For the last stop on our Pacific Northwest road trip, we drove to Vancouver from Whistler for a couple of days, retracing our journey down the Sea-to-Sky Highway and continuing past the ferry port of Horseshoe Bay, south to metro Vancouver, British Columbia. We were sad to leave the mountains behind, and to make matters worse, rain was forecast for the first time on our road trip, so what are the things to see in Vancouver, BC, on a short visit?
Table of Contents
Where is Vancouver, BC?
The city of Vancouver sits in the southwestern corner of Canadian province, British Columbia (BC). It has Vancouver Island to the West, and Washington State to the south. Vancouver is around 235 kms north of Seattle, USA, so ignoring the border crossing time, it would take you around 2.5 hours to drive to Seattle.
That said, you should allow a decent amount of time to cross the border from Canada to the USA (or vice versa).
Things to see in Vancouver, BC
See Stanley Park by bike
Number one on our list of things to see in Vancouver was Stanley Park – an enormous urban park in the north of Vancouver offering forest, beaches, art sculptures and historical landmarks. In fact, it is 10% larger than Central Park, New York. Stanley Park was once home to many indigenous peoples and therefore has cultural significance for the local First Nations people.
We had booked a cycle tour of Stanley Park, however because of the heavy rain, only two out of four family members braved the rain for the bike tour. Armed with ponchos to keep the worst of the rain off, my eldest daughter and I headed out on the bike tour of Stanley Park to discover:
- Canada Place – a hub for cruise ships which can hold up to 4 cruise ships at a time. There was only one in port when we cycled past. When in port the cruise ships apparently hook up to electric points to stop burning fuel and polluting the air and harbour.
- Stanley Park Sea Wall – a 10 km sea wall running around Stanley Park which you can ride as a full loop. We cycled along one stretch of the wall before heading inland, spotting a great blue heron along the way (once endangered but growing in numbers).
- The ‘Girl in a Wetsuit’ statue – there are many sculptures in Stanley Park and along the sea wall, but I particularly liked the ‘Girl in a Wetsuit’ sculpture. When Vancouver asked Denmark for the rights to put a ‘Little Mermaid’ statue (inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale) along the sea wall of Stanley Park, the Danish authorities refused, so the Canadians cheekily designed their own version, complete with flippers and snorkel!
- Lions Gate Bridge – we had driven over the turquoise painted Lions Gate Bridge on our way into Vancouver from Whistler. It is a very impressive and tall bridge, which all the cruise ships have to pass under to get into the harbour.
- Totems at Brockton Point – there is a group of totems at Brockton Point in Stanley Park, brought from the north of the country, plus a new totem carved to commemorate the oldest member of the First Nations people who stopped living in Stanley Park, aged 102. One of the totems is a Mortuary totem, where the upper frame represents a burial box (far right of photo below).
Despite getting absolutely soaked on the bike tour of Stanley Island (I had to throw my trainers away afterwards as all the colour dye ran giving me bright pink feet), we still enjoyed the trip with Cycle Vancouver and learning about the Stanley Park from the guides.
You can book a similar cycle tour of Stanley Park, hopefully without the rain, through Get Your Guide:
Visit Granville Island Public Market
The second place on our list of things to see in Vancouver was the Granville Island Public Market – a a large market and entertainment area on Granville Island, which sits on a peninsula in the Fairview neighbourhood of Vancouver. From downtown walk 15-minutes to the south end of Hornby Street where you can catch a ferry (Aquabus Ferries) across False Creek to the Granville Island Public Market.
The market is open from 9am to 6pm each day and offers a range of stalls selling local food produce, gifts, and clothing. In the summer months, there are usually buskers or entertainers outside the public market, and there are other places to explore on Granville Island other than the market.
If it’s raining, Granville Island Public Market is a good bet (probably a better bet than cycling around Stanley Park in the rain!) as you can spend a lot of your time indoors.
Explore Vancouver on the water - False Creek Ferries
Granville Island is just one of the 9 stops on the False Creek Ferries route which allows you to move around the city via the water and visit the following stops:
- Maritime Museum (Kitsilano Point)
- Aquatic Centre (50 m pool and gym)
- Granville Island (Public Market and Brewery)
- David Lam Park
- Stamp’s Landing
- Yaletown
- Spyglass
- Plaza of Nations
- The Village Ferry Dock (for the Olympic Village and
- Science World).
Taking False Creek Ferries is a lovely way to explore the Vancouver waterways, reach different areas of the city, and tick off some things to see in Vancouver from your list. We used it to visit the Kitsilano Pool.
Kitsilano Beach and Kitsilano Pool
When considering things to see in Vancouver, I would strongly suggest heading to Kitsilano Beach from Granville Island, either on a 25-minute walk or by catching False Creek Ferries to the Maritime Museum Ferry Dock. Then, either enjoy this lovely stretch of beach, or visit the neighbouring Kitsilano Pool for an open-air swimming pool with ocean views.
Kitsilano Pool really is a treat, with 137-meter swimming lands and a view over the water to the mountains. However, it is very busy in the summer months and so I would advise booking tickets in advance during July and August. There are changing rooms, but no food and drink facilities so have your refreshments before or after your swim.
Take the cable car up Grouse Mountain
Just north of Vancouver, a 20-minute drive away, you will find Grouse Mountain which is accessible via a cable car up into the mountains. Having been in the natural splendour of Whistler earlier in our Pacific Northwest road trip, Grouse Mountain felt a bit more like a ‘theme park for the outdoors’, with the following entertainment:
- Mountain Ropes Circuit – make your way around a series of elevated platforms, rope bridges and zip wires in harnesses. Feel the fear and do it anyway!
