12 Best Sights in Vancouver, British Columbia

Extending four city blocks north into Burrard Inlet, this complex mimics the style and size of a luxury ocean liner, complete with exterior esplanades and a landmark roofline that resembles five sails (it was made with NASA-invented material: a Teflon-coated fiberglass once used in astronaut space suits). Home to Vancouver's cruise-ship terminal, Canada Place can accommodate up to four liners at once. Altogether, the giant building is definitely worth a look. And the FlyOver Canada ( 604/620–8455,  www.flyovercanada.com) attraction, a simulated flight that takes you on a soaring and swooping virtual voyage across the country, is an excellent reason to go inside. If this dramatic journey above Niagara Falls, the Rocky Mountains, and the vast Arctic sparks your curiosity about other parts of Canada, follow the Canadian Trail on the west side of the building, which has displays about the country's provinces and territories. Use your smartphone or tablet to access multimedia content along the way. (There's free Wi-Fi). Canada Place is also home to the posh Pan Pacific Hotel and the east wing of the Vancouver Convention Centre. On its western side stands the newer and much larger convention center—its plaza stages the 2010 Olympic cauldron and the Digital Orca sculpture by Canadian artist Douglas Coupland. A waterfront promenade from Canada Place winds all the way to (and around) Stanley Park, with spectacular vantage points where you can view Burrard Inlet and the North Shore Mountains. Plaques posted along the way include historical information about the city and its waterfront. At the Port of Vancouver Discovery Centre at Canada Place, at the north end of the Canada Place complex, you can take in a history wall with artifacts, imagery, and interactive displays.

After the 1886 Great Fire, which wiped out most of the fledgling settlement of Vancouver, George Byrnes built what is now Vancouver's oldest brick building. It now houses shops and offices. But for awhile, this two-story building was Vancouver's top luxury hotel, the Alhambra Hotel, charging a dollar a night. The site of Deighton's original saloon, east of the Byrnes Block, is the starting point from which all Vancouver street addresses begin.

One of Vancouver's most handsome postmodern buildings, the 23-story Shaw Tower at Cathedral Place has a faux-copper roof that mimics that of the nearby Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. The three large sculptures of nurses at the building's corners are replicas of the statues that adorned the Georgia Medical-Dental Building, the art deco structure that previously occupied this site. Step into the lobby to see another interesting sculpture: Robert Studer's Navigational Device, suspended high up on the north wall. The small garden courtyard, which also leads to the entrance of the Bill Reid Gallery, is an unexpected respite from Downtown's bustle.

Built between 1889 and 1895, this is the oldest church in Vancouver. Constructed in the Gothic style, the Anglican church looks like the parish church of an English village from the outside, though underneath the sandstone-clad exterior it's made of Douglas fir from what is now south Vancouver. The 32 stained-glass windows depict Old and New Testament scenes, often set against Vancouver landmarks (St. Nicholas presiding over the Lions Gate Bridge, for example). The building's excellent acoustics enhance the choral evensong, and it hosts many concerts. Gregorian chants are performed every Sunday evening at 8 pm. The cathedral's Labyrinth makes for a meditative walk that's hard to find anywhere else in the city's core.

Kitty-corner to the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, this building has a five-story-high public atrium, regularly changing art exhibitions, and one of the city's more intriguing public art installations. Pendulum, by British Columbia artist Alan Storey, is a 90-foot-long hollow aluminum sculpture that arcs hypnotically overhead.

Inspired by New York's Chrysler Building, the Marine Building is worth stopping for a look. The terra-cotta bas-reliefs on this 21-story, 1930s art deco structure depict the history of transportation—airships, steamships, locomotives, and submarines—as well as Mayan and Egyptian motifs and images of marine life. Step inside for a look at the beautifully restored interior, then walk to the corner of Hastings and Hornby Streets for the best view of the building.

Vancouver architect Richard Henriquez knitted four buildings together into Sinclair Centre, an office-retail complex that takes up an entire city block between Cordova and Hastings, and Howe and Granville Streets. Inside are a handful of specialty retailers, federal government offices, and services including UPS and a multilingual travel agency. The two Hastings Street buildings—the 1910 Post Office, which has an elegant clock tower, and the 1911 Winch Building—are linked with the 1937 Post Office Extension and the 1913 Customs Examining Warehouse to the north. As part of a meticulous restoration in the mid-1980s, the post office facade was moved to the Granville Street side of the complex. The original clockwork from the old clock tower is on display inside (on the upper level of the arcade).

Built in 1905 with gold-rush money, this elegantly renovated brick warehouse is now home to offices, shops, and Steamworks, a popular brewpub. From the oversized bay window at the rear of the lobby, you can appreciate where the shoreline was 100 years ago, as well as enjoy views of Burrard Inlet and the North Shore Mountains.

This former Canadian Pacific Railway passenger terminal was built between 1912 and 1914 as the western terminus for Canada's transcontinental railway. After Canada's two major railways shifted their focus away from passenger service, the station became obsolete. But a 1978 renovation turned it into an office-retail complex and depot for SkyTrain, SeaBus, and the West Coast Express (a suburban commuter rail). In the main concourse, murals up near the ceiling depict the scenery travelers once saw on journeys across Canada. This is where you catch the SeaBus for the 13-minute trip across the harbor to the waterfront public market at Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver, and the adjacent Shipyards with its restaurants, galleries, and open-area concert space.