Vancouver is so walkable that it makes sightseeing on foot the ideal way to learn more about the city and its past. Aside from popular food tours that take you to culinary corners and neighbourhood kitchens, historic walking tours have always appealed to me.
I love history, I love learning about my town, and I love to be entertained. To top it off, most are very reasonably priced. If you’re up for being a tourist in your own town this summer, here are a few ideas for Vancouver history walking tours:
Forbidden Vancouver Walking Tours
These vibrant historical tours have made a splash since arriving on scene just a few years ago. Top reviews and colourful storytellers have led to frequent sell-outs.
- Starting From: Cathedral Square at Dunsmuir and Richards
- Cost: $22 adults/$19 seniors
- Tour Type: Prohibition City: On Prohibition City you explore the strange, corrupt and colourful history of prohibition-era Vancouver.
- Tour Type: The Lost Souls of Gastown: You are transported back to the 1800s when Vancouver was a violent frontier town where only a few thousand inhabitants hustled to survive in the Wild West of Canada. Do not expect a conventional walking tour, this experience is visceral and dramatic.
- Tour Type: Granville Street Reveal: Join aristocrat, vaudeville actor and legendary Granville Street bon vivant Lord Fothrington-Appleby on a light-hearted stroll through historic Granville Street.
Tour Guys
Operating in Toronto and Vancouver, you can select from a variety of tours around the downtown core including free options.
- Starting From: Outside of the Vancouver Art Gallery in front of the fountain.
- Cost: Free
- Tour Type: Downtown and Waterfront, Granville and Gastown, or Chinatown: On these 90 minute easy-walking tours the hosts give a complete overview of downtown Vancouver and venture into some of the city’s historic buildings.
- Starting From: The edge of Granville Island, on the North West corner of 2nd Ave and Anderson St.
- Cost: Free
- Tour Type: Granville Island: On this 45 minute easy-walking tour hosts give a complete overview of the island and introduce you to some of the “hidden gems” often missed by most visitors.
Heritage Walks with John Atkin
John Atkin is a civic historian and authority on all things related to Vancouver history, architecture, and urban planning. He has created, and conducts, a number of unique and popular 2-hour walking tours throughout the City of Vancouver.
- Starting From: Each meeting place is unique based on the specific walk that day.
- Cost: $10
- Tour Type: Heritage Walks this summer include: Strathcona, John Street: Off the Grid in Mount Pleasant, West of Cambie, Shaughnessy, and The West End.
Vancouver Heritage Foundation Walking Tours
Maurice Guibord and John Atkin lead walks for the Heritage Vancouver Foundation. Explore Vancouver’s neighbourhoods on foot and discover hidden beauties (April to October).
- Starting From: Each meeting place is unique based on the specific walk.
- Cost: $12
- Tour Type: Friday Walking Tours: Take your pick of the West Hastings, Railtown, Yaletown or the West End.
Heritage Vancouver Society Walking Tours
A variety of tour guides and historians lead these Heritage Vancouver walking tours. Each is unique — their backgrounds, their personalities, and their stories bring Vancouver’s historic neighbourhoods to life.
- Starting From: Each meeting place is unique based on the specific walk.
- Cost: $10 members/$15 non-members
- Tour Type: Tours this summer include: Vancouver’s Granville & West Georgia Streets, Estates of South Kerrisdale, West End Heritage, Delamont: Kitsilano’s Oldest City Block of Houses, Planning tour of Vancouver’s West End, Grandview, West of Commercial, UBC Campus: Modern Buildings & Landscapes, and First Shaughnessy: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly.
History Walks with James Johnstone
James Johnstone is the foremost “house history” researcher in Vancouver. This summer he is offering tours every Saturday.
- Starting From: Each meeting place is unique based on the specific walk.
- Cost: $20 per person
- Tour Type: The second and fourth Saturday of each month dedicated to Strathcona: Vancouver’s Oldest Neighbourhood and on the other Saturdays he will alternate between the West End and Mount Pleasant. Tours last approximately 2 hours, depending on the size and pace of the group.
Mountain View Cemetery
Vancouver’s only public cemetery holds much information about the city’s past and the people who helped develop it into what we see today.
- Starting From: Mountain View Cemetery
- Cost: $10 per person
- Tour Type: Various tours are presented throughout the year, follow Mountain View on Facebook for the latest list. Each is held rain or shine.
Be sure to click through on each of the tour links to confirm specific dates, times, meeting places and pricing!
The PNE returns for its 103rd year from August 17th until September 2nd with its full line-up of summer concerts, food vendors, exhibits, Superdogs, rides and attractions. Once again members of Vancity Credit Union will be able to receive a discounted admission for PNE Vancity Member Day on Thursday, August 29, 2013.
On Vancity Member Day, Vancity members and one guest receive a discounted admission of only $5 per person ($9 savings on each ticket!). Simply present your Vancity MEMBER CARD® debit card or Vancity enviro™ Visa* (or other form of membership verification) at the PNE ticket booth.
New this year at the PNE is a 20% reduction in gate admission, reserved seating options for the concert series, the RCMP Musical Ride, and Duelling Pianos in the Plaza Beer Garden. Vancity also presents Eco Alley, a bike valet service, and all electricity consumed at The Fair at the PNE on Vancity Member Day will be “cowpowered“.