- Bird Displays – listen to a handler talk about, and fly, birds such as a Bald Eagle, Harris Hawk, Turkey Vulture, Eagle Owl.
- Lumberjack Show – watch lumberjacks in checked shirts chopping wood, throwing axes, running on logs in the water and climbing 20-meter poles, accompanied by a commentary full of toilet humour!
- Chairlift to the top of Grouse Mountain – take a small chairlift to take you right to the top of the mountain for super views over the Vancouver area.
- Grizzly bears in captivity – visit the two resident 18-year-old Grizzlies who were found as cubs within 4 months of each other and who have grown up together in captivity. Whilst I don’t like seeing animals in captivity, the bears looked healthy and happy enough and I guess haven’t really known any different, and they have each other for company.
Bears – whilst we were listening to the Ranger telling us about the two Grizzlies, one of our girls piped up with “look there’s a bear on the hill” and sure enough, there was a Momma black bear with her 2 cubs on the hill just behind us. This sparked an emergency operation, with staff trying to redirect a group of hikers away from the bears – the hikers were coming down a path beneath the grass where the bears were, so they couldn’t see the bears above them.
With so many tourists on the mountain, the Rangers did not take their eyes off the bears until they eventually ambled away across the top of Grouse Mountain and into the trees. The Ranger’s talk had very much been upstaged!
Seeing black bears in the wild so close to the city was not on my expected list of things to see in Vancouver, so that was a lovely surprise.
Where to eat in Vancouver?
We booked a table at the Cactus Café in English Bay, Vancouver, to watch the sunset over the large bay. It really was a great spot and lots of people were sitting on large logs the beach in front of the Cactus Café enjoying the sunset.
Nuba in Gastown offered lovely Lebanese food which we really enjoyed, and which made a change from all the seafood we had been eating. However, Gastown felt edgy with lots of visible homelessness and hostels for those in need. We walked there but ordered a taxi for after the meal when it had got dark.
Our last meal of the holiday was at Joe Fortes, an upmarket restaurant with white tablecloths, wooden panels, black and white photos, and a pianist playing. The menu offered delicious New York Clam Chowder and seafood platters; however, it was definitely the most expensive meal of the holiday.
Where to stay in Vancouver?
We booked the Blue Horizon Hotel, which was a bit of a come-down after The Wickaninnish in Tofino and the large Apart-Hotel in Whistler. However, by this point we felt as though we were at the end of our holiday and mentally already ‘on our way home’ so it was fine, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it.
Overall thoughts on our brief stay in Vancouver
To be honest, Vancouver was not our holiday highlight, although I’m sure that the rain didn’t help. We struggled to find the heart of the city and were surprised by the level of open-air drug taking and homelessness. That said, there is no denying that Vancouver is situated in a wonderful position surrounded by water with mountains on the horizon. I really enjoyed Stanley Park as well, even in the rain.
There is a chance that I was feeling resistant to being back in a city after so much time in the great outdoors and more remote places. If I visit Vancouver again in the future, my strategy would be to take a city tour with a local to get the insider’s view of the city, which I’m sure would help me bond with Vancouver. Note to self!
The journey from Vancouver back to Seattle
The Canadian-American border
On the final day of our Pacific Northwest road trip, we packed up and left early to drive 45 minutes south to the Canadian-American border from Vancouver. We left earlier than necessary to give us some ‘slack’ time at the border in case of queues or delays. Our flight out of Seattle wasn’t until the evening, but we had scheduled a stop at the Boeing Factory on the way, which was a more immediate deadline.
Drive the scenic Chuckanut Drive
After passing smoothly through border control, we had time to drive the scenic Chuckanut Drive, a 38 km (24 mile) road built in 1909, running from Bow to Bellingham and hugging the coastline, offering gorgeous views across the Salish Seat to the San Juan Islands.
Take a tour of the Boeing Factory, Everett
I had prebooked a tour of the Boeing Factory at Everett for my husband as he always likes to do something ‘transport related’ on holiday (always the engineer!). It was a massive factory where we saw 747s, 777s and 787s being made – actually, it was a little bit interesting, even for non-engineers…..
You can book a tour of The Boeing Factory through Get Your Guide, as follows:
Back to the start at Seattle Tacoma International Airport
As we headed towards Seattle Tacoma International Airport, passing Seattle on the highway, we could see Lake Union and the Space Needle on our right-hand side, letting us know that we were back to where we started nearly 3 weeks earlier.
What an amazing road trip it had been, with lots of highlights. If you’re thinking of following a similar route, I’m sure you’ll love the mix of city culture, beautiful beaches, wildlife, and mountains on offer in this part of the world. I just hope that you have more luck spotting orcas on your travels than we did!
Thank you so much for reading my blog, I hope you found it useful?
For more stories, itineraries, and advice, check out my Related Posts and sign up to receive my blogs by email.
If you have a blog-related question, please do ask in the Comments box and I’ll try to help…
Request please – if you use my photos, then please credit Love Travel Planning on your social media or give me a shout out on Instagram @lovetravelplanning as I am growing my website. Huge thanks.
Enjoy your travels!
Subscribe to my monthly newsletter!
Stay up to date with my travel stories, advice and planning tips
Leave a reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.