Vancouver Travel Guide: 24 Hours Exploring Gastown, Stanley Park, Granville Island & More

Join us as we take you on an exciting journey through the best of Vancouver, British Columbia in just one day. First we take in the charm and vibrancy of Gastown, with its historic architecture, trendy shops, and bustling atmosphere. Then, we dive into the tranquil beauty of Stanley Park with its towering trees, beautiful seawall, and awe-inspiring views of the city's skyline. Finally, we'll guide you through the culinary paradise of Granville Island, where fresh seafood, artisanal products, and a lively public market will leave you craving more. With our tips and personal anecdotes, hopefully you'll gain a deeper appreciation of this beautiful corner of the world, and be inspired to create your own unforgettable Vancouver story. Let us know what we left off in the comments.
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[@frannie52]

Love that Pops is giving his opinion more often each video!! Great son and father team! ❤

[@ThroughMyLens]

I am trying to include his opinion in the videos as much as possible

[@jonathantitus2629]

Vancouver is our favorite Canadian city and one of our favorites anywhere in the world. We believe that Stanley Park is the absolute best urban park in the world.

[@patrickbertlein4626]

Was, perhaps, not now!!

[@rhondaz356]

I have never been to Vancouver. However, you showed us such an overview of so many interesting, lovely attractions, that make Vancouver a target spot to visit, Josh and Pops. NOONE does this better, IMO. 👏👏🤠🤠☀️

[@TheAmericanDreamed]

I’ve been 3 times visiting from the U.K. and Vancouver has always been good to me . Always wonderful Weather and a very pleasant experience

[@hawaiidispenser]

Your vids are so great! It's like a cozy warm blanket of travel.

[@ThroughMyLens]

Glad you like them! That is a very kind comparison!

[@InterstateKyle]

I haven’t been to Vancouver in over a decade. I miss it. I really hope to get there within the next few years. Can’t wait to see the Sea to Sky Highway. That is one of the most scenic drives I’ve ever been on. Thanks for the video Josh and Pops!

[@cherylemaybury9967]

I love Vancouver and have been about 6 times and it never disappoints.😊

[@ThroughMyLens]

That is awesome! I would love to go back

[@nickgoessolo]

Pops and kid, love this video! Josh, your California channel and website have been especially helpful to me for ideas on (unique) places to explore. Some recent ones include: Wayfarer chapel, Battery Spencer for sunrise, and Sutro Baths for sunset. On another note, what are chances - I see your Bishop hat here, and just over the last couple of days, I've used your website and KZbin video to begin a draft sketch of my own 395 trip. I did CA-1, finally finishing in Dec 2022, and the first I heard about 395 was from your content. So, I truly appreciate your creations. Eager to see more from all around!

[@tarabaillie7115]

Really fun to see my hometown from a visitors perspective. I’ve been away from home for over 5 years and I miss it very much. It’s a truly unique and beautiful city that I grew to appreciate more after being away so long. You were close on Nanaimo 😂 (my husband was born there). Japadog is one of our favorites! I grew up on predominantly Asian food so it’s not odd to me to have seaweed on a hotdog 🤷🏻‍♀️ Glad you and dad enjoyed your time 👍🏼

[@ThroughMyLens]

haha glad I was close with Nanaimo! Glad you are with me on Japadog too

[@itsnotme07]

Vancouver BC is definitely on my list of places to visit. What a great way to tell time....Shoot a cannon at your neighbors. Yes, I know it's just a flash and no actual projectile. Looking forward to the rest of the wicked cool videos you must have!!

[@lancearnt6800]

Go to the Museum of Anthropology next time. On a clear day, the view from Grouse Mountain is outstanding.

[@cabe_bedlam]

Donuts in the first 15 seconds, you know what we like :)

[@vrepair3070]

Thank you for showing tte city I was born. So proud of my fellow snowbacks who have made Vancouver such a wonderful City! And Nanaimo Bars, mmmmmmm

[@jodieharnden5413]

I had an excuse to visit Vancouver for a geology conference this summer. We were lucky enough to stay right on the river. Great food, great people everywhere we went. Stanley Park was lots of fun, but my favorite place was definitely Capilano Suspension Bridge.

