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Vancouver Attractions
Tourist Attractions
BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum
BC Place Stadium
604-687-5520
Family friendly: Yes
In addition to paying tribute to prominent British Columbia athletes from the 1800s to the present, Canada's largest sports museum features interactive exhibits chronicling the history of sports.
British Columbia Golf Museum
University of British Columbia, 2545 Blanca St.
604-222-4653
The only provincial golf museum in Canada, this museum occupies the original 1931 University of British Columbia clubhouse. It includes art, exhibits, and hands-on displays about the history of golf, with emphasis on the players, courses, and tournaments of British Columbia.
Gastown Steam Clock
Family friendly: Yes
The world's first steam-powered clock was built in 1977 to conceal a vent from the underground steam system used to heat nearby heritage buildings. The 6.9-foot-tall, grandfather-style timepiece has been a favorite photo subject of visitors ever since. Clockmaker Ray Saunders included glass sides for viewing the works and steam whistles for sounding Westminster "chimes."
The Lookout
5 55 W. Hastings St. (Harbor Center Tower)
604-689-0421
Family friendly: Yes
Located atop British Columbia's tallest building (ranked as the 15th tallest on the globe by the World Federation of Great Towers), The Lookout offers a 360-degree view of the city and surrounding scenery.
Sam Kee Building
8 W. Pender St.
Family friendly: Yes
This 1912 structure is recognized by Ripley's Believe It or Not as the narrowest commercial building in the world. When the city expropriated all but six feet of the builder's property, he utilized all that he had left, adding bay windows for extra space and a 10-foot-wide basement that extends beneath the sidewalk.
Vancouver Police Museum
240 E. Cordova St.
604-665-3346
Established in 1986 to mark the centennial of Vancouver's police force, this museum occupies several floors in the old Coroner's Court Building--including the morgue and autopsy room. Exhibits examine crime-solving tools and techniques.
Historic Attractions
Christ Church Cathedral
690 Burrard St.
604-682-3848
Family friendly: Yes
Dating from 1889, this Anglican parish church, which was designated a cathedral in 1929, is the oldest surviving house of worship in Vancouver. Its services are attended by visiting members of England's royal family.
Lions Gate Bridge
First Narrows
604-257-8438
Family friendly: Yes
This suspension span connecting Vancouver with the municipality of West Vancouver was built in 1938 by the Guinness Brewing Company to promote development of the company-owned property on the slopes of the North Shore Mountains. It was purchased by the British Columbia's provincial government in 1963, and its supporting cables were decorated with lights to commemorate Vancouver's 100th anniversary in 1986.
Marine Building
355 Burrard St.
Family friendly: Yes
The tallest building in the British Empire when it was built in 1930, this 21-story monument to Vancouver's maritime heritage is an internationally acclaimed example of art-deco architecture. It is covered with terra-cotta ornamentation depicting flora and fauna of the sea, scenic landscapes, ships significant to the city's development, and 1920s state-of-the-art modes of transportation.
Nine O'Clock Gun
Hallelujah Point
604-257-8438
Family friendly: Yes
Originally installed at Brockton Point (near its present location) in 1894, this cannon was fired to help sailors in port synchronize their chronometers for more accurate tide readings. Moved to its present site in 1954, it now is fired electronically to signal 9pm for the citizens of Vancouver.
Old Hastings Mill Store
1575 Alma St.
604-734-1212
Family friendly: Yes
The oldest building in Vancouver, the Old Hastings Mill Store was built on the shore of Burrard Inlet in 1865 to supply employees of Vancouver's first mill. It was one of the few structures that survived the city's devastating fire of 1886. Since being moved to its present site in 1930, it has served as a museum.
Roedde House
1415 Barclay Street
604-684-7040
Family friendly: Yes
Vancouver's first restored house-museum is part of an attractively landscaped block of nine historic homes, most of which still serve as residences. It was built in 1893 for Gustav Anton Roedde, the city's first bookbinder.
Arts, Culture, and Science
Arts Club Theater
1585 Johnston St.
604-687-5315
Headquarters of the company of the same name, this modern 450-seat theater was carved from a former chain forge and warehouse. The Arts Club Company was established in 1964. Productions run the gamut from light comedies to dramas to musicals.
Bard on the Beach
604-737-0625
From mid-June through mid-September, Shakespeare reigns in Vanier Park. Plays are performed on a stage set against the natural backdrop of English Bay, the North Shore Mountains, and the evening sky.
Canadian Craft Museum
639 Hornby St.
604-687-8266
This small but well-respected gallery mounts exhibitions of works by top Canadian and international craftspeople and designers, past and present.
CN IMAX Theatre at Canada Place
604-682-4629
A five-story-high screen and wraparound IMAX digital sound enhance this venue for IMAX and IMAX 3D films. Single-feature matinees and evening double features focus on adventure, wildlife, and natural wonders.
Museum of Anthropology
6393 Northwest Marine Dr.
604-822-3825
This showcase building overlooking the Straight of Georgia houses one of the world's most comprehensive collections of Northwest Coast First Nations art. An adjacent outdoor complex includes a 19th-century Haida dwelling and a smaller mortuary house plus 10 totem poles.
Orpheum Theater
884 Granville St.
604-665-3050
Formerly an opera house, a vaudeville palace, and a movie theater, the Orpheum now is home to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the British Columbia Entertainment Hall of Fame. Built in 1927, the ornate 3,000-seat theater includes such details as a domed frescoed ceiling, crystal chandeliers, gilded bas-relief plasterwork and its original Wurlitzer organ. It has been designated a National Historic Site.
