THE TOURISTIN: Travel Canada. Places to see on a trip to Vancouver

This travel guide is full of information and travel inspiration for first-time visitors to Vancouver in British Columbia in Canada. You are going to see and hear about Gassy Jack and his entrepreneurial spirit, devastating fires, floatplanes, a rainforest, harbour seals, girls in wetsuits, lighthouses, totem poles, skyscrapers, art deco design, boats, ships, ferries, contemporary public art, churches, Indigenous art, museums, immigrants, a bookbinding business, roofs that come in shapes of woven basket hats, industrial places turned inner city oasis, a famous train station, and angels and soldiers.

Travel Canada. Places to see on a trip to Vancouver

How is Vancouver laid out?

The City of Vancouver is one of 21 municipalities in metro Vancouver. The area can be split into eight boroughs. Chinatown, Gastown, Downtown, English Bay, Granville Island, Kitsilano, North Vancouver and West End. It is a walkable town, there is no need to rent a vehicle, nor do you need to use public transport. Simply for sheer pleasure, you can hop on board a water taxi and rent a bicycle.

Happy discovering Vancouver.

1. Steam Clock in Gastown

The Gastown neighbourhood is a place steeped in history. It is the birthplace of the city and named after John "Gassy Jack" Deighton. The English settler opened the first pub here in 1867, and the place kept on growing. Over the years, a sawmill and a seaport were established. Nine years later, in the spring of 1886, Gastown became the City of Vancouver. Tragically, the city was destroyed in a fire that summer, with only one or two houses remaining undamaged. Locals were determined to rebuild, and a few decades later in the 1920s, it was done and of course even better. The popular Water Street, lined with brick buildings, runs right through Gastown. People meet in the district to eat and shop, and there are plenty of restaurants, bars, cafés, and large and small boutiques to visit. A highlight is the picture-perfect Steam Clock. The world’s first steam-powered clock whistles every quarter of an hour.

At seventeen minutes past one, steam comes out from the three chimneys of a green-black clock with a gold-white dial with Roman numerals surrounded by trees with lush green- and red leaves.

A grey-red-paved junction at the end of a street lined with trees with lush green- and red leaves in front of white, beige- and red brick five-storeyed period houses and a tower with a disc-shaped viewing platform at its end, and a green-black clock with a gold-white dial with Roman numerals at ten minutes past one expelling steam, at its corner.

Information: Gastown Steam Clock. 305 Water St (corner Cambie Street), Vancouver, BC V6B 1B9, Canada. Tickets: Free. Hours: 24/7.

2. Vancouver Lookout

After you take the lift 168 meters up, enjoy a 360 view over Gastown, Northshore, Stanley Park, and learn about the landmarks Vancouver has. Watch trains towing endless number of containers, starts and landings of floatplanes, ant sized pedestrians on their wanderings through town. On a sunny day, you have a view over gigantic snow-capped mountain ranges. The ride in the scenic glass lift is a true highlight.

A circle showing merely the upper levels of ten modern skyscrapers under a bright blue sky sporting a few fluffy white clouds.

Information: Vancouver Lookout, 555 W Hastings St, Vancouver, BC V6B 4N6, Canada. Hours: Monday to Sunday 10am to 6pm, please note that the last lift goes up at 5.30pm. The Vancouver Lookout observation deck is wheelchair accessible when you enter from Hastings Street to take the lift down to the Upper Mall Level. Tickets: Adults CA$18.25, students CA$ 13.25, infants free. Please purchase your ticket online in advance. Visit the website Vancouver Lookout for more information.

3. Marine Building in Vancouver

When the Marine Building on Burrard Street was opened in the autumn of 1930, it was the tallest building in town. The Art Deco property is decorated with marine themed ornaments inside and out.

Enter the building while seahorses, ships, and boats move past. Look out for crabs, lobsters, and starfish crawling through seaweed. The surrounding area grew bigger, neighbouring properties rose taller but apart from replacing the linoleum floor with marble, the Marine Building stands as it has ever since 1930.

A tall red brick art deco-style skyscraper with a white top in a sea of modern glass skyscrapers.

A red-white-and-blue delivery vehicle parked on a street lined with modern glass skyscrapers and a tall red brick art deco-style skyscraper with a white top and green trees under a bright blue sky with a few fluffy white clouds.

Four lift entrances surrounded by light blue tiling on the right side of a shiny paved entrance hall of an office building, ornamented with tiles and pink-green- and yellow windows in Art Deco style.

The heavily ornamented white-beige ceiling of a shiny paved entrance hall of an office building, and pink-green- and yellow windows in Art Deco style.

