How To Spend A Perfect Weekend in Vancouver Canada
You’re in for a treat spending time in Vancouver, Canada. This north western city continues to be ranked as one of the world’s most livable and a weekend in stunning Vancouver is a top getaway for us too.
Living in Alaska for many years, we traveled down to Vancouver frequently and have spent time working in this gorgeous city too. This is somewhere we keep returning to and it never disappoints! We know it can be hard to prioritize things to when you’re only here for a few days so we’re here to help with that.
From our travels over the years, we’ve pulled together our assessments of fantastic things to do in Vancouver over a weekend visit.
When Is The Best Time to Visit Vancouver
We visited Vancouver in every season and enjoyed them so honestly any month offers you a great city experience!
However, Spring, Early Summer, and Autumn/Fall are the better weather months to visit the city & enjoy the outdoors more. Unless, of course, you’re en route to ski resorts. If that’s the case enjoy the winter wonderland but do wrap up as it gets pretty chilly in Vancouver from November to February.
How to Get to Vancouver
The international airport is close to the city. Flights arrive from across the globe so prices should be competitive. When Vancouver hosted the Olympics back in 2010, they constructed a SkyTrain from the airport which goes right to Waterfront Station, an easy transfer point for other lines.
You can buy tickets at the airport terminus from self-service machines so don’t worry about needing cash.
🎒TPOP Tip:
If you arrive on a weekend, all journeys are Zone 1 (ie cheaper) – it doesn’t say that on the machine! Plan for a 20min ride into town.
Where to stay In Vancouver, Canada
There’s a great selection of hotels and Air B&B in Vancouver. For a weekend trip it’s more convenient to stay in the downtown district. This means you can walk around easily to the main sights and have good access to the various public transport options.
Central Areas We Recommend & Have Stayed In are on and around Robson Street, Granville Island and the ever atmospheric Gas Town. In fact Gas Town was the first place I stayed in while working in Vancouver and I still adore spending time here.
Both Granville and Gas Town are good if your weekend plans include a vibrant nightlife!
With a population of around 3.5million, the city Vancouver is running out of space so building up has become the thing.
Some call Vancouver the ‘city of glass’ and it is quite a striking skyline as a result. Our own last trip we stayed in a high rise Air B&B and views from our floor were awesome. So check these out too!
Best Things to Do in Vancouver On A Weekend Trip
Take Flight With A Vancouver Coffee
The Pacific north west coast is well known for caffeine and Vancouver is no exception. Near GasTown (the original settlement of Vancouver) you will find the very cool Revolver Coffee Shop.
Resolver Coffee offers caffeine flights….Columbian, Ethiopian, lattes – a perfect lift off before a full Saturday!
Of course coffee places come and go as quickly as the months these days. So for the low down on what’s great and near to where you are staying use this great Vancouver Coffee Snob Guide.
Visit Gastown’s Famous ‘Puffing’ Steam Clock
The original Gastown was painstakingly rebuilt after a fire, but hit difficult times in the 1960s. Luckily after being declared a National Historic Site, its heritage was protected and the area has thrived ever since.
You won’t miss the steam clock mainly because it is a very popular tourist attraction and highly photographed so expect a bit of a crowd here. The clock got its name after a steamboat captain, ‘Gassy’ Jack Deighton, who opened the first bar (saloon) here.
It puffs steam into the street from its built-in miniature engine inside the clock. If you have kids with you, they will love it!
🎒TPOP Tip:
The clock performs every 15 minutes with a whistle and puff of steam. Plan to be here at noon for the best tooting and puffing performance!
Explore The Gastown Cobbled Streets & Shops
The tree lined, older cobbled streets around Water Street add atmosphere to the district and it’s a relaxing walk around. You can also walk down towards the water and check out CRAB Park if you like taking photos as this a good spot for city views over the water.
And while you’re walking around here if you like independent boutique shopping then you’re in the right place! There are simply endless options and so we say build some time into your weekend in Vancouver itinerary to at least window shop.
Eat Lunch Overlooking the Water
Vancouver offers a unique balance of nature and engineered modernity. Look out from the shoreline and mountains greet you. A constant hum of float planes coming and going adds unique activity.
Canada Place is where gigantic cruise ships dock. Unlike other places where these ships block views, the terminal has been well designed and the ships blend in. With its being autumn, trees were colourful and showed off their fall fashions.
We ate outdoors at Tap and Barrel on Jack Poole Plaza, with more of those incredible views of Burrard Inlet and North Vancouver.
Being here we had to sample British Colombia’s Okanagan sparkling wine – delicious!. Two hours later we were fueled and ready to move on.
Hike or Bike In Stanley Park
Vancouver is a city made for walking, biking and hiking. While we didn’t have time to hike out of the city on this trip, we certainly walked within it.
Stanley Park is bigger than New York’s Central Park with an incredible Seawall pathway. The Vancouver Hop-on-Hop-Off Bus with, 16 stop off points, is an excellent way to get around within a short period of time. Trams also offer a fun ride to the park.
