215 Best Sights in British Columbia, Canada

This four-pillar, three-story-high, brightly painted arch spanning Pender Street was erected in 2002 to mark the millennium and commemorate the Chinese community's role in Vancouver's history. The gate incorporates both Eastern and Western symbols, and both traditional and modern Chinese themes. Just east of the Millennium Gate, a right turn will take you into Shanghai Alley. Also known as "Chinatown Heritage Alley," this was the site of the first Chinese settlement in the Vancouver area. By 1890, Shanghai Alley and neighboring Canton Alley were home to about 1,000 Chinese residents. At the end of the alley is a replica of the West Han Dynasty Bell, a gift to Vancouver from the city of Guangzhou, China. Surrounding the bell is a series of panels relaying some of the area's early history.

Located right next to Lonsdale Quay and the SeaBus Terminal, this new museum explores North Vancouver's rich history–through the lens of artifacts, documents, and photographs. A definite highlight is the restored British Columbia electric streetcar located in the museum's gift shop. There are also plenty of interactive exhibits for kids.

This family-owned, award-winning winery is a bit different than most in the Okanagan. The winery grows grapes not typically seen here, like Tannat, Touriga Nacional, and Carménère. They also have more traditional varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon. In addition to the wine, you should come here for the panoramic views and three charming tasting rooms.

A footpath and a road lead to the 213-meter (758-foot) summit of Mt. Douglas, offering a 360-degree view of Victoria and the Saanich Peninsula. On a clear day, you can even see the Gulf and San Juan islands and the Olympic Mountains of Washington. The park, known locally as Mt. Doug, is also home to a long sandy beach, evergreen forests, hiking trails, and wildflower meadows. 

Just 30 minutes from Downtown Vancouver, this 3,508-hectare (8,668-acre) wilderness park has hiking trails of varying length and difficulty and spectacular views of the Lower Mainland. Warm clothing—and caution—are advised. Popular routes include a scenic 1½-hour trip to Dog Mountain or a more intense four-hour climb to the three peaks of Seymour. You can also hike down to Deep Cove on Indian Arm. In winter, the trails are used for snowshoeing, and you can try tubing and tobogganing, too.

A major attraction in the region, this longhouse-style edifice overlooking the waterfront contains one of the country's finest collections of coastal First Nations artworks, with superb artifacts portraying 10,000 years of Northwest Coast history. You may also have a chance to see artisans working in a nearby carving shed. Along with the permanent exhibit, there is a roster of temporary exhibitions on history and art. You can also purchase unusual local crafts at the museum gift shop.

Vancouver's short-but-funky history comes to life at this seaside civic history museum. The 1930s-1940s Gallery remembers the Japanese internment during WWII, as well as local stories of the war effort. The 1950s Gallery has a 1955 Ford Fairlane Victoria and a Seeburg Select-o-Matic jukebox. The 1960s-1970s Gallery revisits the city's days as the hippie capital of Canada. Visitors can hear local bands from the '60s and poke around a re-created communal house. The museum regularly mounts intriguing temporary exhibits and hosts lectures and other public events.

Spanning the Kicking Horse River, this natural rock formation was created when the hard limestone eroded more quickly than the softer rock causing cracks to widen until the flow of water changed and formed a bridge. A short pathway displays interpretive signage explaining the erosion process as you walk to several lookouts that provide views of the geological formation from different vantage points. 

This cannon-like apparatus by the water was installed in 1890 to alert fishermen to a curfew ending weekend fishing. Now it signals 9 pm every night. 

Opened in 1960 in memory of Japanese scholar and diplomat Dr. Inazo Nitobe (1862–1933), this 2½-acre walled garden, which includes a pond, a stream with a small waterfall, and a ceremonial teahouse, is considered one of the most authentic Japanese tea and strolling gardens outside Japan. Designed by Professor Kannosuke Mori of Japan's Chiba University, the garden incorporates many native British Columbia trees and shrubs, pruned and trained Japanese-style, and interplanted with Japanese maples and flowering shrubs. The circular path around the park symbolizes the cycle of life and provides a tranquil view from every direction. Cherry blossoms are the highlight in April and May, and in June the irises are magnificent. Because the garden is so exotic, it's worth renting an audio guide. Or take a free drop-in tour Thursday at 11 am between May and September. Japanese tea ceremonies, offered  through the Urasenke Foundation, are held the last Saturday of every month, May through September. For reservations, email  [email protected] (C$10). If you're planning to visit several attractions at UBC, a UBC Attractions Pass will save you money.

In the late-19th century, hundreds of cannery villages, built on pilings on the edge of the wilderness, lined the coast between California and Alaska. Most are gone now, but BC's oldest (it dates to 1889) and most complete surviving example is 22 km (14 miles) south of Prince Rupert, via Highway 16 and Port Edward, at the mouth of the Skeena River. Once home to more than 700 people during canning season, the town of 28 buildings, including managers' houses, the company store, and cannery works, is now a national historic site. Staff members lead tours, give demonstrations of the canning process, and represent the unique culture of cannery villages. The site also has a seafood restaurant and overnight accommodations in its European Bunkhouse.

This picnic site is located right next to rushing waterfalls; a very short walk brings you to the bridge that crosses in front of them. There are toilets and an abundance of picnic tables.

All of the spirits at this award-winning craft distillery—vodka, whisky, gin, absinthe, etc.—are 100% made from BC fruits and grains. Stop by for a tour, tasting (C$10), or to shop the storefront. Be sure to check out their Evolve gin line, which changes color when citrus or tonic are mixed in with the spirit.