Information: Marine Building, 355 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC V6C 2G8, Canada. Tickets: Free.

4. Canada Place in Vancouver

Canada Place is a hugely popular tourist attraction, and rightly so. Built as an exhibition and convention centre in Coal Harbour, downtown Vancouver on the banks of Burrard Inlet as part of Expo 1986. The five white large roofs of the building designed in the shape of large sails are made of fabric. It is home to the world's first IMAX cinema, a hotel, and different cafés. The Heritage Horns which can be heard throughout the city play the first four notes of Canada's national anthem every day at noon. From here you have a wonderful view of Stanley Park and over the Northshore mountains. Floatplanes start and land. Ferries cross the bay. It is a fabulous place to visit during the day as well as in the evening. Come night, the white sails are bathed in vibrant colours.

Red large-sized cranes next to light blue illuminated sails on top of a harbour building, and a large sized glass hall on a wharf under the fading light of blue sky during blue hour.

A city skyline of glass skyscrapers and a tower with a disc-shaped viewing platform in front of white sails atop a harbour on a wharf under a bright blue sky with only a few fluffy white clouds.

A pier with a white long wharfside building with five white sails atop reflected in deep blue water in front of a mountain landscape.

Information: Canada Place, 999 Canada Pl, Vancouver, BC V6C 3T4, Canada.Tickets: Free.

5. The Drop in Vancouver

Vancouver has over 150 days of rain per year. It is only consequent to erect a sculpture that honours such a predominant element. The massive bright blue steel drop (it resembles a giant raindrop) stands at an impressive height of 18 metres tall. The group of German artists, inges idee, created the drop as a homage to rain, the power of the ocean, and Vancouver's connectedness to water. The sculpture of this monumental raindrop celebrates the beauty of Vancouver also known as Raincouver.

People appear tiny walking next to a giant-sized several metres high massive bright blue steel drop resembling a raindrop on a pier in front of a wharfside building in deep blue water with a mountain landscape in the distance.

People appear tiny, standing next to a giant-sized several metres high massive bright blue steel drop resembling a raindrop on a pier in deep blue water with a mountain landscape in the distance.

Information: The Drop, Vancouver Convention Centre West Building, 1055 Canada Pl, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Tickets: Free.

6. Vancouver Public Library

Vancouver has an international population. The library offers books for all ages in 16 different languages. This place is also a great place to learn about the history and culture of indigenous peoples. Additionally, the public roof garden is an inviting community gathering space and offers a magnificent view.

A large tiled light- and dark-grey checkered rooftop garden planted with Japanese-style trees and plants, furnished with minimalist heavy wooden benches and a few filigree-looking garden chairs and tables surrounded by the upper levels of glass and red-brick skyscrapers, under a light blue sky with only a few fluffy white clouds.

A large four-story red brick-style circular building connected to a tall curved red brick tower-style skyscraper.

Information: Central Library Vancouver. 350 West Georgia Street, Vancouver BC V6B 6B1, Canada. Hours: Sunday 11 am to 6pm. Monday to Thursday 9.30am to 8.30pm. Friday 9.30am to 6pm. Saturday 10am to 6pm. Visit the website Vancouver Library for more information.

7. Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver

In the spring of 1888, it was first thought about building a cathedral. In December 1888, the first sermon was preached. Over the years the idea grew, and a building committee was formed. The cathedral was then built in Gothic style and constructed with Douglas fir. An organ was put in at the beginning of the twentieth century, and electric lights replaced candlelight. In the about one hundred years since organs have changed, and church bells, at one point it was even planned to demolish the church to put a skyscraper in its place. Today, the cathedral is the last one standing of the original properties downtown. It is a class A Heritage building and has been renovated and modernized in recent years to condition it for a glorious future.

Take a self-guided stained glass window tour at Christ Church Cathedral and look at windows installed as far back as 1909, and as recent as 2013.

Blue, yellow, white, red, and green stained glass windows inside a large wooden church with a high eloquent dark wooden ceiling over the hall with rows of empty wooden chairs.

Information: Christ Church Cathedral, 690 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC V6C 2L1, Canada. Hours: Sundays, and Monday to Friday 10am to 4pm. Closed Saturday. Visit the website Christchurch Cathedral for more information.

8. Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art

The Bill Reid Gallery opened its doors in 2008. As the only public gallery in Canada dedicated to the Northwest Coast, it celebrates the diversity of contemporary Indigenous art.

