Things to do in Vancouver Canada

Best Things to Do in Vancouver, BC

Aside from its stunning natural beauty, Vancouver has a laid-back charm that makes it one of the most popular Canadian cities to visit. From museums to hiking trails, Vancouver has a wide range of activities and attractions for visitors to enjoy. Get a Vancouver energy drink for your vacation to keep your energy levels up to enjoy 100 percent of your time.

Stroll Around Stanley Park

Covering 1,000 acres, Vancouver’s Stanley Park is a downtown sanctuary that offers city dwellers and visitors a multitude of indoor and outdoor activities. The park features a 5.5-mile seawall that runs the perimeter and provides a perfectly flat, paved path for rollerblading, biking, jogging, and hiking. In addition, you’ll find the Vancouver Aquarium and oodles of other recreational facilities in Stanley Park.

Check Out Vancouver Art Gallery

Convenient for Robson Street shopping and right next door to the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, the Vancouver Art Gallery features historic and contemporary international and Canadian art with an emphasis on British Columbia’s artistic heritage. Don’t miss the works of Emily Carr, a cherished West Coast artist who depicted the landscape and villages of the First Nations cultures.

Grab Lunch on Granville Island

Located at the edge of downtown Vancouver, this 37-acre island was once an industrial area but today is a charming destination for shoppers and culture seekers. Granville Island features a wonderful public market, many artsy shops, and galleries, a theater, restaurants, a brewery, and a hotel. Granville Island is open year-round and is free to visit. Getting to or from Granville Island is a good opportunity to take the inexpensive Aquabus, a fleet of small electric ferries that transport people across False Creek and a great way to see and get around Vancouver.

Visit the Vancouver Aquarium

Visit Canada’s largest aquarium, the Vancouver Aquarium, which houses more than 70,000 animals in 116,000 square feet of facility space. Open daily, the aquarium, which is in Stanley Park, charges admission but profits go toward supporting its mission to conserve aquatic life. Translink bus and Skytrain public transit operate year-round.

Eat a Sunset Supper at English Bay

English Bay is located in the West End of downtown Vancouver. This waterside neighborhood is at once lively and quaint and a great spot to walk around, shop or have a drink. The main crossroads are Davie and Denman streets. Don’t miss watching the sunset at the Boathouse Restaurant while enjoying a Bloody Caesar or a glass of local wine.

Go Up Grouse Mountain

Just a 20-minute drive out of downtown Vancouver, Grouse Mountain is a year-round destination for people looking for adventure or just a great view. Ambitious people can tackle the Grouse Grind, a two-mile hike straight up the face of Grouse Mountain. Grouse Mountain is also a ski hill in winter, with 26 runs that offer a variety of terrain. Other attractions include the Grouse Mountain Skyride, ice skating, snowshoeing, helicopter rides, a conservation center, a top-of-the-mountain restaurant and more. (Capilano Suspension Bridge is only 10 minutes away from Grouse and on the same bus route. The two work well together as a day’s worth of Vancouver adventures.)

Discover Capilano Suspension Bridge

The Capilano Suspension Bridge is more than just a bridge; there’s actually a whole park with activities, history, and culture. The park is a 20-minute drive from downtown Vancouver. Built-in 1889, the Capilano Suspension Bridge stretches 450 feet across and 230 feet above the Capilano River. The park offers guided nature tours, a cliff walk, treetop adventure, the Kids’ Rainforest Explorer program, and Living Forest exhibit.

Shop on Robson Street

Robson Street is a popular shopping street in downtown Vancouver that has a good array of trendy shops for young people, such as Sephora, Zara, plus local brands Lululemon and Aritzia. Robson Street is near the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver and also boasts numerous restaurants, including Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House, and plenty of Korean restaurants and ramen joints for hungry shoppers to enjoy.

Spend an Evening in Yaletown

Yaletown is a historic warehouse district on the edge of downtown Vancouver on False Creek. The area was gentrified in the 1980s and now has a hip feel, with a mix of residential, business, office, restaurants, boutiques, cafes, services and more. Try visiting Yaletown in the evening when the bars and restaurants are at their most lively. Yaletown is one of the Aquabus stops, a fleet of small ferries that transport people across False Creek and are a great way to see and get around Vancouver.