What to See in Vancouver in Four days.

Visiting Vancouver and short on time? Read my post for a few suggestions of what to see and do in this beautiful city.

In June 2018 I accompanied my husband Pete on a work trip to the west coast of Canada. As I had couple of free days in Vancouver before we road-tripped across the Rockies to Edmonton, I organised things to keep me busy! Literally the first place I visited was in the University district while Pete was at a meeting nearby – the Museum of Anthropology. It was a fascinating introduction to the history of Canadian first nations peoples – stunning artefacts of their culture and history, and some incredible artwork by modern day indigenous artists.

Also worth visiting is the Museum of Vancouver, with its funky crab sculpture water feature out front– great displays tell you the history of the city of Vancouver over time.

I also did a free walking tour of the Gastown Area of the city – Tour Guys have fantastic local guides who you pay what you feel your tour was worth. Definitely a great idea if you’re ever in Vancouver – they also operate in 4 other Canadian cities. You may recognise an icon of the area – the Gastown steam clock. See first image below.

It is literally a clock driven by a steam engine. Built over a steam grate in 1977 to harness the underground steam heating system sadly it was also used to deter homeless people from sleeping rough……  The clock chimes the Westminster Quarters (think the Big Ben chimes) every quarter hour with steam driven whistles. Crowds gather for the longer sequence of chimes which occur on the hour.

One of Pete’s work colleagues accompanied us up the gondola (fast track recommended at peak times) to Grouse Mountain, which in winter is a popular winter activity hub – skiing, skating, snowshoeing being just some of the activities on offer. At other times it is popular with tourists and locals alike with the two residnet rescued grizzly bears being a big drawcard and the Theatre of the Sky display featuring native raptors, also ranger talks, owl displays and a ziplining course. If you have kids and/or teens this would be a fabulous place to spend a day or two. Lunch at Altitudes Bistro gives you an incredible view over the city of Vancouver.

There are so many things to do and see in Vancouver – we barely scratched the surface. I’d love to go back one day and explore Stanley Park by bicycle, walk up high along the Capilano Suspension Bridge, and explore the gardens and wild lands of Vancouver Island.

Vancouver is such a gorgeous city, like my hometown of Melbourne in many ways – cosmopolitan, welcoming, great food vibe, interesting historical aspects and not too big that you can’t get a good idea of the place in a few days.

If you’ve seen my separate blog post here you will have read that I had booked myself in for a whale and Orca watching cruise around the islands in the Salish Sea off the coast of Vancouver.

Wild Whales Vancouver operate from Granville Island and offer options for your experience on the open ocean. I chose the open air zodiac for a closer and wilder experience – there is a fully covered boat (see middle image above) and a fully open zodiac for the more adventurous. You can book tickets here during their whale season, which runs from April to October.
Wild Whales is an experienced operator with a focus on wildlife conservation and a knowledgeable and enthusiastic nature guide accompanies every trip. To say I was excited ahead of this outing was an understatement. It was thrilling and glorious and memorable – my first whale watching cruise! Head to my post to read about my experience in full!

What else would you rcommend seeing in Vancouver?

Check back for Part 2 of my Canadian trip soon!