The gallery is named after Canadian artist Bill Reid (1920-1998) of Haida heritage, and proponent of Indigenous rights. His and other contemporary Indigenous artist's works of wood embellishments, jewellery, and paintings let you travel through the rich culture and traditions of Northwest Coast Indigenous people. The art pieces offer fascinating insight, and when you leave, you are going to find yourself grasping a bit of the spiritual symbolism and local traditions and Canada’s cruel history with Indigenous people. Bring a few hours to immerse yourself in Haida art.

The Bill Reid Gallery is located on the ancestral, unceded, and shared territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

The sculpture of a dolphin jumping out of the ocean is positioned on a wooden pillar in front of a glass wall.

Information: Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art, 639 Hornby St, Vancouver, BC V6C 2G3, Canada. Hours: 10am to 5pm. Tickets Adults CAD 13. 13 to 17 years old: CAD 6. Seniors over 65 years of age: CAD 10. Individuals self-identifying as Indigenous, (First Nations, Métis, and Inuits), Gallery Members, and Children 12 and under: free. Community Access Day on the first Friday of the month from 2 pm to 5 pm: free. The gallery is accessible. Visit the website Bill Reid Gallery for more information.

9. Roedde House Museum in Vancouver

Roedde House Museums allows you to travel back in time and visit the restored 1893 home of Vancouver’s first bookbinder.

Soon after Germans Gustav and Matilde Roedde arrived in Vancouver in 1888, Gustav opened a bookbinding business. He was fantastic and successful at marbling paper, and in 1893 they had their home built in the West End of Vancouver. The couple lived together with seven children, and a few St Bernard dogs.

Enter the house with its porch, bay windows, and cupola and browse through the sewing room, the girls Emma, Anna Catherine, Tilly, and Anna Henrietta's room, the boys Walter, Gus Jr., and William's room, the master bedroom, the kitchen, and the reception room and relive the love, laughter, and tragedies the Roedde family experienced during their time in their home from 1893 to 1925. The Class A Heritage House, built in Queen Anne Revival style, is part of a quarter of period houses around the Barkley Heritage Square, and it is well worth a visit. You would not expect to find this in Vancouver, with all its many glossy spectacular highrises.

The Roedde House Museum is located on the ancestral, unceded, and shared territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

A white and a dark blue jumpsuit hang on a wooden door, two dolls in a small wooden cradle, a wooden sideboard, a wooden hanging shelf, and a wall decorated with framed photos, and books atop a dark brown trunk, a wrought iron bed whose mattress is covered in white and light green dresses, and a black and white photo in an album atop a dark wooden side table in a room with a soft-pink rug sporting green vases and red flowers that offers a view of trees through its wooden framed sash-window.

Bright red and pink tulips are planted together with green bushes in a flower bed in front of a two-storey green Queen Anne Revival-style weatherboard property, surrounded by huge trees.

Information: Roedde House Museum, 1415 Barclay St, Vancouver, BC V6G 1J6, Canada. Hours: June to August - Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday from 11am to 4pm. September to May - Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday from 1pm to 4pm. Tickets: Adults: CAD 10. Youth 6 to 18 years: CAD 5. Under 5 years: free. Wheelchair users/ground floor only: CAD 5. Visit the website Roedde House Museum for more information.

10. Stanley Park in Vancouver

Stanley Park opened in 1888 and is Vancouver’s largest and most popular park. It offers trees, lakes, wildlife (there are as many as 230 bird species), harbour seals, squirrels, great blue herons, racoons, lighthouses, beaches, artifacts, coffee places, and stellar views over the bay and mountains.

Grab a bike and drive along the nine kilometres long Seawall loop. Construction of the Seawall began in 1917, and about six decades later, in 1980, it was declared completed. The drive is going to take you about two to three hours, depending on how many stops you make to take photos of harbour seals, squirrels, trees, sights, and scenery. You can't get lost; it is an easy-to-follow full loop.

Along the way, I recommend you stop at a few of the following places.

Brockton Point Lighthouse: To safely guide vessels in and out of the coal harbour, a lighthouse was first built here in 1890. Back then it was a lot of work. Lighthouse keepers had to make sure to keep the lights on, run the fog bell, and watch the time. The white and red painted version that ceased operation in 1956 was erected in 1914. A good stop for a view over the Burrard Inlet, and to watch inquisitive harbour seals, sea planes and vessels come and go.

Totem Poles at Brockton Point: There are nine totem pole replicas of the original ones that have been brought to Stanley Park from Alert Bay, Haida Gwaii, and Rivers Inlet by settlers since 1920. These days, the original totems by artists from Squamish, Kwakwaka’wakw, Haida, Nisga’a, and Nuu-chah-nulth carvers are in museums to protect and preserve them. When you buy a miniature replica of a totem pole to take home as a souvenir, make sure they are made by indigenous artists.