Walk around the sea wall in Stanley Park and enjoy spectacular views over the bay especially if the weather is clear. The park’s most visited attraction, the Totem Poles are about a 30 minute walk from where the bus drops you.
There’s a separate cycle path. If you have time, rent a bike and peddle around the park all day long. This is a good idea for kids who might tire with the walk!
Take The Aquabus to Granville Island
The weekend brings local crowds to the island of Granville, just across the bridge from mainland Vancouver. We suggest you head here early in the day so enjoy it with a little less traffic.
Again you can take the Hop On- Hop Off bus which drops you right at the entrance and it’s a simple walk over the bridge to the market.
It’s a foodies paradise with the freshest of local ingredients in their raw form but also showing up in tempting snacks of every possible kind.
Buy a snack, sit on a bench and watch life on the water in front of you. There is also an Aqua Bus service that you can take from False Creek Vancouver to the island, a fun alternative transport option.
Eat Japanese Food In Vancouver
Japanese is a popular cuisine in Vancouver. We ate at Gua’s. It was not a cuisine that I had really embraced, thinking (wrongly) that there weren’t a lot of vegetarian options!
Honestly it was delicious, as were the speciality cocktails with fresh lychees.
Having walked over 20,000 steps we felt we’d earned them:)
Things to Do in Vancouver In A Week
Take a Ferry to Vancouver Island, to the capital of BC, Victoria which is approx. 100km from Vancouver (or Seattle). I took a bus from downtown Vancouver to connect to the ferry as a day trip when I went on a previous visit.
It’s a good way to experience the island if your time is short. A highlight is Buchart Gardens.
Soar into the air with a Float Plane Ride. For around 20-30 minutes you can take a bird’s eye view of the city and it’s incredible coastal setting. Check the Vancouver Planner web-site for options/prices.
Explore the Bay on a local ferry (vs a tourist cruise) and stop off at an island for lunch. A hour long harbour cruise is a basic option for a quick experience. If you’re looking for more adventure, including whale watching, longer trips will take your further offshore to where marine wildlife hangs out… think killer whales, seals, sea lions and more!
Book A Day Tour from Downtown Vancouver
You may not be able to squeeze in these tours over a weekend in stunning Vancouver as there’s so much to do in the city. But if you have 3-4 days we wanted to share things to do just outside of Vancouver that unique travel experiences.
Westcoast Offer a tour or take the free bus to Capilano Suspension Bridge Park early in the day before crowds. Walk over the 450 feet structure that connects both ends of the park and sits at 70 meters (230 feet) above the river below.
Hike the 2.5km trail or take a cable car up Grouse Mountain, known by many as ‘mother nature’s staircase.’ Hiking down is not permitted so the reward for hiking up is the cable car ride back!
Things to Do in Vancouver and Beyond
Stop off before you head to Whistler to ski in the winter or explore in the summer as this is genuinely an all year round destination and came to global attention when it co-hosted the Winter Olympics in 2010.
A closer destination in summer months is Garibaldi National Park around 1.5 hrs from downtown Vancouver which has incredible hiking and campsites – great for families.
Hop off on a cruise through the Inland Passage to Alaska. A 7-day cruise will take you to the likes of Sitka, Juneau (Alaska’s capital and not accessible by road), Haines, Ketchikan and more.
If you make it to Alaska our 19 Things To Do In Anchorage Without A Car post is packed with ideas on activities here.
Take the cruise one way, explore a a little of Alaska and fly back! For ideas on what to do and when to go to Alaska, read our Guide to Alaska.
FAQs
How Can I Combine Vancouver and Seattle on a trip?
It’s relatively easy to drive between Seattle and Vancouver. We have done it several times. Try to avoid major holiday times in both countries (like Canada Independence Day in October of 4th July) as border lines can be long.
There are also train and bus options between the two cities that are fast and efficient. If you are after a thrill of a lifetime, why not take to the air and fly in a float plane between the two cities.
If your budget doesn’t quite stretch to this, there is also a ferry option if you are happy to take it slow. A ferry service will take you via Vancouver Island on to Seattle.
Check out our Perfect Itinerary for a Weekend in Seattle to combine with this Vancouver itinerary.
Is Vancouver a Green City?
We think so! There is a visible passion for sustainability in Vancouver that really resonated when we explored the city. For example, the Convention Center has a living roof (the biggest in Canada) and supports more than 400,000 indigenous plants and grasses.
The roof hosts four beehives to help pollinate and the honey is used in products they retail. What a cool use of space!
The town planners require new buildings to be set back from roads and incorporate sustainable features including planting trees.
Wrap Up! – A Weekend in Stunning Vancouver
With so many things to do in Vancouver a long weekend is the minimum length of trip we suggest.
If you can stretch to 5 days you can take in some of the day trips we suggest and relax more around this unique Canadian city.
