I visited Vancouver in a December weekend, so I can also give you some tips to do around Christmas time for Vancouver!

1. Stanley Park

This park is really big, about 1,000 acres of land and is so pretty. Stanley Park is on the Northside of downtown Vancouver and you can easily walk there.This park is the home of stunning views of the cityscape, harbor and surrounding mountains.

When you visit Vancouver and you go to Stanley Park, make sure you walk near the waterfront on the side from the city, so you can see the amazing view of the city. You can see the skyline from Vancouver and I tell you, it looks so pretty with all the boats in front of it and the reflective water. If you walk near the waterfront, you will see the well know totem poles appear on your left side. These poles are quite interesting because every part of the pole has a different meaning. Those 9 poles are one of the oldest art installations in Canada, made by Native Americans. From here you can also see the Lions Gate Bridge

In Stanley park is much more to enjoy like: Brockton Point Lighthouse, Vancouver Aquarium, Stanley Park Railway, Stanley Park seawall, Siwash rock, hollow tree and much more.

2. Gastown

Gastown is Vancouver’s oldest neighborhood and it looks gorgeous with the red brick buildings, streets and the vintage looking lamp posts. Gastown is also known for its coffee shops and little bars.

In Gastown are the two most famous landmarks of Vancouver: The Steam clock, which is over 40 years old and whistles every 15 minutes to tell the time. The clock is still operating on a steam engine and you can see the steam coming out of its top. The other landmark is Gassy statue of John Deighton, who was the first settler of Vancouver. They are both really close to one another.

The Steam clock is located at: 305 Water Street The Gasse statue is located at: 1 Water Street.

3. Sunset Beach to English Bay Beach

Vancouver has some great beaches, although we visited Vancouver in winter, the beaches where still worth visiting. Golden sand, incredible views of the mountain and the city plus purple-ish shells and a relaxing vibes, what else could you want?

These two beaches are located on the west side of downtown Vancouver, and it’s a walking distance from downtown, just under 30 minutes. Sunset Beach lays south and you can walk from sunset beach to English Bay Beach, these two are really nice. You watch over the water and see some people kayaking and you can see the mountains and the city. Between the two beaches is Inukshuk, this is a sculpture made out of huge stones and is used as a landmark. In more recent years, the Inukshuk became a symbol for the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Near English Bay Beach is the Maze of laughter, this is one of the more popular attraction tourist visit in Vancouver. It is a quite new art work in Vancouver, this collection is larger than a human and give a lot of people a smile, but I think they look creepy..

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4. Robson Street and Square

One of the more famous streets in Vancouver, is Robson Street. This street is known for all the retail stores you can find here, they have international luxury brands, souvenir shops, varied restaurants, coffee shops, bars and a mall. It is perfect for all your shopping!

On Robson Street is Robson Square where you also have the Vancouver Art Gallery, this is the biggest art museum from West-Canada. Robson Square is known for its free activities and events year round. They have around summer ballroom dancing and salsa dancing.  Ice skating, christmas and new year events in the winter and also a giant Christmas tree, it is even bigger than the one in New York.

5. CRAB Park at portside and George Wainborn Park

This CRAB park is located on the East side of downtown, It is a pretty park on the water and gives a nice view of the skyline. It is close to Chinatown and downtown,

On the other side of Vancouver we have George Wainborn Park, this park is located on the Westside of downtown. It is about 20 minutes walking from downtown, but it is nice to see more from Vancouver by walking.

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6.  The Drop and The Digital Orca

These two art installations are located next to the Vancouver Convention Center, on the east waterfront. The drop should represent the power of nature, but we just thought is was funny to see a huge raindrop. The Orca is made to remind us about the harbors history, the killer whale and it looks like he is just jumping out of the water. Near those two sculptures are a few Souvenir shops (you can also find a lot in chinatown and on robson street) and a place to go on a water airplane.

How to get here:

From Seattle it is really easy bij Boltbus/Grayhound, it is about 20 dollars if you book 2 weeks before you want to go. You can it very cheap if you book way in advance, they drop you of at Pacific Central Station this is about a 30 minute walk to downtown through Chinatown (this is a great place to find your souvenirs). For us it was fine to walk this distance to downtown.

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