Visit Vancouver, One of the Safest and Most Exciting Cities in the World! Your Guide to the 10 Best Places to Visit in Vancouver in 2020

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city of Canada, located on the western coast in the Lower Mainland region, a part of British Columbia. Vancouver's climate is fairly good and the temperatures don’t exceed 25°C, though it can be very humid on most days, it being a coastal city.

Vancouver has a great quality of life and ranks in the top 5 cities of the world. It is also friendly and safe for tourists. English and French are spoken here and the communication is never a problem. There are lots of very unique and interesting places around Vancouver which makes it a serious tourist destination. You can easily spend a week or enjoy a month-long vacation here as this city has got something for every kind of tourist.

Vancouver has been ranked as the best city to live in in North America. Flanked by the ocean on one side, and forest laden mountains on the other, it is a tourist's playground all year round. Vancouver also inherits the natural beauty of British Columbia, and has a diverse and vibrant city culture to boast. Best of the two worlds melt in this beautiful city. One of the unique landmarks of Vancouver is the ‘Downtown’ area. Downtown core is a peninsula surrounded by the sea on three sides and a huge population of over 500,000 lives here in high rise buildings. Everything in Downtown, beaches, shopping, etc. is at a walking distance. This city can boast of an excellent public transport system, in terms of connectivity and frequency, and is quite reasonable too. So moving around is really not an issue, even if you don’t have a car.

A simulated state-of-the-art flight experience awaits you here. You will be hanging suspended in front of a 20 metre spherical screen which will take you from the east coast to the west coast, with real wind, scent and mist blowing on your face. You can see the whole of Canada as if flying in an open aircraft. Words cannot describe this experience. The whole flight simulation extravaganza lasts for about 25 minutes and it will surely leave you speechless and spellbound. You would have had a bird's eye view of Canada and seen all that you would see further in your journey. This will cost you about C$ 29.00 (about ₹ 1,624.00) online and C$ 33.00 (about ₹ 1,848.00) on the gate. It is open daily from 10 am to 9 pm and is located at Downtown Vancouver.

This is the world's longest suspension bridge, which sways, majestically over the Capilano Canyon. Imagine yourself walking on a swaying suspension bridge 70 metres above the ground! It is 140 metres long and definitely a not-to-be-missed experience. All year round, a free shuttle bus, runs from Downtown to Capilano Bridge Park. There are entrance tickets and the rates vary with the age, starting from C$ 16.96 (about ₹ 950.00) for children to C$ 53.95 (about ₹ 3,022.00) for adults. These tickets give you an access to the park, and the facilities in the park as well. Plan to spend around 2–2.5 hours here. And yes, free Wi-Fi is available in the park, so instant picture uploading can also be done. A quick souvenir shopping is also possible here. Restaurants and eateries are also available. The entry passes can be bought online or onsite.

The six buildings that make up the public market once housed companies that manufactured and sold equipment for the logging, mining and shipping industries. It’s a covered public market, which is famous for exotic varieties of fish servings, cheese, frothy chai latte and Ciabatta bread. Not only food, this market also presents a variety of arts/crafts, drinks, adventure and kid sports. You can see the amazing architecture and get to know the glorious history of the island and the market. Paid conducted food tours are organised for C$ 45.00 – 61.00 (about ₹ 2,520.00 – 3,420.00), where they take you around the market and offer food tastings too. This market is open throughout the year from 9 am - 7 pm all the seven days. You can reach here by bus, boat, car, bike or on foot too. It is one of the highest grossing markets in the North America.

Built between 1917 and 1980, the seawall trail is Vancouver's favourite outdoor hangout. Encircling the whole of Stanley Park, it offers a spectacular waterfront, mountain-fringed vistas on one side and dense forest on the other. The 28 km long, world’s longest uninterrupted waterfront pathway is in Vancouver, and the Stanley Park Seawall, is a part of this, which extends from the Convention Centre to the Spanish Bank Park. To avoid any unpleasant incidences, the seawall is clearly divided into two sections, one meant for walkers and joggers, which is closest to the water and the other tucked a little inwards, which is meant for cyclists and skaters. The Stanley Park Seawall is a 10 km long walkway which loops around the Stanley Park and is extremely popular with the tourists. This seawall with its refreshing air is very welcoming. The Nine o'Clock Gun and the Brockton Point Lighthouse can be seen as you walk along this seawall.

The Stanley Park Seawall is easily accessible by bus, metro or train. The closest station to Stanley Park, Wb W Georgia St Fs Gilford St is just a 2 minute walk, Eb W Georgia St Ns Gilford St is 217 meters away, a 3 minute walk. These Bus lines stop near Stanley Park Seawall: 19, 240, 250.

Being a city-owned park, entrance to the Stanley Park is free. Though seasonal parking charges for vehicles do apply.

This is a great tourist attraction, where the clock toots at hours, using steam whistles. This was built by the Canadian clock-maker Raymond Saunders. In real sense the steam is used to wind the mechanism of the clock, which works mechanically on dead weights and it has an electric motor too. The Gastown Steam Clock was inaugurated on September 24th, 1977.

