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- Incredible Mountains and Scenic Beauty. Vancouver is located between the Pacific Ocean and the Coast Mountains, creating a picturesque backdrop that is hard to beat.
- It’s Got a Vibrant Cultural Scene. As one of Canada’s most multicultural cities, Vancouver is a melting pot of diverse cultures and ethnicities. This multiculturalism is reflected in the city’s vibrant arts and cultural scene.
- Local Culinary Delights. I love describing how unique the food scene is in Vancouver. Ultimately, Vancouver is a paradise for food lovers, with its thriving culinary offerings that feature a tantalizing lineup of flavours from around the world.
- Outdoor Adventures and Thrilling Experiences. Coming in at number 4 in my why visit Vancouver Canada guide – the endless outdoor activities. If you’re an outdoor enthusiast, Vancouver is a dream come true.
Feb 15, 2022 · 15 February 2022. Vancouver is a North American city surrounded by mountains and stunning nature, yet still has the city life people crave. Here, freelance travel writer and blogger Hayley Simpson, who has lived in Vancouver, gives her 12 reasons why you should visit this beautiful city soon.
- Hayley Simpson
- Writer
Sep 26, 2023 · So why visit Vancouver? The answer is clear. It’s a place that offers an unparalleled blend of natural beauty, vibrant city life, multicultural diversity, and a warm and welcoming atmosphere.
- Overview
- Coolest neighborhood: Chinatown
- Choose your adventure
- What to eat
- Where to stay
Discover Canada’s artful and adventure-filled urban oasis in the Pacific Northwest.
A kayaker paddles along the Coal Harbour near downtown Vancouver.
“Vancouver is a wonder city,” Canadian author Stephen Leacock once wrote. “It has the combined excellence of nature’s gift and man’s handiwork.” Today this statement rings truer than ever. The glittering glass metropolis—set against temperate rainforest, ocean inlets, and the Coast Mountains of British Columbia—keeps finding new ways to shine.
Over the past five years, the city has taken important steps toward reconciliation with the native Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh people, and a thriving indigenous tourism industry has grown along with it. More restaurants and bars are sourcing local ingredients—from foraged berries to Douglas fir infusions—and a booming brewery and distillery scene rivals that of Portland.
When you spot the terracotta-tiled Millennium Gate and the dragon-topped red lampposts, you know you’ve arrived in Vancouver’s vibrant Chinatown. For a primer on the neighborhood, join Historical Chinatown Tours to venture inside 100-year-old clan houses, where Chinese elders play mah-jongg, and behind the scenes at Sai Woo, the modern rendition of a restaurant that first opened in 1925. The sign out front is a crowd-funded replica of the original, which pays homage to Pender Street’s neon glory days. (See a Nat Geo photographer’s favorite Canadian places.)
Other highlights include the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, an oasis of flowering trees, koi ponds, and stone courtyards built in Ming dynasty style, and the Rennie Museum, showcasing one of Canada’s biggest contemporary art collections (by appointment) in the district’s oldest building. In summer 2019, the Chinatown Storytelling Center opened with displays detailing the arduous path from Chinese immigrant to Canadian citizen. After dark, get a taste of the dining scene that’s redefining Chinatown. Opt for mantou buns and “kick-ass fried rice” at Bao Bei or Japanese-accented Italian fare at its raved-about sister spot, Kissa Tanto. For a nightcap, try the Opium Sour at The Keefer Bar, a sexy twist on a traditional Chinese apothecary.
For nature lovers: Walk through the rainforest of Stanley Park with Candace Campo, the First Nations owner of Talaysay Tours, and you’ll start to see cedar bark as clothing, hemlock needles as the makings for tea. “The forest is our grocery store, our pharmacy,” Campo says. Take that notion to Deep Cove, for a paddle up Indian Arm before checking out the North Shore Spirit Trail, a new greenway luring pedestrians, joggers, bikers, and in-line skaters.
For culture vultures: The UBC Museum of Anthropology curates innovative programs and in 2017 opened the Gallery of Northwest Coast Masterworks. Led by Vancouver Art Gallery, the contemporary art scene has expanded with the new Polygon Gallery, dedicated to Canadian photography. Fans of Coast Salish art should stay overnight at Skwachàys Lodge, where 18 rooms were designed by indigenous artists like Richard Shorty, whose work is sold in the lodge gallery. (Journey through the indigenous art scene in Canada.)
