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Beautiful Vancouver

Working in the TV industry I’ve had the pleasure of working on shows that were shot in the Hollywood of Canada, Vancouver, BC. Of course, traveling for work is a lot different than traveling for the pure joy of traveling. Which is why I was elated to take a trip to Vancouver purely as a tourist. Turns out there’s a lot more to see in Vancouver than the inside of a sound stage.

The Best Time to Visit Vancouver

Vancouver is on Canada’s West Coast in beautiful British Columbia. It’s also one of the most picturesque cities in North America. The best time to visit is typically in the summer months when the weather is sunny and temperatures are ideal. If you’d like to avoid crowds, consider visiting in the late spring or fall. Winter is actually much milder in Vancouver than in the rest of Canada and there are plenty of things to do in Vancouver in winter. If you enjoy skiing consider visiting in winter and making a day trip up to nearby Whistler to hit the slopes.

How to Get to Vancouver

If you’re flying to Vancouver you’ll want to fly into Vancouver International Airport, YVR. If you’re looking for a cheaper alternative, you can also take the bus from Seattle to Vancouver. You can also make your Vancouver trip part of a larger British Columbia Itinerary.

How to Get Around Vancouver

When I visited Vancouver I rented a car, which made getting around quite easy. However, it’s possible to see Vancouver using public transportation.

To reach Downtown Vancouver from Vancouver International Airport, take the Canada Line, part of the city’s public transportation system. If you’re staying in the city proper you can walk to most of the attractions on this list take public transportation, or take a Lyft/Uber. However, there are several attractions outside the city limits.

To reach Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain you needn’t rent a car. These two iconic attractions are located in Vancouver’s North Shore Mountains separated from Downtown Vancouver by Burrard Inlet. There are several ways to get there from Downtown. First, the Seabus passenger ferry takes only 12 minutes to make the crossing to North Vancouver, docking at Lonsdale Quay. While you’re here you can also check out the Lonsdale Quay Market, loaded with more than 80 vendors. Here you’ll find bus #236 to Capilano and Grouse Mountain. Both Capilano and Grouse Mountain also offer shuttle service from in front of Canada Place.

To get to popular Granville Island, take a passenger ferry from False Creek. Both Aquabus and False Creek Ferries operate boats to the island.

Another option for seeing Vancouver is the city’s Hop On Hop Off Tour bus. Unfortunately, Hop On Hop Off Tours is unable to accommodate motorized scooters/wheelchairs, folding wheelchairs, walkers, or strollers.

But the good news is all Vancouver buses, community minibusses, SkyTrain, SeaBus, and West Coast Express are all fully wheelchair accessible. For passengers who require further assistance HandyDart provides door-to-door travel service, though arrangements must be booked in advance.

Where to Stay in Vancouver

Budget Hotels

Atrium Inn Vancouver

The Atrium Inn offers free breakfast, free WiFi, and free parking. Located 6km from Vancouver city center the Inn also offers a shuttle service to the city center, Canada Place, and the cruise terminal free of charge. Facilities are wheelchair accessible.

Address: 2889 East Hastings Street, Hastings, V5K 2A1 Vancouver, Canada

YWCA Hotel Vancouver

The YWCA is the perfect choice for comfort and affordability. The YWCA is located next to BC Place Stadium and Rogers Arena as well as the Stadium-Chinatown Skytrain station. Rooms and facilities are wheelchair accessible. Rooms also feature a refrigerator. Robson Street shopping and restaurants and the Queen Elizabeth Theatre are a 5-minute walk away.

Address: 733 Beatty Street, V6B 2M4 Vancouver, Canada

Mid-Range Hotels

Blue Horizon Hotel

This 4-star hotel offers sea and mountain views in a fantastic location, surrounded by great shopping and restaurants. It’s just a 5-minute drive from Stanley Park and English Bay. The Canada Place Cruise Terminal is located within .8 miles of the property. The hotel is wheelchair accessible and features an indoor pool, hot tub, and steam bath.

