TRIP OVERVIEW
Day 1 – Gastown · Vancouver Lookout · Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden · Stanley Park
Day 2 – Capilano Suspension Bridge Park · Grouse Mountain
Day 3 – Sea to Sky Gondola · Shannon Falls Provincial Park
Day 4 – Bloedel Conservatory · VanDusen Botanical Garden
Day 5 – Granville Island · Museum of Anthropology · Nitobe Memorial Garden
Day 1
1.Gastown~1 hr 30 min
Vancouver's oldest neighbourhood — 14 cobblestone blocks of Victorian red-brick buildings, boutiques, and the Steam Clock at Water and Cambie streets that chimes every 15 minutes. Named after "Gassy Jack" Deighton, who set up a saloon here.
Open 24/7
2.Vancouver Lookout~45 min
Observation deck at the top of Harbour Centre, 169 m above street level. A glass-sided elevator rises in 40 seconds; the deck offers unobstructed 360° views of downtown, Stanley Park, Burrard Inlet, and the North Shore mountains.
Daily 10:00am - 6:00pm
3.Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden~1 hr
The first full-scale classical Chinese garden built outside China. Completed by 52 artisans from Suzhou using no power tools, it recreates a Ming Dynasty scholar's garden — Taihu limestone, black pine, bamboo, and pavilions reflected in a jade-green pool.
Tuesday - Sunday 9:30am - 4:00pm
Closed Monday
4.Stanley Park~3 hr
A 405-hectare old-growth rainforest peninsula — 10 First Nations totem poles at Brockton Point, a 22 km seawall, Lost Lagoon, and unbroken mountain views. Walk the waterfront from Coal Harbour to the totems and continue as far as time allows.
Open 24/7
Day 2
1.Capilano Suspension Bridge Park~2 hr
A 140 m suspension bridge spanning 70 m above the Capilano River. The park also includes Cliffwalk — cantilevered platforms along a granite cliff — and Treetops Adventure, seven platforms linked by walkways through ancient Douglas firs.
Daily 8:30am - 8:00pm
Timed entry required — book online in advance. Sells out on summer weekends.
2.Grouse Mountain~3 hr
The Skyride gondola climbs 1,100 m to 1,231 m above sea level. From the summit: panoramic views across downtown, the Strait of Georgia, and on clear days Mount Baker. Two resident grizzly bears — Grinder and Coola — live on the summit alongside hiking trails and a lumberjack show.
Daily 8:00am - 10:00pm
Grouse Grind trail is one-way uphill only — take the paid gondola down after hiking.
Day 3
1.Sea to Sky Gondola~2 hr
An 820 m gondola climb above Howe Sound fjord to Summit Lodge at 885 m, where a suspension bridge crosses a canyon and trails fan out above treeline. The view — water, fjord walls, and peaks in every direction — ranks among the most dramatic in the Sea to Sky corridor.
Monday - Thursday 10:00am - 6:00pm · Friday - Saturday 10:00am - 8:00pm · Sunday 10:00am - 6:00pm
Closed for annual maintenance late October to early November — check website before visiting.
2.Shannon Falls Provincial Park~30 min
British Columbia's third-highest waterfall at 335 m — a short 5-minute flat walk from the car park. Immediately adjacent to the Sea to Sky Gondola, making both a natural pairing on the same day.
Daily 7:00am - 10:00pm
Day 4
1.Bloedel Conservatory~1 hr
A triodetic dome 35 m wide atop Queen Elizabeth Park at the city's highest point — three climate zones with 100+ free-flying tropical birds and 500+ exotic plants. The park itself has a sweeping 360° view of the city skyline from 152 m.
Daily 10:00am - 7:00pm
2.VanDusen Botanical Garden~2 hr
Twenty-two hectares of botanic garden on a former golf course — over 7,500 plant species from around the world, an Elizabethan hedge maze, a rhododendron walk, and a Korean Pavilion. Saved from residential development by public campaign.
Daily 9:00am - 7:00pm
Day 5
1.Granville Island~2 hr
A former industrial peninsula tucked under the Granville Bridge, reinvented as Vancouver's arts-and-makers district — artist studios, a working foundry, theatres, galleries, and waterfront boardwalks along False Creek, with seaplanes overhead and little Aquabus ferries criss-crossing the water.
Open 24/7
2.Museum of Anthropology at UBC~2 hr
Arthur Erickson's 1976 building on the UBC cliffs holds the world's finest Northwest Coast First Nations collection — massive carved house poles in the Great Hall against floor-to-ceiling glass, Bill Reid's cedar masterpiece The Raven and the First Men, and 9,000 objects in the open-storage Multiversity Galleries.
Tuesday - Sunday 10:00am - 5:00pm · Thursday 10:00am - 9:00pm
Closed Monday
3.Nitobe Memorial Garden~45 min
One of the most authentic Japanese stroll gardens outside Japan — stone lanterns, koi ponds, a traditional tea garden, and maple-lined paths designed by Kannosuke Mori. Named for Inazo Nitobe, Japan's leading internationalist. A two-minute walk from the Museum of Anthropology.