Girl in a Wetsuit, Brockton Point: Vancouver’s very own little Mermaid is a sculpture of a girl in a wetsuit and flippers by Hungarian artist Elek Imredy. As soon as she was bolted to a rock in Vancouver's harbour in 1972, she became a popular and well-loved icon.

Siwash Rock: Squamish First Nation legend tells us that the rocky sea stack stands as a monument to unselfish fatherhood. Skalsh the unselfish was turned into a rock.

Lost Lagoon: The Lost Lagoon is a tidal mud flat that turned into a lake when the Stanley Park Causeway was built. It is an ideal place to relax, have a picnic, or read a book on one of the many benches along its shore.

Stanley Park is on the unceded and traditional territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) Nation, and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nation.

Colorful Totem Poles, rocky sea stacks, a sculpture of a girl on a rock, a red and white lighthouse in a park.

Information: Stanley Park. Seawall loop, 9 kilometres. Hours: 6am to 10pm. Tickets: Free.

11. Granville Island in Vancouver

Jump aboard a water taxi, cross False Creek, towards the Vancouver borough of Fairview, and visit the market on Granville Island. There is nothing better than when once-industrial places get a second lease on life. And this is what happened in Granville. A few decades ago, this area was left behind and neglected, there was no use for it any longer. It was old factories, empty warehouses, and boatbuilding and docks.

So lucky that locals didn't give up on this area but came up with a plan to revitalize it. And it turned out perfectly. At the large food market, you can eat your way through all sorts of delicacies at about 50 different stalls and buy fresh produce to take home. There is enough space to sit inside and outdoors. There will be buskers to entertain the crowds. Once you are done feasting you can browse bookshops, boutiques, and little artist's galleries. Granville Island is the place everybody dreams about having in their hometown, full of energy and fun. It is a welcoming space, you are ging to see lots of happy faces, it is a market that brings people together.

Granville Island is on territories that are the ancestral lands of three nations, the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh).

A white yacht moored at a floating pier in an inlet lined by modern white skyscrapers, with a large cantilever/truss bridge in the distance.

A tiny blue-and-white passenger ferry on a creek under a cantilever/truss bridge.

Crowds of people sit, eat, and chat at tables in the middle of a large food market hall lined with food shops on both sides.

A grown and a juvenile seagull sit on a wooden pier in front of a sailing yacht moored at a floating dock on an inlet lined by modern skyscrapers.

Information: Granville Island. Public Market, 1689 Johnston St, Vancouver, BC V6H 3R9, Canada. Monday to Sunday 9am to 8pm. Tickets: free. For more detailed information jump onto the Granville Island website.

12. Museum of Vancouver

The history museum began to tell the story of Vancouver in 1894. It moved location a few times ever since and found its purpose-built home in Vanier Park in the Vancouver borough of Kitsilano in the 1960s. You are going to notice that the white dome atop the museum is in the shape of a woven basket hat. It is made by Northwest Coast First Nations peoples and is a beloved landmark on the city skyline.

Vancouverites didn't tire of donating all sorts of photos, letters and reports, clothes, and personal artifacts to the museum, and this is how stories about Indigenous peoples, immigrants, racist Canadian laws, culture, traditions, and the environment and nature can be told to the public. The museum makes sure to keep history alive, telling glorious but also dark stories to provide context to unite people.

The Museum of Vancouver and the city of Vancouver is located within the shared, unceded, ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

A white Cadillac under neon red signs that say TV, silver grill cafe, and parking and repairs in a grey carpeted hall of a museum.

A path in exposed aggregate concrete leads to a one-storey white round building with a roof in the form of a hat, surrounded by artwork and lush green trees.

Information: Museum of Vancouver, 1100 Chestnut St, Vancouver, BC V6J 3J9, Canada. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 10am to 5pm. Thursday to Sunday 10am to 8pm. Tickets: Adults: CAD 22, seniors (65+): CAD 17, students (with ID): CAD 17, children 5 to 17: CAD 15, children (5 and under): free. Individuals self-identifying as Indigenous: free. The first Sunday of each month is 'Pay What You Can Sundays' and you decide what you can pay for admission. The Museum of Vancouver (MOV) is wheelchair and scooter accessible, including washrooms, ramps and elevators, and wide entrances and exits.

13. Heritage Harbour Vancouver

The heritage harbour on a floating dock in Hadden Park in the Vancouver borough of Kitsilano is a living museum that celebrates Vancouver's maritime history. Members at the heritage harbour boat club, with the lovely name the Oarlock & Sail Wooden Boat Club, build wooden boats, talk about boats, and repair and refurbish older ones.