Address: 1225 Robson Street, West End, V6E 1C3 Vancouver, Canada

Luxury Hotels

Rosewood Hotel Georgia

The Rosewood Hotel Georgia is the epitome of luxury. I stayed here during my trip to Vancouver and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s hard to beat the location, directly across from the Vancouver Art Gallery and a short 5-minute walk from the Robson Street Shopping District. Rosewood offers an indoor saltwater pool, spa, and 24-hour room service. They also offer wheelchair-accessible rooms and facilities.

Paradox Hotel Vancouver

Another great option for those seeking wheelchair-accessible luxury. The Paradox Hotel is located in the financial district of Vancouver city center which is within walking distance from tons of shopping, fine dining, and the Vancouver Art Gallery. Paradox features an indoor pool, spa, and wellness center. And best of all, the bathrooms feature heated marble floors! Can you even get more luxe than that?

Address: 1161 West Georgia Street, V6E 0B3 Vancouver, Canada

Fun Things To Do In Vancouver Canada

If you’re wondering, “what can I do in Vancouver?” then you’ve come to the right place. There are plenty of cool things to do in Vancouver. From easy Vancouver hikes around the gorgeous mountains to eclectic art experiences, there are plenty of reasons to visit this amazing city. Below you’ll find my list of some of the best things to do in Vancouver. It’s a fun list of some of the city’s best attractions you just have to experience for yourself. Whether you have two weeks or two days in Vancouver you’ll be able to see some amazing attractions.

Granville Island

Granville Island is a peninsula and shopping district in the Fairview neighborhood of Vancouver. It’s located a quick ferry ride across False Creek from Downtown Vancouver under the south end of the Granville Street Bridge.

There are tons of things to do on Granville Island. The Island offers a public market (more on that below), a marina, the False Creek Community Center, and several theaters such as the Arts Club Theater Company, and Carousel Theater. The area also hosts the Vancouver International Children’s Festival, The Vancouver Fringe Festival, and The Vancouver Writer’s Fest.

You can also find some great craft beer on Granville Island. Granville Island Brewing Company offers beer tastings and tours of its facilities. The taproom is wheelchair accessible.

I also recommend checking out “Giants,” an ongoing mural project. Six colorful 70-foot-tall concrete towers are painted to resemble a row of giants. They’re amongst the most photographed things in Vancouver. The towers are the work of Brazillian artists and twin brothers, Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo, also known as OSGEMEOS. Half the towers face the boats on False Creek, and the other three face inward toward the Ocean Concrete Plant.

You have several options to get to Granville Island. From Downtown Vancouver, the False Creek Ferries and Aquabus provide ferry service to the island. Both are wheelchair accessible. You can also take the water taxi service from Bowen Island provided by English Bay Launch. Another option is to take the #50 bus from Gastown in the downtown area.

Pro Tip: Granville Island makes for a fun morning or afternoon, but it’s not enough to occupy a whole day. Plan to spend some time there on a day when you have some other Downtown Vancouver activities planned.

Granville Island Market

The Granville Island Market is the most popular attraction for visitors to Granville Island. If you’re looking for an array of amazing foods and unique handcrafted products and gifts you can’t beat the Granville Island Market. On the food front, the market offers a dazzling array of produce, organic bakeries, fresh fish and meat, and coffee and teas, as well as restaurants, pubs, and bars. The market also features clothing and specialty stores, arts and crafts, toy stores, and florists.

If you’re looking for a great souvenir this is the place to go. It’s one of the most unique places in Vancouver. There are numerous stalls featuring the works of jewelry designers, indigenous/ aboriginal artists, ceramicists and potters, furniture designers, painters, photographers, woodworkers, and more.

Check out the Granville Island Market website for a full list of vendors. Another great option is taking the Food Walking Tour of Granville Island Public Market.

