Positioned in British Columbia, Vancouver is wealthy with inexperienced forests and various metropolis tradition. From the stylish outlets of the West Finish and the historic presence of Gastown to the colourful nightlife in Davie Village, Vancouver affords all kinds of meals, websites and experiences for native residents and vacationers.
Whether or not you wish to go to Stanley Park and have a look at the grey squirrels, see the wind turbine on Grouse Mountain or hear the 9 O’Clock Gun at Coal Harbour, Vancouver has many touring alternatives which might be distinctive to the world and are in contrast to different metropolis experiences. Listed below are 27 attention-grabbing info about Vancouver to get you enthusiastic about your subsequent journey to Canada.
In This Article
1. Vancouver Is Referred to as the “Hollywood of the North”
The movie productions made in Vancouver are largely American exhibits and flicks. Vancouver is among the many 5 hottest characteristic movie spots behind cities like Los Angeles and New York. Many film stars like to go to town or name it residence, and movie studios like Paramount and Bridge have firms there. Some well-liked motion pictures like “Deadpool” and “Godzilla (2014)” and the sequence “Bates Motel” have been additionally filmed in Vancouver.
2. Vancouver Grew to become a Metropolis in 1886
The most important metropolis in British Columbia, Vancouver was initially a tiny saw-milling settlement referred to as Granville earlier than it was integrated as Vancouver in April 1886. The town’s port primarily exports grain and lumber from Vancouver to the U.S. or Europe.
The Higher Vancouver Hearth broke out simply two months after town was integrated and burned the city to the bottom in just a few hours. Nonetheless, Vancouver shortly recovered and have become a affluent port.
3. The West Finish Is a Fashionable Hotspot
The West Finish is a well-liked space in Vancouver that’s extremely sought out. The neighborhood has many distinctive eating places, bars and cafés to eat at, classic bookstores and wine markets to discover. Go to the English Bay and go paddle boarding or see the well-known inukshuk statue that grew to become the emblem for the 2010 Olympics.
4. Stanley Park Measures Greater Than New York’s Central Park
Roughly 10% larger than New York’s Central Park, Stanley Park comprises an nearly 22-kilometer seawall that locals and vacationers get pleasure from strolling or biking alongside. In 1909, New York Metropolis gifted eight pairs of grey squirrels to Stanley Park. One of many enjoyable Vancouver info is that each grey squirrel seen within the park at this time is a descendent of these pairs.
If you wish to discover extra parks situated in Vancouver, go to Queen Elizabeth Park or Trout Lake Park to go mountaineering or stroll alongside the paths.
5. Vancouver Is Nice for Single Folks
Vancouver is taken into account glorious for single folks since many unattached folks dwell there. It was additionally ranked quantity 29 in the perfect cities for love. For those who aren’t looking for love but, be at liberty to go to the bars and outlets or discover the assorted neighborhoods and websites as a single individual.
6. Vancouver Is Named After a Captain
Vancouver was beforehand named Gastown, Granville and Burrard Inlet. It was later renamed to honor Captain George Vancouver, a British expeditor and navigator from the Royal Navy who explored the coast within the 1790s.
7. Vancouver Is an Environmentally Aware Metropolis
The Greenpeace activist group was created in Vancouver and based in 1971. Inexperienced cities and areas are what Vancouver is thought for, making it one of many cleanest cities in Canada. In the present day, Greenpeace activists and supporters advocate for the ban of business whaling, battle to cease nuclear testing and promote the safety of Antarctica, amongst different targets.
8. Grouse Mountain Has a Wind Turbine
Vancouver’s Grouse Mountain has an operational wind turbine referred to as “The Eye of the Wind” with a platform for viewing the working blades up shut. Mountains Mt. Seymour and Cypress Mountain additionally provide expansive views, together with numerous actions like snowboarding and snowshoeing within the winter or mountain biking and mountaineering through the summer season.
9. The California Roll Was Invented in Vancouver
Regardless of the identify sushi roll’s identify, Chef Hidekazu Tojo claims to have invented the California Roll in Vancouver. His restaurant is situated in Vancouver’s Fairview neighborhood, or yow will discover the sushi roll in different well-liked eating places within the space.