It’s a grand 16 feet tall clock with four faces to display the time on all four sides. This unique attraction is accessible by bus (14, 19, 4, 95), and also by Expo SkyTrain and SeaBus. You can find lots of traditional art and souvenirs shops, along with fashion boutiques and excellent food outlets.

It offers an awesome view of the surroundings. Exciting skiing, snowshoeing, snow-boarding and skating can be expected when you reach the top. Its ideal for families, with hiking trails in summers. The cable-cars can take you to the summit from the street level. All this comes for an entrance fee of C$ 14.00 – 42.00 (about ₹ 784.00 – 2,350.00) according to the age bracket. It is open all year round from 9 am – 10 pm. Skiing and snow-boarding lessons can be taken on the slopes for an extra charge.

From Downtown Vancouver, ride the SeaBus to Lonsdale Quay, then take the #236 bus to Grouse Mountain (about a 25-minute ride). Coming from Phibbs Exchange, take bus #232.

You have a choice of cafes and quick service restaurants at the peak and the base of the Grouse Mountain. A great place to be, all year round.

An ancient and traditional Chinese cultural ecosystem can be seen in Chinatown, where ornate buildings and structures depict the Victorian style of architecture, along with modern buildings. Dr. Sun-Yat-Sen Chinese Classical Garden and the Sam-Kee Building, the narrowest building in the world, measuring just about 2 meters should definitely be seen. The Dr. Sun-Yat-Sen garden was built with the idea of bridging the understanding between the Chinese and the western culture. The millennium gate entrance to Chinatown is really very amusing. You can see lots of signboards in Chinese. A grand Vancouver Chinatown Festival is planned on July 11, 2020, and can be a great reason to visit the place. The Sunrise Market in Chinatown is a great place to shop. You can savour lots of authentic Chinese food in Chinatown.

Chinatown is conveniently accessible from Vancouver downtown by bus and metro. As with the whole of Vancouver, Chinatown is also safe for tourists. About 90 Chinese citizens, founded the budding Chinatown on Pender Street in 1886. This place has a unique history and vibrant culture to experience.

For over 6 decades the Vancouver Aquarium is hugely popular. It exhibits more than 50,000 aquatic animals, from the chilling Arctic to the warm Amazon. Sion lion, otters, jellyfish and such hugely interesting fauna can be witnessed here, in underwater tunnels, shows and live events. Definitely to be seen, if you are in Vancouver.

There is an entrance ticket here costing between C$ 21.00 – 38.00 (about ₹ 1,176.00 – 2,128.00) depending on the age group. It is easily accessible by bus, bike or you can just walk it out.

Located in the Downtown Harbour area, this gives you a complete 360° breath-taking view of the whole of Vancouver. No words can describe the view from a height of 167 metres.The Vancouver Lookout opened in August 1977, and has seen numerous tourists since then. The elevator takes you to the top in just 40 seconds. This should possibly be the first stop of your tour, as this will literally give you the bird's eye view of the city you want to explore. This facility is open 365 days. Timings being: mid-October - April: 9:00 am - 9:00 pm, May - mid-October: 8:30 am - 10:30 pm. The entrance ticket varies from C$ 9.50 to 18.25 (about ₹ 532.00 – 1,022.00) depending on the age group.

It’s a series of quiet beaches, with very low tides. The water recedes to about 1 km, lending a broad beach. Hence volleyball is very popular here. The Spanish Banks Beach is divided into three areas: east, west, and the extension. The east and west areas each have eight volleyball courts on the beach (first-come, first-served), and a lifeguard in summer time between Victoria Day in late May and Labour Day in early September. Spanish Banks East is probably the busiest of the beaches, as it's the first one encountered when coming from Kitsilano/Downtown, and it is also a place where barbecues and amplified music are permitted. Barbecue is allowed and picnics can be organised. This beach has public washrooms and other utilities. Its a sunbathers' paradise. A unique sport skim-boarding – a cross between surfing and skateboarding can be done here. The beach is serviced by a number of bus routes.

This figures in the top-10 parks of North America and is spread over 55 acres. It is named after a local lumberman and philanthropist, Whitford Julian VanDusen. It has an amazing collection of flora, from the Arctic Tundra to the Himalayas. It has a mind-boggling collection of over 255,000 individual species of plants. It also houses a botanical and horticulture library. It provides a very nice circular path through the garden, which is about 1.3 km, and the garden can be strolled in for about 20 minutes. A great place to click the exquisite flora and fauna. This garden, which is built on the former Shaughnessy Golf Course was opened in 1975. It is about 40 mins from Downtown Vancouver, by bus. The entrance ticket is between C$ 8.00 – 11.00 (about ₹ 448.00 – 616.00). There is a Shaughnessy Restaurant and Truffles Cafe in the park and quite a few hunger-busters outside the park too.