My Top 10 Things To Do In Vancouver

I was recently invited to take part in all that Vancouver has to offer its tourists (along with everyone else in Vancouver who also works in the tourism industry – so let’s not pretend I’m special!). Most of these things I probably wouldn’t have done on my own, or would never have got around to doing. Some of them were on my list; others I’d never heard of; and they were spread all over the city, so I had the chance to explore new places, too.

So, as it’s Canada Day tomorrow, and as a celebration of Vancouver being one of the best cities in the world, here’s a rundown of my top 10 things for tourists to do on their visit.

(This post has been updated following a recent visit in June 2026!)

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Bike or walk around Stanley Park

This is most people’s number one attraction in Vancouver, which is great for a city that’s in touch with its nature! My favourite way to get around is by bike, and there are absolutely loads of rental shops just outside the park, around W Georgia Street and Denman Street.

You can ride the entire seawall around the park counter-clockwise (it runs a one way system for bikes!) and stop off at the best stops like the totem poles, Lions Gate Bridge and the beaches. The whole perimeter is around 10km so bikes really are the best way to see it, although I did walk it the other day and it took me about two and a half hours!

You can also drive into Stanley Park (the main road connects downtown to North Vancouver via the Lions Gate Bridge, and there is plenty of parking around the park) and there are tours such as the horse-drawn carriages and the Stanley Park railway.

And if you’re lucky, you might see seals, raccoons and possibly even beavers! (Tip: the raccoons are normally hanging out around Lost Lagoon! Yay raccoons! Yes, I sound very European right now…)

You could really spend an entire day in Stanley Park – and I most likely have – and not get bored, especially when you can finish the day with a phenomenal sunset at English Bay or at Third Beach.

Stanley Park is my absolute favourite place to spend time in Vancouver, and it’s always my first stop on any visit to the city.

Eat your way around Granville Island

Granville Island is FOOD HEAVEN. You can reach it by bus or by boat from downtown – the boat is much more fun but a little more expensive! There are several markets and restaurants on the island, including a kids marketplace, but the expansive produce market is where it’s at. You’ll find everything here, from fresh fruit & veg to cupcakes to pizza to coffee to cheese to meat to maple syrup to chocolate to– you get the idea.

It’s the perfect place to go for lunch when you’re in the city, as there are a ton of food stalls.

It’s also a fantastic place to browse for gifts, art and souvenirs, and I found a really cool bookshop and stationery store on my recent visit, where I picked up an illustrated book of Vancouver. I also love Dragonspace for some unique fantasy-themed merchandise – because who doesn’t need a dragon-shaped stapler?

Richmond Night Market is a fantastic place to catch dinner too, although it’s a bit of a trek out of the city – you’d need to take the SkyTrain.

Wander through Gastown

Gastown is in the heart of downtown, just steps away from Canada Place and Granville Street, one of which is bound to be your starting point.

Gastown isn’t personally my favourite area of downtown, but it IS a must-see. It’s packed with quintessential souvenir shops, nightlife, and one of the most photographed icons of Vancouver: the unique steam-powered clock.

Time it right and you might catch the clock in action.

I also recommend dinner at Steamworks Brewing Company. You’ll find that there are a TON of great restaurants in Vancouver, though! It’s a very foodie city, which is just another thing to love about it.

Vancouver Aquarium

Nestled in Stanley Park, Vancouver Aquarium has been voted one of the top 10 aquariums in the world. It’s home to the famous sea otters (if you’ve seen the videos circulating on social media of the otters holding hands, this is where you can see them!) as well as turtles, penguins, octopus, jellyfish and even a sloth. There’s also a fun 4D movie with a few surprises; the one when I went was about sharks and it was well worth going to.

What I really loved about the aquarium though, is its real focus on conservation and plastic waste. In fact, when I visited there was an entire exhibition dedicated to plastic in our oceans, and they run an #OceanWise campaign to encourage visitors around the world to pledge their support. They also encourage ethical sourcing; they approve the seafood in local restaurants as ocean-friendly and you’ll see the logo on menus all over Vancouver.

More recently, we’ve taken part in some of their animal encounter experiences; my husband got to feed the sea otters, and we also met a penguin!

Oh, and I had to pop into the gift shop on my most recent visit to Vancouver, because they were selling otters holding footballs, which is the most perfect gift I have EVER found for my husband!! (Yes, it’s World Cup season.) You’ll also find a ton of pop culture t shirts with otter puns. Honestly, 10/10. All brilliant.

Museum Of Anthropology

I visited quite a few of the museums as part of the tourism challenge, but this was by far my favourite.

Located about half an hour outside of downtown Vancouver, the museum sits on the edge of BC’s biggest university, UBC, and explores the history and traditions of not only First Nations communities in Canada, but tribes all over the world. The totem poles and boats are immediately eye-catching as you walk in, but it’s the rooms dedicated to artifacts from Papua New Guinea to Samoa, from Uganda to Vanuatu, that really steal the show – they are mind-blowing in their collections. In fact, MOA prides itself on having 50,000 items on display. That’s a lot to look at!

Find out more about the museum and its exhibits here!

FlyOver Canada

I was really surprised to read that this is being touted as the number one rated thing to do in Vancouver, so it would be criminal not to include it. That said, it is also one of the pricier things to do in the city at a mighty $41. Located conveniently on the harbour front atop Canada Place, this 15 minute ride gives you the sensation of flying over some of Canada’s most jaw-dropping scenery. It’s pretty breathtaking, and the feeling of wind on your face as you soar over mountains and water as you touch waterfalls makes it feel like it’s actually happening!

It actually surprised me how much I enjoyed this; it’s a great way to experience something like this without splashing out on one of the seaplane flights.

