7 things not to miss in Vancouver
Vancouver is Canada’s third largest city after Toronto and Montreal and is a popular tourist destination
This city has a little bit of everything: sea and mountains on your doorstep, heat and cold. Big city and wild nature. All of this makes Vancouver one of the most charming cities in Canada. The metropolis in the west of the giant country with around 2.5 million inhabitants is Canada’s third largest city after Toronto and Montreal.
Vancouver was founded around 1860 when many people flocked to the area in search of gold. However, Vancouver did not gain prosperity from gold, but from timber, mining, agriculture and fishing. So it is not surprising that the port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada.
While it was once gold prospectors who were drawn to Vancouver, nowadays you can also meet stars here. After Los Angeles and New York, the city is the most important film city in North America. That’s why some call Vancouver “Hollywood North”.
7 Reasons to Visit Vancouver –
1. Grandiose location with water and mountains
Tourists quickly fall in love with Vancouver. And that has several reasons. The magnificent location overlooking the North Shore Mountains on one side and the Georgia Strait connecting to the Pacific Ocean on the other. Water also separates North Vancouver from the city proper and also surrounds the International Airport.
2. Cultural diversity
Those who visit Vancouver are amazed at the many cultures that live together here. Almost half of the residents are not of Canadian origin. In addition to Europeans – mainly from England, Germany and Scandinavia – many Chinese live in Vancouver. No wonder the city has the second largest Chinatown after San Francisco! There are also Indian or Italian districts.
Given this diversity and the city’s location, it’s no wonder Vancouver ranks among the top places to live when it comes to the best cities to live in Canada.
The front gate to Chinatown in Vancouver
3. Skyscrapers and historical buildings
In Vancouver, skyscrapers dominate the picture (aside from the mountains behind). But in between there are historical buildings everywhere. The Sun Tower, for example, built in the Beaux-Arts style and is very eye-catching with its green dome. Or the Marine Building, inspired by the Empire State Building in New York. Modern structures include the 210-meter Living Shangri-La skyscraper, which houses a luxury hotel, apartments and offices. However, anyone planning to build a high-rise in Vancouver must follow the City’s view-protection guidelines—the city’s intention is to avoid obscuring the mountain view.
4. Vancouver’s Gastown district
After looking at the city skyline, it might be a good idea to visit the old town area first. The contrast is stark: the Gastown neighborhood has tiny red houses, a steam clock that chimes the hour with steam whistles, and a sculpture of Gassy Jack, who opened the area’s first pub in 1867. Anyone standing here gets an idea of how Vancouver came into being. Gastown was granted city rights on April 6, 1886, but received little when two months later the city was almost completely destroyed in a great fire. Gastown was only restored 40 years later and is now a listed building.
5. Stanley Park – Canada’s largest urban park
One of many tourists’ favorite spots in Vancouver is Stanley Park, which is Canada’s largest urban park at just over 1,000 acres. Located at the tip of a peninsula, it is also very popular with the locals. Sights here include eight million trees, a lake, a waterfront circular walkway and the Vancouver Aquarium, all of which feature countless totem poles commemorating the area’s original inhabitants, the Squamish Indians. Much smaller, but absolutely worth seeing is the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Chinatown, which is very lovingly designed – with pagodas, water, stones and a wide variety of plants. A piece of China in the middle of Canada. If you want more green, go to Vancouver Island for a few days: the largest island in the province of British Columbia is a magnificent piece of wild nature,
Popular with locals and tourists alike: Stanley Park
6. Arts, culture and festivals
Vancouver is also art and culture. There are countless museums, such as the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Vancouver Maritime Museum. The latter houses, among other things, the ship St. Roch, which was the first to pass through the infamous Northwest Passage. There is also theater and music in the metropolis, home to world stars such as Bryan Adams, Michael Bublé, Diana Krall and the band Nickelback.
People usually rock in the big halls, but also celebrate outside. July’s Celebration of Light festival, Chinese New Year and Gay Pride events, for example, prove Vancouver has an influential LGBTIQ scene.
Annual Summer LGBTIQ Event: Vancouver Pride Parade
7. Sports
Then there is the sport, passively through games of the ice hockey, Canadian football or baseball teams and actively in the winter sports areas in the North Shore Mountains, on the countless beaches, on the beach volleyball courts or with skateboarding. Kayaking is also one of the popular sports – after all, there is enough water in Vancouver.
Beach volleyball on Vancouver Beach at sunset
