See Vancouver in One Day
If you have just one day in Vancouver, you can experience the fresh air, food, and culture that make our city famous. This one-day itinerary starts downtown at Canada Place and hits the highlights.
Breakfast and Coffee
Vancouver has a strong coffee shop culture with many quirky independent cafes and local roasters. Start your day with coffee and a pastry at one of the coffee shops in the Coal Harbour neighbourhood near Canada Place.
A few nearby options include J.J. Bean in the historic Marine Building, Giovane Caffe in the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel, or Pallet Coffee Roasters on West Hastings Street.
Stanley Park
Next, make your way to Stanley Park. The park entrance is a short walk away along the Coal Harbour Seawall. Along the way you'll get great views of the boats and floatplanes in Burrard Inlet.
There are several ways to explore the park. If you're up for a bike ride, rent bikes from one of the shops near the corner of Denman and Georgia Streets, then bike the Seawall around the park. If you want to enjoy the scenery at a relaxed pace, take a carriage tour with Stanley Park Horse-Drawn Tours. Or explore the sights around the park on your schedule using the Great Canadian Trolley Company Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus.
Lunch in Gastown
For lunch, make your way to historic Gastown just a few blocks east of Canada Place. This is Vancouver's oldest neighbourhood. Wander brick-lined Water, Alexander, and Powell Streets to browse at eclectic boutiques and souvenir shops.
Don't miss the Gastown Steam Clock on the corner of Water and Cambie Streets. It's one of the world's only working steam-powered clocks. Every quarter-hour the clock steams and whistles.
Grab lunch at one of the restaurants and cafes. LOCAL Public Eatery is a gastropub with lots of craft beers on tap. Dine on Italian classics with a West Coast influence at Water St. Cafe. Or grab a quick burrito at Gringo.
Afternoon in Nature
Get some fresh air in the afternoon. You have two choices for easy outdoor adventures: Grouse Mountain or Capilano Suspension Bridge. Both attractions offer free shuttle buses that will take you from Canada Place, across the Lions Gate Bridge, to these North Vancouver attractions.
At Grouse Mountain you will ride a gondola high into the mountains. On the way up, enjoy great views of the city and the nearby Lions Mountains. At the top, you can go for a short hike, visit the resident grizzly bears in the wildlife refuge, watch a lumberjack show, or just enjoy the mountain scenery.
The highlight at the Capilano Suspension Bridge is the 450-foot-long suspension bridge that swings high above the rushing waters of the Capilano River. You can also get a squirrel's eye view of the coastal rainforest from the elevated walkways at the Treetops Adventure or brave the gravity-defying cantilevered Cliffwalk.
Asian-Influenced Dinner
The Vancouver area has some of the best Asian food outside of Asia. If you want to eat in downtown Vancouver, you have lots of options. Try Miku for sushi near Canada Place, Bao Bei in Chinatown for modern Chinese share plates, or Phnom Penh in Chinatown for elevated Vietnamese and Cambodian cuisine.
If you want to venture a bit further afield, ride the Canada Line Skytrain south to Richmond, the epicentre of Vancouver's Asian foodie scene. Try one of the restaurants on the Richmond Dumpling Trail, clustered around No. 3 Road and accessible from the Aberdeen and Lansdowne Skytrain Stations.
If you're visiting on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday between late April and early October, visit the Richmond Night Market near Bridgeport Skytrain Station. This Hong Kong-style outdoor market has hundreds of booths selling street food, crafts, gifts, electronics, and lots more.