The market is wheelchair accessible.

Granville Island Market Hours: Open daily, including holidays, from 9 am to 6 pm.

Capilano Suspension Bridge

If you’re looking for one of the most incredible Vancouver photo opportunities, head to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. There is no better view in Vancouver. The Capilano Suspension Bridge crosses the Capilano River in the District of North Vancouver, BC, Canada. The bridge is 460 feet long and 230 feet above the river below. The attraction draws over a million visitors a year.

Word of warning, while Capilano is definitely on my list of cool places in Vancouver, the actual bridge is not a great choice for those with a fear of heights and may not be appropriate for those with mobility issues. I visited in early July when there were large crowds. This meant a lot of people jumping and shaking the suspension bridge. My hypermobile ankles were barely holding on. Luckily, I don’t have a fear of heights.

Aside from the famous suspension bridge, there are seven footbridges between old-growth Douglas Fir trees that form a walkway almost 100 feet above the forest floor. There are also accessible several tours of Capilano Canyon, a story center, and a cultural center.

The bridge itself is not wheelchair-accessible, and neither are the Cliffwalk and the Treetops Adventure attractions. Because of this, admission is free for those guests using mobility aids. While many of the attractions are off limits, guests who utilize mobility aids can still explore Capilano Canyon, the park’s history tours, the story center, and the Kia’palano First Nations cultural interpretive center.

Click here for Capilano Suspension Bridge Tickets.

Grouse Mountain

While you’re in North Vancouver, be sure to check out Grouse Mountain, one of the North Shore Mountains of the Pacific Ranges. The iconic Red Skyline gives visitors an 8-minute ride in a sky gondola over the stunning forest below. The sky gondola takes you from the Valley Station to the summit of Grouse Mountain.

Grouse Mountain features a wildlife refuge, dining options, mountain ziplines, a hi-def theater showing wildlife films, hiking trails, a lumberjack show, disc golf, chairlift rides, paragliding, skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, ice skating, and sleigh rides. No matter what time of year you visit there’s something fun to do and plenty to see.

Click here for Grouse Mountain Admission.

The Skyride is wheelchair accessible. Wheelchair users should proceed to upper parking Lot A for accessible spaces and ramps. If you arrive by public transit, proceed along the bus lane to Guest Services and into Lot A.

Vandusen Botanical Garden

Vandusen Botanical Garden is a picturesque botanical garden located in the Shaughnessy neighborhood of Vancouver on the northwest corner of 37th Avenue and Oak Street. One of the most Instagrammable spots in Vancouver, the gardens were named after local philanthropist and lumberman Whitford Julian VanDusen. The garden opened to the public in 1975. The property features a gift/garden shop, a botanical library, a restaurant, and a coffee shop along with a wide variety of plants and flowers.

If you’re lucky enough to visit in May you can check out Rhodo time, a large colorful collection of 1,000 varieties of rhododendrons. But the garden is truly breathtaking year-round. Other plantings include a Heather garden, a seasonal “Laburrnum Walk, a “black” garden, a Sequoiadendron giganteum, a cypress pond, a heritage vegetable garden, a perennial garden, a fragrance garden, and a large sino-Himalayan garden which takes up almost 8 acres.

The garden is open year-round except for Christmas Day. The VBGA Volunteer Guides offer walking tours of the gardens as well as golf cart tours for guests with limited mobility.

Click here for tickets to VanDusen Botanical Garden.

Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden

As you might have noticed, I’m a big fan of gardens. What can I say, I find strolling through a garden to be one of the more relaxing things to do on vacation. Visiting the Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden is no exception.

What makes Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden so notable is that it’s the very first Chinese or “scholars” garden built outside of China. Located in the Chinatown area of Vancouver at 578 Carrall Street the area is comprised of a free public park and a stunningly beautiful garden which is accessible with an admission fee.

