Everything you need to know about living, working or studying in Vancouver

As you may have noticed by now, Vancouver is a great city! As well as an exciting mix of neighbourhoods to explore, there are some “classic” attractions that you won’t want to miss during your time in Vancouver.

Granville Island

Granville Island is the most visited place in Vancouver with around 10 million visitors per year. It is only 10 minutes by bus from the city centre. You can also take the Aquabus. These small boats cruise Vancouver Bay (False Creek) every day and the Aquabus is an affordable way of getting some great shots of the city centre.

The best-known place on Granville Island is the Public Market, where local producers and small traders sell their fresh products every day. Foodies beware, Granville Island is full of temptations!

Around the market, you will find lots of arts and crafts stores. The peninsula is also home to a village of floating houses where some lucky folks get the chance to live all year round.

A must-try for fans: Granville Island beer, famous in Vancouver!

Stanley Park

This park is simply magnificent. Located about a 30-minute walk from the city centre, near the West End, you’ll need at least half a day to visit. The park is 400 hectares and is made up of almost half a million trees. Like Central Park in New York, most of the park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.

Some of the must-see attractions within the park are:

• The Seawall: the most common route follows the Seawall around the park (around 9 km). The Seawall offers breathtaking views of North Vancouver on one side and UBC on the other, with the Pacific Ocean always in front of you. For those who don’t want to walk, you can rent a bike, skateboard or rollerblades.
• Lost Lagoon: located at the entrance to the park, this beautiful man-made water feature is a top spot for spotting birds, turtles and, sometimes, raccoons!
• The First Nations Totem Poles: elaborate and imposing, the totems were first installed in 1920 in an attempt to build a replica First Nations village. The village never saw the light of day but the totems remained and are some of the most visited totem poles in the entirety of Canada.

For a full list of attractions, check out the Tourism Vancouver website.

Other parks

There is obviously more to Vancouver than just Stanley Park. According to the City of Vancouver, there are 200+ parks of all sizes in the city.

The other two not to be missed are:

• Queen Elizabeth Park: located in the geographical centre of Vancouver, Queen Elizabeth Park is home to the Bloedel Conservatory, a unique quarry garden and an exotic arboretum. As the highest point in Vancouver, it is another great way of catching some impressive views of the city and surrounding mountains.
• Vanier Park: located in Kitsilano, this accessible park is also where you’ll need to head to visit the Museum of Vancouver, the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, the Vancouver Maritime Museum and the City of Vancouver Archives.

If you want to go further afield, Burnaby also offers several parks accessible by bus or SkyTrain, such as Deer Lake Park or Central Park.

You can find Vancouver’s parks map on the city’s website. Remember to check the park map before bringing your dog, as not all public parks are pet-friendly!

The Vancouver Aquarium

Located in Stanley Park, this large aquarium has more than 70,000 animals including sea otters, sharks and seahorses. It is internationally recognised for its marine life preservation program.

The beaches

Stanley Park has First Beach (English Bay), Second Beach and Third Beach, the latter being further away (at Ferguson Point), so it gets less crowded.

Some of Vancouver’s other most popular beaches include Kitsilano Beach (Kits Beach to the locals), Jericho Beach and Spanish Banks.

If nudist beaches are your thing, head to Canada’s first and largest naturist beach, Wreck Beach, near UBC.

The Capilano Suspension Bridge

The famous suspension bridge is part of Capilano Park and it costs around CA$67 for adult admission. The park includes attractions such as the suspension bridge (137 m long and 70 m high), birds of prey at Raptors Ridge, a Cliffwalk above Capilano Canyon, etc.

Top tip: if you can present a British Columbia ID (for example, if you have exchanged your home driving licence for a BC licence) when purchasing your entry ticket, you will be entitled to upgrade to the annual pass. Your BC Residents annual pass allows unlimited access to Capilano for one year from the date of purchase.

Grouse Mountain

Grouse Mountain is one of the highest points in North Vancouver. As well as being a popular ski resort, you can go up there for spectacular views of the city.

You can get to the summit by hiking or by cable car. On foot, you will need to allow at least an hour and a half of climbing (without breaks!). In the cable car, expect to pay around CA$80 for a round trip.

The Vancouver Lookout

Like many big cities, Vancouver has a lookout tower. Located in Harbour Centre in the central business district of Downtown, take a glass lift up to the top for 360° panoramic views of the city centre.

Dr Sun Yat Sen’s Zen garden

Located in Chinatown, this Chinese garden was designed to resemble a 15th century (Ming Dynasty) Chinese garden. Developed in the 1980s, it is the first garden of its kind to have been built outside of China.

Gastown

You can’t come to Vancouver without visiting the famous Gastown steam clock. Be sure to stop by on the 15-minute interval to see it whistle.

For more information, visit the Tourism Vancouver website.