Capilano Suspension Bridge

As one of the top things to do in Vancouver, almost every tourist comes here. Except me, because $42 seemed really expensive for a bridge. In 2026, it’s now $75!! SEVENTY FIVE!!

I will tell you now that it’s much more than just a bridge; it’s a whole park. The bridge leads to a really nice nature reserve and there’s an awesome tree top walk on the other side, which is almost more fun than the bridge itself! There’s also a really picturesque cliff walk which was one of my highlights.

I enjoyed Capilano WAY more than I expected, so I definitely recommend it if it’s something you’re thinking about doing. Plus you can get a free shuttle from downtown Vancouver, which runs every ten minutes – making it super accessible from the city.

The alternative to this is the free Lynn Canyon suspension bridge, which is really cool although admittedly nowhere near as big. There’s a lovely walk you can take around the park, including a beautiful bright green pool! If you’re on the fence about the price of Capilano, this is a great alternative.

Grouse Mountain

You’ll see as soon as you arrive in Vancouver that it’s surrounded by beautiful mountains. It’s one of my favourite things about Vancouver!

The most famous of these, Grouse Mountain, is a hotspot for locals and tourists alike and you can even take a free bus there. You can then take the gondola up to the top, but… it’s very expensive. Lots of people take the Grouse Grind instead, a very steep trail that takes you to the top in about an hour and a half – I won’t lie, I hate this hike (it is a grind, as per the name), but it saves so much money. You can then get the gondola back down for $20, which means you can experience all there is at the top without paying the astronomical $89 for the round trip (it was $56 when I was there, which is bad enough!).

There is also a nature reserve for two bears, Coola and Grinder, who were rescued in 2001 and given a safe haven on the mountain. This is probably the safest way you’ll ever see bears in the “wild”! Grouse Mountain also hosts various shows such as a lumberjack show which is a lot of fun although totally silly.

Ultimately, Grouse Mountain is touristy, but if you’re short on time and transport options, then it’s a fantastic way to get out of the city and into the magnificent scenery that surrounds it. And don’t forget to grab a BeaverTails!

There are plenty of other far less touristy hikes in the area too – like the hike up Black Mountain I did with my new friends here – and for a ton more ideas for walks in the area, check out Josy’s blog which has all the details!

If you want a better gondola experience, I highly recommend the Sea To Sky highway in Squamish, less than an hour from downtown Vancouver. The gondola is still pricey at around $80, but the views are astounding and the alternative hike is upwards of 4 hours, so it’s definitely worth taking the gondola if you don’t want a massive hike!

Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Gardens

It’s so easy to get into nature in Vancouver, but this is a really nice respite from city life right in the heart of Chinatown. Part of the garden is free, although you can pay $16 to get into the rest, as well as the galleries, and a guided tour is included with entry. I haven’t done the tour, but it’s a really lovely place to come and sit in peace away from the crowds.

I didn’t realise, but it’s actually the first Ming Dynasty-style garden to be built outside of China! So it’s a pretty unique place to visit.

Chinatown itself is also huge – it’s in the top 3 largest in North America.

Go on a whale watching tour

When we first came to Vancouver in 2016, we had our hearts set on one “big expense”: a whale watching tour. There are several tour companies operating out of Richmond, and we actually booked it last minute and our preferred options were sold out. We ended up going with Steveston’s Seabreeze Adventures who pulled out all the stops and not only did we see a pod of orcas, but they also went out of their way to take us to some humpback whales that had been spotted while we were on our way back. It meant we were late back from the tour, while the people on the other tours were already blissfully back in the city! Hmmm, I wonder which one I’d rather have been on!

Of course, like anything to do with nature and wildlife, there are no guarantees that you’ll see anything. But the companies are really good at helping each other out and finding out where the whales have been spotted and where they’re travelling to.

If you’re back in Richmond in time, you could always grab dinner from the Richmond night market, too!

BONUS: Sunset at English Bay

Alright, so I struggled to stick to ten, but in my defence, this isn’t really a tourist attraction. This is just the best way to end any day in Vancouver. My favourite thing to do is sit on a beach and watch the sunset, and my favourite beach is English Bay.

(Kits Beach, Jericho Beach, Second Beach & Third Beach are all worthy contenders for sunset viewing, though! Isn’t it ironic that I didn’t include Sunset Beach?)

There’s loads more to do in Van City; you can get fantastic views over the city from Queen Elizabeth Park, or get lost in the hedge maze at Van Dusen Gardens. There’s the Police Museum which is great fun, and a ton more hikes.

With children, I highly recommend Science World; when I visited, there was a fantastic Science Behind Pixar exhibition on that I loved so much that I went again with my husband and no kids! (In fairness, most of the kids were walking around aimlessly while their parents played around with rendering and lighting, designing sets, creating faces and learning how they made effects like hair blowing in the wind and ripples in the water. I also spent far too much time in the interactive Eureka! room, which I suspect was really aimed far more at kids…)

There’s an art gallery in the city centre housed in a beautiful building (its acronym is VAG, which always makes me giggle), or you can get great views in all directions of the city and beyond from downtown from the Vancouver Lookout.

And then there’s simply sitting at the harbour, gazing out at the mountains and watching the seaplanes with your Tim Horton’s. Which, when all is said and done, is genuinely one of my favourite things to do in Vancouver.

I think it’s safe to say I love Vancouver. Have you been, or is this somewhere you’d love to visit?!

Read more about Vancouver and Canada below:

⭐ Road Tripping The Icefields Parkway In Autumn
⭐ Squamish, And Why I Prefer It To Whistler
⭐ A Drive Through Two Underrated Canadian Rockies National Parks
⭐ Fun, Friends & Frolics in Whistler, Canada
⭐ Why I Love Vancouver
⭐ A Short & Sweet Trip To Vancouver Island: Beautiful Victoria, BC

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