[@mimielliott891]

Thank you, for picking Vancouver, B.C as your Canadian adventure with pops. Its the most beautiful city and province hands down. However if u love nature Alberta has beautiful nature setting too .

[@stargazer5073]

Your dad is the best, both of you are good men!

[@ThroughMyLens]

Very kind of you to say!

[@polar9984]

This video was amazing and very informative as well! Loved seeing the positivity that both you and your dad shared as well 😊 keep up the good videos! Subscribed!

[@paulistanaemoregon6617]

It’s the first time I comment in your video, I just wanted to say that I enjoy them so much and got so many valuable tips and ideas to explore my new home - Oregon! It also so nice to see you having adventures and exploring with you dad! You two are a great team, it would be nice to have a coffee and listen to your stories! ❤

[@rephaelrechitzky9763]

Thank you for visiting our most beautiful city in Canada. Love you guys. Enjoy your journey. ❤

[@blockbusterunderground]

Great vid...Love that you guys stopped at 49th for coffee! Me and the wife were there a few weeks ago! Fly Over is cool.....Like you said - very much like the Disney ride...

[@mikeyllo]

I love this father/son relationship! Super cool.

[@ThroughMyLens]

So glad you like the videos!

[@debbirbodner5358]

Always enjoy these videos you show us.

[@beebeesfuntasticadventures6110]

Such a beautiful video, thanks for sharing.

[@Harames]

What a gorgeous city, I would love to visit one day!

[@stargazer5073]

Thank you for doing things on a budget!

[@ThroughMyLens]

We try our hardest to accommodate everyone!

[@andreajohnson1796]

Beautiful, never been there thanks for taking us along Josh and Pops always a blessing

[@MikeR65]

The coldest winter I ever experienced was a summer in Vancouver!!

[@donnalynnprior52]

I'm so glad you enjoyed our city! Thanks for all the nice things you both said 🙂

[@MannyEmm]

We traveled to Vancouver last year. We had so much fun. We stayed at a really nice hotel, at the waterfront, across from where the cruise ships dock. We were several blocks away from gas town. We took advantage of the bus system. We missed Granville,. We went to Stanley park…awesome. We would hear the 9pm cannon almost every night from our hotel balcony. Their Fly over is WAY better than Soarin. We had fun walking around that shopping area by the waterfront, as well as through gas town and through downtown Vancouver. This was a great vid…thank you.

[@SparklingRufus]

Thank you for sharing this superb video

[@dianetuccillo345]

We LOVE Vancouver! Thanks for a great video that took me back to all our favorite spots and foods, and brought back some incredible memories. I really enjoyed this!!!

[@reneejones7807]

Love that smile, Pops!

[@drewjackson987]

Vancouver Is A Beautiful Place I Would Love To Visit Someday!!!!!!!!!!❤️🖤🖤❤️‍🔥

[@heimingkoo2769]

I love this city in my first visit in 1994. You shows many attractions that I haven’t visited 👏👏👏

[@camotetea6812]

Nice. Can't wait your Alberta video😊👍

[@leensalocin]

This was a great guide thank you

[@gregoryamer]

Interesting video. Thanks for posting.

[@steveblankenship5474]

Really a great video! I've been to Vancouver twice and it's one of my favorite cities to visit. Granville Island is a great place. I remember walking by a Japadog and now I regret not going in. One trip we took a ferry from Vancouver Island which was awesome. The coffee houses, even the British tea houses up there are wonderful. The suspension bridge called Capilano is also a great place to visit. You cannot see everything in one day there. The city looks clean from your video and I would like to visit there again.