The garden was opened in 1986 in time for Expo 86. It was built to be similar to the gardens in Suzhou, China. Because the areas share a similar climate you can see many of the same plants you would see in Suzhou, China. The gardens are arranged in accordance with the principles of Feng Shui and Taoism.

The halls and walkways in the Garden are wheelchair friendly. The accessible entrance is located at the Eight Treasures Shop.

Vancouver Aquarium

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I also love a great aquarium. In fact, I’ve managed to visit many of the world’s best aquariums.

The Vancouver Aquarium is Canada’s largest aquarium and one of the largest in the world. It’s located in Stanley Park (more on that below). On top of being one of the top attractions in Vancouver, the aquarium is also a center for marine research, ocean literacy education, climate activism, conservation, and marine animal rehabilitation. Everything you look for in a great aquarium. The Vancouver Aquarium was also the first in the world to employ full-time education naturalists.

The aquarium has a total of 2,500,000 gallons of water in its 166 aquatic displays. It displays belugas, orcas, narwhals, dolphins, invertebrates, penguins, seal lions, otters, a giant pacific octopus, blacktip reef sharks, a green sea turtle, freshwater fish, snakes, sloths, tropical birds, frogs, jellies, and other animals.

The aquarium is wheelchair-accessible and offers wheelchair rentals on a first-come-first-served basis. Visitors with a disability can invite an attendant to join them for free to help facilitate their visit. Accredited service dogs are permitted inside the aquarium with proof of certification.

Whale Watching

One of the most amazing experiences in Vancouver is a whale-watching excursion. While there are many companies offering whale-watching trips from Vancouver, I highly recommend Eagle Wing Tours because of their wheelchair-accessible excursions. Eagle Wing Tours believes there shouldn’t be barriers to experiencing the sights, sounds, and scents of the Salish Sea. Their tours are accessible to everyone, no matter what your ability or background. Their vessels have a number of adaptations to help guests with limited mobility. Service dogs are also welcome.

For guests with visual impairments Eagle Wing Tours includes Braille signage on all vessels, high contrast colors between horizontal and vertical surfaces to provide better depth perception, hydrophones to listen to the whales, and onboard tablets to display photos and information about the animals.

For guests with hearing impairments, the vessels contain map references to outline the path of the boat as well as onboard tablets to display written information related to the wildlife being seen.

Between May 1 and November 30th Eagle Wing offers a Whale Guarantee where you’re guaranteed to see a whale of you get to come back for free! But don’t worry if you’re visiting Vancouver outside that time period. Even if you don’t see whales you’re sure to see plenty of other amazing wildlife.

Pro Tip: Sometimes the waters can be rough. While I don’t get seasick, we quickly learned my fiance does. If you happen to feel queasy do not stay inside the vessel. Head outside in the fresh air ASAP. You are less likely to feel sick if you are outside. You might also consider taking Dramamine if you are prone to motion sickness. But be warned it may also make you drowsy as it is an antihistamine.

Tours leave from Fisherman’s Wharf located near the entrance to Victoria’s Inner Harbour at 12 Erie Street, Pier #2.

Queen Elizabeth National Park and Bloedel Conservatory

If you’re looking for more spectacular Vancouver views, head to Queen Elizabeth National Park. The park is the highest point in Vancouver and offers great views of the city and mountains on the North Shore. The park contains a quarry garden, an arboretum complete with exotic and native trees, The Bloedel Conservatory, multiple sculptures, and outdoor activities like lawn bowling, tennis, and pitch and putt. There’s even a fine dining restaurant, Seasons in the Park.

Bloedel Conservatory is a domed indoor tropical garden. It features more than 500 exotic plants and 100 exotic birds in a temperature-controlled climate. It’s perfect for a chilly and/or rainy Vancouver Day.

The park is located at the corner of Cambie Street and West 33rd Avenue.

The gardens are wheelchair-accessible by following a marked path.

