Itineraries, museums, parks and day trips worth the walk

Start at the Coal Harbour end of the Seawall and follow it counterclockwise around 400 hectares of West Coast rainforest, Vancouver's first, largest and most beloved urban park. The trail threads past beaches, waterfront views and the park's cultural, historical and natural landm…

Arrive by the little ferries across False Creek and go straight into the Public Market, open 09:00 to 18:00 Monday to Wednesday and 09:00 to 19:00 Thursday to Sunday in summer. Eat your way through the produce and prepared food stalls, then cross to the Net Loft craft and design …

Begin at the Millennium Gate in Chinatown, a National Historic Site of Canada since 2011 and the third largest Chinatown in North America, and walk the Pender strip between Columbia and Main where young operators have been reviving the neighbourhood. Add the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Class…

A museum of world arts and cultures with a special emphasis on First Nations peoples and other cultural communities of British Columbia, at 6393 NW Marine Drive in the northwest corner of the UBC campus. Recent exhibitions have included I Use My Haida Eyes and…

The city's central visual arts institution, open 10:00 to 17:00 daily and until 20:00 on Fridays, with seven day summer hours from May 19 to September 8, 2026. General admission is $35 for non BC residents and $29 for BC residents, free for youth 18 and under,…

The only public gallery dedicated to contemporary Indigenous art of the Northwest Coast and to the work of acclaimed Haida artist Bill Reid, master goldsmith, carver, sculptor, writer and broadcaster. Open daily 10:00 to 17:00, with an esteemed collection of R…

The city's own history museum, on the ancestral village site of Sen'akw. Admission is $24 adults, $19 seniors, students and youth 13 to 18, free for children 12 and under with an adult and free for anyone self identifying as Indigenous; the first Sunday of eac…

The geodesic dome left over from Expo 86, now a hands on science centre and one of the most recognisable buildings on the Vancouver skyline. Typical opening is 10:00 to 17:00; the site lists hours day by day rather than publishing a fixed schedule, so check th…

400 hectares of natural West Coast rainforest wrapped in the Seawall, Vancouver's first, largest and most beloved urban park. Scenic trails, beaches, waterfront views, wildlife, cultural and historical landmarks, dining from casual to sit down, and Canada's la…

At 125 m above sea level this is the highest point in Vancouver, and the 52 hectare park uses it: spectacular views over the city to the North Shore mountains, a gorgeously landscaped quarry garden, and the Bloedel Conservatory dome. Seasons in the Park restau…

Billed as the Peak of Vancouver, a 15 to 20 minute drive from downtown across the Lions Gate Bridge. Mountaintop activities include five line zipline tours through the treetops of Grouse and Dam Mountains, bike flow and fundamentals day lessons for ages seven …

A large botanical garden a short hop from Queen Elizabeth Park, running public art, lectures, courses and family programming year round, and transformed each winter by the Festival of Lights across 15 acres. Regular hours are not posted on the garden's homepag…

The best free view in the city: sand, paddleboarding and beach volleyball with downtown and the West End skyline framed across English Bay. Kits Pool, the longest saltwater pool in North America, sits right on the beachfront for anyone who would rather not swi…

About two hours from downtown Vancouver up Highway 99, the Sea to Sky Highway, one of the great scenic mountain drives in Canada. If you would rather not drive there are coach and shuttle buses, private vehicle charters, helicopter charters and seasonal floatp…

British Columbia's most popular attraction, in North Vancouver and easily done as a half day. Cross the suspension bridge over the canyon, walk the rainforest canopy on Treetops Adventure, then take Cliffwalk, a narrow walkway pinned high on the canyon wall. B…

BC Ferries runs the Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay crossing with a 1 hour 35 minute sailing time and 16 daily departures listed, hourly from 06:00 to 21:00. Swartz Bay is about 30 minutes north of downtown Victoria, so a 06:00 or 07:00 sailing out and an evening ret…