Daily 10:00am - 4:30pm
Garden closes December to February — verify open dates before visiting
Weekly Closures
Classical Chinese Gardens · Museums · Closed Monday
Tours
Viator
Small-group bus tour covering Stanley Park totem poles, Capilano Suspension Bridge, and Vancouver Lookout's 360° deck — three signature stops in one half-day loop.
6 hr 30 min · Small group
A 3-hour small-group walk through Stanley Park's old-growth forest among 800-year-old Western red cedars and Douglas firs, with a naturalist guide explaining ecology and First Nations significance.
3 hr · Small group
A 90-minute small-boat tour of Coal Harbour, False Creek, and the seal colony at the Stanley Park seawall, with narrated commentary on Vancouver's waterfront history.
1 hr 30 min · Small group
A 90-minute narrated cruise of Vancouver Harbour and Burrard Inlet — beneath the Lions Gate Bridge, along the Stanley Park seawall, through the downtown waterfront. The city entirely from the water.
1 hr 30 min · Small group
A 5–6 hour half-day combining a downtown city drive, Granville Island Public Market, and Capilano Suspension Bridge in one guided circuit — the most comprehensive single-session overview.
5 hr 30 min · Small group
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GetYourGuide
Guided small-group city highlights tour with transfers, stopping at Stanley Park, Gastown, and English Bay — a strong overview for first-time visitors covering main landmarks efficiently.
3 hr · Small group
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A 5-hour covered catamaran cruise of the Salish Sea searching for orcas, humpbacks, and sea lions, with a guaranteed whale sighting policy and a free professional photo package included.
5 hr · Small group
A 7-hour loop covering Jack Poole Plaza, English Bay, Gastown, Stanley Park, and the Vancouver Lookout Tower by bus, followed by a zodiac harbour boat ride with city skyline views.
7 hr · Small group
A 5-hour small-group tour combining a downtown city drive and Capilano Suspension Bridge with the bridge ticket included — Stanley Park, Chinatown, Gastown, and Lions Gate Bridge along the way.
5 hr · Small group
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A 3-hour zodiac through Indian Arm fjord past Stanley Park and Lions Gate Bridge to Granite Falls — granite cliffs, waterfalls, and dense forest rising from the water on a small open boat.
3 hr · Small group
TripAdvisor
A narrated small-group walk through Stanley Park's hidden history — forced evictions, cemeteries, Deadman's Island, and the village almost erased by time. The park's layered story beyond the seawall.
2 hr · Small group
A walking tour through Vancouver's bootlegging and Prohibition past — cobblestone Gastown, Victory Square, and the corrupt politicians and mob bosses who shaped the city's underground history.
2 hr · Small group
A 5-hour heated catamaran cruise of the Salish Sea with indoor and outdoor decks, an onboard naturalist guide, guaranteed whale sightings, and a free professional photo package included.
5 hr · Small group
A 3-hour small-group walk through Downtown and Gastown with six tastings — sushi, poutine, chocolate, and local bites — led by Secret Food Tours. Guide meets with an orange umbrella.
3 hr · Small group
A 1.5-hour small-boat tour along English Bay past Lighthouse Park, under Lions Gate Bridge, along the Stanley Park seawall, and to the resident seal colony — city skyline and mountains throughout.
1 hr 30 min · Small group
Cappuccino
Caffè Artigiano · 4.2 · 185+ reviews
Monday - Friday 6:30am - 7:00pm · Saturday - Sunday 7:30am - 6:00pm
Deville Coffee Bentall 5 · 4.0 · 15541+ reviews
Monday - Friday 7:00am - 5:00pm
Closed Saturday & Sunday
Nemesis Coffee · 4.4 · 398+ reviews
Revolver · 4.4 · 657+ reviews
Timbertrain Coffee Roasters · 4.4 · 274+ reviews
Restaurants Near Hotel
Bacchus Restaurant & Lounge · 4.1 · 229+ reviews
Modern French — live entertainment nightly, Michelin-recommended.
In the hotel · Lobby
Monday - Wednesday 7:00am - 12:00am · Thursday - Saturday 7:00am - 1:00am · Sunday 7:00am - 12:00am
Le Crocodile · 4.3 · 497+ reviews
Classic French — Rob Feenie's take on Vancouver's most storied French table.
Monday 5:00pm - 10:00pm · Tuesday - Friday 11:30am - 10:00pm · Saturday 5:00pm - 10:00pm
Closed Sunday
JOEY Burrard · 4.2 · 679+ reviews
Modern Canadian — large polished room with a strong cocktail program.
Monday - Thursday 11:00am - 1:00am · Friday - Saturday 11:00am - 2:00am · Sunday 11:00am - 1:00am
Hawksworth Restaurant · 4.1 · 724+ reviews
New Canadian — glamorous Rosewood Hotel dining room, strong tasting menu.
Monday - Friday 11:30am - 10:00pm · Saturday - Sunday 3:00pm - 10:00pm
Café Medina · 4.5 · 2787+ reviews
Belgian-style waffles and North African-inspired brunch.
