29 Unique Things to Do in Vancouver

Looking for something different from the usual attractions? We’ve rounded up a list of unique things to do in Vancouver that go beyond the ordinary—from watching crows fly at sunset to scuba diving in a dragon’s den. Whether you’re a thrill-seeker, foodie, or culture lover, these unusual Vancouver experiences will show you a new side of the city. And if you’re after even more inspiration, don’t miss our full Things to Do in Vancouver page.

Catch a Movie in a Morgue

What could be creepier than catching a scary movie screened in the city’s old morgue? On the second Tuesday of each month, the Vancouver Police Museum in Gastown opens up the historic morgue space right outside the original autopsy suite and shows a selection of horror films, thrillers and even the odd comedy – everything from classics like The Shining through to modern hits like Get Out. Book early—tickets are limited for one of the most unique things to do in Vancouver.

Spend a Night in the Wild

Ever wondered what happens at the zoo when all the visitors go home? The Greater Vancouver Zoo offers two after-dark options for groups of curious animal lovers: opt for an evening guided tour with zoo staff and then time swapping stories by the campfire, or bring your tents and camp overnight! Interpretive tours can be adapted to all ages, and you can even add on extra activities like an animal encounter or scavenger hunt.

Get Scientific After Dark

Once a month, Science World British Columbia opens its doors after-hours to grown-ups who want to unleash the curious child within. Part field-trip, part social event, grab a drink while you explore the regular interactive galleries, and enjoy adult-focused programs, guest speakers, and access to the OMNIMAX theatre. Past themes have include LEGO builds, performances by Circus West, and science-themed murder mysteries.

Experience Vancouver at its Most Natural

Unique among the city’s sandy spots, Wreck Beach is best known as Vancouver’s clothing-optional beach. Located to the west of the University of British Columbia down a steep set of stairs that crawl down the cliff, the beach offers a strong community spirit, with regulars that are fiercely protective of both their right to “bare arms” (and bare everything else), and of the beautiful natural surroundings. If you visit, make sure you respect the rules—among them: no photos, no staring and take your garbage home with you.

Tour Stanley Park the Old-Fashioned Way

Possibly the most relaxing way to take in Vancouver’s favourite greenspace, Stanley Park Horse-Drawn Tours offers one-hour excursions around the park complete with commentary and gentle clip-clopping. Unlike personal carriage rides, the company’s Grey Shires and Clydesdales lead a tram-style vehicle that accommodates up to 26 guests (and is wheelchair friendly!) while your guide teaches you about the area’s historical and botanical roots.

Explore Other Cultures at the Museum of Anthropology

Known for its leading collection of Northwest Coast First Nations artworks, the Museum of Anthropology at UBC is stunning both inside and out. Housed in a landmark Arthur Erickson building with sweeping ocean views, the museum works with Indigenous, local and global communities to promote cultural understanding. It is home to 50,000 works from almost every part of the world, along with 535,000 archaeological objects. Some of the best known pieces in the collection are those by one of Canada’s most famous Indigenous artists, Bill Reid.

Fly Over Experience Without Leaving Vancouver

Even if your trip to Canada doesn’t stretch beyond Vancouver, there’s no reason you can’t experience more of our country! Using state-of-the-art 4D technology, FlyOver Experience Canada takes you soaring on a coast-to-coast discovery flight. Strap yourself into your seat, and you’ll feel the wind in your hair as you take off, smell the fresh alpine air over the Rockies, and the misty sensation of Niagara Falls.

Eat Breakfast with the Bears on Grouse Mountain

Join Grouse Mountain’s two favourite inhabitants, grizzly bears Grinder and Coola, for the most important meal of the day: breakfast! Enjoy early access to the mountain as you learn about bear conservation with an experienced wildlife ranger, and watch the bears explore their habitat. Then, you’ll sit down to a bear-inspired breakfast with items like smoked salmon, and French toast with West Coast “bluebeary” preserves.

Scuba Dive for Dragons

British Columbia’s mountains don’t stop when they get to the ocean, making for a fascinating environment for scuba divers to explore when they’re visiting Vancouver. About an hour north of downtown, along the Howe Sound glacial fjord, divers can descend and explore a world of underwater walls, canyons, cliffs and overhangs—such as the creatively named Dragon’s Den. Divers can swim up to 3 metres (10 feet) into the space, which is home to rockfish, crabs, octopi, and plumose anemones climbing up the walls. As a bonus, you might also find statues of dragons hidden in among the nooks and crannies—one of the most unusual things to do near Vancouver.

Take Flight and Dine on Bowen Island

Bundling together some of the West Coast’s most iconic experiences, Harbour Air’s “Fly ‘n Dine” package might just be the perfect way to spend half a day. Starting with a 20-minute flightseeing tour taking off from downtown Vancouver, you’ll fly over mountains, forests and the Howe Sound fjord before landing at Bowen Island, just north-west of the city. Bowen offers a charming island community, rugged landscapes and some great waterfront dining. After exploring the village of Snug Cove, you’ll enjoy a three-course dinner before returning to Vancouver via ferry and car service.