Gates open at 11:00am on PNE Vancity Member Day. Follow the event on Facebook, and on Twitter using the tag #VancityMemberDay for more information.
Last night the United Kingdom kicked off the 2013 Celebration of Light fireworks with a display that was seen live by an estimated 250,000 people. Gathered on the shores of English Bay, Kitsilano, and anywhere the fiery bursts could be spotted from the air, the James Bond-themed show dazzled.
https://twitter.com/VivienAvenue/status/361395204038737921
https://twitter.com/KljajicMilan/status/361383696848257024
This morning, a few fireworks photos of the UK at the Celebration of Light have been contributed to the Miss604 Flickr Pool and it’s my pleasure to show them off:
Next up is Canada on Wednesday, July 31st and then Thailand finishes the season on Saturday, August 3rd. You can still enter to win a VIP fireworks dining experience at Cactus Club English Bay (until July 29th) and be sure to show up early on fireworks nights to enjoy free SHOREfest concerts.
The First Weekend Club (“FWC”) is celebrating 10 years of promoting and raising awareness for Canadian films and talent. Founded by Anita Adams in 2003, the club has since supported over 300 home-grown films and hosted over 200 special events and screenings with the goal of building a strong audience for Canadian films. I caught up with Anita last week to chat about FWC’s journey so far, its impact, and its future:
“It’s like climbing Mount Everest and pushing a boulder up the hill,” Anita laughed. “It’s fun, I love what I do, I really really do. But, I was really ignorant and naive when I first started out, I had no clue what would be really involved.” Over the last decade the club has supported The Delicate Art of Parking, One Week, Starbuck, The Corporation, Hit N’ Strum, Take This Waltz, C.R.A.Z.Y., It’s All Gone Pete Tong, and Scared Sacred – to name just a few.
“I thought, you tell people about Canadian films and they’ll come out. But it’s hard to make noise and get people to pay attention with all the other clutter and noise that’s going on out there in the marketplace.”
When the First Weekend Club was established it was initially a hobby “on the side” but Anita says it has become a full time career, and then some. Her passion first lay with acting, and she recalls some words of inspiration she received at a workshop with Cameron Thor who came up to Vancouver from Los Angeles.
“He said to the group that it’s so important that you commit to your dreams and follow your dreams. Only by following your dreams will you find the path you were meant to be on — and it might be completely different than what you set out to do but that’s the way you find what you’re supposed to do.” Anita says that’s what really spoke to her and she feels that her pursuit of an acting career led her here, on the path to be where she was meant to be in life. Her big project now is launching Canada Screens, an online video on demand pay-per-view service that will stream Canadian films and entertainment.
“We raised funds for two phases of development with [an] Indiegogo campaign now I’m just trying to get more funds in the door to hire more IT support in the door before we launch it.” They hope to continually add new titles, about 100 a year, and will launch with at least 50 or 60 exclusively Canadian features.
“I believe that [Canada Screens] is going to be a successful operation. Even if it isn’t, the skills that I will walk away with from this experience, the life learning and the friendships that have developed are really worthwhile.” Setting out on the film festival circuit to promote the video on demand service, Anita hopes to find supporters and build some buzz with film-loving audiences across the country.
If you would like to support the upcoming Canada Screens online Canadian film portal, you can join the First Weekend Club. Membership is free and you’ll receive all the latest information about Canadian film screenings in your area and updated project information for Canada Screens.
The Women in Aviation Sea to Sky Chapter — which promotes the passion and potential of Women in Aviation through advocacy, education and advancement — is presenting The Spirit of Leadership: A High Tea Adventure along with the Aviation Leadership Foundation. This speaker series is a part of the Aviation Leadership Foundation’s “Tea Talks” program which is inspired by TEDTalks. The event will take place next week in Vancouver where special guests will lead intriguing and insightful sessions at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia.
The tea will feature speakers including Jeff Glickman. Mr. Glickman will take participants on a journey of his search for the remains of Amelia Earhart and her aircraft. Our other speakers will engage the audience in their own stories of courage, adventure, and leadership. An opportunity for questions and mingling will follow the presentations. With a vintage aviation theme and all the makings of a proper English afternoon tea, a journey through time will tantalize the taste buds with the stories and spirit of leadership.
Photos courtesy of the Aviation Leadership Foundation
Other speakers include Barbara Ross-Denroche, President, Chair and Co-Founder of The Refinery Leadership Partners Inc, and a member of global organizations including Women Presidents Organization, International Women’s Forum and the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs BC.
The event takes place from 2:30pm to 4:30pm (registration and networking starts at 1:30pm) on Tuesday, July 30, 2013. Following the event, attendees are welcome to the Georgia Hotel Rooftop Terrace Reflections Lounge for cocktails and networking.
This will be the perfect afternoon escape for all people who love adventure, high tea, aviation, leadership and/or history. With a focus on adventure, all guests will have the opportunity to connect with other professionals who share a passion for leadership. Tickets are currently available online.
If you would like to attend this afternoon of tea, talks, and inspiring conversation, I have a pair of tickets to give away. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
Follow the Aviation Leadership Foundation on Twitter, and the tag #TeaTalks, for updates about their events. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 5:00pm on Sunday, July 28, 2013.
Update The winner is Dayna Wilson!
