Vancouver Mural Tours

Vancouver’s a great city for a walking tour and now we can add murals to the list of sights to see. The City of Vancouver has outlined four self-guided mural tours, that take about 30-60 minutes each, which you can explore in advance through an interactive online map.

Each tour has a map and a mobile phone component. Download the PDF map for your tour of choice then follow the instructions to call-in and hear audio about the various pieces.

Photo credit: PiscesDreamer & Mark Faviell on Flickr

Photo credit: Clayton Perry Photoworks, dahliaphoto, Clayton Perry Photoworks on Flickr

The mural tours are a part of the Great Beginnings Program. Developed by the City of Vancouver in 2008, Great Beginnings aims to celebrate history, heritage, and culture in Vancouver’s first urban areas. These include the neighbourhoods of Gastown, Chinatown, Japantown, and Strathcona. Through a provincial commitment of $10 million over three years, a large part of the program will restore the original public appeal of these neighbourhoods through improvements to streets, buildings, public space, and public safety. These centres have a foundation that can be built upon to support cultural activities, celebrations, and festivals for residents and visitors.