Get the Scoop on One of Vancouver’s Coolest Experiences

Now the Guinness World Record holder as the only gelato shop in the world with 238 flavours at any one time, a summertime pilgrimage to La Casa Gelato is an annual event for many Vancouver families. Located in a bright pink building in East Vancouver, the company has created 588 flavours to date, and along with mainstream favourites, you’ll also find some for more adventurous palates like vodka Caesar, blue cheese and curry. Don’t worry, you can try as many different concoctions as you like, but make sure you bring cash – they don’t accept credit cards.

Indulge in a Tea-rrific Afternoon at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver

Taking afternoon tea at the historic Fairmont Hotel Vancouver harks back to the city’s British influence. But this is no normal tea – instead, you’ll find a fun and fancy take on the traditional, with themes that change throughout the year. Served in Notch8 Restaurant’s private dining room—itself decorated the match the quarterly theme—past versions have included Enchanted Forest, Mad Hatter’s Tea Party and Old World Carnival, with the in-house pastry shop fully embracing their creative brief to produce sweet and savoury nibbles to go with your cuppa.

Have Fun with Snowshoes and Fondues on a Mountain

They say that if you can walk, you can snowshoe! This low-impact activity allows anyone to get out and enjoy the winter wonderland on Vancouver’s North Shore mountains. Up at Grouse Mountain, opt for one of their private Snowshoe Fondue tours and you’ll not only explore the snow-covered alpine with a one-hour guided tour, you’ll get to warm up in the chalet afterwards with a fondue party at Altitudes Bistro. Indulge in three different varieties of fondue: cheese, broth, and chocolate with an optional slug of liqueur.

Eat Your Way Along Richmond’s Dumpling Trail

Some har gow here, some siu mai there: the Richmond Dumpling Trail is one of the tastiest food crawls around! The suburb, just to the south of the City of Vancouver and home to Vancouver International Airport, is known for its strong Asian culture, and this virtual “trail” is a collection of restaurants serving up some of North America’s best dumplings. Clustered either side of No. 3 Road, you can walk between many of the restaurants making it easy to stretch your meal out between a few of them. Grab a group, because dim sum is always more fun with a big table!

Barbecue in the Middle of False Creek

Set sail along False Creek, and grill yourself some burgers while you’re out there! Joe’s BBQ Boat rents out seafaring vessels that look more like giant orange hot tubs with a portable barbecue in the middle, allowing you and seven of your friends to grill and chill while you motor along False Creek, just south of downtown. No boating licence is needed to captain the electric vessels, so just bring your mates, your food, and non-alcoholic refreshments, and enjoy a waterfront view like no other.

Schuss the Evening Away Skiing Vancouver’s Local Mountains

Vancouverites are big on outdoor adventure, and even in the middle of winter, they’re not going to wait for the weekend to get out there. Instead, after work, you’ll find them packing up the car with their skis and snowboards, and hitting any one of the city’s local mountains—Cypress Mountain, Grouse Mountain, and Mount Seymour—to hit the slopes on a weeknight. All three mountains offer lift access to limited runs with lighting through until 10 pm seven days per week. Not only is it the perfect way to pack a little more adventure into your Vancouver stay, it’s also a great excuse for a mountain-top beer and a bite before coming back down to the city.

Take the Stairs and Climb a Mountain

The Grouse Grind is often called “Mother Nature’s Stairmaster,” but that doesn’t truly convey the challenge that this 2.9 km (1.8 mile) trail up Grouse Mountain presents. Gaining 853 metres (2,800 feet), you’ll grind your way up over 2,800 stairs carved into the side of the mountain, before emerging at the top, right by the Peak Chalet. The average person takes 90 minutes to complete the Grouse Grind, although the record sits at 25.01 minutes. Once you make it to the top and enjoy the view (and perhaps a well-deserved coffee), head back down on the SkyRide as returning to the base via the trail is not permitted.

Watch Shakespeare with a Side of Sunset

From June through September each year, Bard on the Beach presents a number of Shakespeare’s works—both the well-known and the less familiar—in a waterfront, open-backed tent down at Vanier Park. While the actors tread the boards and bring the Bard’s works to life, Vancouver plays a supporting role, with a view of the West End, downtown’s skyline and the mountains looming behind the stage. The company is also known for staging versions that swap the original setting for a new era, adding thought-provoking context to a story you thought you already knew: A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream plays out among the Industrial Revolution, or maybe Love’s Labour’s Lost comes to life in a Chicago speakeasy!

Fall for an Arts Festival That Crawls through the City’s Eastside

A visual arts festival that appeals to both the culturally-inclined, as well the nosy neighbours among us, the Eastside Culture Crawl sees around 500 artists in almost 70 buildings open their studios to the general public over four days in late November. Roughly bordered by Main Street to the west and Victoria Drive to the east, the waterfront to the north and Industrial Avenue to the south, the annual event has a real festival feel as families and groups of friends wander between workshops, galleries, ateliers and studios, getting to know the artists and craftspeople that live among us.

