Fabulous Vancouver City Breaks

Vancouver is a city of rich variety and startling contrasts.

Like most of the world's most beautiful cities, it fits tightly between the sea and its mountain backdrop. It is an intense, vibrant, cosmopolitan city, surrounded by water and full of parks, gardens and trees wherever you go. It is known for its gorgeous spring blossoms and dramatic fall colours.

This is a fantastic place to visit if:

• you love cities and are interested in architecture and urban design - the city is full of innovative and beautiful buildings
• you love the outdoors and want to explore the beautiful parks, forests and mountains; to hike, cycle or run, to kayak or sail; or to snowboard or ski
• you love food, especially Asian inspired food; and craft beer
• you thrive on the vibe of markets, trendy shops, clubs, bars and restaurants in a society that prides itself on tolerance and inclusion
• you are keen on cruises and want the thrill of a superb cruise through the Insinde passage to Alaska
• you enjoy train journeys and you want to experience the majestic beauty of the Rocky Mountains from the comfort of a wonderful railway observation car.

Vancouver is one of our favourite cities and we love to make suggestions on where to go and what to see. With our specialist partners we will make you a flexible, secure and hassle-free booking, and ensure that you have a fabulous Vancouver break.

Contact us today for a no-obligation chat about your holiday plans.

Or connect with us on WhatsApp

Fabulous Vancouver City Break Options

The City

Vancouver is the main entry point into British Columbia, with an international airport and cruise port. It has the most  temperate climate of any big city in Canada, with average high and low temperatures of  7° and 3° in December / January and of 22° and 14° in July / August.  It has quite a lot of rain from October through until March.

The city's magnificent waterfront position position makes for beautiful maritime vistas and an abundance of water based activities.  You can walk, cycle or run for miles from the cruise terminal, along the waterfront, round the perimeter of Stanley Park, past four beaches (where you might decide to stop and swim) and around the whole of False Creek as far as Kitsilano Beach on the other side. If you prefer you can take a harbour tour or a water-taxi. You will see a range of shipping from massive container ships and ore carriers to kayaks, with many beautiful yachts and pleasure boats in between.

Outdoor Activities

The city is known for its wonderful parks, most notably Stanley Park, which is over 1000 hectares and is perfect for walking, cycling, jogging or roller-blading. The paths and roads go through beautiful old forests where you may well see a Bald eagle or even a coyote. There are innumerable other parks and open spaces throughout the city, including Central Park, Lighthouse Park, Lynn Canyon and the Lower Seymour Reserve, all of which offer great opportunities for outdoor activities

A massive attraction is Grouse Mountain with its panoramic views of the city, its Grizzly Bear refuge, hiking, zip-lining and winter sports. Just a little further out is Cypress Mountain which provides excellent skiing and snowboarding in winter, and hiking in summer. And within a couple of hours' drive are massive and well known mountain ranges where some of the best mountain resorts in the world are to be found.

Culture

Vancouver is a major cultural centre, with a state ballet company and at least 25 other dance companies, opera, a symphony orchestra, and more than 50 theater companies. It has regular gigs with international stars performing in the two downtown stadia, as well as jazz and folk music festivals. There are innumerable venues with intimate live music and comedy performances.

There is a major art gallery in a beautiful old building in the middle of the city, as well as several other galleries and a world renowned Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia.

Cuisine

Most notably, this is a foodie city! You will find superb examples of almost every international cuisine here, but cuisine from every corner of Asia, prepared to perfection, is a specialty. Whether you are looking for fine dining or delicious, inexpensive ramen, sushi, curry, or whatever takes your fancy, you will have many alternatives to choose from.

Micro-brewing is a major industry in Canada, and Vancouver is one of the main centres for it. Take a walk around the Main Street area or East Vancouver and you will find many places to sample a 'flight' of delicious artisan brewed beers of every description.

Shopping

Whether you like the chic international designer shops in the City Centre, the trendy shops in Robson Street, the wonderful public market or quirky boutique stores of Granville Island, the huge modern malls, or the local designer shops scattered through the city's neighbourhoods, you will not be disappointed. All over the city there are shopping streets that offer hugely varied shopping experiences in comfortable, pleasant environments.

For The Young, The Inquisitive & Tourists

For families looking for education and fun, or adults looking for information or wanting to do what tourists like to do, there are also amazing opportunities:

• The sea-taxis are a functional mode of transport that are fun for those not used to them, or there is the hop-on, hop-off sight-seeing bus or a horse-drawn tour in Stanley Park
• Apart from its other attractions Granville Island has a great children's market and a superb water park
• The globe shaped building of the Telus World of Science is a landmark and it houses fascinating exhibits and an Omnimax theatre
• There is an excellent aquarium, a space centre, the Maritime Museum, the Museum of Vancouver and an excellent art gallery in the centre of the city

Whether this ia a starting point for your British Columbia touring holiday, the end of your Rocky Mountaineer train trip or the embarkation point for your Alaskan cruise; whether you want to fill a day or spend a weekend, or immerse yourself and spend a week or two, we can get you there and set you up with a place to stay, things to do and ways to get around.

Just contact us today and tell us what you are thinking and how you want your holiday to be!

Or connect with us on WhatsApp

Rocky Mountaineer Special

🌅 7 nights

FROM

💷 £2599 per person sharing

📅 Travel on 14 April 2023; Book by: 14 March 2023

✈️ Flying from Heathrow

Extraordinary opportunity to experience the superb Rocky Mountaineer and the spectacular scenery of Western Canada!

• 1 Night at the Ramada Plaza by Wyndham in downtown Calgary.

• 1 night at the iconic Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise on Lake Louise.

• 2 nights at the Banff Caribou Lodge and Spa.

• Classic Banff to Vancouver Westbound in Silver Leaf Service on Tue 18 Apr 2023, with overnight in Kamloops. $1000 OFF Included!

• 2 nights at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre, one of the best hotels in Vancouver.

Combination of private and scheduled transfers.

Enquire Now

Travel Time

Direct Flights From London: 7½ hours out & 6½ hours back
With One Stop From Major Airports: From 9½ hours

Time Difference

At 12 o'clock in the UK it's 4 o'clock in the morning in Vancouver or 3 o'clock during daylight saving

Weather

Have a look at the weather graph to see how the average temperature and average rainfall in Vancouver compare with the averages in London each month.