Vancouver's first store and oldest building was built in 1865 at the foot of Dunlevy Street in Gastown and moved to this seaside spot near the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club in 1930. It's a little wooden structure at the corner of Point Grey Road and Alma Street—west of Kitsilano en route to UBC—and is the only building to predate the 1886 Great Fire. The site is now a museum with displays of First Nations artifacts and pioneer household goods.

As the name indicates, the strong green color of this lake is stunning. Immediately next to the parking lot, there are a shelter, picnic tables, and outhouses, with other tables scattered throughout the forest. A hike on the interpretive lakeshore boardwalk trail takes you through the forest around the lake, where you can often see brook trout leisurely swimming in the crystal-clear water. 

A four-pronged sculpture towering more than 30 feet, the Olympic Cauldron is next to the Vancouver Convention Centre's West Building. In 2010, when Vancouver hosted the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, it burned with the Olympic flame, and it's relit occasionally for Canada Day and other special events. The Cauldron overlooks the Burrard Inlet on Jack Poole Plaza, which is named for the Canadian businessman who led the bid to bring the Olympics to Vancouver. Sadly, Poole died of cancer just one day after the flame for the Olympic torch relay was lit in Olympia, Greece, at the start of its journey to Vancouver.

It will take 2--3 hours to hike this 5.9-km (3.7-mile) circuit with an elevation gain of 250 meters (820 feet). You can access it either via the West Opabin or East Opabin arm. The west arm trail takes you up along the shores of Mary Lake and then climbs steeply for approximately 120 meters (394 feet) onto the rolling terrain of the Opabin Plateau, a beautiful hanging valley above Lake O'Hara. From there, the circuit continues into the Opabin Creek Valley and finally arrives at Opabin Lake, where you can see the foot of a glacier in the narrow gap in the peaks at the end of the lake. Moderate. 

Close to the University of British Columbia, on Vancouver's West Side, Pacific Spirit Regional Park has 73 km (45 miles) of multiuse walking, hiking, and biking trails within its 763-hectare (1,885-acre) forest. Open dawn to dusk year-round, it also has access to Spanish Banks and Wreck Beaches.

Due to severe fires in the early to mid-1900s, several fire lookouts were built in the Rockies, and the Paget Fire Lookout is the oldest in Canada's national parks. This 7-km (4.3-mile) moderately difficult round-trip hike with 520 meters (1,706 feet) of elevation gain, will have you switchbacking through the forest until you almost reach the lookout. Allow plenty of time to take in the amazing views of the Kicking Horse River valley, the Continental Divide, and the surrounding peaks from the strategically placed bench at the lookout which is now a shelter. (Note that Parks Canada also does a guided conservation hike up this trail; find more info at their website). If you're feeling energetic, you can continue on to Paget Peak, but beware that it's steep, with a 446-meter (1,463-foot) elevation gain on the 1.4-km (.8-mile) trail. The trail is also challenging because of several scree-filled and exposed sections, and there can be snow at the summit well into July. If you're a seasoned hiker, however, the views from the top are worth it. Difficult.

The paint pots are a geological formation formed by rich deposits of iron oxide that bubbles up from mineral springs, resulting in liquid with pigments ranging from red to orange to brown. The area is sacred to the Ktunaxa people, who have gathered the ochre liquid to color their clay and paints since ancient times. By the early 1900s, European settlers also started to mine the pigments for manufacturing paints. This mining stopped when the area became a park in 1920, but the paint pots continue to bubble the brightly colored pigments to the surface.

Officially the British Columbia Provincial Legislative Assembly Buildings, these massive stone structures are more popularly referred to as the Parliament Buildings. Designed by Francis Rattenbury (who also designed the Fairmont Empress hotel) when he was just 25 years old, and completed in 1897, they dominate the Inner Harbour. Atop the central dome is a gilded statue of Captain George Vancouver (1757–98), the first European to sail around Vancouver Island. A statue of Queen Victoria (1819–1901) reigns over the front of the complex which features 33 domes, one for each major jewel in the Imperial Crown. More than 3,300 lights outline the buildings at night. The interior is lavishly done with stained-glass windows, gilt moldings, and historic photographs, and in summer actors play historic figures from British Columbia's past. When the legislature is in session, you can sit in the public gallery and watch British Columbia's democracy at work (custom has the opposing parties sitting 2½ sword lengths apart). Free, informative, 30- to 45-minute tours run every 20 to 30 minutes in summer and several times a day in the off-season (less frequently if school groups or private tours are coming through). Tours are obligatory on summer weekends (mid-May until Labor Day) and optional the rest of the time. Self-guided booklets are available online.

The O'Reilly family home, an 1861 Italianate cottage overlooking the Selkirk Waterway, has been restored to its original splendor, with the largest collection of Victorian furnishings in western Canada. You can take a half-hour audio tour of the house (presented from a servant's point of view) and stroll in the English country garden. Point Ellice House is only a few minutes' drive north of Downtown Victoria, but it's in an industrial area, so it's more fun to come by sea. Victoria Harbour Ferries leave from a dock in front of the Fairmont Empress; the trip lasts about 15 minutes and takes in the sights of the harbor. The house is open only on weekends from noon until 4 pm.

At 64 meters (211 feet), Prospect Point is the highest point in the park and provides striking views of the Lions Gate Bridge (watch for cruise ships passing below), the North Shore, and Burrard Inlet. There's also a (summer only) souvenir shop, a snack bar with terrific ice cream, and a restaurant. From the seawall, you can see where cormorants build their seaweed nests along the cliff ledges.

Set on 160 acres on the slops of Mount Boucherie, Quails' Gate Estate Winery offers wine tastings all set against a panoramic view of Okanagan Lake. Reservations are highly recommended during peak season. The family-owned winery produces more than a dozen different varieties, although it's best known for its award-winning Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The on-site Old Vines Restaurant is open year-round.