59.95 when bought online, and $69.95 at the ticket window (the advertised price was $66.95 on the website, but available from $59.95 on the official ticket shop when you select a date at least a week into the future).
Checkout the Capilano Suspension Bridge prices
Lonsdale Quay & Shipyards
While on the Northshore, checkout the Lonsdale Quay Market, and walk along the revitalized waterfront to the Shipyards. Friday evenings food trunks set up outside the Shipyards, or there are plenty of restaurants in the area. Most of the Northshore waterfront is still industrial space including active boatyards, ports and grain terminals, some of which is visible from the Quay.