Pacific Space Center
1100 Chestnut St.
604-738-7827
The center comprises the H.R. MacMillan Planetarium, funded by a prominent Vancouver businessman, and the Gordon MacMillan Southam Observatory, named in memory of the businessman's grandson.
Queen Elizabeth Theater
630 Hamilton St.
604-665-3050
This 2,929-seat theater is the venue for regular performances of the Vancouver Opera and for touring productions of Broadway shows and dance groups. The 668-seat Vancouver Playhouse, located in the same complex, stages the Playhouse Theatre Company season as well as presentations by small musical ensembles and recitals.
Science World
1455 Quebec St.
604-268-6363
Looking somewhat like an enormous stainless-steel golf ball, this geodesic sphere contains changing exhibitions with interactive features that make learning fun for all ages. Its Alcan OMNIMAX theatre boasts one of the world's largest dome screens.
Theatre under the Stars
604-687-0174
Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park, a bandshell built in 1934, serves as the stage for semi-professional productions of popular Broadway musicals. The outdoor summer performances are a long-standing Vancouver tradition.
Vancouver Art Gallery
750 Hornby St. (Robson Square)
604-662-4719
Home of the foremost collection of works by British Columbia artist Emily Carr (1871 to 1945), the gallery organizes and hosts touring exhibitions of international stature. It is located in a heritage building, formerly a courthouse, built in 1911 of neoclassical design.
Vancouver Maritime Museum
1905 Ogden Ave.
The centerpiece of this museum, which mounts exhibitions based on true stories of the sea, is the St. Roch. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police schooner, built at the Burrard Shipyard in North Vancouver in 1928, was the first vessel to make its way through the Northwest Passage in both directions.
Vancouver Museum
1100 Chestnut St.
This is Vancouver's oldest museum, founded in 1894, and it claims the largest permanent collection of any civic museum in Canada. The focus is on the heritage of the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, including quality artifacts representing the Northwest Coast First Nations.
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
604-684-9100
Classical music is its mainstay, but the orchestra frequently ventures into popular, jazz, and other genres. Guest artists include the likes of cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist-composer Marvin Hamlisch. Concerts are presented throughout the Greater Vancouver area, with most at the Orpheum Theatre. Three summer programs are set atop Grouse Mountain.
Nature Parks, Theme Parks and Beaches
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
578 Carrall St.
604-689-7133
This is the first authentic Suzhou-style classical gard en created outside China was assembled by a team of 52 artisans from the People's Republic, using traditional materials, tools, and techniques. It is named for the Chinese statesman, revolutionary leader, and founder of the Republic of China, who visited Vancouver three times to solicit support for his cause.
English Bay and Sunset Beaches
Beach Ave.
These two beaches form a continuous stretch of sand from Stanley Park to the Burrard Street Bridge. Popular with West End residents year round, they draw large crowds on New Year's Day for the annual Polar Bear Swim (a tradition since 1927) and on four summer evenings for the Symphony of Fire international fireworks competition.
Nitobe Memorial Garden
604-822-6038
Native British Columbia plants are effectively integrated with traditional elements in this classical Japanese tea garden. It is named for Dr. Inazo Nitobe, a Japanese scholar, educator, diplomat, and publicist.
The Pacific National Exhibition
Hastings Park
Family friendly: Yes
This fair is an end-of-summer ritual for over one million visitors annually. Boasting over 1,000 different events, exhibits, rides and attractions, the PNE is always packed.
Queen Elizabeth Park
Cambie Street and 33rd Avenue
604-257-8570
Canada's first civic arboretum is planted with native and exotic trees, shrubs, and flowers. It includes the ornamental Quarry Gardens and the Bloedel Floral Conservatory, a dome filled with plants, koi fish, and free-flying tropical birds. The conservatory plaza provides a panoramic view of the downtown skyline and the North Shore Mountains.
Stanley Park
West End of Georgia St.
604-257-8470
Vancouver's first and largest park occupies 1,000 acres on the northwestern tip of Vancouver's downtown peninsula. Almost completely surrounded by water, it is bordered by a seawall pathway that is shared by pedestrians, rollerbladers, and bicyclists. The park is home to the Vancouver Aquarium, swimming pools, beaches, tennis courts, playing fields, picnic grounds, manicured gardens, and several popular restaurants. Even with all of this, the majority of it remains undeveloped--a remnant of the rain forest that once covered the whole of the city, dominated by towering Douglas firs, cedars, and hemlocks.
UBC Botanical Garden
6804 Southwest Marine Dr.
604-822-4208
This 110-acre garden combines teaching, research, and public service. It is divided into a number of sections, including the largest alpine garden in North America and the largest collection of woody Asian plants in North America. Its Native Garden contains one-third of the species of trees and plants native to British Columbia.
Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre
Stanley Park
604-659-3474
Family friendly: Yes
Sea lions, sea otters, beluga and killer whales, and temporary care animals (such as the crocs of the amazon) are a bit of what to expect at the Vancouver Aquarium. This Marine Science Centre, Canada's Pacific National Aquarium, in Stanley Park, is a self-supporting, non-profit association dedicated to effecting the conservation of aquatic life through display and interpretation, education, research, and direct action. This is the largest aquarium in Canada and one of the five largest in North America.
VanDusen Botanical Garden
5251 Oak St. (at 37th Avenue)
604-878-9274
These 55 acres contain a comprehensive collection of plants from around the globe carefully blended with native species. The garden is noted for its extensive rhododendron display and its 147 varieties of holly. Children especially enjoy the topiaries trimmed into animal forms and the Elizabethan Hedge Maze.
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