Top Attractions in Vancouver and Victoria

Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver

The city's most spectacular museum displays art from the Pacific Northwest and around the world—dramatic totem poles and canoes; exquisite carvings of gold, silver, and argillite; and masks, tools, and textiles from many cultures.

The Bill Reid Gallery, Vancouver

If First Nations heritage is your thing, be sure to visit this repository of regional art.

Granville Island, Vancouver

Take the foot-passenger ferry across the inlet from Downtown, and bring your appetite. This small island houses an extremely popular indoor market, a marina, theaters, restaurants, coffee shops, parks, and dozens of crafts shops and artist studios. Wander the stalls in the market, then grab a bench outside to get your fill of delicacies and the view.

Stanley Park, Vancouver

An afternoon in this gorgeous 1,000-acre wilderness, just blocks from downtown Vancouver, can include beaches, the ocean, the harbor, Douglas fir and cedar forests, First Nations sculptures, and a view of the North Shore Mountains. Walk, bike, picnic, or just take the trolley tour around the perimeter, but don't miss it.

The North Shore

Just across the harbor from Downtown, the North Shore is where Vancouverites go to access the great outdoors. Grouse Mountain, Mount Seymour, Lynn Canyon, and Deep Cove are just some of the popular destinations for hiking, biking, and beyond.

Whistler

With two of the longest vertical ski drops on the continent, this ski-in, ski-out village at the base of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains has enough shops, restaurants, and nightlife to fill a vacation without even hitting the slopes.

Inner Harbour, Victoria

The lovely capital of British Columbia has a remarkably intimate and pedestrian-friendly downtown that wraps around the harbor. Street entertainers and crafts vendors—and lots of people—come out to stroll the waterfront walkway in summer.

The Butchart Gardens, Victoria

Just 20 minutes from downtown Victoria, The Butchart Gardens was planted in a limestone quarry in 1904. Highlights of the 55-acre property include the Japanese and Italian gardens, as well as the proliferation of roses and 700 other varieties of flowers. On summer nights you can enjoy a fireworks display.

Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, Vancouver Island

This park on the island's far west coast has a seemingly endless white-sand beach and hiking trails with panoramic views of the sea and rain forest. Many visitors go in the winter to witness the dramatic storms coming off the water—and to take advantage of the off-season rates. Adventurous souls can try a kayak trip out to the Broken Group Islands.

Okanagan Valley

East of Vancouver, the country's "fruit basket" is no longer just "beaches and peaches." It has rapidly gained a reputation as a wine region because of the many vineyards surrounding pristine Okanagan Lake. They produce a wide range of notable varietals, including ice wines made from late-harvest grapes. The bountiful resources and gifted chefs in the area also mean the food is on par with the quality of the wines.