[@ThroughMyLens]

Would love to go over to Vancouver Island next time! I agree, Capilano Suspension Bridge is pretty great

[@steveblankenship5474]

@@ThroughMyLens the ferry we took was a large ship with several decks, best ferry trip I’ve taken

[@yesis4926]

Amazing job to the both of you! I loved every minute. The both of you make the best traveling duo!

[@ThroughMyLens]

Yay, thank you! Appreciate that!

[@jaybeeCDN]

In a Vancouver local and absolutely love our city!!! As mentioned next time you’re here the Museum of Anthropology is a must see at the UBC campus as well as taking a stroll around the SFU campus! A little bit of urban legend, if you come back to Vancouver, the nine o’clock gun is a haunted area. If you go later in the evening, you will sometimes hear footsteps walking around that area! Hope you gentlemen come back to Vancouver for more sightseeing!

[@redbeard1976]

As a diabetic, you're killing me with the donuts! Love your videos

[@Sushi2735]

Anything with Pops in it, is good!

[@SchnuffiJames]

Thank you for visiting Canada, hope you had fun. As a home sick Canadian living abroad thanks. Come back.

[@RhondaD68]

We are going there in a few weeks and your video helped us with planning. Thanks

[@chrisignacio1791]

Pops is the Best Travel Wingman ❤

[@gayeeales4037]

Perfect timing for this video we arrived in Vancouver yesterday and your tips have been invaluable - as have so many of your US national park videos - thanks from two Aussie followers

[@rvcruising]

Looks like a fun town to visit. Great video!

[@ThroughMyLens]

Thanks for watching!

[@andrelliev1268]

We were there in July and only went to Stanley Park😢! But took a side trip to Whistler and hiked! Your video gave me a reason to come back Vancouver soon! I hope you got to eat breakfast at Jam Cafe. Thank you, Josh and Pops!

[@apenisawaqairadovu4745]

Flyover Canada is amazing... they also have Flyover Hawaii ...Vancouver is beautiful

[@marykay8587]

i use to live in Van, this gave me the touchy feelys, i miss my Vancouver ❤ crazy expensive for housing though 🤷

[@caterlinachung185]

I am glad you and Pops like Vancouver my home town...it is a beautiful city with lots of attraction. We have variety of cuisines from Michelin class to casual street food. Next time you should go hiking and take the ferry to Vancouver Island ....we have activities all year round:)

[@ThroughMyLens]

Sounds amazing, now I want to go back!

[@Verlopil]

I've heard it's a great town, but it seems so expensive we've never gone there. Thanks for showing us around!

[@jimmydelia8956]

I agree with pops . A sushi tasting hot dog would not be my vibe. Love your videos.

[@MikeR65]

Yup everyone wants to put their spin on stuff. It doesn’t always work out.

[@maryfettig3378]

Lost me at the seaweed on a hot dog😂😂😂

[@christopherlands2706]

I’m early to this one! Yay!

[@wildzenventures]

Great tour! That b stream clock was cool, I agree with pops about the funky hot dogs 😂 Happy to see you both out traveling! Happy trails…

[@ThroughMyLens]

Yea, the steam clock is always fun to see!

[@phxgidget]

Very nice! Little ol me thought the digital orca was Legos 😂

[@west.coast.hiking]

Next time , Road trip Vancouver Island 😉

[@xSTINGRAY666x]

Thanks for the great vlog. I like Vancouver, was 2021 after the reopen in all the big cities of canada. Vancouver was very nice, but Montreal has more flair.

[@ThroughMyLens]

Thanks for the info! I haven't been to Montreal but will have to check it out!

[@bro_01i]

Love from the UK! Absolutely love your videos with your dad! So relaxing to watch! Have you done a video about the Okanagan Valley?

[@eli_the_tv_guy]

Hi Josh, It’s me, Eli again. I think it would be a good idea to do a road trip on the Lincoln Highway just like you did with the Route 66 series. The Lincoln Highway is kind of a historic highway just like Route 66, but the Lincoln Highway goes from San Francisco, California to Times Square in New York City.