10. Kits Pool is Canada’s Longest Pool
Equipment’s Pool is the longest pool in Canada. It’s situated within the Kitsilano neighborhood and is greater than 137 meters lengthy and 3 times longer than an Olympic swimming pool. This pool can also be distinctive as a result of it’s full of salt water fairly than recent water.
11. Vancouver Has the World’s Largest Tin Soldier
New Westminster within the Metropolitan space of Vancouver holds the world’s largest tin soldier. It’s a shocking 9.75 meters tall and weighs over 4,500 kilograms. The statue relies on a reproduction of a Sergeant Main of the Royal Engineers and was designed by Danny Jay, the Austin Metallic Fabricators and the Sheet Metallic Employees Union. It even has a time capsule hidden inside that might be opened in 2025.
12. Vancouver Is Residence to Many Immigrants
Vancouver has seen many immigrants come from world wide to name town residence. European immigrants from Nice Britain, France and Eire have re-located to Vancouver, and town has seen a big inflow of Asian immigrants, particularly Chinese language people, lately. Vancouver even celebrates the Chinese language New 12 months in consequence.
African and Caribbean immigrants have introduced their meals, languages and holidays to town, and people from everywhere in the world have made Vancouver a various place full of various cultures.
13. The Vancouver Aquarium Is a Enjoyable Getaway
The Vancouver Aquarium is among the many greatest aquariums on this planet, with over 65,000 animals and 30 distinctive displays to discover. The animals embody dolphins, sea lions, otters, beluga whales, sea lions and extra.
14. The Museum of Anthropology Has Modern Native Artwork
The Vancouver Museum of Anthropology (MOA) is a middle for historic and up to date Native American artwork and is a good place to study Vancouver info and historical past. MOA’s objective is to deliver Indigenous artwork to the forefront of contemporary tradition by gathering numerous artists’ works and respecting the cultures from which they got here.
The MOA is situated on the unceded territory of the Musqueam folks and homes over 50,000 works from everywhere in the world. It’s additionally considered one of Canada’s largest museums, instructing programs in museum research and training and conserving Indigenous artwork.
15. Vancouver Is the Fifth Most Livable Metropolis within the World
In line with a 2022 report from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Vancouver is the fifth most livable metropolis on this planet. This statistic is measured by training, well being care, stability, infrastructure, tradition and atmosphere. The EIU gave Vancouver an ideal rating in training, tradition and well being care, whereas town’s infrastructure and housing acquired a mark of 92.9.
16. Playland Amusement Park Has Thrilling Rides
The Playland Amusement Park is situated close to downtown Vancouver in Hastings Park. It has over 30 rides and video games and affords a variety of entertaining actions like mini-golf and a haunted home. The park additionally has a climbing wall for individuals who are a little bit extra adventurous.
17. Vancouver Has Canada’s Largest Port
The port on Burrard Inlet is Canada’s largest and has in depth docks and grain services. The port has freighters, fishing fleets and ferries, whereas the primary cargo consists of grain, coal, sulfur, forest merchandise and metal. It’s additionally a major space for cruise ships, with Alaska as a typical vacation spot.
18. There Is a Important Asian Inhabitants in Vancouver
Ethnic Chinese language people make up half the inhabitants of Richmond, and important numbers of Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Iranian and Filipino residents reside within the Metropolitan space and the suburb of Surrey.
19. Guinness Constructed Lions Gate Bridge
Lions Gate Bridge connects the central metropolis to North and West Vancouver. Initially accomplished in 1938 by the Guinness brewing household, the bridge sought to affix the downtown space with constructions on the north shore. Employees later made a 3rd lane to extend the site visitors quantity, and town took away the toll bridge in 1963. Lions Gate Bridge was then refurbished within the Nineteen Nineties, heralding town’s transfer into the technological age.
20. Granville Island Is a Fashionable Procuring Spot
Positioned close to False Creek, Granville Island is a human-made peninsula constructed in 1916. Within the Seventies, the federal government bought the island and invited a number of restaurant homeowners, artists, galleries and theater firms to lease buildings on the property. The Public Market opened within the ’70s and noticed tens of millions of holiday makers a 12 months. The well-known market affords types of meats, fruits and veggies, crafts and entrees and continues to be a significant buying middle to this present day.