Wooden boats and a wooden shed moored on a floating dock in an inlet lined by skyscrapers.

Information: Heritage Harbour, Heritage Dock, 1905 Ogden Ave, Vancouver, BC, Canada. For more information, please visit the website Heritage Harbour Vancouver.

14. Waterfront Station

The neoclassical-style building with its red brick façade and white columns is an eye-catcher. As the name suggests, the historic 1914 station built by the Canadian Pacific Railway, sits directly on the waterfront. There even is a floatplane- terminal, and flight centre nearby.

Millions of commuters pass through the station as it stands as a silent witness to the gloriousness of train travel. Today, all over the world, the gloriousness of travel and public spaces is somewhat lost. For years Vancouver has been looking for concepts on how to expand the station by integrating the beautiful historic property.

The entrance of a train station in a large red brick hall lined with seventeen huge white stone pillars under a bright blue sky.

Information: Waterfront Station, 601 W Cordova St, Vancouver, BC V6B 1G1, Canada.

15. Winged Victory – Angel of Victory

The bronze sculpture Angel of Victory by Montreal artist Coeur de Lion MacCarthy in front of Waterfront Station in downtown Vancouver is one of three identical sculptures. During World War I, more than 1,100 Canadian Pacific Railway employees lost their lives. CPR placed the statue, an angel carrying a dead soldier to heaven, to honour the dead. The deceased never returned home to Canada but are buried in Europe.

The sculpture of an angel holding a dead soldier about to carry him to heaven in front of a red brick building with a huge glass entrance door.

Information: Winged Victory, Waterfront Station, Vancouver BC, Canada.

Visa requirements for Canada

Visit this website of the Governmentof Canada to find out whether you need only your valid passport, or an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) or a visa to travel to Canada.

How to get to Vancouver

By plane: Many destinations offer direct flights to Vancouver airport. Vancouver Airport, YVR, is about 14 kilometres from downtown Vancouver. The taxi ride from YVR to downtown Vancouver takes about 25 minutes. Taxis are available in front of the national and international arrivals hall. There is also public transport to downtown. The trip takes about 45 minutes. Make your way to YVR-airport station and take the Canada line to Vancouver City Centre Station.

How long should I visit Vancouver?

There are enough highlights in Vancouver that are easy to reach and that you can visit quickly. Having said that, one week is a good time to visit Vancouver to visit museums and markets, take a ferry ride, and find bookshops, cute cafés and restaurants. As always in life, it depends on what you like to do and what you are interested in.

Best time to visit Vancouver – The weather

You can visit Vancouver all year round. Just bring the right clothes and don’t forget a rain cover since it rains at about 160 days per year. It can stay dry in summer for weeks on end.

Winters are not too cold with about four degrees Celsius on average – the wind might make it feel colder than it is, and there will be rainfall. There is less rain in spring, and temperatures are a bit warmer up to ten degrees Celsius.

Summer, as in July and August, has temperatures around 21 to 22 degrees Celsius. There will be only some days in summer when it is warmer. Come autumn, it gets fresh with temperatures around 10 degrees Celsius and rain.

What to wear when out and about in Vancouver?

It can be windy, sunny, it can rain. And all that in one day. You are by the Pacific Ocean. Pack accordingly and be on the safe side. Just bring a rain cover and a jumper and you are going to be fine. Dress in layers. In summer, wear sunscreen and a hat. Remember you are in a large town; no outdoor wear is needed downtown.

Canada – Currency and how to pay

The official currency in Canada is the Canadian Dollar (CAD). In general, contactless payment is accepted everywhere. Credit cards are accepted everywhere. To be on the safe side, carry some cash. You find ATMs in most places.

What to read? Here you find books that transport you to Vancouver

First Nations People lived in Canada thousands of years before Europeans arrived. Did you know that Canada took children from their families and sent them to remote, government sponsored, church-run residential schools?

Read “Five Little Indians” by Michelle Good to learn about how Canadians tried to eliminate Indigenous culture and the effect it has on survivors.

The last Indian residential school closed as recently as 1996. In 2008, the Government of Canada officially apologized to Indigenous Peoples acknowledging Canada’s role in the residential schools system. The book tells the story of five children and their lives in Vancouver after their stay at a residential school.

A mural by artist Lauren Brevner of two women clothed in a Salish blanket.

Vancouver is on the territories of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. The mural by artist Lauren Brevner is of two women clothed in a Salish blanket.

Go on a Verbatim Journey with these book titles from a list curated by Massy Books.

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