Catch a Movie Al Fresco

Stanley Park is a Vancouver must-visit, so why not combine a stroll through the park with catching a movie? Based in Ceperley Meadow (by Second Beach), the Summer Cinema Series in Stanley Park happens once a week in July and August, with the screen coming to life right as the sun starts setting. Bring a blanket, pick up dinner from one of the food trucks, and settle down for a summer screening surrounded by temperate rainforest.

Stroll the Canvas Corridor Along Eihu Lane

Sandwiched between the high-end shopping and luxury boutiques on both Robson and Alberni streets is unassuming Eihu Lane. But look a little closer and you’ll discover one of downtown’s best kept art secrets: the Canvas Corridor. In the two blocks between Burrard and Bute streets, there are 45 laneway doors and vents that have been transformed into a showcase for works by local artists.

Take an Artful Walk through Mount Pleasant

One of the very best things about the Vancouver Mural Festival is that you don’t even have to be in the city during the event to enjoy it. While the festival itself stretches along 10 days in early August, the colourful murals remain as a legacy, and now more than 100 works grace the streets and back alleys of the city, centring around the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood. During the festival, take part in guided art walks, street parties, and even a 5K run!

Fly Over Alpine Lakes and Glaciers

There’s nothing quite as jaw-dropping as realizing how quickly Vancouver’s urban sophistication melts away into infinite alpine forests, rugged mountains, and glacier-fed lakes. The most comfortable way to do this is with Harbour Air’s Alpine Lakes and Glaciers flightseeing tour. From downtown Vancouver, you’ll take off over Burrard Inlet and fly over the North Shore Mountains before arriving at a “secret” crystal clear alpine lake. In the summer, take advantage of the setting by pre-arranging for a picnic on the lake.

Run the Vancouver Marathon

While the distance of a marathon might be the same wherever you run it, what you see along the route can be very different. The Vancouver Marathon has made a name for itself thanks to its “stunning running” route, being named one of the “Top Marathons Worth Traveling For” by Forbes. Held at the beginning of May, the marathon takes you through some of Vancouver’s most beautiful neighbourhoods waterfront roadways, and green spaces, including all the way around the city’s jewel, Stanley Park.

Stroll Mountain View Cemetery

Along Fraser Street, between 31st and 43rd avenues is Mountain View Cemetery, which was established in 1886, just months after the City of Vancouver was incorporated. Sections were put aside for a number of fraternal organizations, as well as the Chinese, Japanese and Jewish communities. In the intervening years, over 145,000 souls have been laid to rest here, including 14 of the city’s mayors. Take a self-guided walk, or join one of the cemetery’s organized events, such as the annual All Souls evenings in late October and early November.

Watch Vancouver’s Crows Fly East at Sunset

If you look up just as the sun is setting, you’ll see ribbons of black curling east across the city: between 3,000 and 6,000 crows head home to their roost in Burnaby each night. Lower numbers make the daily pilgrimage in the summer, when some are nesting on the city’s residential streets, but they’re still a sight to be seen. They fly in from all over Metro Vancouver to the roost, on average a 30-40 minute commute. And the next morning, you’ll see them heading back west to do it all over again. This is a local secret and one of the city’s most unique things to do at dusk.

Listen for the 9 O’Clock Gun

At precisely 21:00 hours each evening, a boom can be heard across the City of Vancouver. That’s the 9 O’Clock Gun, a 12-pound, muzzle-loaded naval cannon that sits on the Stanley Park sea wall, close to Brockton Point. While it hasn’t been in continuous use, it was first fired on October 15, 1898 as a way for residents and sailors to accurately set their watches and chronometers each night. Fun fact: the gun has its own Twitter account that tweets, “BOOM!” every night at 9 pm.

Spend the Night at Skwachàys Lodge

A unique mix of social enterprise and boutique accommodation, Skwachàys Lodge (pronounced “skwatch-eyes”) offers an authentic hotel experience for travellers interested in Indigenous culture. Located right in the heart of Gastown, the bottom floor offers a fair trade Indigenous gallery (complemented by an urban Indigenous artist residence), while the roof is home to a sweat lodge. The design of each of the 18 suites is the result of collaborations between hotel designers and the Indigenous artists who created original artworks and installations to make each room unique.

Climb the Spiral Staircase to Nowhere

The atrium of the Woodward’s Building in Gastown is home to a real head-scratcher of a feature: a spiral staircase that seems to go nowhere. Designed by the building’s architect, Gregory Henriquez, the staircase rises from a small pool of water, and first deposits people on the second floor, which is home to the National Film Board’s office. But continue around further and it stops just short of the next floor, leading to nothing but a view of the atrium below. Henriquez has said that the structure is supposed to resemble an umbilical cord, representing the “re-birth” of the area when the complex opened.

Vancouver experiences beyond the norm

These are just a few of the unique things to do in Vancouver that capture the city’s creative, adventurous spirit. Whether you’re chasing mountain views or cultural moments, you’ll find plenty more to explore in our hiking and outdoor adventures, arts and culture scene, and Vancouver events calendar.
.