[@jasonschwab807]

Wow, we went to Tom Sushi last year and we got right in (or maybe had a short wait). Didn’t realize it was so popular! It was very good.

[@sandrajewitt6050]

You missed the spinning chandelier under the bridge. Another thing to try in BC is salmon candy.

[@bobbiezarate2447]

I recently made hotdogs; replaced Ketchup with Siracha...not sure I'm Ever going back! 🤤🥰

[@ThroughMyLens]

Oh man, I am so in on that!

[@2011woodlands]

I have not been there yet, i did some research and watched a lot of youtube videos prior to the 2010 Olympics, it is similar to Toronto in diversity, lots of attractions, fresh sea food markets, visitors from around the world, it would probably be a good big city destination for a honeymoon.

[@kellyjohnson3617]

I haven’t been to Vancouver since 1983, cuz I moved to CA in 85, but the Nanaimo bar is very nice. Pronounced nuh NI mo. Named after a town on Vancouver island. There is a lot of great things to do. I remember going to their fantastic china town, the skytram, the hydrofoil ferry, and the planetarium. Not even sure what those look like now or if any of them are still in business. But Vancouver is a metropolitan city with a lot to offer. I remember going in 1979 and we went to the chamber of commerce and found all the free and cheap places to go cuz our family of six had a limited budget. We camped in our tent outside the city and went all over town doing affordable stuff and mostly parked the car and took public transit all day. More comfortable than riding in our VW square back that’s for sure. Lol 😂

[@ThroughMyLens]

So awesome, sounds like you got to explore a lot of Vancouver!

[@4kAustralia]

i have been to vancouver 3 times never got to see half of what you did but i did see it rain there all three times

[@ThroughMyLens]

We did get really lucky with the weather, it was very nice!

[@cristinao3710]

I love Vancouver! I’d live there in a heartbeat if it wasn’t so expensive. It makes CA seem affordable. 😂

[@bmolitor615]

well, hmmm... OK, I'm very happy that you enjoyed yourselves, and you did nail down visits to the... sorta.. top five attractions... and you did identify one of the key elements that makes Vancouver unique, which is the intertwining of city and water. But if I were going to drag a visitor around, it'd be, laik, 10 degrees off of [almost] everything you did... just glance at the melee in the Granville Island Market, and then go taste local sake [or whatever - beer, gin, shop for toys or paper or hats or beads] in one of the artisanal alleys, take the water taxi further down the Creek and and have a long lunch at Stamps Landing; just glance at Gastown, and take the Seabus over to Lonsdale to grab coffee and then lounge in the dockyards next to the Quay and look at the skyline... really good fish & chips at the Pier Park in New West, and then hop the Q2Q to experience the muddy Fraser up close and personal... it makes me feel a bit wistful for you really, like you kiiiinda missed the real Vancouver? But!!! You absolutely did nail the fun tourist high points, and there is always next time! [oh, and Bowen Island! a flightseeing seaplane flight to Victoria over the islands, tailgating a polo match with the city and the mountains in the background...]

[@MikeR65]

That sounds great !! Let me know when your video comes out I’d love to watch it!

[@o.6775]

I agree with Pops. xx

[@ThroughMyLens]

haha 👍

[@mindiwilhelm4322]

We rented bicycles and went all over town. We were there in summer and got tickets to see Mary Poppins in the park.

[@archerwark7347]

The california roll is from vancouver to.Invented by Hidekazu Tojo

[@BayAreaTraveler]

As one who has relatives in Vancouver, I visited the city a lot. In my opinion, if one chooses to stay in downtown or close to downtown I found that Airbnbs were more affordable. I really didn't like staying in hotels in Vancouver a few I stayed seemed run down and of course pricey. Whereas many of the Airbnbs especially in Richmond not only gives you a better price point but are in these new high rises.

[@annieis300]

❤❤❤

[@ThroughMyLens]

👍👍👍

[@talkietoaster2585]

Thanks for another great video. I found myself mesmerized by Pops’ backpack. Details?