21. Gastown Stays a Historic Middle
John “Gassy Jack” Deighton based Gastown in 1867. Since then, it has retained its historic allure and exquisite Victorian structure. Gastown comprises a wide range of outlets, boutiques, galleries and meals choices. Enjoyable to discover on foot, this space is situated north of downtown Vancouver.
22. There Is a Giant Theater and Music Presence in Vancouver
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra performs all through the metropolitan space, although their everlasting house is situated within the Orpheum theatre. The orchestra additionally performs music by native composers, akin to Jean Coulthard, Michael Conway Baker and Paul Dolden.
Vancouver’s opera and ballet firms are discovered on the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, which opened in 1959. Different theaters and teams just like the Arts Membership Theatre Firm, Vancouver East Cultural Centre, the Vancouver Playhouse and Richmond’s Gateway Theatre all provide numerous types of tradition and leisure.
23. Vancouver Is Residence to Many Well-known Artists and Actors
Many artists and actors have referred to as Vancouver their residence through the years. From painters like Emily Carr, Gordon Smith and Takao Tanabe to photographer Jeff Wall or ceramicist Gathie Falk, Vancouver has seen all kinds of artistic people. Musicians like Bryan Adams and Michael Bublé have lived in Vancouver, as have actors Raymond Burr, Michael J. Fox and Ryan Reynolds.
24. Vancouver’s Chinatown Has Scrumptious Dim Sum Eating places
Certainly one of Canada’s largest Chinatowns, the Vancouver Chinatown is residence to some scrumptious dim sum eating places and cocktail bars. It’s also possible to discover grocery shops promoting seafood, distinctive fruits and veggies. This space additionally hosts a Vancouver Chinatown Pageant each summer season.
25. The West Finish Has a Thriving Homosexual Group
The neighborhood of West Finish has one of many largest homosexual communities in Vancouver. There’s a Homosexual Satisfaction Parade each August, with town’s first Satisfaction Pageant occurring in 1978. Davie Village is residence to the well-known Rainbow Crosswalk and a big lesbian inhabitants.
When visiting the West Finish, there are a lot of occasions to attend, such because the drag Coronation Ball in March, the STRUT walk-a-thon for Basis of Hope in June, and the Vancouver Queer Movie Pageant in August, the biggest queer arts occasion in Western Canada.
26. The 9 O’Clock Gun Fires Each Evening
An outdated custom, Vancouver fires an outdated cannon each night time at 9 p.m. Positioned in Coal Harbour, the 9 O’Clock Gun has been firing nightly for over a century. The canon was initially put in at Brockton Level in 1894, used as a navigation help for ships within the harbor, and re-located to Stanley Park alongside the seawall.
27. There Are 5 Public Universities in Vancouver
Vancouver’s 5 public universities boast distinctive undergraduate and graduate levels and numerous pupil employment alternatives:
- The College of British Columbia is surrounded by Vancouver’s lush forests, having stood for almost 100 years at its current location, the normal territory of the Musqueam folks.
- Simon Fraser College opened its Vancouver campus in 1989, and it has 9 websites, together with an arts venue, tradition areas and a graduate faculty of enterprise.
- Capilano College’s fundamental campus is situated round 20 minutes from downtown Vancouver and is known as after Chief Joe Capilano, a earlier chief of the Squamish Nation.
- Based in 1925, the Emily Carr College of Artwork and Design is ranked as the highest college in Canada for artwork and design and thirtieth worldwide.
- Kwantlen Polytechnic College has 5 campuses within the Metro Vancouver space. It affords a lot of in-school coaching and distinctive levels in style, brewing, Chinese language drugs and acupuncture, and concrete ecosystems.
E-book Your Subsequent Journey to Vancouver With Windstar Cruises
Touring to Vancouver could be a thrilling expertise full of enjoyable actions, various peoples and historic websites. At Windstar Cruises, our personal yacht-style ships are intimate and welcoming. We’re devoted to providing you the house and freedom to depart the crowds behind and combine your self into your subsequent journey. Benefit from the vacation spot via distinctive actions and meals experiences. Contact a Windstar Planner to search out out extra data or schedule your cruise at this time.