For music mavens: Downtown’s Granville Entertainment District is still one of the best spots to catch a show, thanks to a trifecta of historic venues—Vogue, Orpheum, Commodore Ballroom—that attract top talent. In other areas, discover hidden gems such as the Rogue Folk Club, which stages bluegrass and roots music in a churchlike hall in Kitsilano. Below the cobblestone streets of Gastown, Guilt & Co offers pay-what-you-can jazz, soul, and cabaret.
For craft connoisseurs: Vancouver Foodie Tours will shepherd you to the tastiest treats at the Granville Island Public Market: Oyama sausages, Benton Brothers cheeses, Lee’s honey donuts. The neighborhood of East Van, aka “Yeast Van,” hosts breweries and distilleries including Bomber and Off the Rail brewing and Odd Society Spirits. Go behind the tanks with Canadian Craft Tours. Nearby, the semimonthly Eastside Flea is a hip gathering of indie makers.
Native roots: A pioneer of First Nations–inspired cuisine, the indigenous-owned Salmon n’ Bannock serves the namesake bannock (a traditional quick bread) with mushrooms, as well as maple-cured salmon and slow-cooked bison. Mr. Bannock, the city’s first indigenous food truck, began offering Squamish-style smoked meats and clay-oven creations last year. Head to Forage for dishes made with wild ingredients, and belly up to Botanist for cocktails like Candy Cap Magic, which arrives in a cloud of wood-scented dry ice. (Explore authentic food cultures around the world.)
Standout sushi: The restaurant that introduced flame-seared aburi and pressed oshi sushi to Canada, Miku makes its own sake to pair with the Aburi Prime platter of nine rice bites topped with everything from jalapeno-spiced sockeye to Japanese Wagyu. Kishimoto offers six types of oshi—rectangular rice pedestals for delicacies such as pickled mackerel and flamed eel. Be sure to arrive early at Raisu for the Oceans Offering: 12 multicolored oshi squares presented in a bamboo box. The izakaya makes only 10 orders each night.
Left:
Miku’s Aburi Prime sushi platter features nine tasty varieties.
Photograph by Mark Yuen
Right: Head bartender Jeff Savage pours a concoction at Botanist.
A star of the new Parq Vancouver casino complex, The Douglas mixes playful sophistication with Pacific Northwest earthiness. An illuminated, glass-enclosed Douglas fir tree presides over the check-in counter, and wood features in the decor throughout, along with mid-century furnishings and views of Vancouver. On the sixth-floor rooftop, The Victor restaurant sends out classic steaks plus regional seafood such as Dungeness crab and British Columbia king salmon.
Unveiled in 2018, the EXchange Hotel occupies 11 floors of the 1929 Stock Exchange Building. During its LEED Platinum conversion, the first in Canada, the Edwardian facade was integrated into a modern tower. A Mediterranean restaurant, bar, and café—named after the Greek island Hydra—opened this spring.
The marble fireplace and grand staircase in the Rosewood Hotel Georgia’s 1927 lobby hark back to the days when Nat King Cole stayed here. In 2011 the hotel debuted the indulgent Sense spa and sleek new rooms with soaking tubs. In the basement speakeasy, Prohibition, find a throwback haunt for live music, creative cocktails, and traditional pours of absinthe.
Serena Renner is a writer based in Vancouver. Follow her travels on Instagram.
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Feb 6, 2024 · Why Go To Vancouver, Canada. Even by North American standards, Vancouver is a young city (it was incorporated in 1886). But what it lacks in history it compensates for in culture. Experience...
Sep 9, 2021 · Jillian Dara. Two hours away from world-class ski resort Whistler/Blackcomb and perched on the Pacific Ocean coast, the city holds appeal for soft to extreme adventure lovers and attracts more than 11 million visitors each year .
Sep 30, 2023 · Moreover, Vancouver is a great destination for people who love to combine cultural experiences with outdoor adventure. Like most of British Columbia, however, Vancouver is rainy and gray most of the year, with the most optimal travel conditions in the late Summer and early Fall.