Take A Trip To Vancouver Island

There are tons of things to do on Vancouver Island and its just a ferry ride away from the Vancouver area. To get there take BC ferries from the Tsawwassen ferry terminal to Victoria (Schwartz Bay). This takes about an hour and thirty-five minutes. You can also take the ferry from Tsawwassen to Nanaimo (Duke Point), which takes about two hours.

Vancouver Island is full of natural beauty, European-inspired cities, and gorgeous seaside communities. Whether you’re looking to hike, kayak, take a Vancouver Island grizzly bear tour, explore local arts and culture, or just visit beautiful downtown Victoria, this is an easy day trip from Vancouver. However, Victoria has a ton of things to do, and it’s well worth adding 2 or 3 Days in Victoria, BC to your Itinerary.

Stanley Park

Stanley Park is a more than 1,000-acre public park that makes up the Northwestern half of Vancouver’s Downtown Peninsula. The park is surrounded by the waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. It’s connected to the North Shore by Lions Gate Bridge.

There are tons of things to see and do in Stanley Park. Most notably the historic lighthouse on Brockton Point, The Vancouver Aquarium, The Vancouver Zoo and Children’s Farmyard, two saltwater swimming pools, a sandy beach, monuments, a rideable miniature railway for kids, walking paths, an 18-hole pitch and putt golf course, and the Lost Lagoon. Popular activities include running, walking, bird watching, cycling, inline skating, tennis, and fishing (license required.) In the summer months, Malkin Bowl, an outdoor theater, opens for events by Theater Under the Stars as well as various concerts.

The park is an urban oasis containing over 200 bird species, raccoons, coyotes, skunks, beavers, squirrels, and rabbits. In 1988 the park was designated a National Historic Site of Canada by the federal government. In 2013 Stanley Park was named the best park in the world in Tripadvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Awards. As someone who grew up going to New York’s Central Park, I couldn’t believe Stanly Park could top that. But it really does.

The park has plenty of wheelchair-accessible paths. There is also a wheelchair-accessible Stanley Park Horse-Drawn Carriage Ride/Tour that lasts an hour and covers all the major attractions.

Science World

If you’re looking for great things to do in Vancouver with kids, look no further than Science world. Kids will love this incredible science museum. Located at the end of False Creek, the science center features a ton of interactive science exhibits. Permanent exhibits include Bodyworks, a puzzles and illusions area, a science park with living hens, maker workshops, and play areas.

Science World is wheelchair accessible and offers a complimentary pass to caregivers. Science World also offers Sensory-Friendly Mornings for individuals and families living with neurodiverse needs. They provide noise reduction-earmuffs free of charge on a first-come-first-served basis. Trained service animals are welcome.

Address: 1455 Quebec Street Vancouver, BC V6A 3Z7

Museum of Anthropology At UBC

The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia is a celebrated museum known for its displays of world arts and cultures, most notably works by First Nations of the Pacific Northwest. The Museum of Anthropology is home to close to 50,000 ethnographic objects and 535,000 archeological objects. MOA includes a number of large sculptures, totem poles, and other cultural artifacts from all continents. But I highly recommend visiting to get a better idea of First Nations’ history in British Columbia and Canada as a whole.

The most notable object in the museum’s collections is the yellow cedar sculpture “The Raven and the First Men” by Bill Reid. This sculpture was featured on the Canadian twenty-dollar bill from 2004 to 2012. The museum also features works from around the world. About 40% of the collection is from Asia, including 1,500 pieces of Chinese ceramics. There are also Japanese prints, Buddhist art, Hindu art, clothing and textiles, and Indian calendar prints.

The Museum is wheelchair accessible and also rents wheelchairs on a fist-com-first-served basis.

Address: 6393 NW Marine Drive, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Visit Vancouver

I hope you’ve enjoyed this list of unique things to do in Vancouver. Have you been to Vancouver before? Have something you think I’ve missed from this list? Please leave it in the comments below.

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