Top 10 Things to Do in Vancouver

There are many reasons to plan a vacation in Vancouver, whether it’s a weekend or a week stay. Trippy user Keith and his wife were taking a romantic trip to the city for five days. This is what he wrote and asked:

My wife and I are visiting Vancouver for what will be a romantic trip of sorts since it's just us and we're leaving the kids at home. We're visiting for five days and have a bit of an idea of a few things we want to do, but we're hoping to get more suggestions from anyone else who's ever been. Here's what we have so far:
The art gallery
The museum
Chinatown
Maplewood Farm
Botanical Garden
Anything else? We also haven't looked up where anything is in relation to each other, so if there's something close to any of these that we should see, we'd love to hear it!

A multitude of irresistible activities await Keith and his wife, and you too in Vancouver. Here are top 10 things to do as suggested by Trippy users:

1. Visit the parks

Explore on your own or join a tour in Stanley Park, Vancouver’s largest and most famous urban park. This almost 1000-acre West Coast rainforest has scenic views of mountains, trees, and water. Guided tours on a horse-drawn carriage, shuttle trolley, and tour buses are available in the park.

Stanley Park has miles of trails, beautiful beaches, historical landmarks, restaurants, and Canada’s largest aquarium. Don’t miss the park’s famous Seawall, the 17-mile pathway from the Vancouver Convention Centre to Spanish Banks Park.

Trippy user Teresa from San Antonio said:

Vancouver is one of my favorite cities after visiting only once (via ferry from Victoria). I explored the city for two days by myself in the fall. Their 2 top parks to visit are Stanley Park and Queen Elizabeth Park. Both are free and gorgeous, and you could easily spend a morning or afternoon at each just wandering the grounds and enjoying the natural beauty. Queen Elizabeth is easily accessed by foot from the King Edward Metro stop. Stanley Park is downtown. I did buy the hop on hop off bus pass www.bigbus.ca so that I could get to lots of places in my two days there.

Queen Elizabeth Park is located at Vancouver’s highest point, offering beautiful views of the city, mountains, and park. The park is home to Bloedel Conservatory, Dancing Waters fountain, quarry garden, an arboretum with a collection of native and exotic plants and Seasons in the Park (a fine dining restaurant).

Donna from Winnipeg suggested:

Stanley Park is a huge urban park designated a national historic site of Canada. It has gardens, forests, monuments and sculptures, including nine totem poles at Brockton Point. The Seawall makes for a great walk with great views of the skyline.

2. Discover Granville Island

Marilyn, a Vancouver resident, suggested:

I would add Granville Island. Its a large indoor market with beautiful fruit and veggie stands, great food, cheese, pastries, etc. also can stroll through some buildings/stores for local artwork and crafts.

Granville Island, a former industrial site has been transformed into a cultural district featuring a Public Market that opens daily from 9 am to 7 pm. Go there for the gourmet food, fresh produce, baked goods and more. To discover more of Granville Island’s history, we recommend going on a walking tour of the market. Other attractions include the theaters and art gallery. You can get to Granville Island using the mini-tugboat ferries.

3. Explore Gastown

To learn where it all began in Vancouver, go to Gastown, Vancouver’s oldest neighborhood. It all started with John ‘Gassy Jack’ Deighton when it opened a tavern in the area in 1867. Some of the attractions include the Victorian-style houses, galleries, and restaurants. This original downtown of Vancouver is lined with cobblestone streets and interesting period streetlights.

Look for the steam clock in the town center that blows the steam whistle every quarter hour.

Donna from Winnipeg added:

Gastown is Vancouver's oldest neighborhood and is now a popular tourist area with Victorian buildings along cobblestone streets containing shops, galleries, and restaurants.

4. Take the gondola to Grouse Mountain

Grouse Mountain is another suggestion given by Vancouver resident Marilyn. She wrote:

Grouse Mountain. There is a gondola up to the top, a beautiful view of the city and forest below. There's a pub up there to have a beer and watch the paragliders leave the top of the mountain. There are other things to see as well. Depending on the time of year, there is downhill skiing, outdoor skating up there. In summer, you can visit the two brown bears that were rescued and live in a natural habitat. There are also a few tourist things to do as well. It costs about $30 to ride up on the gondola. The only thing I'm not sure about is how to catch a bus up there, but that will be easy to find out.

5. Enjoy Capilano Suspension Bridge

No trip to Vancouver is complete without walking the Capilano Suspension Bridge. This 450 feet long and 230 feet hight wobbly bridge has been a famous Vancouver landmark since 1889. The bridge crosses the rainforest and Capilano River.

Guests can enjoy walking on the bridge and guided nature walks, Cliffwalk and TreeTops Adventure. For convenience, Capilano guests can take the free shuttle from many downtown Vancouver locations to Capilano Suspension Bridge.

6. Check out the Vancouver Public Library

The Vancouver Public Library, Central Library branch is an oval-shaped building that looks almost like Rome’s Colosseum. There’s a rooftop garden on the ninth floor that is open to the public.

Teresa wrote:

The Vancouver Public Library is another beautiful FREE attraction that I enjoyed. A great website for research is http://www.vancouver.ca You can read about attractions and also the great public transportation system they have. Let me know if you have any other questions. You and your wife will have a wonderful time no matter where you go!

7. Go to Vancouver Island

Get to Vancouver Island to visit a nature lover’s paradise. Located just 60 miles and a 90-minute ferry ride from Vancouver. Guests can feed the seals on the docks in Victoria, watch Roosevelt elk from Nanaimo’s Green Mountain, discover the wilderness of Cathedral Grove, learn about black and grizzly bear in Port Hardy and more.

I

t’s also the place for whale watching, fishing, and birding. Or go surfing in Tofino.

Kira wrote:

Also, go to Vancouver Island: there consider Tofino and Ucluelet. Then head east to Commercial Drive and the Main St/East King Edward Avenue area.

8. Join a food tour

There’s no lack of places to eat in Vancouver. For a culinary adventure, join a food tour and learn about the array of foods, history and the local perspective on food, beer and wine of the city.

Taste Vancouver Food Tours offer Gastown food tour, Little Italy food tour, North Van Shipyards District food tour and Brewery Creek tour. We recommend the Gastown food tour where you’ll go nine stops to eat or drink, and learn about the food and history of Gastown.

9. Relax and dine at Coal Harbour

Go for a meal and relax at Coal Harbour, a high-end neighborhood by the water in Vancouver. Some of the restaurants to consider:

Botanist

Tableau Bar Bistro

ARC Restaurant

Five Sails Restaurant

Miku Restaurant

Coal Harbour is also the best neighborhood to get coffee while in Vancouver. Also, check out the urban art piece by Liz Magor, known as Lightshed. The Lightshed installation glows at night

10. Spend time at the museums

A Trippy user wrote:

For art, there is the Vancouver Art Gallery for major art shows and Museum of Anthropology, which is chock full of art. The Rennie Museum is undergoing renovation ATM, but may be open when you are here - you don't say when that is - reservations required. There is a small gallery at The University of British Columbia as well, and a few along Granville St south of the Granville Bridge. If you make it up to Whistler, there is the Audain Art Museum.

If you have the time for just one museum, choose the University of British Columbia’s Museum of Anthropology (MOA). Since 1949, the museum has been showcasing traditional and contemporary Indigenous art. The museum houses over 50,000 works from Northwest Coast First Nations and from around the world. Don’t miss the large-scale totems and sculptures, and works by First Nations artist Bill Reid. MOA is also Canada’s largest teaching museum.

The museum is closed on Mondays. A free guided tour is available at 11 am.

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