Small-Group Hop-On Hop-Off Van Tour with 12 Stops Vancouver

Stanley Park: totem poles, Prospect Point and the seawall

Stanley Park is the green heart of Vancouver, a forested peninsula of about 400 hectares that opened as a public park in 1888 and is wrapped by a seawall path of nearly nine kilometres. The stop at Brockton Point brings you to the park's group of carved and painted totem poles, the most photographed sight in British Columbia, with the downtown skyline rising across the water. Further along, Prospect Point looks straight down on the Lions Gate Bridge as it spans the First Narrows to the North Shore mountains.

Many travellers ask whether a Stanley Park tour is worth it if they only have one day in the city. On this pass the answer is easy: the van drives the scenic park road, so you can hop off for the totem poles or the viewpoint, walk a stretch of the seawall and rejoin the loop later without worrying about parking.

Granville Island Public Market and False Creek

Tucked beneath the Granville Street Bridge, Granville Island was an industrial district of factories and sawmills before it was reborn in the 1970s as one of Vancouver's liveliest corners. The Public Market, opened in 1979, fills old warehouse buildings with fresh fish, fruit stalls, bakeries, cheese counters and local crafts, while artists' studios, small theatres and boatyards line the lanes around it. Little passenger ferries cross False Creek to the island, and the waterfront boardwalk is perfect for a slow coffee in the sun.

Plan at least an hour here if you enjoy food markets, and arrive before noon on weekends when the halls are busiest. Granville Island opening hours are long for the market itself, roughly from morning until early evening, so it is an easy stop to fit into a hop-on hop-off day. The van also passes the Cambie Bridge viewpoint and Science World on the eastern end of False Creek.

Gastown and Chinatown: Vancouver's oldest streets

Gastown is where Vancouver began, a small settlement around a sawmill and a saloon that grew into the city in 1886. Today its cobbled Water Street is lined with restored Victorian brick buildings, cafés, galleries and design shops, and it is a National Historic Site of Canada. The famous steam clock on the corner of Water and Cambie Streets, built in 1977, whistles on the quarter hour and draws a small crowd of cameras every time.

A short ride away, Vancouver's Chinatown is one of the largest and oldest in North America, with traditional shopfronts, bakeries, herbal stores and the colourful Millennium Gate that marks its entrance on Pender Street. The neighbourhood also holds a classical Chinese garden of courtyards, pavilions and still ponds. Combining both stops gives you the historic side of Vancouver in an easy half day of walking, with the van ready to take you onward.

Canada Place, Coal Harbour and the downtown core

Canada Place is impossible to miss: its white fabric roofs, shaped like the sails of a ship, have defined the waterfront since the world exposition of 1986. It holds the cruise ship terminal and convention centre, and its promenade looks across the harbour to the North Shore mountains and the busy seaplane docks. Next door, Coal Harbour holds the Olympic Cauldron from the 2010 Winter Games, sleek glass towers and marinas that reflect the skyline at sunset.

From here the loop runs through the downtown core. You can stop at the Vancouver Lookout in the Harbour Centre tower for 360-degree views (entry tickets are separate), visit Christ Church Cathedral on Burrard Street, see the Vancouver Art Gallery and Robson Square, or shop along Robson Street. BC Place stadium and the arena district sit at the eastern edge of downtown, close to the False Creek seawall.

English Bay, Sunset Beach and Burrard Bridge

English Bay is Vancouver's favourite beach, a curve of sand in the West End where locals come to swim in summer, walk the seawall and watch the sun drop behind the mountains of Vancouver Island. The stone Inukshuk figure on the shore, built for the 1986 exposition, has become one of the city's symbols, and the line of driftwood logs on the sand makes a natural seat for sunset. Sunset Beach continues the shoreline toward False Creek, with views of the striking twisted tower known as Vancouver House beside the Burrard Bridge.

This shoreline is a special part of this route, so it is a good place to finish your day. The best time to visit English Bay is late afternoon in summer, when the light is soft and the beach is lively; in winter it is quieter but just as photogenic, and cafés along Denman Street are a short walk away.