Best Things to Do in Vancouver

Most of Vancouver's best experiences are outdoors, and several are free. Here's our list for a first visit, in rough order of priority.

1. The Stanley Park seawall. About nine kilometres around the edge of the park, past totem poles, lighthouses and beaches, with the Lions Gate Bridge overhead. Rent a bike on Denman Street and ride it in an hour or two. Details in our Stanley Park guide.
2. Granville Island. A former industrial island under the Granville Bridge, now a public market, artisans' studios and a small brewery. Go by the little False Creek ferries. See our Granville Island guide.
3. The Museum of Anthropology at UBC. Monumental carved poles, canoes and feast dishes of the Northwest Coast peoples, in a glass hall by Arthur Erickson looking out to the sea. The most important museum in the city by some distance.
4. The North Shore mountains. Take the Skyride up Grouse Mountain, or cross a suspension bridge over a canyon at Capilano or Lynn Canyon. All three are in our day trips guide.
5. Gastown. The city's oldest streets, all brick, cobbles and cast-iron lamps. The steam clock on Water Street whistles every quarter hour. It's touristy at the steam clock end and much better for dinner a few blocks away.
6. The SeaBus to Lonsdale Quay. A regular transit ferry across Burrard Inlet, on a normal fare, with one of the best skyline views in town. Browse the market at the Shipyards on the other side.
7. Kitsilano and the western beaches. Kits Beach has a long saltwater pool in summer and volleyball on the sand. Carry on west to Jericho, Locarno and Spanish Banks, where the tide goes out a very long way.
8. Chinatown and the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. A Ming-style scholar's garden of limestone, pavilions and jade-green ponds, built by craftsmen from Suzhou. A calm hour.
9. Queen Elizabeth Park. The highest point in the city, an old quarry turned into sunken gardens, with views over the skyline to the mountains.
10. A whale watching trip. Boats leave from Granville Island and Richmond for the Salish Sea, mostly from spring to autumn, looking for orcas and humpbacks.
11. Richmond Night Market. On summer weekend nights, a car park near the airport fills with food stalls: skewers, bubble tea, dumplings and odd things on sticks. Crowded and fun.

The Vancouver Lookout, the observation deck on Harbour Centre, is fine on a clear day but not essential. The Grouse Mountain view is bigger, and the SeaBus view comes free with your fare.