Day 1: Stanley Park. Granville Island. Kitsilano
Morning: Consider choosing a hotel away from the city centre, such as the resort-style Westin Bayshore down on Coal Harbour Shores with its extensive marina. Joggers can sign up for the hotel’s free 5k jog into neighbouring Stanley Park (6am meet in the hotel lobby).
Alternatively, hire a bike from one of the many cycle shops on the edge of the park and cycle the 10km seawall loop or 22km of paths in the park.
Take a detour on one of the park’s interior roots to explore Vancouver’s downtown rainforest – all 1,000 acres of it (Vancouver is nicknamed ‘Raincouver’ – with its firs, cedar and maple trees).
Stop to view the Brockton Point totem poles, carved from western red cedars. Also in the park is the Vancouver Aquarium, a local attraction focused on research, rehabilitation and education about marine wildlife.
Walk to Canada place, in the heart of Vancouver’s waterfront, and catch the free bus up to Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, on Vancouver’s North Shore, where attractions include a 140-metre-long swing bridge, a forest canopy walkway, a raptors birds of prey area and, in December, atmospheric Canyon Lights.
Afternoon: Cross Burrard Street Bridge, or take the Aquabus ferry, a rainbow-coloured foot passenger vessel from False Cree to Granville Island and its popular street market. Once a disused industrial area, today it is the city’s most visited area and before Covid was the second-most visited attraction in Canada after Niagara Falls.
A limited number (by design) of vendors sell fresh produce and gourmet goodies. Sample house-made beer at the Granville Island Brewing Company, then browse the unique shops, and galleries. Or sign up for a Vancouver Foodie Tours, who will introduce you to the vendors such as Bread Affair – whose breads have names like Love at First Bite and Olive You Forever – or Benton Brothers Cheeses with their curated selection of over 200 artisan cheeses.
Head to Longliner Seafoods and take home some vacuum-sealed maple-candied chinook salmon, which will last in your fridge unopened for two years.
Evening: Head to the Kitsilano neigbourhood where Sunset Beach, one of nine urban beaches in the city, does a passable imitation of Sydney, Australia. Vancouver’s urban beach district is also good for shopping and has a decent selection of restaurants.
Alternatively, for dining with views that overlook downtown Vancouver and Stanley Park, try The Salmon House, which bills itself as ‘Vancouver’s Original Seafood Grill Restaurant’.
Day 2: Harbour Air. Gastown. Mount Pleasant
Morning: Take a 30-minute scenic float plane ride on Harbour Air. The airport ‘terminal’ is close to the Cruise terminal. Try to be that passenger who sits in the co-pilot’s seat for the best views of the Coast Mountains and the Pacific Ocean that so stunningly frame the city.
Before coming back to land on the watery runway, you will swoop high above the downtown area. Note how the high-rise buildings are dominated by glass that reflects both the natural surrounds and city itself.
Harbour Air is a carbon-neutral company that made history by developing the world’s first fully electric commercial aircraft. For clients with an extended staying in Vancouver, longer, recommend a flightseeing trip to Victoria on Vancouver Island, where attractions include Butchard Gardens.
Afternoon: Explore the city on foot. Find a pub for lunch in historic Gastown, with its brick buildings, vintage streetlamps, cannabis stores and photogenic steam clock. Full of trendy bars and art galleries, the area was named after ‘Gassy Kack Deighton’, a sailor from Yorkshire who opened a saloon here in 1868.
Then plan on a cultural afternoon, choosing from the Vancouver Art Gallery, or the Bill Reid Gallery of Native Art Visit. Make time for the newly reopened Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, with its interpretation of displays of Northwest Coast Indigenous carvings, poles, weavings, and other works from the past and present.
Set aside an hour to stroll down Robson Street, the city’s main retail and commercial hub.
Evening: Mt Pleasant is a growing neigbourhood in East Vancouver, with excellent shopping, dining and a mural arts scene. It is also at the forefront of Vancouver’s micro-brewery explosion.
Starting at East 2nd Avenue and strolling up to East 8th Avenue, you’ll pass a handful of tasting rooms, while world cuisine on offer includes Middle Eastern, Malaysian, South Indian and Peruvian. This is also an ideal hood for an extended coffee stop or to nosh down on vegetarian and vegan fare.
If your stay extends into a third evening, refuel and reflect over dinner at one of Vancouver’s numerous Ocean Wise restaurants, a conservation programme which supports healthy and sustainable oceans: examples include Cardero’s, ARC, Forage, and Teahouse in Stanley Park.
Alternatively, try dinner at Salmon Bannock Bistro, which serves up a true taste of coastal Indigenous culture, with a contemporary menu filled with dishes inspired by First Nations and other indigenous traditions.
