Vancouver: Wed Jul 15 – Fri Jul 17
Base: Best Western Plus Burnaby, 5411 Kingsway. Landmarks, Asian-style shopping, malls, movies, and hotel downtime, no hiking or nature trails.
Must-see Vancouver landmarks (quick reference)
The classic tourist checklist for a first Vancouver visit, all worked into the Thursday plan below except where noted. Ticket prices change often, treat these as ballpark figures and confirm on the linked site before you go.
| Landmark | Entry fee | Hours | When it's planned |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada Place | Free to walk | Open 24 hours (public promenade) | Thu Jul 16, morning |
| Gastown & the Steam Clock | Free to walk | Always open (shops vary, generally 10 am to 6 pm) | Thu Jul 16, morning |
| Granville Island Public Market | Free entry, pay for food/goods | 9 am to 7 pm daily | Thu Jul 16, midday |
| Stanley Park | Free (parking/attractions extra) | Open 24 hours (park grounds) | Thu Jul 16, brief flat stroll only, no hiking |
| Robson Street | Free to walk | Store hours vary, roughly 10 am to 9 pm | Thu Jul 16, afternoon |
| Vancouver Lookout | ~$20 adult, ~$14 child (6 to 12) | 10 am to 6 pm daily | Backup, if time allows |
| Chinatown | Free to walk | Shop hours vary, roughly 10 am to 6 pm | Backup for Fri Jul 17 morning |
| Science World | ~$36 adult, ~$29 youth (13 to 18), ~$24 child (3 to 12) | 10 am to 5 pm (Tue until 8 pm) | Backup, if time allows |
| Museum of Anthropology (UBC) | $26 adult, $13 youth (6 to 18) | 10 am to 5 pm (Thu until 9 pm), closed Mondays outside summer | Optional add-on, see below |
Our take: Canada Place, Gastown, Granville Island, and Robson are the free, easy wins and already fill Thursday nicely. Of the paid options, the Vancouver Lookout gives the best value-to-time ratio (quick, cheap, big view) if you want one paid attraction. Science World and the Museum of Anthropology are both worthwhile but need a half day each, only add one if a spare afternoon opens up.
Wed Jul 15: Arrival
Thu Jul 16: Downtown Landmarks + Malls
Canada Place
Gastown Steam Clock
Granville Island Public Market
Stanley Park (Coal Harbour side)
Robson Street
CF Pacific Centre
Metropolis at Metrotown
Cineplex Cinemas Metropolis
Fri Jul 17: Asian Street-Market Shopping, then Fly to Calgary
Note on the Richmond Night Market: it's the closest thing here to the Hong Kong/Thailand-style night markets Dikshya loves, but it only runs Friday–Sunday evenings (roughly 7 PM–midnight), which clashes with an 8 PM flight. Instead, Aberdeen Centre in Richmond is a great daytime substitute: it's an Asian-themed mall built in that same style, full of Hong Kong/Japan/Korea-style shops, a food court, and the adjacent Yaohan Centre (Japanese-style market/food hall) right next door, clothes, snacks, and browsing all day long.
Aberdeen Centre
Yaohan Centre
Alternative if the group would rather stay closer to the hotel that morning: Vancouver's Chinatown (Expo Line to Stadium-Chinatown Station) has a similar mix of shops, bakeries, and market stalls and is a shorter ride than Richmond, trade-off is it's smaller and less mall-like.
Backup / swap-in ideas
🎡 If there's extra time
Vancouver Lookout tower (downtown, quick elevator ride, big views, no hiking), or Science World (flat, indoors, teen-friendly), or a Skytrain-accessible mall like Oakridge Park.
☕ Coffee stops
There's a Tim Hortons/Starbucks roughly every few blocks downtown and inside both malls, easy to grab a coffee between stops without going out of the way.
Optional: a look at UBC
If there's a spare afternoon, the University of British Columbia campus is worth a flat, easy stroll, especially with two teens in the house. The Museum of Anthropology on campus is indoors and a genuinely striking building, entry is $26 adult / $13 youth (6 to 18), open 10 am to 5 pm (Thursdays until 9 pm), and it doubles as a low-pressure look at what a big Canadian campus feels like, no hiking involved. Reachable by bus from downtown (roughly 25 to 30 minutes).