Monday - Friday 8:00am - 3:00pm · Saturday - Sunday 9:00am - 3:00pm
Chambar · 4.2 · 1662+ reviews
Belgian-inspired — mussels, waffles, and craft cocktails · Gastown.
Monday - Friday 5:00pm - 10:00pm · Saturday - Sunday 9:00am - 3:00pm · Saturday - Sunday 5:00pm - 10:00pm
Downtown Restaurants
PiDGiN · 4.2 · 350+ reviews
Asian-French fusion — seasonal menu and outstanding wine list · Gastown.
Daily 5:00pm - 10:00pm
Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie · 4.5 · 475+ reviews
Modern Chinese sharing plates and inventive cocktails · Chinatown.
Monday - Saturday 5:30pm - 12:00am · Sunday 5:30pm - 11:00pm
Phnom Penh · 4.2 · 1927+ reviews
Cambodian and Vietnamese — butter beef and chicken wings, legendary since 1985.
Monday 11:00am - 8:00pm · Wednesday - Thursday 11:00am - 8:00pm · Friday - Sunday 11:00am - 9:00pm
Closed Tuesday
The Mackenzie Room · 4.5 · 218+ reviews
New Canadian tasting menu — BC-sourced sharing menu in Gastown, Michelin-listed.
Daily 5:30pm - 10:00pm
Dining Areas
Granville Island
Local Tastes
Pacific Salmon
Wild sockeye, coho, and chinook from BC waters — cedar-plank grilled is the signature preparation.
Spot Prawns
BC's prized local crustacean — sweet, delicate, wild-caught from coastal fjords May–July.
Dim Sum
Vancouver's Cantonese dim sum rivals Hong Kong's — refined since the 1880s. Go on a weekend morning.
Dungeness Crab
Pacific Dungeness crab — sweeter and meatier than Atlantic varieties. Best boiled whole, cracked at the table.
Food Delivery
Uber Eats
Foreign number: accepted — it uses the same Uber account and number as the ride app.
Uber Eats is the dominant delivery platform in Vancouver, drawing on the same Uber account used for rides; coverage spans downtown, Yaletown, Gastown, and most residential neighbourhoods with fast delivery from a wide range of restaurants.
DoorDash
Foreign number: accepted — account sign-up works with a foreign number and email address.
DoorDash is a strong alternative to Uber Eats in Vancouver, with broad restaurant coverage across the city; account sign-up uses a mobile number and email address, and a foreign number is accepted without issue.
Shows, Performances & Concerts
Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Vancouver's principal venue for Broadway touring productions, ballet, and large-scale concerts. 2,765 seats.
Orpheum Theatre
National Historic Site from 1927 — home of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in a Spanish Baroque interior with its original Wurlitzer organ.
Getting Around
Uber
Foreign number: accepted — an existing Uber account works without modification.
Uber is widely used across Vancouver and operates using standard UberX cars; an existing account works without any changes and covers downtown and the North Shore with reliable coverage.
Lyft
Foreign number: not accepted. — Lyft's own help says the number must be a US, Canadian or Puerto Rican one, and the code is texted only to that number.
Lyft operates alongside Uber in Vancouver and is particularly popular for trips between downtown and the North Shore; account creation accepts a foreign mobile number and works identically to the US version.
Train Stations Near Hotel
Pacific Central Station
Amtrak Cascades → Seattle · VIA Rail → Kamloops · Edmonton · Toronto.
Michelin Restaurants
AnnaLena
Canadian seasonal tasting menu — ingredient-forward Pacific Northwest cooking.
Kissa Tanto
Italian-Japanese fusion in a basement jazz-club room.
Published on Main
Canadian tasting menu with strong local sourcing on the Main Street strip.
Heads Up
Capilano Suspension Bridge — Timed Entry Sells Out
Walk-up admission not available on summer weekends — book timed entry online 48 hours ahead.
Grouse Mountain — Grouse Grind Is One-Way Up Only
The Grouse Grind trail runs uphill only — buy gondola return online before hiking.
Hiking
Quarry Rock · Easy
A short forest walk on boardwalk and stairs to a rock ledge over Indian Arm.
3.8 km return · 100 m ascent
1 hr 30 min
Grouse Grind · Hard
Vancouver's stair climb — 800 m straight up the face of Grouse Mountain.
2.5 km one way · 800 m ascent
2 hr 30 min
Uphill only, and closed through the winter — buy a Skyride download ticket for the way back.
Worth Knowing
Vancouver is the only major city in the world where you can ski a glaciated mountain in the morning and kayak an ocean fjord in the afternoon — and both are within 30 minutes of the downtown towers. What makes it remarkable isn't any single attraction but the improbability of the combination: a genuinely great city pressed right up against genuinely wild nature, with no buffer between them. The seawall wraps around a rainforest. The gondola summit looks down on a financial district. The suspension bridge crosses a canyon you can't see the bottom of. Everywhere you go, the scale of the landscape makes the city feel provisional — like it arrived recently and hasn't fully decided whether to stay. That tension is Vancouver's real quality.
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