[@ThroughMyLens]

He isn't even sure haha he has had it for a really long time

[@ArmandRoseTV]

We're based in Seattle so we visit Vancouver every so often but thanks for sharing this info. Didn't know a few of these. Our family is divided on Japadog as well. I love it but wifey is not a fan.

[@ossannamerica4913]

The food at 8:38 which you forgot the name is TAKOYAKI. As a Japanese, I agree with dad's impression of the hotdog, but I wanna try it anytime.

[@travelertrome8449]

Great vlog! I am assuming that Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain are saved for a separate vlog, as those are 2 huge tourist attractions in Vancouver that has to be seen.

[@ThroughMyLens]

Went to Capilano in the road trip from Seattle that I did with my sister so I skipped it on this one. Never been to Grouse Mountain, will have to go back for that!

[@lancearnt6800]

Yes, FlyOver is the same concept as Soaring over California.

[@parfenyj]

Last time I was in Van I had some really nice Pho at Pho Goodness on Main Street. I wonder if the Oh Canada Horn is still blasting at noon? It's on the top of Canada Place

[@patrickbertlein4626]

Not sure what happened but Stanley Park chopped down a bunch of trees,its basically everywhere you drive.

[@campyonfoot]

You missed the downtown urban life! Especially during the night!

[@AnnoyingMoose]

13:15 You were close: the bar named after the city on Vancouver Island (Nanaimo) is pronounced "Nah-ny-mo" not "Nay-ny-mo".

[@west.coast.hiking]

Also you almost said Nanaimo right 😂. That's where I live.

[@desirp88]

Did I just see a floating Chevron gas station? Is that for boats or the planes? That's pretty cool lol

[@ThroughMyLens]

Yea! I think it is probably for seaplanes but maybe both

[@kimsimpson8205]

Where did you take the sky train from? And what month were you there?

[@maythao8958]

Thanks for sharing. Never been to CA. Would like to bring my kids there. Is best to rent a car or use public transportation? Will be landing in Vancouver. Planning to see Stanley Park, China town, Capilano bridge and Grandville Island.

[@ThroughMyLens]

We just used public transit most of the time ourselves. The only issue would be Capilano which is a decent ways outside of the city and potentially Stanley Park, which is big enough to drive around. So you would have to find some way to get to those places if you didn't rent a car

[@jeanbolduc5818]

Vancouver has a lot of issues with homeless, crimes , drugs , depression because of the weather ( rains from October to april)

[@C-TOS]

Those (chocolate?) donuts have my name on them.

[@billythekid1961]

I have lived in Vancouver my entire life and the glitch orca was never there in 2009 it was put in the late 2010s before the glitch orca there was a plastic Orca statue there

[@lazyhusband]

Your dad looks like Dr. Steven Gundry.

[@IMJAFO2]

The Digital Orca looks like "Free Willy".......

[@georgecarter6511]

What town does your hat say?

[@ThroughMyLens]

Bishop, California

[@trell2826]

Heyy

[@hatereligion621]

24 hours, not enough

[@ChasingTheAdventureOutdoors]

I really hope they got their drug and homeless problem under control. We were there in 2018 and there were people actively using needles to shoot drugs in the open. There were used syringes everywhere! My 2 year old was walking and tripped and literally almost landed on a used syringe.

[@ThroughMyLens]

Oh wow that is crazy. We didn't see any of that when we were there but not sure if it is in a different part of the city

[@sandya2948]

I live in Vancouver and sadly the situation remains the same😢

[@MichaelToled0]

2:50 I thought it was made out of Legos

[@BrentsBistro]

Nuh-NYE-moe Good try tho 😀

[@stargazer5073]

Whale looks like Legos

[@ThroughMyLens]

It for sure does

[@stargazer5073]

Trader Joe's sells maple cream!

[@ThroughMyLens]

Oh wow, don't tell me that, I will buy too much haha

[@Amy-gi7jo]

I think I'd prefer to keep my sushi and hotdogs far away from each other. 😮